About to try a pen.

Yes, CA glue is used as a finish. It's hard and durable. Here's a tutorial Les Elm wrote about doing a CA finish. I think you can tell by his work that he knows a thing or two about making and finishing pens. ;)

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14100

Like most things in woodworking, there are a lot of methods for applying CA as a finish, but Les' approach is a good starting point. In my experience, there are times when you're using CA finish that you're certain you've ruined the pen, but after it all gets sanded and polished, it can be a beautiful finish.

Celtic Knot Pen - 02 800.jpg
 
+1 for CA. I haven't used anything else in years. It's the easiest finish to apply and really only takes a couple of minutes to apply
 
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As said, CA is a popular finish.
I seldom use it for two reasons. One, I am stubborn and just have a 'thing' against using glue for a finish. Two, I have always had storage problems with CA. I hate spending money then finding it all solidified in the container.
BTW, my preference for gluing the tubes in is two-part epoxy. I use inexpensive printer paper for a working surface. I'll put a dab of each part of the epoxy on a corner of the paper, mix with a toothpick the apply to the tube and insert. When done I used the same paper for assembly since all the parts are on a clean and limited surface. If I do on my bench the parts seem to walk away. :eek::eek:
 
Pens are a load of fun

Penstate has some really nice pre-drilled blanks for 7mm pen kits bamboo is really easy to turn I have only been turning pens for a short time but am making decent money doing it flea markets and that sort of thing and am working on a website now to sell more not getting rich doing it pick up around $2500.00 a month doing it so far make alot of custom stuff now i work with a jeweler he makes the bands and clips from drawings for me lol just remember don't take short cuts and you are gonna break blanks and make mistakes but its something you can share with your kids teach them to do my 3 year oild grandson does my sanding a lot haha have fun and if I can help just send me a massage and i will answer any question I can.
 
you got that right! pens are fun. for me, i like the sierra style. as for a finish, i've been tempted to use ca, but have fought it off. i use a mix of 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 denatured alcohol, and 1/3 clear shellac. works just fine for me, and no plasticy feel. i figure that if i want to feel plastic, i'll turn acrylic...:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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