Repairs - filling cracks and voids in the pen barrel.
Having to repair cracks and voids is a fact of life when making pens. Many of the most beautiful woods will have a tendency to crack or form voids as it dries. We have only two choices, either refuse to use these pieces of wood, or learn to live with them and repair the cracks.
The Pistachio wood that I am using for this discussion is typical of a hard "nut" wood. It makes a hard durable pen, and its variations of coloring in brown, black, yellow, and green make it a beautiful pen. But, it is also a very brittle wood that can be filled with cracks and voids when it is dry.
This is the wood, Pistachio, with several cracks. And, the other side is even worse.
This piece has been rough sanded.
Apply a line of "Medium" CA over the crack area.
Allow it to sit for a few seconds to run down into the crack.
Rub the filler material into the glue to form a slurry and work it into the crack.
The filler can be any number of things. A handful of fine shavings is the easiest to use, and it is as close as under the lathe.
I prefer to use a black filler and highlight the crack. Here I am using a powdered artists charcoal, available from most art supply stores.
An easy way to use charcoal is the stick form. Rub it into the crack, mixing it with the CA glue to form a slurry.
The stick is soft enough that it will easily break away from the stick and fill the crack.
Sand back the repair area with a sanding block to level it down to the wood.
Do this with the lathe OFF.
Proceed to sanding with 280-grit.
Clean and inspect the surface.
Repeat the repair if it isn't level with the wood.
This is the completed repair.
Continue with sanding and finishing the pen barrels.
