Ca Finish ????

[GN-1]

Al, (and others)

   I tried the method outlined in your tutorial today. It was a simple design with no band, actually I found a crack in it when I roughed it out so I thought it would be a good tester barrel. Not that I did not trust your method, just my abilities. Any way it was a piece of osage and it turned out great!!! I wish now it did not have the crack. The only problem I had were the burn lines I added around the lanyard groove. They filled in with some of the dust in the first few grits and it kinda made them sloppy looking. Do you wait and do the burn lines after you do the grain filling? Or am I better off not doing any at all?
   Other than that I was pleased with the end result. I do not have the Beal buff system so I just hit it with some brasso and buffed like I do acrylic. I know this may be worthless without pictures, but I post some tomorrow after I do the insert. Thanks in advance, Shawn

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

What I do when dealing with burn lines or accent lines is to use Sanding Cord between coats of CA.  It cleans them out.  Then, at the end, I will burn them back in again.   

Instead of useing Brasso, you might want to try some plastic polish either Kit or Meguiars PlastX.  Walmart sells it for less tha 4 bucks for a good sized bottle in the auto section.  It seems to work well on acrylic and the CA glue.  I think brasso might be a bit too harsh but i never rtried it so I don't know for sure.

Glad it worked for you.  It takes a bit of practice but it is worth it,

Here is a link to a similar system to the Beale.  It works just as well, and is what I use now

http://www.finewoodnthings.com/prod01.htm

Al @ THO

[Braz]

I didn't buy the beale system but did buy this knock off from Penn State. It works great. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lbuffsys.html

[GN-1]

Thanks for the tips guys! Shawn

[Hawks Feather]

I had the privledge of meeting Mr. Beall a couple of weeks back.  I went to Columbus early for an afternoon meeting and drove on over to Newark to check things out.  Mr. Beall is an interesting (and very intelligent) gentleman.  He took me back to show me a couple of projects that are "in the works" and it was fascinating.  I was there for about two hours and the time just flew by.  As a sidenote, in his spare time he makes wooden clocks, but usually spends his time working on inventions related to wood working.

Jerry

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

That had to have been an amazing visit!  He has come up with some interesting stuff for wood turners.   I have been using the buffing system or variations of it for about 5 years.  The day I got it, I just could not belive the difference it made in my calls.   I have a lathe dedicated to just the buffing system now.  I leave them on all the time and cover them with a big contractor trash bag that I trimed up so it fits over the buffing pads and entire lathe.

Al @ THO

[GN-1]

Al,
   I roughed out a spalted Tamirid barrel last night and got the band glued on. I plan on turning tonite and doing a ca finish. It has some good sized worm holes, if they show up in my final design I think they would look neat as long as they do not go all the way thru. Could I fill them with ca gel and just let them set up, then proceed as normal with the ca finish? I would like to hear your thoughts. Shawn

[Braz]

Shawn, I have turned a few with worm holes that didn't go all the way through. I think they looked terrific and gave the piece a real unique look. I, for one, would not want to see the holes filled. Unless, of course, it is to stablize the piece as they are almost through. Be sure and post some pictures of the call. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

I fill holes with wood dust and thin CA  The thin soaks in and seals the whole thing.  You will probably end up having to do it several times though.  A better way is to use 2 ton epoxy and mix the dust in it and fill the holes with the mix.  Stuff it down in there really good, useing a tooth pick or brass rod.   Fill it to just over the top of the hole and then use a scraper to take it off.  Then finish with the CA and it shold be fine.  You might always have a small indentation there though unless you get the finish on really thick, which could cause it to crack on you.

But I agree, sometimes the holes look cool -  it just depends on what you want for a look from the call.


Al @ THO

[GN-1]

I have filled voids around knots and other blemishes with ca and wood dust. What I was going for was it to look like a hole but be filled with a clear material that I could finish over. I did not think about epoxy, I think I will try it. Thanks Guys. Shawn