If anyone wants a link where you can buy good quantities of CA glue in thin, medium, or thick viscosity, email me and I'll send it to you. The prices are very good - I think a 2oz bottle is like 4-5 bucks with shipping included. If you buy the little bitty tubes at the store, they are about .1-.2 oz apiece only! I bought some to use for pen finishes - there is a slight learning curve, but it's TOUGH stuff. I've used it on one reelseat so far and it shines like glass. I've also used it on several pens, and I really like the finish it gives. Other than that, I would go with spar varnish if you are looking for a maintenance free wood finish. What most penturners do is to use a coat of thin as a sanding sealer, then follow with 2-4 coats of medium or thick CA. Apply with a folded paper towel and don't glue yourself to your lathe, handle, etc.... :-) Use of BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) is optional - some pen guys like it for a mild CA accelerant, others don't use it. Doesn't seem to matter in the final product, just personal preference. Bear in mind I'm speaking from pretty limited experience, but what I've seen of CA so far and what I've learned on a couple penturning sites, it is great stuff.

CA Video Tutorials [www.penturners.org]

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I buy my CA in pellet form and disolve it in Acetone. You can buy it this way from companies that supply museums, they use it for preserving old bones and bits of significant pieces of wood. I put my wooden reel seats in a vat and vacuum them down to 29"s for two or three days. The negative pressure pulls all the air and oils from the wood and infuses it with CA. You can get simiular results by placing your wooden piece in a Vac jar with the CA and slowly heating the solution in boiling water, as the CA cools it creates a vacumm, I know many people do this with knife scales but the thought of heating Acetone is a little on the scary side. I have cut one my reels seats in half and sanded and polished the center to a sheen, the CA goes all the way through. I have posted a pic of one my reels seats in the photo section. Cheers Paul.

Thank you all for some great info. An other question how would CA hold up if I put it on a wooden walking stick or wooden cane.
Good Wraps Bob

Well I'll be super glue.
I've used it on my wooden model ships to fill voids and gluing together before finishing but I would never had thought as a finish.
The things I learn.
Has anybody got any links to buying the pelletised form of CA??
Thanks fellas :)
Scott



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2007 05:23PM by Scott Fisher.

CA ...stands for cyannoacrylate..not sure if that is the exact spelling.

Finishes well on pens pool cues,reelseats etc..

But beware...the fumes have really bad side effects....wear a mask...or in the very least be very well ventilated!