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Maintenance tips

Renewing a finish on a bowl or cutting board

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If you want to renew a finish on a bowl or cutting board, I suggest the following:

 

Wash your item with water and let it dry for at least a few hours.

Light sand any fuzzy wood fibers with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper.

Generously apply a foodsafe oil such as walnut, tung or pure linseed oil for a few minutes with a piece of cloth, until the wood doesn't want to absorb any more oil.

(note that other vegetable oils won't cure and I don't recommend them. A good supplier for finishing oils is Lee Valley Tools)

Wait 5-10 minutes, then wipe off any excess with a fresh cloth.

(IMPORTANT: Don't bunch and throw oily rag away as it can catch fire spontaneously. Open it and let it dry before throwing it out.)

Extra tip: You can melt about 10% beeswax with your oil in a double-boiler to give it an extra sheen. In that case, buff hard with a cotton cloth after 24 hours to remove any excess wax on the wood surface.

Hope you are enjoying your pen!

Here is how to Change a refill.

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For most pens, including cigar style, gun and other specialty theme pens, simply unscrew the tip.

Most have Parker style refills.

Make sure you keep the spring to put back on the tip of your new refill.

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For the Vista pens, pull apart by pulling by both ends, then unscrew the middle body to change the Parker refill. Keep the spring!

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For the slim-style pens, pull hard by both ends to take apart. Then unscrew the plastic tip (usually black or blue). The refills are

Cross-style. No springs on those.

For the fountain pens, you can unscrew the tip. You have the choice of using the longer vaccum refillable cartridge or snap on prefilled smaller cartridges.

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Some pens have Schmidt refills. These pens usually unscrew at the tip.

Where do I get some of my supplies?

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When I'm not harvesting the lumber myself, I get most of my lumber from my good friends at DJ Smearer Inc in Jaquet River or ThermalWood Canada in Bathurst. 

If you love wood, you are in for a treat. it's a must visit! 

Using resins was a frustrating experience until I got the good product. Toni from Buckson Woodwork in Edmundston sells the Ecopoxy brand which is user friendly and odourless.

It has opened up many possibilities for me.

From tools to pen hardware to sanding and finishing supplies, Lee Valley Tools is still my favorite supply store. Service is top notch and you get what you pay for.

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