Thanks for the kind words, I have never been tempted to export timber to the UK cause whenever I have done swaps etc in the past the inordinate time it takes firstly finding the unusual when I pack I use that ultralight sheeting campers put under their sleeping bags plus tape etc. I once sold in Australia 2000 Brown Mallee Burl blanks minimum packs of 9 blanks all sold in one week sold at my cost 1.50 yrs ago. Besides you and I know for every several blanks you buy at a distance one in several is a sought after one. I regret you do have access to some but not that many of our unusual timbers so I try to show through my pens what they are like.
Jim every pen finish depends on the timber etc however the paper I use is wet and dry starting at 1000 mostly only the one grade cause I use the Skew on the flat and that gives a smooth finish to begin with I often use U Beaut clear sanding sealer then one coat of thickish CA then spray set that then a brown stick polish twice then sometimes a mini buff, lately no overhead light in my pics to reduce the flair on the shine. When I turn plastic I use triple EEE U Beaut first them Mequires X polish so the finishing is simple but so effective for lasting that brown stick is excellent no finger marks etc. Try to keep everything repeatable and simple.
Kind regards Peter.
