fshenkin94
Member
I have been making european pens lately. I drill out the blank and glue in the brass sleeve. In many cases, the sleeve is coming loose when I square off the ends of the blanks. Any idea what would be causing this?
7mm pen problem
- Thread starter fshenkin94
- Start date
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GoodTurns
Member
are you roughing the tubes before glueing them in?
Russianwolf
Member
what kind of glue? what bit are you using?
fshenkin94
Member
Yes I am rough up the tubes and I am using a medium ca glue.
jkeithrussell
Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,277
Some possibilities: you are not using enough glue or you are using too large of a drill bit. If you have calipers, measure the hole that is being left by your drill bit and also measure the diameter of the tubes. If those measurements are out of whack, you may just need to pick up a new drill bit.
Another possibility is that you are squaring it up before the glue is dry.
Another possibility is that you are squaring it up before the glue is dry.
its_virgil
Member
The problem is most likely poor glue coverage. You may be cutting into the brass tube too much. Penmills are for milling the ends of the blank to square them to the tubes. You should not be removing but the slightest amount of brass. The penmill can catch on the tube and cause the tube to spin inside the blank. My opinion is that CA is not the best choice for gluing in the tubes. While it is very strong when forces are exerted on it, CA is not the strongest when the forces are sudden as would happen when the penmill catches on the tube. The sudden force can break the CA bond. I use the penmill in a handle as a hand tool and not in a drill, drill press, or lathe chuck. Aa disk sander is my tool of choice for squaring the ends of the blanks and use a penmill infrequently...mostly when I'm not at my own shop.
I think a better choice for gluing in brass tubes is two part epoxy. I use 5-minute and turn in 10 minutes after gluing. Plug one end of the tube to help evenly disperse the glue inside the blank. Rotating the tube helps as well as inserting and removing it several times. I do not scuff or sand the brass and I've not had any failures due to glue problems...since switching to two part epoxy. Failures due to operator error yes, but not due to glue problems.
Others swear by CA for gluing tubes and also for sanding or scuffing the tubes. I suppose it is a personal choice.
Do a good turn daily!]
Don
I think a better choice for gluing in brass tubes is two part epoxy. I use 5-minute and turn in 10 minutes after gluing. Plug one end of the tube to help evenly disperse the glue inside the blank. Rotating the tube helps as well as inserting and removing it several times. I do not scuff or sand the brass and I've not had any failures due to glue problems...since switching to two part epoxy. Failures due to operator error yes, but not due to glue problems.
Others swear by CA for gluing tubes and also for sanding or scuffing the tubes. I suppose it is a personal choice.
Do a good turn daily!]
Don
Joe G
Member
Try using gorilla glue it expands and you can work with the blank after abou 1-2hourd... I don't like ca for tubes.
Russianwolf
Member
I only use CA for plastics. GG for woods or anything else.
If the hole is too sloppy, you obviously need something that has gap fill ability like GG. But the hole can also be too tight and literally scrape the glue off the tube as you insert it, starving the "joint".
So, as others mentioned. Make sure you are drilling a hole that's in the right size range and that you are using the right glue for the task.
If the hole is too sloppy, you obviously need something that has gap fill ability like GG. But the hole can also be too tight and literally scrape the glue off the tube as you insert it, starving the "joint".
So, as others mentioned. Make sure you are drilling a hole that's in the right size range and that you are using the right glue for the task.
JimB
Member
Also try thick CA instead of medium. It's better at gap filling. Also make sure the tube is well coated. I squeeze a line of thick ca on one of the bags the kits come in. Then I place the tube on a pencil and roll it in the ca covering the whole tube and insert it into the blank. I've never had one come loose but I have had the opposite problem of the CA start to cure before I have the tube set in the blank correctly. That's annoying to have the tube sticking out the blank.
mick
Member
Another trick I use to get even and complete coverage with CA is to squeeze an amount of thick CA into one end od the blank and while holding it at an angle rotate the blank slowly until the CA reachs the other end. Insert the plugged tube twisting it as you do. If you do this at the right speed the glue will actually squeeze out of end your inserting the tube in and coat the tube as it slides in. sounds complicated but after a couple thousand done this way it's almost a ritual...lol and I get great even glue coverage!