Brass slid out during disassembly - how to fix?

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Sprung

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I needed to disassemble the cap portion of one of my favorite pens I've made. For some reason the trim ring on the pen ended up with something black on it. My best guess is that even though I waited a couple days after it was finished to put it in a pen pouch, the CA wasn't fully cured and it transferred some of the dye to the trim ring. Tried a variety of solvents, including CA debonder, to remove it with no success.

So I figured I'd disassemble the cap and make a new trim ring from wood - I still have the cut-offs from the exact blank used to make this pen back in November.

The kit is a Triton in Chrome w/ TiGold accents. Wood is stabilized Flamed Boxelder Burl.

When knocking out the threaded insert/bottom portion of the cap, the brass tube ended up sliding part way out - separating from the glue I used to glue in the tube. I do not remember which glue I used - back in November I used CA, Gorilla Glue, and Epoxy on a variety of pens to see which worked better for me.

How would you go about trying to slide the tube back in? It's going to need some sort of force to get it back in, I know that for certain.

I could disassemble the kit and use it to make another pen, but I would really like to salvage this one as it is - this is one of my favorite pens I've made and this quality of FBE Burl is extremely hard to come by, so I don't want to end up losing this blank as I've only got 3 more left of this quality.

I've attached an image of the problem, as well as the pen from when it was first finished.
 

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gbpens

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If the material cannot be completely removed from the tube sand the exposed portion of the tube and slowly press the material back over the tube using a pen press or screw clamp with wood pads. Seal the ends with thin CA. You should them be able to reassemble the pen.
 
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eliasbboy

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If you cannot get the tube completely back, use the same size tube and glue in from the opposite side. You will then have sections on both ends to cut off and trim, but your entire blank will be supported by brass.

Make sure if you do this you sand/clean the inside of the tube afterward. Where the two sections meet you'll have glue run-out that could interfere with assembly.
 

jttheclockman

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You now realize you have a glue issue that you need to address and correct. Either not enough, did not dry and cure, hole too big and glue did not fill void. I bet it was not epoxy. I am betting CA.

Cut the end off and reinsert it on other end and glue it in. Do not try to push it in. What good is that going to do.???? It will loosen whatever bond is left on the remaining portion of the tube.

Probably the best solution would be to see if you could knock the tube completely out and start over. That would be what I would try . Now you run the risk of cracks in the blank. Not a pretty scenario. Need to learn from it though or these problems will occur again. Good luck.
 

glenspens

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put thin ca on the part of the tube that is out and push back in on something flat ,stand on end let the ca run indide down to the part that was not out got to work fast . i have done this a time or 2 ...worked for me
 

Sprung

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Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions! I will note that it did have glue coverage - where I can see inside the blank where the tube is no longer, there is full glue there. I do scuff up my tubes with sandpaper, plug the ends, then clean with lacquer thinner before gluing in.

If you cannot get the tube completely back, use the same size tube and glue in from the opposite side. You will then have sections on both ends to cut off and trim, but your entire blank will be supported by brass.

Make sure if you do this you sand/clean the inside of the tube afterward. Where the two sections meet you'll have glue run-out that could interfere with assembly.

I do think that this is the method I will use to try to repair this pen. It seems least likely to result in a loss of the blank and I do have extra tubes on hand. Thank you!

I'm not worried about passing this pen on to someone else as a pen with a potential problem as this is one of my personal pens, and will remain as such. So, if the repair ever fails, I'm just going to have to lodge a complaint with myself!
 

magpens

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I think you are doing the right thing by following the suggestion of Michael (eliasboy). I have been in a very similar situation several times, but perhaps for different reasons.

The trick will then be to trim the protruding tubes right back to the wood without taking off any (or much) of the wood.

What I did was carefully tape up the wood (lengthwise strips of tape, not overlapping) and then carefully center it in the 3-jaw headstock chuck of a metal-working lathe. Sawed or parted off most of the brass tube and then used a metal cutting tool to trim back the remaining brass *just* up to the wood. The accurate adjustment and control possible with the carriage of the metal-turning lathe is extremely important here.

However you go about it, let us know how you make out, please.
 
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1080Wayne

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The barrel will not be fully supported at the junction between the two pieces of brass , and could fail at that point should you ever drop it onto a hard surface , which I know you will never do . I can certainly see why you want to save that piece of wood .

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions! I will note that it did have glue coverage - where I can see inside the blank where the tube is no longer, there is full glue there. I do scuff up my tubes with sandpaper, plug the ends, then clean with lacquer thinner before gluing in.

If you cannot get the tube completely back, use the same size tube and glue in from the opposite side. You will then have sections on both ends to cut off and trim, but your entire blank will be supported by brass.

Make sure if you do this you sand/clean the inside of the tube afterward. Where the two sections meet you'll have glue run-out that could interfere with assembly.

I do think that this is the method I will use to try to repair this pen. It seems least likely to result in a loss of the blank and I do have extra tubes on hand. Thank you!

I'm not worried about passing this pen on to someone else as a pen with a potential problem as this is one of my personal pens, and will remain as such. So, if the repair ever fails, I'm just going to have to lodge a complaint with myself!
 

KenV

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The good news about CA is that it is fast.

The bad news about CA is that it is weak in shear and impact. Over years, it gets weaker.

Choice now is to patch it back together -- or restore it.

The vendor you got the components from can probably fix you up with a new trim ring for a nominal cost --
 

Sprung

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Thank you, everyone, for the continued replies.

I had a few minutes during lunch to sneak into the shop. I tried to move the tube that was stuck in there - it really is stuck. It would not budge one way or another. Glued in a tube from the other direction. If I have time to tonight, I plan to cut the excess off the brass tubes, then trim the brass flush with the wood. I also plan to turn the new trim ring for it tonight. Why I saved the cut-offs from the blank, I don't know - but now they'll get put to good use! (And if that fails, off to ask the vendor I purchased the kit from if they have a spare trim ring they'll sell me, but making a custom trim ring has been on my want to try list for a while now.)
 
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Sprung

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Success!!!! :biggrin:

As noted above, I tried to remove the tube the rest of the way so I could reglue it, but the tube would not budge any further. I glued in an extra tube from the other end.

Wrapping the finished portion to protect it, I mounted it in the chuck of my lathe, used a very light cut with a hacksaw to trim down the tubing, then used one of my carbide tools to trim the brass down flush.

This morning I turned a new trim ring from a cut-off from the blank that, for some reason, I had saved since making the pen in November. Needing to replace a damaged trim ring was the reason for needing to disassemble the pen in the first place. This is the first custom trim ring I've made - though I've been wanting to do a ring & finial replacement on a pen for a while, but haven't had a chance yet.

And, having been careful with the glue and everything else in the process, I didn't even have to refinish the upper portion which had the tube slide out! (Sorry for the horrible quality follow-up picture.)

Thanks for the suggestions and help! Don't know if I would've pulled it off so gracefully if I hadn't been able to get some help from y'all!
 

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magpens

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:) Congratulations on your success !! Good work !! I would love to have been watching you turn that new ring :)
 

Sprung

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:) Congratulations on your success !! Good work !! I would love to have been watching you turn that new ring :)

Thank you, Mal! Your post about chucking it up in the metal lathe really helped with the last thing I needed to figure out - how to trim the brass flush easiest with the least risk of damage/failure.
 

dartman

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If you cannot get the tube completely back, use the same size tube and glue in from the opposite side. You will then have sections on both ends to cut off and trim, but your entire blank will be supported by brass.

Make sure if you do this you sand/clean the inside of the tube afterward. Where the two sections meet you'll have glue run-out that could interfere with assembly.


I just got done doing this to a nice of Black wood I wanted to salvage.Worked great.
 
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