Car safe pen

[soligen]

A freind has bought 2 of my charity auction pens. He wanted to keep one in his car, but I warned him not to because it would likely crack. I would like to make him one he can keep in his car.

Question is, what materials & glue will stand up to the heat in a sealed car on a hot sunny day, as well as sub zero temps in the winter.

I'm sure all aluminum would work - especially if all teh parts press fit, but I dont have tools with that kind of tolerance. What else would work?

What glues will hold up in the heat?

Will PR or Alumilite take the heat without cracking or softening? Another plastic?

Any other thoughts?

 

[IPD_Mr]

Well epoxy will work for your glue with no problem. For the blank, wood is obviously out. Acrylester would be out in my book. I would think that Lucite would be ok, but I would want to test it before I gave it to someone. You might take a few different materials and turn them down to barrel size with tubes and put them in a toaster oven at 140 for a couple hours and see if it holds up. Sun light might have an effect as well. I hope people will chime in with their good experiences as well as bed. If might help in making a sound decision.

 

[JimMc7]

I've had an acrylic acetate ballpoint in my truck since May 2010 and, so far, so good. I use 5 min epoxy to glue in tubes. 100* F in August and well below zero in February so pretty extreme temps. I keep it in a felt pouch in the door storage so not exposed to direct sunlight.

 

[bobjackson]

Corian would work.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Alumilite will handle the heat fine. I have a pen in my truck made with Alumilite that has survived the Texas summers without any problems. Now, sub zero...I have absolutely no idea! We have never been below zero around here since they have been keeping records!

 

[Grizz]

I had a Euro pen made with stabilized and dyed box elder that had been in my truck for a few years. Someone saw it and wanted it... to make sure it was not banged around to much... I looked it over and put in a new refill. It looked just fine and gave it to them.

 

[hunter-27]

Alumilite will handle the heat fine. I have a pen in my truck made with Alumilite that has survived the Texas summers without any problems. Now, sub zero...I have absolutely no idea! We have never been below zero around here since they have been keeping records!

You are SPOILED Curtis!!!:wink:

I have a stabilized pear slimline, that was one of the 1st pens I ever made, in my car for about 3 years now. It was glued with flexible ca with only a friction polish finish. The finish is gone but the pen has survived our 100+ summer highs and our -30 winter lows. Not sure if that is the norm, but it is my only tested sample.

 

[GColeman]

Deer antler is out. One in my truck split right down the middle this past August.

 

[soligen]

Deer antler is out. One in my truck split right down the middle this past August.

Thanks for that confirmation. One of the pens he already owns is antler. I warned him off using it as a car pen just becasue I didn't know. Now I do. Thanks!

 

[soligen]

Ok, to summarize, 5 min epoxy will take the heat. That gives me posibilities. Some plastics will work, but not acrylic acetate. I have noticed PR seems to get a little soft when warm, so I think it is not the best choice. Since alumilite stands up to texas heat, It's obviuosly a good choice.

Would trustone be safe do you think? Based on the feedback so far, seems like it would be.

 

[crabcreekind]

Maybe lignum vitae since they use that for bearings and stuff.

 

[broitblat]

Apart from the material itself, I would think cracking might also be a function of how tight the fit is between the material and the tubes. Couldn't there be an issue, for example, if the brass tube expands more/more quickly than the wood or plastic that dresses it?

-Barry