Cracked Tulipwood pen after finished

[ColoradoHermit]

Hi y'all. I have a little problem with a ClickPen Gel writer that I made for my sister using a piece of Brazilian Tulipwood. She has carried and used it for a couple of months and has made sure Not to leave it in the hot sun in the car or anywhere else. It has now developed a few cracks at the center band. It doen't have any cracks at the ends, just at the center band.
The finish that I put on it I first used BLO and rubbed it in at a high RPM. Then I put a couple coats of CA & BLO finish on it. Then topped that with at least 3 or 4 coats of the Hut Crystal Coat and Mylands Friction Polish.
The wood should have been well sealed so does anybody out there have any idea why it has started to crack? I had made two of them the same way and sold the other one a couple of weeks ago at a Christmas sale. Do you think the other one will crack also?
Also, I have other turnings from the same Tulip wood so does any one know how to stop them from cracking and how do I fix it if they do? Is there any way to salvage the pen that has cracked?
Here's a couple of closeups of the cracks and one shot of the pen.
Thanks Y'all

 

[GouletPens]

My experience is that certain woods tend to crack more than others, tulipwood being one of the ones that likes to crack. The wood might not have been completely dry when you got it, and the changes in the seasons and relative humidity could have caused the wood to gradually shrink enough to crack. The best way to prevent it is to use stabilized wood. I've had similar problems myself with tulipwood, bloodwood, olivewood, and red palm. You seem to be using a good finish on it, but the wood might not be dry enough. There are different techniques like microwaving you can use to dry the wood quickly if you need to.

 

[Skye]

.
The finish that I put on it I first used BLO and rubbed it in at a high RPM. ......Then topped that with at least 3 or 4 coats of the Hut Crystal Coat and Mylands Friction Polish..

My guess would be it went through too many processes that required a lot of heat.

Friction polishes work because of the heat of the friction. Any time you introduce a lot of heat to a blank you run the chance of cracking it. I'd suggest sealing with thin CA, then running your CA/BLO finish. After that, maybe something like Renaissance wax. If you want more of a shine, then just stick with CA alone, followed by the wax.

 

[monkeynutz]

It definitely looks like you have experienced some shrinkage. The cracks are where the wood is thinnest (at the CB). Plus 1 on the drying tips, and making a few passes with CA will help also.

 

[ldb2000]

I agree with everyone about the wood shrinking but it should have also cracked at the ends too . I'm thinking she may have kept the pen in her purse and if hers is anything like the LOML's purse there is most likely 10 pounds of crap laying on top of it causing it to flex in the middle which would eventually cause it to crack in the middle but not the ends .

 

[wdcav1952]

My guess would be it went through too many processes that required a lot of heat.

Friction polishes work because of the heat of the friction. Any time you introduce a lot of heat to a blank you run the chance of cracking it. I'd suggest sealing with thin CA, then running your CA/BLO finish. After that, maybe something like Renaissance wax. If you want more of a shine, then just stick with CA alone, followed by the wax.

Damn, I never thought I would say this: I agree with Skye. :befuddled:

 

[bitshird]

Damn, I never thought I would say this: I agree with Skye. :befuddled:

It's all right Cav, We can set up an intervention, (poor guy) :beer::beer::beer:

 

[GouletPens]

Hi y'all. I have a little problem with a ClickPen Gel writer that I made for my sister using a piece of Brazilian Tulipwood. She has carried and used it for a couple of months and has made sure Not to leave it in the hot sun in the car or anywhere else. It has now developed a few cracks at the center band. It doen't have any cracks at the ends, just at the center band.

Would heat during turning or finishing really cause a pen to crack months later? I would think that if it would crack it would be fairly soon after the pen is made, not months down the road.

 

[GouletPens]

COHermit,

If a pen is going to crack because of moisture, it's going to do it wherever it wants on the pen, it has nothing to do with being at the center band. I just had a red palm cigar crack last week on the fattest part of the pen. 'Splain me that!?

 

[Skye]

OUCH! Dude, that fit at the centerband is gnarly! I'm assuming the blank was still too green and both the split and the bad fit are from the wood shrinking as it finished drying.

 

[Tuba707]

Do you chamfer your tubes before assembly?

 

[sailing_away]

I had a similar issue occur due to the force / bending on the center of the pen. The pen was usually put in a large purse with lots of other junk which resulted in the pen bending slightly. The bending forced the brass tube to expand / warp near the edge and crack the wood. That style of click pen is very weak in the middle. I'm not making any more due to the issues weakness.

 

[ColoradoHermit]

Chamfering tubes

Do you chamfer your tubes before assembly?

Being an old machinist I always put a small chamfer on the ends of the tubes. Just an old habit to clean them up a little and to make it easier for pressing them together in assembly.
And thanks to every one else for the feedback. On the purse issue my sis is maybe an oddball cuz she just caries a small one so its not very likely that it has had a lot of weight on it. Also I gave her one of those felt like sleeve things to keep it in to help protect it.
I guess the wood wasn't dry enough before I turned it. I've turned several pens of other styles from the same batch or order of the tulip wood and I haven't had any problem with them, yet any who.
Thanks Y'all

 

[GouletPens]

Skye, yeah that fit is not too hot huh? It was great before it cracked. Haha, the fit of the centerband was not really what caught my attention when I pulled it out like that! I'm thinking the wood was too green. I should have nuked it a couple times before I turned it. Oh well, you learn something every day.

 

[Skye]

Yeah man, I'd say with that crack and the pulling away from the band that's defiantly the problemo. Hey, at least you figured it out...

Now, to scrub my eyes with bleach. HEHEHEHAA!