Had a visitor tonight (Murphy)

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Sawdustier

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Well Murphy came to visit me tonight :( It started out fine, Friday evening and 2 days off to play in the shop. I had several pens I needed to do so I decided to drill them all at once. I even marked each one as to what size bit to use so off to the shop I went. First blank I started to drill and noticed a large crack in the blank so I set that one aside to be glued and went on to the next. This one was a Patriot pen so I put in the correct drill bit and went to put the blank in the pen vice and found it wouldn't turn to tighten up. Spend about 1/2 hour messing with it and finally took it off the drill press and took it to the kitchen table to try to work on it. Any one else have problems with these? Seems every so often it just totally messes up. I never get it quite right but it was finally back working good enough so I proceeded to mount it back on the drill press and picked up a blank to drill. Well Murphy was messing with my mind so I looked over the stack of blanks and decided yep, that's the one. Of course I chose the top half of a Perfect Fit and drilled the hole, very pleased how smooth everything was going. Then I picked up the other top half for the matching pencil and drilled it too. It wasn't until I went to change bits to drill the bottom halves that I noticed OH NO ! Wrong bit. Of course this was my best piece of pink ivory that I just messed up. About that time I felt it was best if I just left everything where it was and went back into the house totally disgusted with myself.[xx(]
I've just put a 3/8" hole where I should have 11/32". I tested the tube here and found an awful lot of slack. I'm not sure if I can even get enough thick CA in there to fill the gap and if I do is that going make the wood too thin? or worse yet when I turn down the ends am I going to end up with pink in the centers and just clear CA on the ends? Suggestions or help would be very much appreciated. I'll even tell Murphy to skip your place on his rounds.[}:)]
 
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wayneis

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Shirley if anything I would I would use a poly glue like Gorilla Glue, that may be enough to fill the extra room because it expands. I doubt that CA would work because we're talking about a 16th of an inch.

Wayne
 

DCBluesman

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I'm with Wayne on trying to fill the gap with poly glue. If that works, your next potential problem is turning the wood down to size. The margin for error will start closing in on none. It might be more efficient to swap the barrels now, add a glue up to replace the lost barrel length and move forward.
 

woodscavenger

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Murphy didn't leave North Carolina, he just migrated north to Winston-Salem![:(!] I just got an order today for 12 pens. Great you say? I am leaving Tuesday for some jobs interviews in Idaho and the guy says he wants them for his sons graduation which is July 3....the day I get back. So I rushed out to my shop and took stock of what I had. I started cutting, drilling, and tubing. I had two ironwood barons to do. I decided to step down one bit size on the top tube because I normally have to use Gorilla glue which I despise. A test fit in a peice of wood went well so away I went. I did a third one in walnut and the tube went in with CA as slick as a whistle. The DI was another story!![:(!] I started to slip it in and it froze! I grabbed my mallet and tapped....TApped.....TAPPed.....TAPPPED! Crack. The tube went in but the blank cracked.[B)][:(] I slathered in some thin CA and set it aside.

The second DI blank I was ready. This one froze even quicker and harder! I tapped away and got more frustrated at my situation and finally pounded harder. The tube went in about 3/4 of the way and then the remainder collapsed and looked like the front end of a Geo Metro in a head on collision. ARGH![:0] I fumed for a bit then went to work on three cross cut walnut pens (which I finished) I went back to the DI and cut off the crumpled section and used a disc sander to sand down. I grabbed an extra tube and glued it in the other end. Wish me luck being able to salvage that one! It is really a pretty blank and I don't want to lose it.

Now Mr Murphy, please go away!!!
 

ctEaglesc

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Sorry about the uninvited guests guys.
Woodscavnger-
Instead of proceeding with the 2 tube method(have done it with mixed results) when that happens I soak the blank in acetone for a couple of days.Try to push the tube out.Start with a new tub after the blank dries.I have successfully done this a couple of times.tubes are cheap some blanks are not.
Whatever you decide good luck.
 

Sawdustier

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Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Awww Woodscavenger, I'm really sorry to hear Murphy went you way and hope it all works out for you. But to be perfectly honest, I'm sure glad he's left my area so now I can go back to the shop. After reading everyone's replies I've decided to put the mis-drilled blanks aside and hope they can be used for something else and start over. Thanks guys for your help as I'm sure I would have tried to salvage my mess and ended up with an even bigger one[V]
 

GregD

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Jan 15, 2005
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Marion, OHIO, USA.
Well, his brother must have visited here then. I was working on a project other than pens, using a forstner bit in my drill press. The bit caught and stalled the motor. Before I could get it shut off the motor burnt up. That wasn't so bad because I just happened to have a spare motor sitting around. After replacing the motor and making sure it worked, I chucked up my forstner bit and turned the drill press on. The bit was wobbling something fierce. As it turned out, the spindle shaft was bent.
So I'm off here after while to get a new drill press.
 
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