Help me save this one...

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So I recently grabbed this Jr. Palace vines kit and the beautiful trustone blank from members here. They looked like they belonged together so yesterday I set to making it happen. Drilled perfectly, turned decently, and mostly assembled ok. Pressed the clip on the cap last and that huge clip did not want to allow for good alignment... Got it where I thought it was ok and then *crack*. Four letter words were used, copiously.

So now I've got a crack running vertically next to the clip that cuts sideways after a bit. My thinking is I try to get the clip piece off, then attempt to break the piece off clean and glue it back. I suppose I could try to get some CA glue into the crack but this may be cleaner. Ugh
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its_virgil

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Is it really worth saving? The blank can be replaced. Disassemble and start over. This is not what you wanted to hear so you can move on to the next suggestion. Its all good. The crack will always be there. Pen barrels that break into pieces while on the lathe or during assembly are not jigsaw puzzles but trash. Good luck. This has happened to most all of us.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

Jim Smith

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Bummer! Without disassembling the pen, the only thing I can think of is medium or thick CA. If you have any scraps of the blank left, you could make some "sawdust" from them and add that to the CA to make sure that the brass tube does not show through. It looks like there may have been a bit of glue inside the tube or perhaps the tube had been bent oval just a bit prior to gluing it into the blank. Good luck.

Jim Smith
 
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Tube was fine... But I think it went a little sideways with that huge clip. Note to self, turn these more straight when using this kit.

I dunno about trash... It's not ideal but I think I've salvaged worse. It's really the disassembly that scares me since the plastic pieces won't really do well in the effort. The clip piece I should be able to get out safely... In theory.
 

its_virgil

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For a proper repair the cap has to be taken apart and repaired on the lathe. CA will get on the surface of the cap and will need to be sanded and refinished. It is almost impossible to fill the crack with CA (with or without some type of filler) and not get CA where you do not want it. Just saying. There are just no shortcuts. Again, not what you want to hear.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

KenV

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If you are going to keep it, do what you wish.

If you are going to sell it, follow Don's advise (as painful to the ego and pocket book as it may be)

If you are going to gift it -- think about it some more (I would follow Don's recommendation).
 

Terredax

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If you plan to disassemble, you could add contrast bands. It could either be a solid band or a thin piece of aluminum and another piece of the blank to give it a silver colored ring.

After pressing many fittings together in my years (not only pens), this is what I do to prevent the cracks in pens.
I make a dowel and wrap with sandpaper. Put it on the lathe and sand the interior of the drilled hole. This slightly enlarges the whole to give room for expansion of the tube when the parts are pressed in.

I use epoxy to adhere the tube. It has some flexibility as compared to CA and will allow some give when the parts are pressed in.

I also use a round file to clean the interior of the tube and give it a slight taper at the opening. The file will remove any epoxy that might have gotten inside the tube. Even a very thin film will cause resistance. It also removes the high spots and makes a more uniform surface. The taper helps with alignment and removes the hard edge that can catch the part being inserted.

Lastly, I spray a little silicone on a towel and wipe the interior of the tube for some lubrication.

This is what I've used and it's worked well for myself. It might seem like a lot of extra work, but when compared to the time it takes to turn and finish the barrels, it was worth it to me to reduce the possibility of loosing a blank. Especially an expensive or special blank that is irreplaceable.
 
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I've actually enjoyed the various responses. The tube was properly cleaned on the inside, though I didn't chamfer it. It was the clip that kept it from going on straight really. Definitely will chamfer for these bigger clips going forward. I've not cracked a pen tube in quite some time because I am pretty meticulous usually. Last pen of the night and I was tired... Should have walked away.
 

magpens

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On reassembly after repair, can the clip be positioned so as to cover and hide the majority of the repaired crack ? . Just a thought, because with your blank on that ornate pen kit, I would think that an oops band would really look out of place and appear to be an obvious "kludge". . Just my thoughts.
 

More4dan

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I use this on all tubes before assembly. Great at removing glue and adding a slight bevel for assembly.
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best $3 spent in this addition. A couple passes with my diamond cards made a big difference in how easy it works. Deburrs, chamfers, and cleans out glue with a couple twist.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app
 
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Whew, you guys are busting my chops on the tube. I assure you, the brass was clean! I'm just a bone head and rather than back off and re-align I forced the issue when the gigantic clip was being difficult.

Mal, you might have a point... I was actually going to look at segmenting the top and bottom of the cap though so it wasn't just a random oops band. Even have some left over trustone that could work if I was strategic about how I did it.

What'll likely happen is I'll buy a new blank, some new tubes, and give it another go. First time using this particular kit and wasn't quite in the right frame of mind to be patient with the flip trying to force the whole thing sideways.
 

KenV

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We are not busting your chops!!!!

We are sharing where we have been at some point in the past, and welcoming you to the elite group who have had a failure on a higher end pen.

Fixes for a craft fair cigar just do not work when you up scale your target market.

Welcome aboard. You will not forget this pen!!!
 
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I was smiling when I said (typed) it, no worries. :tongue: And yes, it is VERY good advice for anyone that didn't know.

Definitely not my first high end screw up, but I haven't cracked a tube in a while. After learning the lesson the hard way I had managed to avoid disaster for quite some time now.

Biggest take away, which is one I should know by now... When you're tired, step away and don't rush. :at-wits-end:

Plus I was hoping someone would come up with some kind of magic where I could wave a skew chisel at it and the crack would disappear. :hammer:
 

magpens

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We would all like to have fairies with magic wands just dancing on our tailstocks all the time !
 

Beautys_Beast

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I usually make my pens in steps. I will pick all the kits I want to make. I will assign the blank to the kit. I will measure all the blanks, Cut all the blanks... You get the idea. When a pen breaks, blows up, cracks, etc. It goes into the baggie I have put the pen kit, and blank in, and I set it aside and move on to the next one. Why? Because this prevents me from trying to "Salvage" a pen. Which usually takes 10 times as long, and never turns out right. Buy a new blank, or message me your address, and I will send you one that will look awesome with that pen, at no charge. Why would I send a stranger a blank? Because I am that kind of person. Anyway, instead of always knowing it is wrong, take it apart, and make it right. You will be much prouder of it, when it's perfect.

Just my two cents.

A wise man recently told me, when your turning, and all your attention is on the lathe, things usually turn out great, BUT, the second your distracted by something else, **** starts exploding. This was wise advise.
 
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I usually make my pens in steps.

Oh yea, that's the best way to be productive for sure. USUALLY I've got about 7-10 pens in the works but after being in production mode for so long for a few shows I did, I was just turning one for my own sake. Nice to just do one for the sake of doing one rather than having the need to crank out 20, 30 or 100.

Appreciate the offer, but I've got more than enough blank material here to find one for this guy. After digging through a few kits I think I'm going to repair these blanks, put them on a Majestic Jr kit that will be sold as a "2nd" and then get another trustone blank to finish up the GPV Jr kit properly. Nice to have a budget friendly fancy pen in the inventory to get attention and I have good luck selling pens that are marketed as "not quite perfect."
 

Tim'sTurnings

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Of course it is entirely up to you about selling your pen as "seconds" but I would never do that. No matter what my cost and/or time I have always made sure every pen, seam ripper, etc. is perfect and up to MY standards before I let anyone see it. I triple-check everything before I put it up for sale or as gifts. I don't want someone to show off my "less than perfect" pen and let potential customers or friends see mistakes I have made. That's just me but that is what I do because of course, I have made more than a few mistakes myself.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
Tim.
 
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I understand the sentiment... I've got friends in the drum building world that think the same way. I call them artists. :) I'm no artist, I'm just a guy that enjoys turning pens and if I'm not worried about a pen having any issues, I have no problem selling it to someone with full disclosure and offering them a beautiful pen at a great discount. This was my first year doing craft shows and my "Not Quite Perfect" area nearly sold out. Those are sales that could lead to other sales. They're no more likely to have issues than any other mass market kit out there or I wouldn't have sold them.
 
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