Longevity of Super Glue to hold pen together?

[MattTheHat]

I just finished my first Lazerlinez two-piece pen, the Eagle. Everything was great until I went to press the barrel assembly together. No press fit. As in zero. As in about .001" of slop. The cap pressed together with a bit less pressure than I would have hoped, but I think it will be fine.

Not having any epoxy here at the office I used some medium Stick Fast CA glue. I've used a drop or two of CA in the past to help a loose press fit that I thought might otherwise work apart, but nothing this loose before.

My question is, is this likely to be a workable solution, or is it just a matter of time before it will fail? I'm guessing it will fail, but I have no idea, really. Is epoxy even a permanent solution?

Any ideas?


-Matt

 

[magpens]

IMHO, if there is any stress on the joint at all, then CA will fail eventually, given that the joint was a little sloppy to begin with.

In my experience epoxy has a much better prognosis of being permanent but that depends on the particular epoxy used and on the mix of epoxy and hardener.

 

[thewishman]

I have used epoxy, I hate using any CA with a finished pen - the chance of getting it on the outside of the pen is just too high. Dropping the pen would probably damage the bond with CA.

 

[MattTheHat]

I have used epoxy, I hate using any CA with a finished pen - the chance of getting it on the outside of the pen is just too high. Dropping the pen would probably damage the bond with CA.

I worried about that too. On the few occasions I've done this, I carefully use the glue tip to spread about a half drop of CA glue around the inside of the tube. Pressing the part into the hole *should* spread the glue away from the joint. This only works if there is very little glue. Too much glue and it squeezes back out.


-Matt

 

[MattTheHat]

IMHO, if there is any stress on the joint at all, then CA will fail eventually, given that the joint was a little sloppy to begin with.

In my experience epoxy has a much better prognosis of being permanent but that depends on the particular epoxy used and on the mix of epoxy and hardener.

That's what I was afraid of. With any luck a heat gun will produce enough heat to make the CA glue let go. Then I can clean up and use some epoxy.

Not real impressed with a pen kit that doesn't fit any better than this.


-Matt