Painting Tubes

[wfsteadman]

OK folks I hope you are all having a GREAT SATURDAY!!!!!

I am about to turn a translucent acrylic 7mm Faith Hope and Love pen and it has a 7mm tube. If I use a 7mm drill then paint the inside of the blank I assume it will be a tight fit, if it fits at all. What is the general rule of thumb for drill bit size when painting the inside of the blanks? Needing guidance on this one please.

Would I use maybe a 9/32 drill bit, as that would make it 7.1438 mm?

 

[More4dan]

I just did the same kit this morning. I believe it to be an 8mm tube. Check. I painted the hole and the tube with spray paint. I used an 8mm bit and had no problem fitting the tubes after they dried. You should let the paint dry overnight before gluing the tubes into your blank.

Danny

 

[jsolie]

I've used white spray paint on both the tubes and the drilled hole on an 8mm pen and the fit was fine. I was careful to not overdo with the paint.

Side note: My son was making an 8mm pen and he managed to use such an excessive amount of spray paint that he had a difficult time getting the tube into the blank. I hope he learned his lesson.

 

[Sappheiros]

If I think a smaller bit will do the job, I always start with that. The paint layer is almost negligible. It depends how the tubing fits after you drill. Go with your turner's intuition. If it's pretty tight, some paint and CA might not want to go in.