Pen Reassembly

[pipemaker]

I disassembled several pens and noticed that when reassembling them, that the fit of the nib and cap trim (both press fits) had loosened.

Is epoxy or CA a suitable adhesive to secure these parts back into the brass tubes, or is something like Loctite a better choice.

Thanks

 

[KKingery]

I would use CA for that, just being careful no to get any on the finish. I've had the same problem a few times.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Put the CA in the tube,you'll have less chance of squeeze out.
Make sure you give the CA PLENTYOF TIME to cure!
Not just set.
I CA'd a threaded fitting on roller ball,waited 15 minutes.
Put the cap on.
A few hours later at a show I unscrewed the cap and the plastic parts had turned white.
I had a replacement part but it was a lesson learned.
I am guessing it was the fumes inside the cap.

 

[adirondyke]

I've always had good luck using CA for this - but as mentioned earlier, be careful not to get it where you don't want it! (I always keep a rag very handy in case I need to get some oozes off before it has a chance to set)

Marilyn
Ocean Park, WA[]

 

[WoodChucker]

I've never tried it, but I wonder how caulk would work for this? It cleans up easy and it's not so permanent that you couldn't ever take it apart. Anyone tried that?

 

[KKingery]

I've not tried caulk - is'nt most caulk a bit too flexible? and not too sure about the holding power.

 

[WoodChucker]

Ken, I'm not sure either, but you wouldn't really be using it as a glue. You just need to tighten up the friction fit a little, no? Also, I don't think all caulks stay flexible, some of them harden pretty good. OK, I don't know what the heck I'm talking about and it was a silly idea. But I was board and just felt like talking. []

 

[bobaltig]

Originally posted by KKingery
<br />I've not tried caulk - is'nt most caulk a bit too flexible? and not too sure about the holding power.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've done this successfully and not so succesfully. Two things I learned are:

1. As mentioned previously, let the CA dry thoroughly on just the location of the end you are repairing before trying to complete the assembly process. I didn't once, and the top of the refill was glued to the interior surface of the tube and couldn't be removed. I pulled the twist assembly apart and cracked the wood trying to get the refill out.

2. Don't overdo it with the CA. Just a couple of drops inside the tube works best for me. Put it as near to the end of the tube as you can and let the part distribute the CA as you press it into the tube. Remember, once you've got the part pressed and glued in, you have a major job trying to disassemble the pen again, so get it right the first time.

Bob A

 

[KKingery]

LOL...hey - nothin wrong with a little talk.

 

[ctEaglesc]

It occured tp me that this was brought up over this past summer an someone used a drop of solder to increase the diameter of the press fit piece.

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />It occured tp me that this was brought up over this past summer an someone used a drop of solder to increase the diameter of the press fit piece.

Could be wrong; but I think the solder solution was used for a twist type pen where the cap didn't fit on the transmission tightly enough. I'm not sure what type of a problem you might run into heating a tube that is already glued in. Guess you could try to add a little solder to the nib or the cap. A loose CB might be a problem as well since many of those have epoxy coloring. If I remember correctly, the fix of the twist pen involveed adding a drop of solder to the outside of the transmission???

 

[pipemaker]

Thanks for all the responses.

I did one set with medium CA, and one set with loctite thread locker.
I will post the results tomorrow.

 

[pipemaker]

The CA works great. It took quite a bit of force to re-seperate the nib from the tube.
The blue thread locker on the other hand gave way with very little effort.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Gregory Huey]

I have always used CA but as said earlyer let it cure for about 12 hrs. If you cap to early you will find a white coat on those parts that are inside the cap.

 

[elody21]

Wow, so everyone votes for CA even with the chance of damage to the finish of the pen?! Devcon has a 5 min epoxy sold at Sears. I have found that even if you get this on the finish of a pen as long as you wipe it off competely before it drys it does not harm the finish to the wood or the hardware! The time of drying depends on temperature. I usually use deft spray on for wooden pens so I do not know how it reacts to friction or other polishes. It is also a fairly low odor (compared with CA) and you can wipe it off of your hands eaisly and no more fingers stuck together. It is so much more user friendly. Each bottle is 9oz so you get a total of 18oz for about $8.00! Try it! You'll like it!![]

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

When assembling pens, I put a drop of thick CA on one of those plastic baggies that are laying all over the workbench. I then take a toothpick and dip the point in the CA. Put a touch of it on two places on the part, one dot on each side, 180° apart. If I am careful and don't get too much on the tip of the toothpick, when I press the part in I never see any CA squeeze out. However there are times that I have gotten a little tiny bit too much and I'll see a little bulge out at the joint of the two parts. I just try an not touch it until it hardens, it is clear and it vanishes as it shrinks.

 

[jkirkb94]

CA should be fine. Kirk[8D]

 

[ctEaglesc]

I just tried the solder method on a slimline.
It was an antler casing pen that I intended to put an rifle clip on.
The section of the clip is a lot thicker than the clip that comes with the kit.
The stud was so loose that it refused to seat even the least little bit.
I broke out the soldering gun which is not one of my favorite tools to begin with.
It took a little playing to get a bead thin enough to work,must remember to put the clip on the stud first next tiem.
The end result is I cannot pull the clip off.
As far as gluing each piece in,to each his own but I don't do it.
THere will be some time that I made need to dissassemble a pen for a customeer and I don't want to have to try to remember whether I glued it together or not.
I do not trust adhesives on a metal to metal joint.
A CA joint may seem strong , but it can be broken .
I glue my fingers to all kinds of stuff.Most anything can be "rolled off" to break a joint.
I only use Ca as a last resort.
I have never cared for Devcon products.