Pen tube material

[siric]

Hi,

I have been using brass tubes that come in the kits since I started. I find however that sometimes the material can get damaged on the insides when I squaring the ends. This has caused some instances of the pen not twisting easily as the refill catches on the insides of the tube.

I use the barrel trimming system as sometimes my wood blanks are not square so using the lathe trimming bit would not work.

I see some other tubes made of nickel and enamel.

Any experience with these? Are they any better and worth the expense?


Thanks

Steve

 

[The Penguin]

I believe those are still brass tubes, but with a plating or coating on them.

 

[cwolfs69]

the other tubes may or may not be brass, i am not sure, but the pen mill will damage them also if not used correctly. what usually damages the inside of the tube, almost always, is starting the mandrel into the tube. i make sure that the mandrel goes thru the tube well before i try to mill the ends. sometimes if glue, epoxy whatever is blocking one end, i will disassemble the pen mill and run just the guide thru the tube from one end to clean it out the re-assemble and do the milling. i almost exclusively use the pen mandrels and very seldom have problem with harming the inside of the tube any more.

Hi,

I have been using brass tubes that come in the kits since I started. I find however that sometimes the material can get damaged on the insides when I squaring the ends. This has caused some instances of the pen not twisting easily as the refill catches on the insides of the tube.

I use the barrel trimming system as sometimes my wood blanks are not square so using the lathe trimming bit would not work.

I see some other tubes made of nickel and enamel.

Any experience with these? Are they any better and worth the expense?


Thanks

Steve

 

[lorbay]

You just need to reem out the inside of the brass tube after using the barrel trimmer.

Lin.

 

[Dave Turner]

I found that pen mills were too rough on my blanks (and tubes), so I switched to a cheap belt sander from Harbor Freight which can be had for about $55 with frequent coupons for it. I just make sure the table and miter gauge on the sander is squared up beforehand. If my blank is really irregular, such as an antler, etc., I'll turn it somewhat round on the lathe before drilling it and epoxying in the tube. You don't need to get the end perfect on the belt sander, just close.

For my finish squaring (and also to square up the ends after putting on a CA finish), I use my practically free sanding mill to square the ends of my body pieces on the lathe. After the CA application, I'll also square up the ends, leaving a little CA on the ends if possible (if not, I'll coat the ends with thin CA by twisting them on a paper towel with a little thin CA on it). Then I proceed with micromesh sanding and polishing.

Even with sanding, I still smooth out the ends of the brass tubes using a Vargus deburring tool.

 

[siric]

Thanks for all of the tips. Much appreciated.

 

[kovalcik]

====nevermind=====

My original thought was not relevant.

 

[StuartCovey]

I have had that problem too. But what I found is that if you take just a regular drill bit that will fit in the tube and then use it at an angle on that edge it will smooth it out.
This has always worked for me.

 

[HamTurns]

====nevermind=====

My original thought was not relevant.

Hahahahahahaha - That's never stopped anyone before!

 

[PeetyInMich]

I always figured those "pre painted" alternate color tubes were just for folks without the patience to do it themselves.

 

[PenPal]

Steve this my Pen Mill best part of 20 yrs old now used to be the only pen mill when I started
made of high speed steel it is ground carefully please note how it cleans and champhers the entry, I use it from either end and square the blanks carefully beforehand on a 12 inch disk sander fitted outboard on an old Woodfast lathe. Please see the result on the pic. Also the last 90 blanks I prepared and glued 9 brasses were too small in diameter and chucked in the bin then by way of the Irish to be sure to be sure I checked from each end of the blanks two days after drilling another magic 11 refused entry through the timber so redrilled by hand drill in a hand vice..

I am never totally comfortable with any process now without checking beforehand.

How I discovered quickly I had made a brass stepped holder to hold the brass while roughing the bras no way would the nine bad ones fit on the first step so I have renamed it go no go guage.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[sbwertz]

I bought a set of inexpensive drill bits from HF in every size known to man (except metric, had to buy those separately).

115 Piece Titanium Nitride Coated M2 High Speed Steel Drill Bit Set

I can find the right sized bit to fit inside any tube. I just slip it in and spin it gently by hand to remove burs and excess glue.

It also means I don't have to buy a bit every time I try a new kit.

Sharon

 

[homemade]

repairing tubes

I have had the same experience with tubes and one day I thought of my gun cleaning brushes. for the 7mm tubes I use the .25 -7mm bore wire brush to remove any CA and to polish out the tube. Also, I use a countersink on each end which makes it easier for the tube to receive the pen parts. Since then, I have had very little problems with my tubes. The countersink is especially handy when cleaning up the ends of tubes that you cut yourself.