Repair a badly fitted cap

[BobRad]

I either did not turn down the wood enough for a good fit, or did not press the cap in enough before the CA glue set, and on this side of the pen there is a small gap, on the other side there is no gap,so that leaves the cap at a slight angle. Is there a non-destructive way to remove it and reglue?

 

[1080Wayne]

Stand on end in acetone for an hour ? to soften the CA . If you had a loose fit on the tenon , it should come off easily . If an interference fit , it will be more difficult , and you will probably damage the cap .

 

[johnspensandmore]

I would write it off as a learning experience, give the pen away as a gift and start using epoxy to glue on your center-bands! (just my humble opinion)

http://www.johnspensandmore.com

 

[BobRad]

I want to make the mistake into more of a learning experience by trying to repair even if its gets worse. That way when I have a more expensive pen that really needs repair I will have a better feel for how to do it

As it is, I'm not so happy with the finish and I don't want to giveaway pens that are not good quality - since I want to be able to sell by referrals.

 

[1080Wayne]

I want to make the mistake into more of a learning experience by trying to repair even if its gets worse. That way when I have a more expensive pen that really needs repair I will have a better feel for how to do it

As my uncle would have said `You may grow up to be a pen-maker some day !`

 

[zig613]

If you happen to damage the centre band during your repair send me a PM and I can send you a replacement. I have a few extra 24 K gold Berea Hardwood euro centre bands in my spare parts box.

Wade

 

[jskeen]

You might be able to unbond the CA on the tenon by heating it with a soldering iron or something similar. It will probably do something bad to the clear coat over the gold finish, but you might succeed, and will definately learn something.

 

[robert3]

I faced the same problem a while ago. I unscrewed the finial and clip and put it in the arbor press with the center band on the bottom. When i pressed down, it cracked the CA bond and i was able to reglue it without any damage to the cente band.

Robert

 

[soligen]

A couple options come to mind if you cant get the CB off:

If all all the other parts are press fit without glue, you can dis-assemble the pen to save the hardware, then re-make the pen with a new blank and a custom center band.

If you can dis-assemble it, you can mount the upper on the lathe, and remove (destroy) the CB with a file until you get to the tenon. Sweeten up the tenon/shoulder and put on a custom center band.

 

[toddlajoie]

I had an old pen kicking around like that, 30 minutes of acetone soaking and the band dropped right off. The band was no worse for the wear, the CA finish on the wood is of course, gone with the CA holding the band on, and the acetone took a lot of the red out of the desert ironwood burl the pen was made out of... I'm thinking a light sanding, some BLO, and a new CA finish (it was the CA finish on my pen that was the problem, I had sanded through it in spots so I wanted the CA taken off...) and we'll see how it looks, but thanks for the acetone bath suggestion Wayne...

 

[PenMan1]

Two things that you learned from this. One, use epoxy or loctite (blue) for securing centerbands. Two, the next time you make an order, buy a few extra center bands, in case you forget about number one Vice Grips on a sacrificial centerband (easier than sanding and refinishing a CA pen after acetone bath) works everytime!

You can also put a soldering iron inside the tube from the centerband side, stopping the iron tip short of the finished wood (for about a minute). DON'T leave the heat there long enough to damage the finish. This will loosen the CA bond, then, while WEARING LEATHER GLOVES twist the centerband back and forth.....DAMHIKT

 

[JBCustomPens]

Do you have an arbor press? If you press hard enough, the glue will loosen and you can just leave as is. It will just be a press fit.

 

[toddlajoie]

(easier than sanding and refinishing a CA pen after acetone bath)

Yea, but in my case, I was more interested in saving the blank for refinishing than the center band. The CB was installed just fine, but the pen finish was abysmal...