Sealing Pen Barrels

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islandturner

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Jul 17, 2009
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I've started doing something with my pen barrels after drilling but before gluing in the brass sleeve. That is to swab the inside of the freshly drilled blank with blond dewaxed shellac (using a Q-tip). I let them dry overnight and then glue in the sleeve. I also carefully dab the ends of the nearly finished barrels with shellac before the final finishing/trimming. My reasoning?

My woodworking mentor, oh so many years ago, was fond of saying, "Verily I say unto thee -- whatever so thou shalt doest to one side of the board, thou shalt doest to the other."

Many of the problems with finished wood 'stuff' is that it expands/contracts with the varying temperature and relative humidity of the area in which it 'lives'. One way to control this, is to have all surfaces -- inside and out -- sealed. There is no better sealer than shellac.

So does gluing a brass sleeve into a wooden pen barrel with CA, Gorilla Glue or any other glue seal it? I'll bet it doesn't, completely. But shellac sure will...

This may be a solution to the ongoing 'cracking ebony' issues?

I can't see where it will do any harm -- you really can't tell it's there, once the sleeve is glued in.

Does anyone else seal the inside of the their pen barrels?

Steve
 
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gaeast54

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Jul 1, 2009
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Louisiana
Seal or not to seal?

Hey Steve, Well I have never thought about sealing the ends as you say but I do know what you mean by the wood cracking. And you better believe that I will sure be trying it. I work offshore and from the temperature changes from land, in the air on a helicopter and then on the rig in the Gulf of Mexico, I have had a few pens show cracks. Thanks for sharing with us.
 

jleiwig

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Jan 10, 2007
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Monroe, Ohio, USA.
I don't seal the inside, but I do seal the ends on wood pens. I figure this seals the wood to the tube, and hence no need to finish the inside.
 

bgibb42

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Hull, GA
Sounds like an interesting idea to me.

Justin, do you think sealing just the ends may lock in any moisture or air that didn't get expelled while gluing in the tube? Or maybe it's not enough to matter?
 

jleiwig

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Sounds like an interesting idea to me.

Justin, do you think sealing just the ends may lock in any moisture or air that didn't get expelled while gluing in the tube? Or maybe it's not enough to matter?

Hasn't been a problem so far, so I honestly can't say. I just know that sealing the ends helps with finishing, so I always do it on a wood pen.
 

jaeger

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Jan 3, 2009
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South Dakota
I think the glue would be enough to seal the inside portion of the wood. I always seal the ends of the wood, no matter which components I am using.
 

DurocShark

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Jul 26, 2008
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Anaheim, CA
I use thin CA on the insides of wooden Pentel pencils and on the ends of wood used on "regular" kits. Helps quite a bit.
 

John Eberly

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Nov 3, 2008
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Grand Haven MI
Sealing on the inside

This is something I've thought about with closed end pens. The all-wood end is definitely a place that I think should be sealed on the inside.

I've dribbled thin CA in in the past, I'll probably try shellac now -

Thanks for the tip.
 

mickr

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Apr 22, 2009
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wilderness
I have thin ca'd interior of pens for years..works well..then when you use med ca it sticks better to the wall..(I do believe)
 
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