SMOOGHING OR WHATEVER

[PaulDoug]

I'm asking what do you people use to get the glue, epoxy or whatever you us down in the pen blanks before you put the tube in? In Mr. Baumbeck's video he uses a qu-tip. I really don't like to because I get a lot of cotton fibers in the blank. Is there something better?

Thanks

 

[dalemcginnis]

With CA I just use the pen tube. With epoxy I use the stick I used to mix it together. Some small craft sticks or cheap chopsticks.

 

[RonSchmitt]

My wife used to make decorative soaps so I have a 20 pound block of soap. I put a little in the end of the tube and it acts as a piston and pushes the glue down the hole and keeps it out of the tube.

 

[GaryMGg]

Rough up the tube, put glue on it, then push the glue laden brass into the barrel.
Why work it the hard way?

 

[ScribbleSticks]

Hi Paul,
I use a Q-Tip also, but I roll several Q-Tips in 5-minute epoxy then wipe the majority of the glue off and let them cure on a piece of wax paper. I then use the cured Q-Tips by dipping one in epoxy and swabbing the inside of the pen blank with it. I roll the end of the tube in the epoxy and stuff it in the blank with a twisting motion. I use the same Q-Tip over and over just wiping off the glue after I'm done with the batch and setting it aside to finish curing again. I did about 10 Q-Tips in this manner about a year ago and I'm still using some of the original batch of 10! They are not just regular Q-Tips though. I went to the local Radio Shack store and bought a package of cotton tipped swabs on about 6" wooden sticks. They last just about forever if you're careful to wipe the epoxy off before it cures with a piece of paper towel. I also use the other end of the stick to adjust the depth of the tube in the blank before the epoxy cures.

Some of the others have gone on to talk about how to keep the glue out of the inside of the tube, so I will too. I rip off a piece of paper towel and roll it into a small ball. Kind of like a spitball without the spit!! I stick the paper ball into the brass tube and, with the end of the tube (vertical) on a hard surface (like your workbench), I use a 3/16" or so dowel or metal rod to compress the paper into a plug at the end of the tube. I have an old CA bottle that I put some alcohol in, and I drop several drops of alcohol into the tube, soaking the paper. After rolling the end of the tube with the plug in it in the epoxy, I insert it in the blank and, with a twisting motion, push it into the blank. I then use the other end of the Q-Tip stick to poke the paper plug and any extra epoxy out of the blank. Then I use the wooden stick again to adjust the brass tube to the correct depth in the blank if necessary. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it really goes fast after you get things set up in an assembly-line type process.

Hope that helps!

 

[PaulDoug]

Thanks for the suggestions. I use wax in the end of my tubes so I have that covered. Tonight I tried taking a large "pipe cleaner" bending it in half and than twisting it real tight. Worked real well, better than the Q-tips. The reason I don't like to just put the glue on the tube and insert it, I like to look down the blank hole and make sure it is all covered. I also add some extra glue to the tube and twist it in. I will try the epoxied Q-tips nest batch.

 

[ScribbleSticks]

Paul,
I tried wax also, but you will find that unless you are very diligent in removing every trace of the wax before you assemble the pen, your pens will work themselves apart with the heating and cooling changes the pens go through in everyday use. If things are just a tiny bit loose and you attempt to glue the nib, center piece or finial in with CA or epoxy, it won't stick to the areas where the wax touched the inside of the brass tube (this has been my experience). Naphtha and M.E.K. are supposed to remove the wax, but even that takes some scrubbing. I hope your luck with wax is better than mine.

 

[GaryMGg]

Paul,
I use Medium CA to glue my tubes. With a glue-coated tube, I believe the viscosity is enough to fully bond to the barrel. Your method sounds reasonable for epoxy; maybe even necessary. I'll keep it in mind if I use some for pens.

 

[Dan_F]

I use bamboo skewers to mix and spread the epoxy. Very cheap! Just cut off the end when it gets too funky, and you can have another go.

Oh, and Play Dough to plug the tube ends to keep the epoxy out. Be sure to remember to knock the plugs out before the glue sets. I use a pencil, and rather than drag it back through the tube, just push it out the other end, keeps from bringing any glue back with it and buggering up the tube. Just to be safe, I also swab the inside ends of the tubes with a Q-Tip dipped in acetone, in case any glue managed to get on the inside surface. Much easier to do it then than when the glue dries.

Dan

 

[Blind_Squirrel]

I use an old phillips screwdriver. Put the adhesive on some wax paper, roll the shaft of the screwdrive in the glue, ram and roll the screwdriver in the blank.

 

[gketell]

I use an old #2 philips screwdriver that I don't care about. Roll the #2 in the thick CA glue, swirl around in the blank. Roll the tube in the glue, twist into the hole. Never a failure yet!

GK

 

[OldWrangler]

I'm with Squirrel and Greg but I use an old nail punch. Glue the tube and stick it in the blank. Any glue gets in the tube comes out when I square up the ends with the barrel trimmer. Remember KISS....Keep It Simple, Stupid. Don't need no stinkin' q-tips, pipe cleaners, chop-sticks, acetone, naptha, MEK, play dough, cookie dough, bamboo screwers, wax, soap, hammers, spitballs, dowels, rams or hydraulic dohickeys.
This is a simple, fun hobby, don't make it rocket science.
Apologies for steppin' on any toes but us old guys don't have the time for hi-tech....I don't even buy green bananas.

 

[PaulDoug]

HMMMMM guess I don't understand. I like the idea of the screw driver/nail punch, but how is that any easier? You still have to put glue on it and smear it in the hole, just like anything else. Than you have to clean off the screwdriver, I throw my pipecleaner away.

Must admit I never thought about the wax in the end causing problems, but it makes sence. The wax residue left could be a problem. I've been using dental wax, assume it is really wax.

 

[rinehardj]

What I've learned is easy to use is a drinking straw to glue the inside of the hole. Inexpensive, too.

To keep CA from getting into the tube, I use the potato trick. I take a small potato and poke the end of the tube into the potato. I break off just enough of the potato into the end of the tube to keep CA from getting into the tube as I push/twist the tube into the hole. The potato is then easy enough to remove from the tube with the barrel trimmer when the CA has dried.

 

[PaulDoug]

Originally posted by rinehardj

What I've learned is easy to use is a drinking straw to glue the inside of the hole. Inexpensive, too.

To keep CA from getting into the tube, I use the potato trick. I take a small potato and poke the end of the tube into the potato. I break off just enough of the potato into the end of the tube to keep CA from getting into the tube as I push/twist the tube into the hole. The potato is then easy enough to remove from the tube with the barrel trimmer when the CA has dried.

You from Idaho! We have lots of spuds in Washington. Guess I'll give taht a try. And if I don't like it, well.. there's part of my dinner!

 

[fernhills]

Just put the thick c/a on the brass tube push it in out a couple of times in a twirling fashion,wipe off excess glue set it aside to dry.When dry take a deck screw with the coarse sharp threads and scrape glue,if any,off the two open ends where you press fit only. carl