Tough day

[GBusardo]

On saturday I finally got some micro mesh in the mail along with some blanks from BB at Arizona. (BTW, thanks Ben, for the extra blank On Sunday, I decided to make a 7 mm designer pen to use myself at work. I started to turn a figured mesquite blank and thought my gouge was dull. I sharpened it up and still had a hard time with the blank. After rounding it out i turned to my skew. Thought that might work better. After wrestling with the blank and getting some tear out. I decided to use sandpaper to finish up. Needless to say, the hardness of the blank made this a long task. I was so pleased with the finish i got after using the micromesh, I decided I was going to just wax and be done with it. While assembling the pen, the tip went in fine. The twist mech was another matter. The dang thing just would not go in to my scribe mark. Yep it was in straight. It went in about half way to the scribe mark and I had a delema. Do I push it in harder or do i try to get it out and see what the problem might be. I decided to push and not only did the mech break, but the blank cracked too [V] I was feeling pretty ill at that point.
I have a few questions that maybe someone could be nice enough to answer for me. Is figured mesquite that hard to turn or is it me, I am thinking a little of both maybe. My other question is, what could I possibly have done wrong with the twist mech, or do you think it was just a problem with the kit. I did make sure the mech was going in straight and there was nothing obvious blocking the way.
Sorry this was so long winded
Thanks in advance
Gary

 

[Dario]

Hmmm...I've worked with mesquite and it is very easy to turn. What glue did you use to glue your tubes? Are you sure none was left inside? Sometimes they are NOT too obvious (esp w/ CA) but maybe some are still there.

IF you have glue in the tube...this may also explain the tearout problem. It will not be concentric.

To clean inside the tubes. I usually us a small knife but it only reaches about 1/2" in the tube. For deeper problems, I use my old chainsaw sharpening files. Works great!

Do investigate it more and let us know what you found out.

 

[gerryr]

I agree with Dario about turning mesquite, I've turned a couple of different kinds and haven't had any problems. But, I never use a gouge, only a skew for straight grained wood. But, I have had the problem you did with those crummy Cross transmissions, but only on casing pens. One thing that I do with those things, which may help you, is polish them with 400 grit paper after cleaning them with DNA. They always come with some sticky stuff on them, to prevent corrosion I assume, and that just seems to be a recipe for disaster. Another thing you might do is get a piece of 1/4" rod and glue some 320 grit paper to it and polish the inside of the tubes before you try to insert the transmission. That should remove any glue residue as well as any corrosion.

 

[wdcav1952]

Gary,

I would not presume to argue with Dario about mesquite [] but I do find figured mesquite a little harder than other mesquite. With regards to cleaning the tubes, a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a small selection of brass bore cleaning brushes in sporting goods might be worth your while. I find them the easiest option to clean residual glue from tubes.

FWIW,

 

[mrcook4570]

If it was the stabilized stuff from BB, it's pretty hard.

 

[Ron Mc]

It sounds to me like this may have been some Stabilized mesquite from BB. I turned a stabilized curly Mesquite over the weekend and I was really surprised at how hard it was. I turn a lot of stabilized woods and this one really surprised me. Amazing pen and well worth the battle!
As far as the twist mechanism it sounds like there was some glue in the tube. Be sure and give the inside of your tubes a good cleaning before turning.

 

[ibgugs]

To clean out the insides of the tubes I went to a gun shop and got some stiff round brass brushes. they had alot of diffrent sizes I got a 6mm and a 7mm the 7 works better
bob

 

[GBusardo]

I use CA glue. The more I think about it, that was probably my problem. I checked out the tube tonight and it was a rough inside, not sure if it got that way from me drilling out the rest of the twist mech tube or if I did it somehow with glue or whatever. One thing for sure, I will pay more attention to the inside of the tube before I do any turning or assembly. I will be in walmart this weekend probably, I will pick up a brush there.
Thanks again to everyone. I am still learning (probably always will) and I still can't take a decent picture of my pens hahaha
Gary

 

[MDWine]

If you are also looking for the thin files, Harbor Freight has a set of 10 or 12 for about 5 bucks or less... yes, they're cheap, but work really well for pen work;

 

[Johnathan]

There is nothing I hate more that assembling a kit and hearing that small but sharp cracking sound. Sorry about that but it happens to everyone at some time.

 

[gerryr]

Also, for disassembly, get a set of transfer punches from Harbor Freight. I think there's a post about them being on sale. They work really well, especially on slimlines.