Tube flaws visible through finished pen

[Dakcrew]

I have been running around this site for a couple of years gathering great ideas and marveling at how talented many of the people here are! I tried to make a segmented pen over the weekend out of Koa/aluminum/and acrylic. the pen turned out beautiful except for one flaw.... there is sawdust mixed with the clue between the tube and the blank. I wouldn't mind so much, but it can be seen through the clear parts of the acrylic! ruined a great segmenting attempt:at-wits-end:

Anyway, I was thinking that with all of the great expertise in these parts that someone might have an idea on how to salvage this?

Thanks in advance for any and all thoughts.

 

[Lenny]

Did you paint the tube before gluing it in the blank?
The brass will show through most of the acrylics/polyresin blanks. Painting the tubes or reverse painting the blank will minimize that problem and can provide drastic differences in how the finished pen will look. Generally painting white will brighten the blank, painting black will intensify the color. Different colors can have different effects. I will sometimes mix a little dab of the paint in with the epoxy when gluing as well. hth

 

[Ed McDonnell]

If you really want to salvage it, here's something you can try:

1) Cast your blank in clear resin (type doesn't matter).

2) Mount the blank between centers and turn a large cylinder that you can mount on the lathe in a good chuck (collet would be best, but something with minimal runout). The clear resin cylinder is intended to hold things together for the next step. You want the OD as concentric with the brass tube as possible.

3) Mount the blank in the chuck on the lathe and drill out the brass tube.

4) If you survived step 3, then paint the hole and glue in a new brass tube.

5) Turn your blank back to shape by turning off the clear resin.

There may be other ways to go, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Ed

 

[Dakcrew]

Did you paint the tube before gluing it in the blank?
The brass will show through most of the acrylics/polyresin blanks. Painting the tubes or reverse painting the blank will minimize that problem and can provide drastic differences in how the finished pen will look. Generally painting white will brighten the blank, painting black will intensify the color. Different colors can have different effects. I will sometimes mix a little dab of the paint in with the epoxy when gluing as well. hth

the tube was already reverse painted white, and when I glued the tube into the blank I aparently didn't get all of the sawdust removed from inside the drill hole. So....some of the fine dust from the drilling got mixed up into the CA glue and now I have a great looking pen with brown streaks under the blank!

 

[Dakcrew]

If you really want to salvage it, here's something you can try:

1) Cast your blank in clear resin (type doesn't matter).

2) Mount the blank between centers and turn a large cylinder that you can mount on the lathe in a good chuck (collet would be best, but something with minimal runout). The clear resin cylinder is intended to hold things together for the next step. You want the OD as concentric with the brass tube as possible.

3) Mount the blank in the chuck on the lathe and drill out the brass tube.

4) If you survived step 3, then paint the hole and glue in a new brass tube.

5) Turn your blank back to shape by turning off the clear resin.

There may be other ways to go, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Ed

Ed,

this is a great idea! was trying to think of a way to drill out the tube and this should work wonders! Beside it will give me a good excuse to get a good collet chuck, which I do not have at the moment.

 

[Lenny]

Ok, sorry, I understand now.

Ed's idea has merit. :good:

I have heard of people heating up the tube enough to soften the CA glue and remove the tube. I would be concerned though that it would also soften the joints of the segmented pieces.

 

[Timbo]

Did you paint the tube before gluing it in the blank?
The brass will show through most of the acrylics/polyresin blanks. Painting the tubes or reverse painting the blank will minimize that problem and can provide drastic differences in how the finished pen will look. Generally painting white will brighten the blank, painting black will intensify the color. Different colors can have different effects. I will sometimes mix a little dab of the paint in with the epoxy when gluing as well. hth

the tube was already reverse painted white, and when I glued the tube into the blank I aparently didn't get all of the sawdust removed from inside the drill hole. So....some of the fine dust from the drilling got mixed up into the CA glue and now I have a great looking pen with brown streaks under the blank!

It usually works out better to paint the inside of the blank prior to gluing in the tube. This way nothing shows through the blank. I use spray paint for this task.

 

[Dakcrew]

Did you paint the tube before gluing it in the blank?
The brass will show through most of the acrylics/polyresin blanks. Painting the tubes or reverse painting the blank will minimize that problem and can provide drastic differences in how the finished pen will look. Generally painting white will brighten the blank, painting black will intensify the color. Different colors can have different effects. I will sometimes mix a little dab of the paint in with the epoxy when gluing as well. hth

the tube was already reverse painted white, and when I glued the tube into the blank I aparently didn't get all of the sawdust removed from inside the drill hole. So....some of the fine dust from the drilling got mixed up into the CA glue and now I have a great looking pen with brown streaks under the blank!

It usually works out better to paint the inside of the blank prior to gluing in the tube. This way nothing shows through the blank. I use spray paint for this task.

Any type or brand in particular? I have tried to paint brass tubes only to have the paint "melt" when the CA cured inside the blank. Thanks.

 

[Haynie]

I have had this problem and there are lots of threads showing that it is a very common problem and that the solution is really simple. Reverse paint the blank. I had one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. As long as you give the paint plenty of time to dry there is no issue, but you do need to make sure the hole is clean. No one likes a dirty hole. I use spray paint and cheap acrylic paint to paint the blank. I wait for it to cure. I also heat the bajeezes out of the tube with a torch then spray paint it. The paint cures almost instantly on the tube if it was scuffed. I do this for two coats. Hope this helps.

 

[Dakcrew]

I have had this problem and there are lots of threads showing that it is a very common problem and that the solution is really simple. Reverse paint the blank. I had one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. As long as you give the paint plenty of time to dry there is no issue, but you do need to make sure the hole is clean. No one likes a dirty hole. I use spray paint and cheap acrylic paint to paint the blank. I wait for it to cure. I also heat the bajeezes out of the tube with a torch then spray paint it. The paint cures almost instantly on the tube if it was scuffed. I do this for two coats. Hope this helps.

I haven't tried the scuffing and heating of the tube, I usually just spray it with cheepo spray paint and let it cure a couple of hours. (patience is still a virtue that escapes me from time to time....) So I think that will be my next attempt. thanks for the response!

 

[Haynie]

If you are using CA to glue it is something about it will soften the paint and if you do not have a clean hole to put it in the edge or the burs will strip the paint. I find it best to do both, paint the tube and paint the hole.