Why not try using anything or NOTHING as a pen tube?

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RussFairfield

Passed Away 2011
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This message is my answer to the question about using Carbon Fiber tubing for making pens. The answer to that question should be an encouragement to someone who is just opening the door to making pencrafting a lot more than just putting kits together.

I liked the following answer from DC Bluesman -

Elasticity doesn't bother me as long as they keep making Loctite!

He is correct. We don't need the elasticity of the brass tubes to the hold the pen parts in the wood as long as we have Locktite. There are also many other materials besides brass that we can use for the tube, or we may need no tubes at all. We can also use shorter and different tubes than the ones that came with the kit. The decision is one of turning the barrel material and the strength of the finished pen, and how we do this will open a whole new challenge to pencrafting. I make pens from the stronger plastic materials with no tubes, but often use short lengths of tubes in the tip and cap for strength. I also make pens where the tubes and the entire pen machanism is a 1-piece part that is a slip fit into a long 1-piece tube with only the screw-on cap to hold the wood against the tip.

For holding pens together, an epoxy will also do the same thing as the Loctite, but we have to be very careful to keep the epoxy from the outside of a finished pen, or use a strong thinner to remove any excess. But the thinners will also remove the gloss from a CA finish, and also some of the other finishes. Locktite has the advantage that it takes awhile to dry and it can be removed with Denatured Alcohol without danaging the CA and most other finishes except a shellac.

We will even find that the brass tubes can serve no other purpose than to hold the wood on the mandrel and bushings so it can be turned and sanded. That can be solved by using a tube that is slightly shorter than the pen barrels and the grip of the bushing is on the ends of the barrel and not the brass. The brass tube will no longer be needed in the finished pen because they were only used for turning and finishing. Yes. fitting the bushings inside of the bare pen barrels can be a drilling and dimensional challenge, but we can eith make our own bushings or glue a shart length of the brass on the end of a stock bushing, and then drill a tight hole in the barrel and then get a good fit with a shart piece of sandpaper around a dowel.

It is still best to turn the blank from square to round between centers because this force is much greater than that required to turn the round pen to its finished size AND, that if you are using Loctite, there may be no reason to be using any tubes at all. However, you can still glue in a short tube to add strength at the tip and the cap of the completed pen, especially if it is wood.

Many will argue against doing any of these things because they take longer for them to make their pen. My argument is always that, "If it takes twice as long to make a custom pen that sells for twice the price, and sell faster than everyone elses kit pens, then it is worth doing." I make custom SlimLine pens that sell for $65.00 and more. Yes it takes longer than making the kit pen, but $65 is a lot more than $15 or $20 that most pen makers are getting for the same $4 kit.

If you start thinking outside of the kit package, you will find there are a lot of parts you don't need, parts that can be exchanged between kits, or that you can make for yourself. Not using the tubes for anything other than adding strenth to the tips of the pen is just another way to open the pen making adventur way beyond the limits of the kit.

This discussion is all about ball point pens, but all of these things can also be applied to fountain and roller-ball point pens. The sales will be less, but the income can be greater. You can go to my website for more discussion about this topic of making making kits from both kit and custom parts.
 
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ed4copies

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Russ,

You are absolutely correct (which you already knew).

However, the "universe" of pen makers includes a small percentage who can and will try your suggestions. MANY who do this---pen-making--- want (some NEED) step-by-step directions. In fact, a YouTube is even better!!

I would encourage everyone (no matter your skill level) to play with some of Russ' ideas. Even if you never get a finished pen, it WILL enhance your skill set and make you a better pen maker at any level.

For those who DO succeed--you will see a new dimension of pen making.

As a disclaimer, let me say that I have made custom pens for customers, utilizing some of these techniques. To ME, it is not the direction I care to pursue. But that was a CHOICE made AFTER success. Until you try it, you will never know if you would like it!!

FWIW!!
 

witz1976

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts Russ. I truly appreciate when you pop in from time to time. It always gives me something to think about and ponder.
 

BRobbins629

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And another benefit of no tubes - Many crack prone materials such as ivory, ebony and snakewood do better with no tubes. My feeling is that these materials are stressed when kit pieces press into the tube and stretch the brass and whatever is attached to it. A slip fit and a little glue is a much more stable structure. In fact I just happen to have one of these in the works - to be posted in a week or so.
 

tool-man

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Hagerstown, Maryland
This is just one of several threads I have see where folks talk about using Loctite. Each time I read one I think I should ask what Loctite product is being discussed. Apparently everyone (except myself) knows the answer because no one ever seems to ask.

May I ask what product(s) is being recommended? :confused:
 

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randyrls

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And another benefit of no tubes - Many crack prone materials such as ivory, ebony and snakewood do better with no tubes. My feeling is that these materials are stressed when kit pieces press into the tube and stretch the brass and whatever is attached to it. A slip fit and a little glue is a much more stable structure. In fact I just happen to have one of these in the works - to be posted in a week or so.


Bruce; I often use a transfer punch to expand the last 1/4" or so of the brass tube until the fitting is a slip fit. For brass tubes larger than 7mm, put a wrap of two of tape around the bushing. Put a drop of Locktite on the inside of the brass tube and insert the fitting with a twisting motion to spread the Locktite.
 

redfishsc

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I love Russ' innovative temperament.


Regarding the epoxy mess-- I routinely use epoxy to assemble my pens, and it does at times squeeze out. All my wood pens are finished with a lacquer-type catalyzed finish that's about as durable as CA, and I've found that a little paste wax sitting nearby will easily remove the epoxy. Johnson's Paste Wax or Renaissance Wax will do the trick just fine.

If the epoxy gets on the plating, usually it wipes off just as easily. But if I get slouchy and miss it, and it hardens, it gets a bit tougher. For that, my fingernail and a piece of old T-shirt (usually the one I'm wearing) will scuff it off without messing with the plating. With a lil elbow grease. But this is avoidable with the above wax trick unless you have Category 5 ADD like I do.
 
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