Frustration with CA on White Oak

[Carl Fisher]

I have a nice gentlemen pen turned down from white oak provided by the client. The body is turned finished and assembled, but as of this morning I now will be going on the 4th time scraping down and refinishing the cap.

EVERY time I press the components into the cap, the finish de-laminates from the wood. I've done every thing I can think of and I can't think of what to do differently at this point.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[w5brw]

I do a bit of oak and usually use a very thin CA to "soak the grain" before trying to finish it. by soaking the CA in and then sanding it off before you start the final finish that should give the ca something to bind to. Also, on some more oilier woods I'll use a bit of accelerator as a cleaner and make sure there are no oils on the wood which could cause the CA to separate.

Hope this helps...

 

[renowb]

Open up the hole a bit, and glue the part in.

 

[parawood]

Any chance the wood is not dry? Moisture content too high?

Karl

 

[wouldentu2?]

Reduce the interference fit slightly and glue it in if required.

 

[mrcook4570]

It is possible that you have a 'burr' of CA on the ends of the blanks. Pressing against it would cause the finish to raise off the wood near that area. Lightly sand the ends of the blanks prior to pressing in the components. This will help to ensure that CA has not dribbled over the ends.

 

[Carl Fisher]

I win

I was watching for the burr of CA and it seemed to be alright. I ended up sanding the inside of the tube really well and then taking a very small amount off the plastic insert and it seemed to allow me to press it in alright. Thanks for those suggestions.

I think it's possible that an overly tight fit was just enough to flex it slightly and pop the finish.

Thanks everyone!