Another newbie question - "Squaring ends"

[gdglatfelter]

In a couple of instances now when squaring the ends my blanks have heated up during the squaring process so much that the pen tube is loosened and moves.

I am holding the blank in a vise, using a fairly new (sharp?) pen mill, and a drill press.

I am thinking that maybe I haven't roughed up the tube enough and it isn't bonding well or maybe not enough CA (am using med viscosity CA). Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?

Thanks
Gary

 

[hewunch]

maybe slow your drilling down? I would rough up your tubes and I use thick CA personally. Some have switched to epoxy

 

[aggromere]

I drill and true on the lathe now. When I used pen mills I used a hand held drill and wore a glove on one hand and held the pen blank in it. I would take short quick pushes against the end of the tube till the brass was shinny all the way around. Also, what hewunch says, if your tubes are coming loose it's probably a bonding issue. I use CA and sand the tubes completely before gluing and have never had a problem

 

[JimB]

You also need to completely coat the tube with the thick CA. I put a line of CA on the plastic bag from the kit and roll it in it so it is completely covered. It also doesn't seem right that they are getting that hot. Are you trimming them with a saw first so you don't need to mill them much? How often do you sharpen the mill? I sharpen mine every 5 to 10 blanks. It just works much better when it's sharp.

 

[gdglatfelter]

Jim,Peter,Hans
Thank you all. Good advice from all....
1. Slower speed - (I hadn't reduced my drilling speed)
2. Thick CA
3. Cover completely with CA
4. Better roughing
5. Can't try the lathe cutting yet as I don't have the chucks to do it. Still on a small budget.
6. Sharpen pen mill (I found the technique on in the library so will do it every 5-10 from now on)
Appreciate the help!
Gary

 

[ribanett]

Gary,

If you have a disk sander that has a miter fence, try this:

Turn the blank until just round.
Square the fence to the sanding disk, hold the blank against the fence and lightly feed it into the disk. I sand my blanks for about 1 or 2 seconds and check the end to see where the tube is.

I have not used a pen mill for the last year or so. I find that this works better for me, is faster and the ends do not have waves that sometimes happen with a mill.

 

[NewLondon88]

I sand my blanks for about 1 or 2 seconds and check the end to see where the tube is.

You'll also hear it as soon as you hit brass. The sound will change
noticeably. If you feed slow and stop when you hear that sound, you
won't cut back on the tube.

 

[ldb2000]

Also make sure that your tubes have no glue in them . If there's glue in there the trimmer shaft will bind and friction will heat up the tube and break the glue bond .
A little trick if you ever get a tube glued halfway in , use a soldering iron to heat the tube and the CA will soften and you will be able to pull it out without damaging the tube or blank . Be careful it will be HOT , use a pair of gloves to pull it out .

 

[bracky1]

Also make sure that your tubes have no glue in them . If there's glue in there the trimmer shaft will bind and friction will heat up the tube and break the glue bond .
A little trick if you ever get a tube glued halfway in , use a soldering iron to heat the tube and the CA will soften and you will be able to pull it out without damaging the tube or blank . Be careful it will be HOT , use a pair of gloves to pull it out .

Ah, so you don't batter the tube with a hammer in a useless attempt to get the tube in, wasting both tube and blank and then lay in about everything around you with said hammer in a fit of frustration and rage?
Good tip.:biggrin:

 

[artistwood]

works for me......:redface:

 

[tim self]

Also make sure that your tubes have no glue in them . If there's glue in there the trimmer shaft will bind and friction will heat up the tube and break the glue bond .
A little trick if you ever get a tube glued halfway in , use a soldering iron to heat the tube and the CA will soften and you will be able to pull it out without damaging the tube or blank . Be careful it will be HOT , use a pair of gloves to pull it out .

Bruce hit the nail on the head! This is the major factor with tubes binding and coming off. Also, if you have a disc sander, look in the Library for the tutorial on making a squaring jig. It will make a HUGE difference with squaring. I modified mine with a 7 mm tube so my shaft is adjustable.

 

[Rmartin]

I use a 2 part epoxy. Seal the ends of the tube with plumbers putty before gluing. The cutter must be sharp, which is the trick. Sharpen from the staight edge, the backside, not the beveled edge. It's best to send them off to be sharpened.

I have one of those disc sander jigs, but never could get what I considered and acurate 90 degrees to the sander.

 

[JimB]

I had posted a picture of my home made squaring jig, similar to the disc sander jig, that anyone can make. Here's the link.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48603