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Russknan

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
537
Location
Nanuet, NY
Hi, my name is Russ. I live in Rockland County, NY. New to pen turning, I've probably done about 20 so far . . . and I'm OBSESSED! With lots of other hobbies, this one has nailed me. The last time I turned anything on my Shopsmith has to be about 30 years ago. But turning a handle for a rolling scrap bin that i made to organize some of the mess in my workshop got me hooked. So far, I have no interest in doing bowls or spindles (that could change), so I was looking around for something manageable but fun. Hit on pens. I've turned, probably, about 20 so far, and have had reasonable success. There have been a few (3?) notable failures, one that is vexing me right now. I got a tube stuck in a blank without it being fully inserted (CA glue). I'd like to ask for help, but don't know how to access the Forums. The site says I can't. I'll be perfectly happy reading other people's stuff and viewing their successes. Pretty clear that I can learn a lot that way. But it would be nice to be able to ask my question about whether I can use something to salvage both the blank and tube . . .
Regards to all, and thanks for this site! Russ
 
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longbeard

longbeard

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
2,700
Location
West Virginia
Welcome Russ from WV
be sure to check out the library for how-to's and dont's and the vendors catalog, great suppliers there and alot of others here too

Harry
 
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Russknan

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
537
Location
Nanuet, NY
Thanks to both for the suggestion about cutting off the tube and inserting it in the other end. Superb! I would never have thought of that. As a psychologist, it is clear that I have been suffering from "functional fixedness." i.e. the tube is supposed to remain intact so that the only solution is to remove it." Hate it when I can only think in a small dark corner inside the box. It's nice to be part of the community. I'll follow the other suggestions re: library, vendors, too. Russ
 
Andrew_K99

Andrew_K99

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
1,571
Location
Waterdown, ON, Canada
Welcome

A few thoughts about cutting the tube and putting it in the other end.

First if you do this you'll have to account for the blade thickness (kerf) that is removed when cutting. This will reduce the barrel length if you trim to the tubes.

Second, consider that the tube is the structure of the pen. When you apply pressure along the barrel the tube transfers the load to the tip. Yes the blank material used will help but on thin pen barrels (like the sierra) the tube is doing most of the work. Having a break in the tube may results in stress fractures.

IMO, drilling out the tube is the best option.

AK
 
S

Sub Vet 10

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2011
Messages
223
Location
Houston
You can also invest in a 5 minute epoxy. It's ~$20 but it can more than pay for itself multiple times over.
 
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