Dan , as John says , thin CA wicks into the end grain leaving little or no build-up to require sanding to restore the end flush to the tube . The CA partly or completely fills the wood pores at the blank ends . That reduces the rate at which moisture can move into or out of the wood . It doesn`t eliminate moisture movement because it can still move through the wood fibers .
In practice , I `think`this means that you can take one of your pens with CA`d ends to Arizona for a months winter holiday , and not have to worry about it cracking , whereas one without A might crack . Leaving it there permanently is a different story . Without CA , it will almost certainly crack within a year and it also may even with the CA .
I believe wood density and pore size are important variables . I would bet that if you repatriated a desert ironwood pen to Arizona that it would be much less likely to crack than one made from an Eastern hardwood .
I guess the bottom line is to expect cracks if a pen is shipped to an area with consistently lower RH than the originating locale . CA `might `reduce or eliminate the problem . The only other ways to reduce the problem are to 1) pre-condition the turned barrel to the expected average conditions at the receiving end , then sand , apply finish , and CA the ends , all as fast as possible , or 2) stabilize the wood . Neither is an absolute guarantee of zero problems .
Wood cracks when it dries and the cracks close when the moisture content goes back up with the changing seasons . Plastic cracks and the cracks stay open year round . Personally , I prefer to be half cracked .
Wayne
