Fibonacci
Member
I apologize if this is in the library somewhere, but I couldn't find it.
How do people deal with cracks and blowout in a blank?
I have been doing one of two things about blowout:
1. Cut back the blown out part and put a contrasting piece of wood on that end of the blank. This has given me mixed results. I most cases, the thin part on the end either ends up blowing out itself, or I get a small gap where they meet.
2. Sand the tube down past the blowout and modify the hardware to make it fit. This only works on some kinds of pens (I have had it work for slimline and cigar), but tends to give better overall results.
For cracks, I have tried drizzling glue into the crack and letting it dry before continuing, but that has resulted in a blowout every time that I have done it. On one that cracked during assembly, I was able to glue it and add a CA finish to cover it. That worked well, but the item was fully turned before I added the glue.
How do people deal with cracks and blowout in a blank?
I have been doing one of two things about blowout:
1. Cut back the blown out part and put a contrasting piece of wood on that end of the blank. This has given me mixed results. I most cases, the thin part on the end either ends up blowing out itself, or I get a small gap where they meet.
2. Sand the tube down past the blowout and modify the hardware to make it fit. This only works on some kinds of pens (I have had it work for slimline and cigar), but tends to give better overall results.
For cracks, I have tried drizzling glue into the crack and letting it dry before continuing, but that has resulted in a blowout every time that I have done it. On one that cracked during assembly, I was able to glue it and add a CA finish to cover it. That worked well, but the item was fully turned before I added the glue.