Do you glue from both ends?

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TowMater

TowMater

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Nov 9, 2007
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I was turning a HRB last night and got down to the last few passes and one end of the blank semi exploded. Upon looking at the barrel more closely it looks like there was no glue to speak of on that end.

I have been gluing from just one end, do most of you glue from both ends or just from one?

Todd
 
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I put med. ca in one end while turning the blank. When it comes out the other end I stop and put some on the tube. I then put the tube in with a twisting motion. I probably use twice as much as needed but so far no failures.
 
I put thick glue on the whole tube, push it in while twisting, and push it right through so about a third is showing on the other end...

I then put an extra dollup of glue on that end an insert it...this is because i had a few problems like you had, and decided a bit of 'glue insurance' couldn't hurt!

Andrew
 
After having several "blow outs", I finally realized it was MY fault and not the blanks or tools and that more often than not, there was little to no glue where the "blow out" occured.

Now I always use epoxy and will coat the inside of the blank first then having dental wax in one end of the tube to seal the end, will apply epoxy to the tube and slowly insert it with a back and forth spiraling motion, then slowly turn the tube around until I think it's about as covered as it's going to get. It can get messy but I haven't had a blow out since!:)
 
When glueing with either thick CA or Gorilla Glue we always use a liberal amount. We will start to insert from one end twisting as the tube is slowly pushed down. When it gets to the point we almost cannot grip the tube any longer, we pull the tube add a little more CA if that is what we are using and insert from the other end using the same twisting motion. At this point we let the tube slide below the surface and let dry. Hope this is of some help.

Mike
 
Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking

When glueing with either thick CA or Gorilla Glue we always use a liberal amount. We will start to insert from one end twisting as the tube is slowly pushed down. When it gets to the point we almost cannot grip the tube any longer, we pull the tube add a little more CA if that is what we are using and insert from the other end using the same twisting motion. At this point we let the tube slide below the surface and let dry. Hope this is of some help.

Mike
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I do exactly the same thing.

Clarification, however, the final insertion is done from the middle of the pen. When I face the blanks, I take off as little as possible in the middle. That way the pattern on the blank will continue to match, after assembly. YES, there is a centerband (Unless I minimize it), but the pattern on some resins can move quite a bit, if you remove material, it will look "slightly off" when finished.

[:0][:0][:0][:0]
 
Originally posted by ed4copies
I do exactly the same thing.

Clarification, however, the final insertion is done from the middle of the pen. When I face the blanks, I take off as little as possible in the middle. That way the pattern on the blank will continue to match, after assembly. YES, there is a centerband (Unless I minimize it), but the pattern on some resins can move quite a bit, if you remove material, it will look "slightly off" when finished.

[:0][:0][:0][:0]
Click to expand...
Put me in this camp for the exact thing Ed does. FYI - one more 'addition' to this. I now drill all my blanks on the lathe, and I always start my drilling from the middle too. That way if there is any concerns of blow out, or if I leave extra then trim later I'm trimming the end. If I cut with the bandsaw, then the gap between the middle pieces is barely over .020 -- Keeps the patterns closer for wood or acrylic.
 
Thanks for the replies folks. I had been sanding, adding glue and twisting it in from one end (leaving as little gap as possible in the middle sections).

Looks like I need to double up for safety's sake.

Todd
 
Buy your CA from Mannie or MLK, then when you wipe it off you don't feel like you're wasting a bunch of cash.

You WILL save blanks!!!
 
Despite my best intentions, I sometimes wind up with a tube lacking glue on one end of the blank. When that happens, I put some thin CA on that end of the blank and let it wick down into the gap. When it fills in all away around the tube, I hit it with accelerator and set it aside to cure. I have to be careful that glue doesn't pour out the other end, or drip down the outside of the blank onto my fingers, but I have saved several blanks from possible blow-out this way.

I think we're all in agreement that glue gaps are bad.

Regards,
Eric
 
Ed my final insertion is from the middle too, I just didn't mention it as the topic was on getting enough glue on all of the tube and inside the hole for a good bond. :D

I have found that if you do not take off enough material in the middle when a kit with a large centerband is used it will look a little funny. IMHO, I think it should look as if the pattern continues to run under the centerband, rather than a cut with the centerband jambed between the blanks.

Mike
 
I've been using Gorilla Glue. I think when my smallish bottle of that runs out I'm going to get some 2 part 5min epoxy. I don't know why but I'm not a big fan of CA for gluing the tubes in.

Todd
 
Originally posted by ed4copies

Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking

When glueing with either thick CA or Gorilla Glue we always use a liberal amount. We will start to insert from one end twisting as the tube is slowly pushed down. When it gets to the point we almost cannot grip the tube any longer, we pull the tube add a little more CA if that is what we are using and insert from the other end using the same twisting motion. At this point we let the tube slide below the surface and let dry. Hope this is of some help.

Mike
Click to expand...

I do exactly the same thing.

Clarification, however, the final insertion is done from the middle of the pen. When I face the blanks, I take off as little as possible in the middle. That way the pattern on the blank will continue to match, after assembly. YES, there is a centerband (Unless I minimize it), but the pattern on some resins can move quite a bit, if you remove material, it will look "slightly off" when finished.

[:0][:0][:0][:0]
Click to expand...

Ed describes what I do.
 
Originally posted by TowMater

I've been using Gorilla Glue. I think when my smallish bottle of that runs out I'm going to get some 2 part 5min epoxy. I don't know why but I'm not a big fan of CA for gluing the tubes in.

Todd
Click to expand...
I frequently use Gorilla glue on my larger wood projects. Did you know that Gorilla glue has come out with their quick cure version now? I think it cures in 30 minutes or less now. I've tried it, not for blanks, but for other wood projects and REALLY like it.
 
For what it's worth to everyone who uses ca.. When I glue the tube ,I hit it with accelerator and without putting the blank down, pick up my knife and IMMEDIATELY remove the wax and the excess glue. By not letting them sit and cure, removing hardened glue and mucking up the ends of the tubes is no longer an issue for me.
 
Originally posted by rherrell

For what it's worth to everyone who uses ca.. When I glue the tube ,I hit it with accelerator and without putting the blank down, pick up my knife and IMMEDIATELY remove the wax and the excess glue. By not letting them sit and cure, removing hardened glue and mucking up the ends of the tubes is no longer an issue for me.
Click to expand...
Good idea!

I do basically the same thing with epoxy. I will wait 10 minutes or so until it is set then cut out the wax end plug and clean out the epoxy from the ends while it is still semi-pliable. It's amazing how hard that wax gets when the epoxy has cured around it! And equally amazing how much brass you remove when trying to scrape it out [:0]
 
I use Gorilla glue for almost all my pens.... I sand the tube, fill the tube ends with denatal base wax, and use a Q-tip to spread the glue inside the blanks from BOTH ends.... Then I slide the tube into the blanks and center it up as I see fit.... The fibers on the Q-tip only last about two pens before it loosens up and hankgs off the stick part. I switch ends. Glad their cheap!!![:I]
 
Originally posted by byounghusband

I use Gorilla glue for almost all my pens.... I sand the tube, fill the tube ends with denatal base wax, and use a Q-tip to spread the glue inside the blanks from BOTH ends.... Then I slide the tube into the blanks and center it up as I see fit.... The fibers on the Q-tip only last about two pens before it loosens up and hankgs off the stick part. I switch ends. Glad their cheap!!![:I]
Click to expand...

I have a screw driver that I use to spread the glue inside the blanks. I wipe the screw driver each time and use a utility knife to remove any excess about once every 10 uses.
 
I use gorilla glue, I pour more than I need into the hole in the blank. seal the end of the tube with putty, wax or potatoe. then push tube through the blank. a bead of glue rides on the end of the sealed tube coating the entire wall as it goes. If I do not see a sufficiant bead on the tube as it exits I pull it back and add more glue. there is some waist this way but I have gotten over it. never had a blow out this way. for acrylics I still use epoxy. I have only used CA for tubes a couple of times when time required it. I let both gorilla and epoxy cure for 24 hours.
 
A grizzled veteren of 5 or so pens, I put a glob of 25 minute epoxy on a bamboo skewer, and use that first to spread it around the inside of the blank, and then on the outside of the tube. The skewers are dirt cheap and disposable, and on top of that, can be broken into thirds, as they are about a foot long.

Dan
 
I use 15 min epoxy. Coat the tube and twist 3/4 the way in one side of blank. Then remove tube and put more epoxy on and insert tube all the way with twisting from opposite end. There is a small amount to be cleaned up with trimmer on both ends but no problems so far.
 
I use the 15 minute epoxy too, after sanding the tubes I use thin wooden kebab skews to coat the inside of each blank with epoxy from both ends.

Base-plate wax is used to block the tube ends, a few dabs of epoxy on the tube then insert using a slow twisting motion, pull tube back out and insert into the opposite end again using a slow twisting motion.

Once the tube is seated I will not turn that blank until well past the recommended drying time of the epoxy.
 
Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking

Ed my final insertion is from the middle too, I just didn't mention it as the topic was on getting enough glue on all of the tube and inside the hole for a good bond. :D

I have found that if you do not take off enough material in the middle when a kit with a large centerband is used it will look a little funny. IMHO, I think it should look as if the pattern continues to run under the centerband, rather than a cut with the centerband jambed between the blanks.

Mike
Click to expand...
I also do it Ed's way. I don't worry too much about the centerband making the pattern be 'off' because the kerf and milling that is still necessary is going to mostly account for that.
 
Well, I too use Gorilla Glue and glue from bothe ends. I do not use wax to seal the ends as I think this could be a cause for the tubes getting pushed out. A small round file removes the glue in a few seconds. I have seen the CA adhesion on a few clear cactus blanks I tried to glue powder coated tubes in and "fully" coat the tube and inside of the tube with thick CA. I had a LOT of air pockets when I turned it down and had to abandon the plan after three tries. IF you have that much air on a "non-clear" blank that you can not see thru, how little glue is holding the wood? Sometimes not nearly as much as you think! That is what I like about the GG is that it will foam and expand to fill the gap and bond 100%. I think the only times I had a blow out is when I use CA or epoxy and I have only once had a tube push out. (an oversized hole in corian)
 
I've only done over a dozen pens or so myself, but I have only used thin CA. Once the CA sets after I've inserted the tubes, I go back and put some thin CA on both ends. I haven't hand any problems so far with a blow out (only done wood though).

The reason I started to glue both ends was because I had a tube come loose from the wood while I was turning. That's when I started to sand my tubes and glue both ends.
 
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