glue

[Fatstrat]

hey everyone,
im reely new to this thing, i.e. 2 complete pens so far, the third exploded (dull skew). So, ive been using thick CA for the tubes, but dont like it. not sure why, so...im thinkin of using gorillaglue just cuz it foams and fills cracks and stuff...and is somewhat flexible.
Is that a good choice? What are its limitations? I plan to be using a lot of dymondwoods, so...got any suggestions?
also, dymondwood and other stabilized woods are said to produce a good finish just by sanding, no other finish required. Whats your opinion of this?
and as far as the sanding and buffing of enduro...
after 12000MM, do i still need the rouge, or skip to the white diamond, or what?

yeah, probably a bunch of dumb questions if i were to think about it, but id appreciate advice. (im tryin to learn from your experience and minimize my mistakes)
Thanks

 

[stevers]

Read my signature.

Never be afraid to ask, thats what we are here for.

 

[pssherman]

Welcome to IAP.
If you go to the library you will find lots of articles, tutorials and such that can answer your current questions and many more that you haven't thought of yet.

Use sharp tools and learn how to sharpen them.
The most common adhesives for gluing the tube in the blank are: CA, poly (gorilla glue) and epoxy.
Dymondwood is very hard, you will need to sharpen tools often (ie more than once per pen) and will produce a very nice gloss without any additional finish. I would use a polish after the sanding (wet) for best gloss on dymondwood.

Once again, spend some time in the library, you will be amazed at how much you can learn there. Also look at some of the threads in the forums. You can learn about things you didn't even know existed.

Oh, we like to see pictures. Completed pens and problems that you have. You will receive comments on how to improve and how to fix or avoid problems.

 

[rherrell]

If you MM to 12,000 and then buff you're going backwards. Try sanding to 600 and then buff. I don't use Enduro but it works for CA.

 

[R2]

Welcome from Oz Fatsrat.
Your questions are not "dumb". You don't know, you want information, you ask questions and you WILL get all the help you need on this forum.
All the best!

 

[Hello]

Welcome to pen turning Fatstrat!
I'm somewhat new also....(about a year in, 40'ish finished pieces).
Here's my $0.02.......
I love thick CA - I rarely use anything less (I prefer at least 80cP).
I've heard great things about gorilla glue, and some of this sites "masters" use it, so I bet its great!
I only own two tools...a 1/2inch roughing gouge and a parting tool. I haven't yet discovered what the big deal is about the skew....I have no difficulty getting smooth cuts with the roughing gouge. The guy who got me into turning was all "dude, you'll get cofortable with the skew eventually, its the only tool thats gonna' get this smooth of a cut....blah blah blah". I disagree.
anyway.....that's my $0.02...good luck and have fun.

 

[Neodon1]

Their rite, gorilla glue sometimes exspands
and will be a mess as well as possibally ruining
your wood or medium used.
I have used it once ,and that's what happened to me.

Neodon1 [8D]

 

[sparhawk]

I use ca to glue segments and finish wood. But i only use 5 minute two part epoxy to glue tubes in. NO reason (other than that time i got a tube glued half way into a blank with ca and it stuck there)5 minute epoxy wait 30 minutes -turn . hope this helps ,and by the way WELCOME! This is the best place to learn. Ask questions no matter how dumb they may seem. The only dumb question is the one never asked.If these guys dont know the answer they will make somethin up>[}]

 

[gerryr]

I've used CA, 15 minute epoxy, Gorilla Glue and Sumo Glue to glue in tubes. I never got along well with CA for gluing tubes and hated Gorilla Glue after the expansion pushed a tube almost half way out of a blank. If I'm only gluing tubes for a 2-3 pens I use Sumo Glue, any quantity larger than that I mix up a batch of epoxy. Sumo Glue is a poly but it doesn't expand or foam as much as Gorilla Glue.

Very rarely have I had a piece of stabilized wood that didn't need a finish. I mean 1 out of 200 blanks. I still have a piece of Brown Mallee Burl that will polish like glass with no finish, but that's pretty much it. I bought the wood for reel seat inserts for fly rods and never used it all. I've only made one pen from Diamondwood and I finished it with CA because it needed a finish.

All the wood pens I make, whether finished with Unaxol or CA, are sanded to 12000 MM and then buffed with white diamond. I've tried plastic polish and swirl remover, but neither one gives me the shine that WD does, looks just like glass. I don't even own any Tripoli.

 

[loglugger]

Fatstrat, I use Elmer's Ultimate Glue it is a poly like Gorlla but it dosen't seem to foam quite as much I don't use any water and have never had one come apart. Wally World

 

[ahoiberg]

welcome aboard. i'd suggest trying medium CA, you have to act a little quicker, but i love med CA for gluing tubes.

 

[aurrida]

i use 5 minute epoxy simply because it cleaner. in the past have used medium and thick ca all 3 have held without problem.

one final thought is i aways run thin ca in the hole of a drilled out wooden blank for added stability.

 

[Rudy Vey]

If I prepare a lot of wood blanks at a time, I use Poly, actually I use poly pretty much on all my wood blanks. Make sure to put a rubber band around the pen blank with the glued in tube - poly foams quite a bit and can sometimes push the tubes out during the curing process. I let these cure for about 24 hours.
For all my other blanks I use 5 min epoxy (Devcon), and also use the same glue when I have to turn some pens the same day.

 

[Monty]

IMHO, it's all a matter of personal opinion as to which glue is best.
I prefer thick CA. I plug the end of the tube, drizzle a little thick CA into the hole in the blank, then a little on the tube. Insert and twist the tube in and out a few times to be sure I have complete coverage before I leave it in to cure. I find I have about 30 seconds before the CA begins to cure and the tube is fixed in place.

 

[Jarheaded]

I like to use thick CA because I have little patience for drying time. I accidentally drilled a hole with a 27/64 bit when I should have used a 25/64, so I had a real problem. It was a piece of wood that a customer had supplied so I was really in trouble. I grabbed my gorilla glue and used it for the first time ever. It saved the blank and the customer was happy with the job and ordered a few more pens(with a more common wood). I keep it on the bench next to all the other glues and use it once in a while. It doesn't work well as a finish though.

 

[Fatstrat]

Alright, thanks everyone. I think i'll just try a few different glues and see what i like best.

P.S. I'll post some pics soon so you can all critique my work. Let me know what im doing wrong, where to improve, etc.

Thanks again

 

[BrentK]

I use to use CA for my tubes. I havent turned alot of pens. But had alot of problems with the blank exploding. Started using gorrilla glue prep blanks the night before let dry over night. I havent had any of these blanks blow up. I highly reccomend gorrilla glue.

 

[Hello]

Originally posted by ahoiberg

welcome aboard. i'd suggest trying medium CA, you have to act a little quicker, but i love med CA for gluing tubes.

this is why i love thick CA...you don't hav to act as quickly....my friend uses thin CA for gluing tubes....at least once a week I hear this violent cursing as a tube has become stuck half ay into the blank on him. I use thick CA for finishing because it only takes three coats, and its thick enough that I rarely have to worry about sanding through.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Fatstrat
I've tried all of the glues and keep coming back to the thick CA... epoxy is too messy for me and GG's expansion is a problem.. I let all my pens sit overnight anyway, so drying is no problem with me.

For a finish, I prefer the thin CA... I can't seem to get a good handled on using the thicker CA's for a finish.. I've seen some really beautiful finishes and watched a few tims while it's done at demo's... still working on it myself.