Little advice needed

[jmbaker79]

Hey guys, quick question for you...looking into making a ED fountain pen out of some transparent lucite. Since I haven't delved into kit less pens yet, we will be using a coupler on one end and traditional components, closed end on the other. Big issue here is obviously no tube. I do plan to glue an alt ivory section, maybe .5" long, on the front in order to use a small piece of tubing in order for the coupler to fit into. Since this tube will not extend into the lucite, the lucite and ivory will be held together strictly with the glue joint. Sound like a horrible catastrophic failure waiting to happen? My concern is the strength of ca to hold up over time as if the joint ever broke, someone would most likely have to replace an article of clothing if not their carpet, etc...just throwing it out there for advice as I'm going to do it anyway, just giving someone the opportunity to say I told you so...think a ca finish over the lucite will help hold that bond? Thanks in advance, lucite is drilled and polished inside just sitting in a 4 jaw chuck waiting to be handled, doubt I get to it today with all these cakes for the weekend! Maybe tomorrow!?

 

[Drstrangefart]

Could the tube section extend a little way past the alt ivory or is the design set up to not allow that? Seems like there is a chance of the two parts separating unless the alt ivory inserts into the lucite section via a collar.

 

[jmbaker79]

Thought about that.... Was hoping to avoid doing so but may be a necessity. Just need to take a look it it and see how it looks, I have several colored tubes and white may appear as an extension of the ivory...

 

[Drstrangefart]

Ah. Discoloration. Gotcha. Also, some flat paint matching the color of the lucite could work, or nail polish matching the lucite, maybe?

 

[nativewooder]

Were I you, I would complete my dream and use the he** out of it to see if it will hold together. Better to ruin your own clothes/carpet and risk the wrath of your wife rather than anger a customer and get sued.:wink:

 

[jmbaker79]

Were I you, I would complete my dream and use the he** out of it to see if it will hold together. Better to ruin your own clothes/carpet and risk the wrath of your wife rather than anger a customer and get sued.:wink:

Oh absolutely! Wouldn't just pass this design off without being certain it will hold! Could give me a reason to replace the carpet and furniture maybe?

 

[RichF]

You should use a tenon joint between the lucite and alt ivory to add strength.

 

[jmbaker79]

Tenon it will be i think... So how do we feel about the component threads... I notice in the kitless world you guys add a plumbing silicone to the threads to prevent leaks. Done my fair share of plumbing so is this like faucet grease or more like pipe thread sealant? And do you feel it is necessary? Obviously trial and error will tell...

 

[biednick]

Heres what I woyld do. Put a tennon on the lucite, drill it to the size you need. Drill a hole in the alt ivory that your tube fits in, then enlarge part to match your tennon. Glue the tube in, glue the 2 sections together, good to go. It will look just like you glue them flat, but have more strength. I recomend epoxy over ca.

 

[Smitty37]

just for what it is worth CA glue is not well known for great shear strength. The joint would probably never pull apart but might well shear under the right conditions. I think epoxy has better shear strength but can't swear to that.

 

[ericofpendom]

Hi Folks, please forgive my complete ignorance but what is ED short for? I have seen it a few times and racked my brain trying to think what it can mean but to no avail. I'm sure it will be something very simple and obvious but I can't think what!

Eric...

 

[Curly]

Hi Folks, please forgive my complete ignorance but what is ED short for? I have seen it a few times and racked my brain trying to think what it can mean but to no avail. I'm sure it will be something very simple and obvious but I can't think what!

Eric...

ED = Eye Dropper. You transfer the ink from the bottle to the pen with an eye dropper to fill it.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Maybe male thread on the lucite and female on the ivory and glue and thread them together. That way it's mot just the glue holding the joint together.

 

[ericofpendom]

Cheers Curly

 

[KenV]

General CA has a tendency to be brittle and increase that brittleness with time. Probably not the best choice for adhesive for a long term heirloom pen.

There are some high quality versions that are reported to be more archival, and there are some with flexibility (have only seen black) -

Epoxy looks like the best adhesive.