I think the use of the flexible CA would be more as a glue than a hard finish Dean. The major weakness of CA glue is that it lacks shear strength - it has great pull strength (remember the commercials showing it picking up a car with one drop of CA) but push it sideways and it is next to nothing. The glue shown in the utube would hold better in the sheer directions which is better for gluing in tubes than typical CA,And what about the negatives that may be possible with that. You are relatively fixated on flexibility in every thread that you post in about CA recently. However, there could be a cost to that flexibility. There is at least 2 sides to every debate and product.
Many of us use CA (of a variety of different brands) because of its hardness. It offers a strong solid surface that is longer lasting than many other "typical" wood finishes, most of which are not designed for the day to day handling that pens get.
Add a bunch of flex agents into CA and you might not get the durable finish that you did in the past. Just because you can twist a product in knots doesn't mean it will make a great pen finish.
That should be great for gluing tubes in.
While I agree flexibility in a CA finish and tube adhesion could be beneficial I think and I will stand corrected if wrong Ed was just showing CA flexibility to the extreme and not recommending we buy Loctite 4902 or 4903. Their are a number of CA's that have some flex that are not made for the medical industry at prices that are more in line with what we as pen makers are used to paying maybe a few dollars more but not in the same ball park as Loctite 4902 and 4903.
If that Loc-tite product can provide all of the qualities that are associated with a workable, durable,high-gloss etc finish; wouldn't it be desirable assuming it was affordable and posed no health and safety risks? I am not making a statement; I asking all a genuine question.
If the answer is yes, I would try it. Then only time and handling will tell. I am on the right track?
That should be great for gluing tubes in.
Those whom I have shown, in person mind you, a few samples of what flex can do for you really understands things. As to the crowd who seems to be bashing on flex, I just feel bad for them as they have yet to reach enlightenment, that comes with education among other things.
Why does it matter if others express their "approval" or "disapproval" of how something is done? If the delivery or content of a comment causes one to believe they are stupid or inexperienced and I therefore irrationally adopted that belief (that I believe I am stupid, etc.) wouldn't I have the problem? All questions were asked rhetorically LOL.
Why information is shared or even how it is shared, I don't believe detracts from the value of the information. This isn't about who we are going to include in our wills or share dinner with. We are making pens...and 90% of the time building relatively friendly, at least cordial relationships. I think those are pretty good odds.
Okay...I said what I thought, in this great country that we live in, in the hopes of peace, not perfection, just peace.
Now, I am going to read The Ultimate Pen Book that my beautiful sister in law sent me (Copyright 2010). She found it in the her public library for 10 bucks!
Have a great night folks.
bait? LOL. Hey...made one of your RBs yesterday. I need to post pics. I have a light tent, but too darn lazy.
I have switched to a flex CA finish in the past 8 or so months and ti be honest I am seeing better results out of my pens. I have a lot of attorneys that travel around the country every week that I work with and I have sent pens with several of them to see how the humidity factor against wood held up. As we all know when wood goes from dry to humid back to dry ect... it moves. It expands and contracts. This being said if you dipped a piece of wood in glass and it expanded what would happen to the glass? If you did the same with something that has flex what would happen then? I had a couple pens (this is about 5-8 months after traveling) come back to me cracked which had (not naming the brand because frankly this is simply passing information along, not trying to start a brand war)a rigid CA finish on them. So far I have 6 pens (flex CA) out that are traveling the country and have been for the past 7-8 months that haven't come back to me. So far so good, time obviously will tell. This is in no way saying one is better than the other, it is simple facts that I have seen to be true. Different strokes for different folks as they say. The tests I have going are simply to see which ones work the best in my opinion. For now I will continue to go with a Flex CA. To each their own.
I have switched to a flex CA finish in the past 8 or so months and ti be honest I am seeing better results out of my pens. I have a lot of attorneys that travel around the country every week that I work with and I have sent pens with several of them to see how the humidity factor against wood held up. As we all know when wood goes from dry to humid back to dry ect... it moves. It expands and contracts. This being said if you dipped a piece of wood in glass and it expanded what would happen to the glass? If you did the same with something that has flex what would happen then? I had a couple pens (this is about 5-8 months after traveling) come back to me cracked which had (not naming the brand because frankly this is simply passing information along, not trying to start a brand war)a rigid CA finish on them. So far I have 6 pens (flex CA) out that are traveling the country and have been for the past 7-8 months that haven't come back to me. So far so good, time obviously will tell. This is in no way saying one is better than the other, it is simple facts that I have seen to be true. Different strokes for different folks as they say. The tests I have going are simply to see which ones work the best in my opinion. For now I will continue to go with a Flex CA. To each their own.
How does the flex finish feel? Can you tell the finishes apart once done by visual or feel?
No argument that there would be an advantage to a flexible finish over one that is rigid if you want the glass like finish. The question I would ask (because I don't know the answer) is -- do you get as, for want of a better word, 'nice' a glassy finish with the flex?
The flex finish feels like any other CA finish does. In some cases (i.e. the glue that I use) you have the BLO+CA effect in the bottle so no need to add that. (no yellowing over time either) The additive that yields 'flex' is a rubber byproduct, it's clear and provides added strength for bonding. Adds to shock resistant and bend and forms with pressure. I.e. In person I can show you a pen that has been finished with a flex CA and a clip that has caused the CA to MOVE and reduce stress, pressure and tension from the clip. Also you can put one in a chuck and the CA finish will *NOT* crack or spiderweb. Yet it will mold and bend to the stress provided. (to a limited degree mind you) In closing, no you can not tell the difference with casual observation.
It's not too difficult to get a glass finish out of the flex Ca. The term flex is slightly misunderstood by a lot of people (it was to me until I tried it) that haven't tried it yet. I finishes hard like rigid Ca for the most part. Here is a picture of the first pen I made with a flex Ca finish. It has 5 or 6 coats over my wastewood casting. Please excuse the lack of quality, this was taken with a cell phone a little under a year ago.
The flex finish feels like any other CA finish does. In some cases (i.e. the glue that I use) you have the BLO+CA effect in the bottle so no need to add that. (no yellowing over time either) The additive that yields 'flex' is a rubber byproduct, it's clear and provides added strength for bonding. Adds to shock resistant and bend and forms with pressure. I.e. In person I can show you a pen that has been finished with a flex CA and a clip that has caused the CA to MOVE and reduce stress, pressure and tension from the clip. Also you can put one in a chuck and the CA finish will *NOT* crack or spiderweb. Yet it will mold and bend to the stress provided. (to a limited degree mind you) In closing, no you can not tell the difference with casual observation.
So if this is truly the case, I have one question for you. Instead of constantly bashing other bands and beating around the bush, why haven't you just shared the details of the brand, model and source of this amazing product? Most of us when asked what products work for us, we share our sources. You seem to want to keep this a secret and instead just bash the rest.
Personally I use Bob Smith Industries Super Gold+ Medium. I found if you sand smooth (typically with #600 then with #800 Abranet followed with #2400 or so auto sandpaper (wet) then polished with Novus #3 and #2 it is extremely easy to get the glass looking finish. That is my method, happy to share because we all want to better the industry and help each other out. Here is a link to the CA I use:http://www.amazon.com/Super-gold-gap-filling-Smith-Ind/dp/B0000DD1QN/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1435464829&sr=1-1&keywords=super-gold%2B
Dean I also have a question as I have read every post in this thread and the only bashing is coming from you. I see no bashing of any brand. If a brand was bashed in an other thread your comments belong there. This thread has all been a nice talk except for your and Ed Browns comments. Can't we all play nice
Personally I use Bob Smith Industries Super Gold+ Medium. I found if you sand smooth (typically with #600 then with #800 Abranet followed with #2400 or so auto sandpaper (wet) then polished with Novus #3 and #2 it is extremely easy to get the glass looking finish. That is my method, happy to share because we all want to better the industry and help each other out. Here is a link to the CA I use:Amazon.com : Super-gold gap filling 2oz Bob Smith Ind. : General Purpose Glues : Office Products
Awesome!!! Thank you VERY much... This kind of direct answer is very helpful! From an education perspective, can you tell me how we know this has "flex" agents? It's gap filling, but I don't know that anyone has ever pointed out a correlation there.... Or is it something else I'm missing?
So if this is truly the case, I have one question for you. Instead of constantly bashing other bands and beating around the bush, why haven't you just shared the details of the brand, model and source of this amazing product? Most of us when asked what products work for us, we share our sources. You seem to want to keep this a secret and instead just bash the rest.
Correct, you are missing something. Note the part about the CA hinges? I have been testing things out for some time now...
Correct, you are missing something. Note the part about the CA hinges? I have been testing things out for some time now...
Thank you Ed, I think you just round about answered my other question to you. However your answer doesn't help my question to Jeremieh, it makes it worse. You point out the part about CA hinges, but that points to their insta-flex line. Jeremieh says he uses the super gold, which doesn't line up in your chart with the flex stuff. So my question remains... If the supergold is being used as a great example of flex CA, how do we figure that out since it's not listed as a flex?
Jeremieh - I'm not doubting your results, just trying to figure out how to know its a "flex" product.