Alternative Adhesive for Acrylics Question

[pecartus]

A question, I have been using Gorilla Glue on wood pen blanks and have been very satified, but the Gorilla Glue doesnt work very well with acrylics and other man made materials, Is there anything out there that works to adhere barrels (tubes) to arcrylic blanks other than CA?

What do penturners use (product name) for acrylic adhesives who are allergic to CA?

 

[ilikewood]

Hey Patrick...nice to have you back.

I use a 5 minute epoxy and have had good results. The only problem I have ever had is when I sand and heat the blank up too hot....this causes the epoxy to go soft. I now know that and keep the blank cool.

 

[jwoodwright]

I use Poly for Accrylics and the Celluoids... My trick is to drill with correct bit. Let it cool. Then use a 1/64 larger bit to give glue room to expand. Let it cool. Swab inside of blank with wet Q-tip, Smear Poly on Tube, insert with a twist. Next Day, Barrel Trimmer and Mount and Turn... []

 

[pecartus]

Bill,

Its great to be back, wow, a lot of new members and now the IAP is official. You leave for a while and things change, go figure . I have been burning the candle on both ends with a family crisis (Mother's health disingrated rapidly) and keeping the flatwork business going. A lot of life lessons have been learned this summer for me. Sorry, didnt want to get carried away here.

What brand is the 5 minute epoxy do you use? I have noticed the heating issues also with sharp tools as well, and keep water by the lathe for the tool, so how do you keep the acrylic cooled down while working with it? Maybe this is a stupid question, but I would sure like to know.

Jwoodwright - thanks for your response, I pretty much follow your process except for the larger bit for expansion, do you do this to eliminate the floating problems that sometimes occur with the barrels? or just give it more room to expand for a better grip? What do you do for friction heating while turning? this is where I get into trouble even with very sharp tools, the barrels start to spin from glue breakdown. Maybe patience is a keyword for me here . Last question, what poly glue (if not Gorilla)do you use?

Again thanks for the welcome back, Bill

 

[ilikewood]

I can't remember the brand name right off hand, but I would guess it is Tite-Bond. I pick up the syringe setup at HomeDepot. I can then just squeeze out what I need and recap the syringe.

I had a little problem with heating while tooling, but I slowed my lathe down and that solved the problem.

 

[wayneis]

I've done about 30 different acrylic and man made types of pen blanks and I have had very good luck with the following method. I believe first and most important is plenty of water to keep the bit and blank cool. I use a thirty cc syringe with a needle that I filled the point down. I only drill an eighth to quarter of an ince at a time and squirt water into the hole as soon as I withdraw the bit, I then wait a few seconds and drill a bit more. Sometimes If I have a blank that wants to be nasty I even turn off the drill untill the bit is complete cool and do something else comeing back every once in a while and drill a bit more. As far as glue goes, I was using CA for most but now have went back to using almost all epoxy not only on acrylics but wood also. I've made several hundred pens and have only had maybe two or three break free when turning. I believe my carefull preperation has really paid off for me. I always sand the tubes very good and make sure that I have spread plenty of glue in the tubes, I use enough that when I puch the tube in the glue comes out the other side, ca or epoxy. I probably waist a bunch of glue but I'd rather waist glue than blanks. Sorry for being so wordy,

Wayne

 

[pecartus]

Wayne,

Thanks for the advise, the syringe idea is a good one for drilling, and I guess I need to use more patience on the lathe while turning the acrylics to help eliminate heat on the blank and tools.

 

[jwoodwright]

To answer your question:
I use Elmer's ProBond Poly. I also use a B&D Bullet Tip Bit for the Initial hole. The extra 1/64th is for Poly Expansion. Without it, tubes were forced out by the foaming. This foaming is a good thing, it means you have a serious bond.

You must wait 24 hrs... For the Poly to completely Heal.

I know, I hate waiting too![]

Poly will go bad, air is bad. Moist air is worst. I store mine upside down...[8D]

I drill at a slower speed, and take it easy, backing out often. I turn it at 1800 rpm, sometimes at 1280 rpm on my Jet Mini. Your tools must be razor sharp and honed occassionally while turning. It takes a very light touch. Like thay said "Haste makes Waste"...[]