Bane of my existence pen +1

[elyk864]

So the Antique brass slimline with brass inserts was the bane of my existence on Saturday as the nature of the cut is very fragile. The top barrel ended up detonating twice on me. I guess third time is the charm.
(It's African Blackwood with brass inserts)

The other pen is a bullet pen in black with Koa wood that I brought back from Hawaii when I was there recently for my brother in laws wedding.

 

[magpens]

Thanks for presenting .... and for persevering so that you had it to present. . Segmented slimlines present challenges because of the small material thickness (near the ends as you have turned it).

That slimline is a truly lovely pen and I congratulate you on it !!!!

The bullet pen is also very attractive. . The hardware and blank go so extremely well together .... very classy combo !!!!

 

[leehljp]

Great looking pen, and I understand that feeling.

The reason it detonated / exploded / had a blowout - can be a combination of two or three reasons.

1. the reason is that the thinner a segmented section becomes, the less strength it has. There are ways around this.

2. the heat difference created in turning segments with brass/aluminum on wood causes adhesion weaknesses which lead to blowouts.

3. unequal glue between the tube and blank.

4. too large a bite, overly aggressive cutting, and slightly dull tools also aggravate the issue.

Since you did get it on the third try, it is obvious that you are not being overly aggressive and that you are maintaining a sharp tool.

Overcoming 1 and 2 above can be done with patience and a change of technique. The thinner you want a segmented blank, the more this next method helps:

Wrap the blank tightly in 3 or 4 layers of gauze and CA it. Turn one end to about halfway down to size. ReWrap with gauze and CA that. Turn the other end of the same blank down to close to the same size. Wrap in gauze and glue; turn the first end down to size, and CA the turned end well; turn the other end to size. From there, take small bites and finish sizing.

As to number 3, on delicate blanks, I use polyurethane glue because it expands. It is messy and requires taping the ends so that the expanding polyurethane glue does not shove the tube out, but it gives a more consistent adhesion and it is a little less affected by the heat.

This is what I do on delicate blanks; I have been told and I agree that I tend to over build and over think problems. But I have fewer problems.

 

[elyk864]

Good info, thank you. I think not having such a dense wood as the African Blackwood would have helped also. If it was a softer wood I probably wouldn't have had as many issues.

Great looking pen, and I understand that feeling.

The reason it detonated / exploded / had a blowout - can be a combination of two or three reasons.

1. the reason is that the thinner a segmented section becomes, the less strength it has. There are ways around this.

2. the heat difference created in turning segments with brass/aluminum on wood causes adhesion weaknesses which lead to blowouts.

3. unequal glue between the tube and blank.

4. too large a bite, overly aggressive cutting, and slightly dull tools also aggravate the issue.

Since you did get it on the third try, it is obvious that you are not being overly aggressive and that you are maintaining a sharp tool.

Overcoming 1 and 2 above can be done with patience and a change of technique. The thinner you want a segmented blank, the more this next method helps:

Wrap the blank tightly in 3 or 4 layers of gauze and CA it. Turn one end to about halfway down to size. ReWrap with gauze and CA that. Turn the other end of the same blank down to close to the same size. Wrap in gauze and glue; turn the first end down to size, and CA the turned end well; turn the other end to size. From there, take small bites and finish sizing.

As to number 3, on delicate blanks, I use polyurethane glue because it expands. It is messy and requires taping the ends so that the expanding polyurethane glue does not shove the tube out, but it gives a more consistent adhesion and it is a little less affected by the heat.

This is what I do on delicate blanks; I have been told and I agree that I tend to over build and over think problems. But I have fewer problems.

 

[leehljp]

Kyle,

It is obvious that you have considerable woodworking experience by the fact that you were able to drill the holes on metal & wood segments. I was not trying to be patronizing with my post, but I did want to offer you a different (and slower) solution.

Be prepared, you will be called upon to explain yourself - meaning "How did you do that?" :biggrin: :good:

 

[elyk864]

No offense taken, it takes a lot more than that to offend me. Good points you brought up to take into consideration. Believe it or not I have only been woodworking for about a year and turning less than that. I just pick up on things quickly I am anal about details.

Kyle,

It is obvious that you have considerable woodworking experience by the fact that you were able to drill the holes on metal & wood segments. I was not trying to be patronizing with my post, but I did want to offer you a different (and slower) solution.

Be prepared, you will be called upon to explain yourself - meaning "How did you do that?" :biggrin: :good: