CA Finish Cracking

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Lmstretch

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I had a case of pens I made about 5 years ago that was left in an enclosed trailer outside for those years. They were just returned to me, and all but one were cracked. Is the temperature changes the cause if the cracking?
 
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Yes, I had two zipped cases with about 25 pens in them. Took them to an establishment where my daughter worked to show off. I decided to take them to the car for safe keeping (winter time) When I looked inside the cases they were all cracked. They say the brass tubes expand in extreme temperatures. Hot or cold.
 
If it's the wood that cracked, it's probably the change in temp and humidity. If it's the CA that cracked, it could be the brand of CA you used and how hard or brittle it got over the years from not being flexible and possibly too much accelerator.
 
Question for the experts: If the pens are gradually moved until they reach the temperature of the new environment, would this prevent them from cracking?

For instance, if I had a pen outside in cold weather and moved it into a garage that was a little warmer, waited a bit and heated the garage, and finally moved the pen inside, would this prevent the pen from cracking since the change in temperature is very gradual?
 
Flintski22 said:
Question for the experts: If the pens are gradually moved until they reach the temperature of the new environment, would this prevent them from cracking?

For instance, if I had a pen outside in cold weather and moved it into a garage that was a little warmer, waited a bit and heated the garage, and finally moved the pen inside, would this prevent the pen from cracking since the change in temperature is very gradual?
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:):) Experts? I am sorry there will be no one here that can tell you how a pen will react under any conditions. Every CA is not the same. Every coating and layers is not the same. Everyone's method is not the same. Use of accelorator or not may or may not play a roll. I would think maybe and this is a long shot but a scientist who has studied things like this may. There are people who have studied finishes in general under various scenerios. Wood itself acts differently from species to species. Way too many variables. The only thing people here can definely tell you that extreme cold and heat can have an effect on the finish as well as cracking of the wood because we all have seen it. There are many woods that will crack even if they had no finish on them. Remember too add this to the list of unknowns what adhesive was used to glue tubes in. This is important because wood movement in extreme weather can crack a finish. Remember CA is a top coating. It is not an oil that sinks into the wood fibers and adheres to them. like a Danish oil or others. Would a more flexible CA perform better who knows? Again too many variables. We try to avoid the extremes and that is the best we can do. There is no perfect finish for a pen. At least I know of none. Now all this is my opinion and I have been told many times I am wrong so take it for what its worth. By the way the very first part of your question, I believe there would be no moving. Extreme would have cracked that pen right away. Same for heat.
 
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