CA separation

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sorcerertd

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Has anyone found a way to fix this besides a scrape down and redo? You can see it all down the edge, too.
Maybe my CA was too brittle. Maybe bogwood is oilier than I thought. Maybe the fitting was a little too tight of a fit. A little of each? All I know for sure is that this is really annoying on an otherwise nice pen.

Screenshot_20210418-204126_Gallery.jpg
 
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egnald

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This used to happen to me more often than I like to remember - the little gray "air pocket" type of adhesion failures that is. It was very frustrating. I don't know for sure what the cause was but like you, I don't remember noticing it until everything was pressed together. Since then, I have changed my regimen in a few ways, but I don't know if any one of the changes maybe made the difference, as you said, maybe a little of each.

Here are the changes that made a difference for me. After applying CA on the lathe (I use the non-stick bushings). I remove the blanks and sand the "fingernail" build-up on the ends using my blank squaring jig and disc sander. At one time I just used some 400 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and moved the blank in figure 8's to sand off the excess. Following that, using a paper towel as a blotter I put several drops of thin CA down and use it to coat the ends, just in case I exposed any bare wood when I cleaned them off. (Sometimes I do this twice, especially if there is any evidence of wood or staining on the blotter when I twist the blank ends on it). I think this might not only seal the ends up but also puts a little CA up over the edge to make a seal with the other CA on the pen.

Before assembly, I use a chamfer tool on the ends of the blank and I smear a little Renaissance Wax on the inside of the tube to act as a lubricant when I am pressing. Before pressing if the parts fee exceedingly tight I might take a chainsaw file to the inside of the blank and re-apply the wax just to make sure that I am not expanding the tube too much by pressing the parts in.

Since making these changes I can't remember experiencing this problem again. I've had full on cracks in the wood from pressing but not the little gray "air pocket" type of adhesion failures on the ends. Unfortunately, I don't have any magic repair method short of what you already know - sand and re-finish.

Good luck on your re-work.
Dave
 

jttheclockman

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Nope strip it down. Not worth the effort to try to fix. Start over. That is underneath so no matter what you have to get down to wood again. Hey everyone is in love with Gluboost as the new miracle, or whatever it is called. Maybe try that stuff. Good luck.
 

Kenny Durrant

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I agree with both responses. As John said you need to start over and refinish the pen. I wouldn't risk going through a bunch of steps and missing something and be back to square one.
if I read David's reply correctly and which I've done is to get a little CA on the end of the tube and when you press it together it crushes the CA on the end. Before pressing the pen together make sure the ends of the brass are clean with no drips to enter fear between the tube and kit components.
 

Dalecamino

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Yes...start over. The next time you press your parts in, go up to the blank and STOP. The pen parts are lifting the CA from the blanks surface due to pressing too far. This is what our members told me when I had the same issue years ago. It worked for me, and I'm just passing it along. Good luck!
 

leehljp

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1. If you don't start totally over, the new area will appear a shade different than the old areas.

2. That is what started the TBC business. But TBC is not necessarily the answer in your case. Bushings sticking and then snapping off - caused CA to lift up away from the blank on the ends.

IF you pressed too hard in assembly; if you had a smidgen of glue inside the tube; if you tapped the ends of the tubes - any of these, or sticking bushings can be the cause. AND the other thing in common is oily blanks. Treat oily blanks with tenderness, or the ends will lift off.

I coat the ends with thin CA as I am finishing up in order to help seal the ends too.
 

MRDucks2

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Not sure how you press your parts in but after having a couple of Chapter meetings at my old shop, I realize that if anyone was using my little HF 1 Tom arbor press I needed to warn them about both alignment and pressing too hard. It is nice but more than is really needed.

when I get these issues I disassemble and remove the finish with a scraper and refinish. Be sure you go back to the bare wood all the way across or you will have color change and make sure it is well cleaned before re-coating or you could end up with white spots, flakes or lines underneath.
 

sorcerertd

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Thanks for the replies. It looked perfect until I pressed it. The fit was pretty tight, but I certainly could have pressed it too hard also. I'd guess this happened because of pressing to hard since its' not a crack. Oh well, one thing is for sure, it's already stretched out as much as it's going to be, so one less thing to cause trouble.
 

Pierre---

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When this occurs to me (usually because of a harsh trimming), a drop of thin CA on the end after disassembly solves the problem... half the time.
 

sorcerertd

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I've had that happen with the trimming, too. Usually, it works well with the sanding mill type set up with the transfer punch, chuck, sanding disc on the lathe. It's scraped down now. I'm going to wait until the gluboost shows up and try that. Of course, I'll need a little buildup now that it's been scraped down.

I've tried putting a little CA on the ends to seal them after the final squaring/sanding, but usually end up with a little ridge. Guess I should practice that to get the right amount and proper application technique.
 
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