HELP my olive wood is cracking

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
D

DENZ-PENZ

Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
4
Location
Mount Airy, GA
Hi, I am new to this forum.
I have been turning pens for about 5 months. I wanted to do some new stuff so I bought some olivewood that had been cut from a board(yea, I know all of it was a board to begin with;^) Anyway, I started cutting, drilling and gluing these blanks. When I got them turned down and started to assemble the pens I have run into a problem with the finial(cap?). I am having a HARD time getting the cap into the end of the tube, when it does go in it is cracking the wood blank on that end.
This is on a "comfort pen". I use mostly 7mm tubes but don't keep them separate from kit to kit, could this be my problem?
Thank you in advance, Dennis
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Dennis , One of your problems may be glue in the end of the tube and when you press in the finial it is causing the end of the tube to expand too much cracking the end .
Try cleaning ALL the glue out with a small round file or a hobby knife just be careful to not over do it or your finials will then be loose .
Oh and welcome to the group .
 
Thanks

Thanks Butch;
I had not thought of that, I usually drill them out when I square the ends but these did seem a little more tight. Thank you for your help, Dennis
 
Dennis,
Yes sometimes the variances from one kit to another could cause this problem, but more likely is a variance in the finial from this batch of kits. If the machinist (or tooling) was getting to tired the part could be slightly oversized and that will cause your problem.

I agree with Butch above. Try using a small file to clear out the tube, or enlarge it if necessary for a smoother fit. I have done this on some pens before and just use one a small drop of epoxy on the part if it gets "too loose".

Good luck.
 
Instead of using epoxy or CA to glue in loose parts like finials use "Loctite" red . It holds well and if you ever need to take the pen apart the loctite will allow you to disassemble it with out runing the blank .
 
Dennis, in my experience, I've had that happen when I haven't actually squared the blank evenly or all the way down to the tube. If there's just a tad of overhang it will force the wood, pressure will crack it. Sanding by hand will usually be able finish off the overhanging wood enough to be even with the tube. Even a fraction of an inch - with the Slimlines and Comfort pens - will lead to cracking when you press the parts together.
 
I am with Butch,I think there is glue in the tube.Been there,done that,bought the t-shirt.Now I use small files to clean out the tubes.


worship-IAP.gif
 
ldb2000 said:
Instead of using epoxy or CA to glue in loose parts like finials use "Loctite" red . It holds well and if you ever need to take the pen apart the loctite will allow you to disassemble it with out runing the blank .
Click to expand...

I have never used Loctite in this particular application so I may just be blowing smoke. Loctite red is the heavy duty high temp version of the product and is much stronger than the blue version. I'm thinking the blue version should be more than strong enough yet easier to disassemble if the situation arises. Anyone out there ever used both products on pens that can offer an opinion on which is more appropriate?
 
I use the red because thats what I had in my toolbox but the blue should work as well . When I need more I will still get the red , not that I ever have to take apart any of MY pens ....:rolleyes:.... But I have disassembled a few of my friends pens....:wink:.... and never had any problems getting them apart and I hope the extra strength will make any repairs reversibly permanent .
 
Thanks

Thank you ALL!!
I will have to glue up some more in the morning, I will try the "tater trick" to eliminate the glue plus make sure that the wood is even with the tube. I will have to look for a small, fine, round, file, I like that idea also. Thanks for all of the input, This is why I joined this forum, HELP AND INFORMATION, You guys are GREAT!, Dennis
 
I also like to use the red. All it takes is a couple of extra whacks on the disassembly tool to knock it loose but in everyday use, a finial or a nib will never come apart.
 
Dennis: My father and I use a small chainsaw file to clean out the tubes after gluing in the tubes, but before using the pen mill. This seems to help us and like others have said could put an end to your problems.
 
I certainly learned something new reading this post and the following answers, everyone is so helpful, and this is a major part of what makes the IAP so great. I know I can count on some help if I run into a problem. Also shortens the learning curve just be reading what others are going thru. Just goes to show you, the only dumb question is the one not asked.
 
7mm tubes are all the same, I think glue in the tube is the likely cause as others have mentioned. A similar cause is not pushing the finals in straight. If they go in crooked, they can cause cracking. Make sure everything is lined up well. If the parts go out of alignment during pressing, Stop and re-align or pull the parts apart and try again.
Another possible cause could be humidity in the wood. If the wood was not at a compatable humidity to your shop humidity then the wood will swell or shrink and can crack with the added stress of putting in the final.
 
I coat the inside of all my tubes with johnson wax before gluing the tube in. when it is dry you can remove the glue , very simple to do this way. just use a q-tip to put the wax inside.you will be surprise how simple this make the assembly of all pens
 
I agree with Joel that a chamfering tool is very important in pen assembly. I use one and it has eliminated assembly problems because the sharp edge is removed and parts are easier to align.
 
OLDMAN5050 said:
I coat the inside of all my tubes with johnson wax before gluing the tube in. when it is dry you can remove the glue , very simple to do this way. just use a q-tip to put the wax inside.you will be surprise how simple this make the assembly of all pens
Click to expand...

I like this tip! I worry about using wax and clay, if you get it on the outside of the tube, the glue will not stick. This idea controls the application area nicely and bulk wax is quite inexpensive.
I push a 1/4" chainsaw file throught the tube after the glue dries. With wax inside, the glue should pop out easily.
Thanks for the tip!
 
Permatex makes a blue thread locking GEL that works GREAT and being a GEL is EASY to apply. A TEENY bit on a toothpick applied to the inside of the tube and you're good to go. It holds just good enough to make it somewhat difficult to disassemble but not TOO bad. One container is about $10 and I'll bet it will do AT LEAST 500 pens. Like I said, A LITTLE goes a LONG way.:wink:
I got mine at Advance Auto Parts.
 
The higher the number on the Loctite the stronger the bond.I use 680 to put the bullets into my cartridge for bullet pens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom