Pre Drilled Vintage Material

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Robert Sherlock

Robert Sherlock

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Joined
Dec 4, 2009
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Foothill Ranch, CA
Hi all,

I have a pre drilled rod of vintage material but the diameter of the hole is too large for the smaller of the two tubes of the Tuscany I. I attached two pictures to help illustrate. I tried to find some tubes between the two sizes but there is still some slop. Any suggestions?

Robert

photo 1-001.jpg

photo 2-001.jpg
 
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Get a brass rod and, drill it out to the diameter you need then, between centers, turn down the outside diameter you need. Cut it to desired length, and clean up the ends. Just an idea. OR< send it to me. :biggrin:
 
Glue a cheap/spare/unloved blank to the smaller tube, turn the acrylic down so it just fits inside the vintage material's tube, glue it in there. i.e.: use the cheap/spare/unloved blank as a shim to fill the void.
 
Many times when I alter kits and have this problem I double tube my blank by taking 1/4 inch masking tape and run it lenghtwise on the smaller tube. Overlap slightly and cover the tube completely. Test fit to see if the smaller tube will now snugly fit into the larger one. If not add another piece of tape until you have the fit you want, than glue the tubes together. Often times I will cut back about an 1/8 inch on both ends of the larger tube and glue on a trim piece on each end drilled to fit over the smaller tube. That way, when you turn down your ends, you will have a solid and neat fit with a little extra material to play with. Don't worry about those tubes ever comming apart, I have yet to be able to get one apart once glued. Jim S
 
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I would take a piece of oak dowel, drill a hole for the tube, glue in the tube, turn the oak dowel to fit into the vintage material hole and glue oak dowel into the vintage material hole.

Les
 
I have addressed this by using your method and glueing the tubes together using epoxy. The epoxy has a lot of body, and will bridge a fairly large gap. Try it on spare sections of the tubes you are using. You will also notice the epoxy will help you by giving a good concentric result if you twist the tubes as you push them together. The epoxy thickens as it begins to set up, so if you need that extra bit of stiffness wait till the last moment, then work like a crazy man to beat the 'thickening' clock.
 
panamag8or said:
Chatham PenWorks said:
I'm just wondering how much material is gonna be left after filling that gap with brass and epoxy.
Click to expand...

Yep. If you don't have components with a larger OD than the hole in the material, none of those fixes will matter.
Click to expand...

I'd be worried about that too. Seems like it might be time for a kitless or semi kitless adventure.
 
Chatham PenWorks said:
I'm just wondering how much material is gonna be left after filling that gap with brass and epoxy.
Click to expand...


That is why I cut the large tube shorter on both ends and add some other segment to it that is drilled out to fit the small tube. Now you will have the extra thickness to taper or round over your ends to meet your fittings. A nice Ivory , Sterling, or Brass ring would add to the richness of the blank. Also my tape method requires no drilling or extra turning. Jim S
 
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Chatham PenWorks said:
I'm just wondering how much material is gonna be left after filling that gap with brass and epoxy.
Click to expand...

I checked this morning and there seems to be ~just~ enough left on the material to make it work...

jyreene said:
panamag8or said:
Chatham PenWorks said:
I'm just wondering how much material is gonna be left after filling that gap with brass and epoxy.
Click to expand...

Yep. If you don't have components with a larger OD than the hole in the material, none of those fixes will matter.
Click to expand...

I'd be worried about that too. Seems like it might be time for a kitless or semi kitless adventure.
Click to expand...

This very well could lead me into the kitless realm! I have been wanting an excuse to go that route!

Thank you for all of the replies. I have some options now.
 
I watched a video once on youtube of one the Japanese pen maker taking maerial similar to that and dropped it in boiling water for about a minute and pressed it on a hand press.

It stands to reason that compressing the blank would make the inside diameter smaller as it made the outside larger.

Just food for thought
 
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