jbg230
Member
I took John T's advice (and others) and started using System Three T-88 epoxy to glue in my tubes. Definitely like it better than CA. Worked great on a bolt action kit I did recently with two acrylic sections glued together (one stars and the other wavy stripes).
Then I went to make a modified Slimline pen as a gift and screwed it up. I wanted the modified version of using just one long blank, not two blank sections that twist in the center. I had turned one of KD Creative's really nice acrylic Giraffe blanks. Not thinking, I glued in the brass tube like I was making a modified PENCIL, not a PEN. So I glued in an entire 7mm , 4 1/4" brass tube. The PEN version requires using the two brass tubes that come with the kit and only gluing in the tube section closest to the clip. The transmission presses into the back end of the "nib section" tube and that tube never gets glued in.
Sooo, I had to remove the brass tube to salvage this thing. Great- John said T-88 was the strongest epoxy!
I thought about the ways that have been suggested here and decided to try and drill it out. I think what helped was the fact that I painted the tube with an acrylic paint.
First I used a 1/4 drill bit in the drill press, just holding the blank tight in my hand. Then I used a size "F" drill bit and wouldn't you know it, the friction must have heated things up enough that the tube started twisting out. It worked great. The tube was stuck on the bit afterwards, but it wasn't too hard to remove it and not damage the bit.
I'm not sure what this would've been like had I not painted the tube, but this is the method that worked for me and I'm putting it in my "How to do" notebook in my head.
Then I went to make a modified Slimline pen as a gift and screwed it up. I wanted the modified version of using just one long blank, not two blank sections that twist in the center. I had turned one of KD Creative's really nice acrylic Giraffe blanks. Not thinking, I glued in the brass tube like I was making a modified PENCIL, not a PEN. So I glued in an entire 7mm , 4 1/4" brass tube. The PEN version requires using the two brass tubes that come with the kit and only gluing in the tube section closest to the clip. The transmission presses into the back end of the "nib section" tube and that tube never gets glued in.
Sooo, I had to remove the brass tube to salvage this thing. Great- John said T-88 was the strongest epoxy!
I thought about the ways that have been suggested here and decided to try and drill it out. I think what helped was the fact that I painted the tube with an acrylic paint.
First I used a 1/4 drill bit in the drill press, just holding the blank tight in my hand. Then I used a size "F" drill bit and wouldn't you know it, the friction must have heated things up enough that the tube started twisting out. It worked great. The tube was stuck on the bit afterwards, but it wasn't too hard to remove it and not damage the bit.
I'm not sure what this would've been like had I not painted the tube, but this is the method that worked for me and I'm putting it in my "How to do" notebook in my head.
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