Ruined another one!

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Dominic Greco

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Jun 26, 2004
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Location
Richboro, PA, USA.
This is starting to get to be a bad habit. I just turned a beautiful mesquite designer (Stealth pen actually) style pen with turquoise inlays last night and now it won't work!

This pen was my first successful attempt at using CA glue as a finish. I followed Scott Greaves advice and used BLO in conjunction with heavy, and thin CA glue. The finish was amazingly easy to apply and is smooth as anything!

After applying the finish, and sanding with micromesh, I took the parts off the lathe. The parts were pressed together with no problems. However this morning, when I attempted to show the pen to a coworker, it would not turn! It's like the mechanism froze up. Or was glued together.

I've had this happen once before with these designer style pens. The cap/band (that sits between the 2 pen shafts about the middle of the pen) fits too loose on the end of the cap, so I place a dab of medium super glue on the end of the tenon, and spread it around so there is no "over-squeeze". I then press the cap/band on and away I go. I believe thats where the glue came from.

Aside from not allowing enough time to pass for the glue to cure before I press the parts together, what else am I doing wrong? Is there any way to fix this? Or is the now one of my "Display" pens?

Thanks,
Dominic
 
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Hey Dom,

Did you remove the top barrel and see if the mechanism would still twist? That will determine if it is the center band binding it or the actual mechanism.

I've only had 1 that seemed to bind and it was due to too thick a build up of the CA. The lip of the center band that overlaps the bottom barrel was too tight on the barrel. It was because I had turned the bottom barrel to the bushing size THEN applied the CA, which effectively made it too thick. Now I turn to the bushing, sand SLIGHTLY lower, then put on the CA and sand back down to the bushing. If you don't take the wood slightly thinner than the bushing, then you will sand all the CA off (DAMHIKT).

Well, that was the problem *I* had, your mileage may vary very much.

Chuck.
 
Hi Dominic!

I'm glad the CA finish worked out for you!

I just have no patience for pens that do this to me! I scold them shamelessly, and do things like throw them about the room, but they still seem to be troublemakers at heart.

It is possible that some thin glue got in the transmission and stopped it up. Did it seem to work while you were assembling the pen? If it was working, and now isn't, then it is probably the glue. If so, you might try putting drop of acetone on the mechanism, and working it a bit. Warming it might also help. In the future try using blue loctite to glue pen parts together during assembly. It just seems more forgiving.

Take care!

Scott.
 
When I glue on the CB of a Designer pen, I spray accellorator into the lower end of the upper barrel to ensure that any squeeze out is hardened.

Also I would ditto what Chuck said, you might have to tight a fit where the CB overlaps the lower barrel. I will sometimes cut a small tenon and/or taper the very end of the lower barrel to make sure it will fit into the lower end of the CB.
 
Hi i feel your pain but tingtly rap your turned pen and all of the exposed fittings in painters tape the blue stuff thta stick but eaisly removed and i mean tight this will prvent exposer exposer from what acetone you can buy it in a big jug but it also is in nail polish remover look for the one labeled 100% acetone if you wrap allthe exposed areas with the tape and i mean tight and lots of it this is no time to be frugal. Acetone is the known and accepted solevent of methenol cyanoacrillic glue and should free your pen from it's useless state if you get the stuff on your hands it will or should feel cold because it evaporates very quickly taking your body heat with it after soaking and freeing your pen let it sit out still wrappedfor a few hours just to be sure all is gone and you should be back in business

Note i have never tryed this but it will
a) work
b) work too well and a product of not wrapping the tape tight enough take the finish off the pen which will be worthless without trying this any how
so it is all uo to you good luck. !
 
Thanks for the tips everyone.

The pen cannot be pulled apart. No matter how hard I try, it will not budge. I guess that the glue bonded the mechanism to the upper shaft. It will twist, but I'm pretty sure that the mechanism is "stripped" where it comes in contact with the brass body. The lower section can be rotated, but the pen point doesn't move.

So, I guess this one is shot. Oh well......

Thankfully, I was able to successfully turn (and assemble) a couple more pens this past weekend. So I'm not feeling like a total looser.

Thanks for your help.
 
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