Tube Cleaning

[PMisiaszek]

On a recent trip to Harbor Freight, I picked up a package of Pipe Cleaners, Part #95947. I think it cost about $8, before their perpetual 20% discount. The package contains 10 all-metal brushes, 5 brass and 5 stainless steel. The brushes are about 4" long with a 7" handle. They are in diameters from 1/4" to 1/2" and they are very sturdy. I glue up blanks with CA,Gorilla and epoxy, depending on the blank. I usually need to clean out the tube after the glue up, which can be tedious and time consuming for me. These brushes do one heck of a job cleaning dried glue out of the tube. I use the brass brush if the mess i made is a minor one, but yesterday, my epoxy glue up didn't go well, leaving me a mess to deal with today. The 3/8" SS brush made short work of cleaning out the dried epoxy leaving a pristine tube.

 

[longbeard]

Save yourself some time by plugging the ends of your tubes, i use play-doh.


Harry

 

[PMisiaszek]

I know... I've used that, dentil wax, potato, etc. But I guess I'm just too lazy to consistently do that step. Usually, I'm experienced enough that I don't have tube cleaning issues after glue-up, but occasionally I screw up.

 

[plano_harry]

I have the same brush set and use it on nearly every pen, but the dental wax keeps the work to a minimum.

Harry

 

[thewishman]

Thanks for the tip. Anything to cut down time and trouble is a help.

 

[Ted iin Michigan]

Good tip! Thanks

 

[PapaTim]

I don't know what dental wax costs but I use the polymer clay. You can often find it on sale for $1.29 or so. One pkg will do hundreds of tubes. Pinch off a small piece, knead it and press it flat, plug the end of your tubes and roll up whats left for next time. Doing a dozen tubes take less time than trying to clean the glue out of one pair of tubes.

 

[robersonjr]

I'm a play-doh guy, cheap and last forever.

 

[Justin H]

Jewlery file

My wife makes jewelry. I use her round jewelry file that I bought for her at HF for a couple of bucks.

 

[WriteON]

I ordered a set today. Thanks for posting.

 

[PenMan1]

Save yourself some time by plugging the ends of your tubes, i use play-doh.


Harry

I use plumbers putty. It's cheaper than Pla-Dough and they don't look at you funny at Home Depot when you buy 30 cans. I wish I could say the same for Toys R Us

 

[Tim'sTurnings]

Save yourself some time by plugging the ends of your tubes, i use play-doh.


Harry

I use plumbers putty. It's cheaper than Pla-Dough and they don't look at you funny at Home Depot when you buy 30 cans. I wish I could say the same for Toys R Us

Why in the world would you need to buy 30 cans of plumbers putty? You must make an awful lot of pen blanks. lol
Tim.