What am I doing wrong??

[mvaldez]

I can't get a flush ends after doing a ca finish. And when I press the prices together this is what I get
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[billspenfactory]

few things to try. Make sure you seal the ends with ca before finishing. Make sure that the ends are cut and squared to the end of the tubes so that you are not pushing on the wood along and not the brass tube when you put your pen together. Then don't press hard or over press when putting your pen together. I have done that a number of times and will break loose the ca. Just a few things to watch for.

 

[JustmeinMS]

It is called de-lamination or as I like to call it "fingernailing." It is caused by the CA being the first thing the fitting comes in contact with when pressing it in. Take a razor knife with a new blade and trim the excess CA from the end down to the wood. Or you can use double-sided tape to stick a piece of 400 grit sandpaper (with a hole big enough to slide over the mandrel) to the mandrel base and turn it on slow. Then, just ease your blank up the mandrel and gently touch it against the sandpaper until the excess CA is removed back to flush. This will cause a little ridge to form on the end, but it is no problem to take blank off the mandrel and touch up the edges on the same sandpaper while it is still turning. Then finish and polish.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Get the sanding / finishing mandrel offered by rherrell (sp?). I've not had any problems at all since using it. Well worth the purchase.