Excelent start Mark, and nice looking pen as well to boot.
I agree with Bob, I don't believe it was because you took too much of its down to the gluing technique.
As said, use medium CA or better use epoxy, takes a little longer to set but in my opinion a far better option than CA.
Only my opinion tho.:wink:
I use the little wooden stirring sticks ( the ones that the famous coffee shop uses to stir your coffee) to put adhesive inside the blank. 
Only the ones that I have used to stir my coffee you must understand tho..
Look forward to the next stage..
