Sod Law

[Tiny James]

Yep well I was waiting to have a new light delivered because the day I decided to start pen turning again it broke so I had to order a new lighting panel (LED).

At the weekend I started collecting all my tools and pen parts for a day in the garage turning a pen. So I found my mandrel and just as I remembered it, the mandrel had a part turned set of pen blank's on it , so not wanting to waste it I finish it. So the finished pen blanks are all polished up and ready for the pen it. Bugger I can't find the kit, So that was a waist of time. So then I decided to get a blank ready for turning so I drilled it out and when it came to the glue up could I find my CA glue no so with it being to late in the day to run out and buy a new tube of super glue. yes thing's for the new pen are not going to well, so I use gorilla glue ( glue that you have to have water to get it to dry) so with this in mind I mix it with black ink. and call it a night so the glue has time to set.

So today I go to mount the bushes on my mandrel well the trials of yesterday follow on from Sunday the bushings will no slide on. so I have too turn between center's. Turning done and now it looking good all polished and ready for assembly I first thought I could push the first part in a little bit and finish of with a bench vice well I did and found that the Gorilla glue was completely wrong glue too use as the tube moved out the other end So I had to nip out and but some CA glue.

Glue bought and pen blank cleaned down.

I apply the glue and leave to dry. with user manual in hand I start to insert the end of the kit into the blank but every time I start it off it starts to twist NO matter what I do, yep (bench vice, pillar drill, quick grip clamps) They will not slide in square so I make a mandrel to fit the end of the pen into and try it back on the pillar drill YES it worked all pushed up square But the brass tube was showing at the other end, I quickly sand it down on the bench sander and now all finished and I quite like the look of this pen.







What do you think of my pen only my second pen with 8 year in between first and second lol

Christmas gift one made only 5 more to go
James

 

[Tiny James]

some reason the second image needed to be rotated

 

[Bill Mooney]

Gorilla glue works well. All I do is blow down the hole in the blank, this gives enough moisture to set the glue off. When I put my tubes in I run beads of glue around the tube then twist it into the blan, pushing in & pulling out so the whole tube is coated with glue before finally pressing it home. The bond of ca can fail.

 

[flexi]

I use exactly the same method as Bill and have not had a tube failier yet...
But I too have had weekends like you, best described as a teacher once said
"Somedays you are the Pigeon other days you are the statue"

 

[Phil Dart]

Well worth the effort and the hassle James. Great looking pen.

As Bill has said, you generally don't need to introduce water to get Gorilla glue to cure. I find on wood blanks that there is enough residual moisture in the blank to do the job. The moisture content of a wooden blank will generally settle at a similar level to the ambient moisture content of your workshop, which unless you live in the middle of the Gobi Dessert or a tropical rain forest is likely to be perhaps 10 to 15% - more than enough for Gorilla glue. On acrylics or any other medium which is non-hydroscopic, as quick "harr" down the hole will put enough condensation in there for the glue to cure.

I agree with Bill that for so many reasons, Gorilla is far better suited to gluing up pen blanks than CA, but to stop the tube from moving whilst the Gorilla glue cures, you might find this article helpful.
Preventing pen tubes from moving with Gorilla Glue

 

[pittswood]

Never got on with pu glues. One pen I made came apart in the buyers hand after using it. That was a very hot day and the pen had been kept in the car, so one assumes the glue got soft?
I never had any problems with CA glues though, just make sure the brass tube has been "roughed" up and cleaned with meths. Use a medium CA glue to fit the tubes in. I also find that if a small piece has chipped out from drilling, CA glue will find this space and fill it up, making the tube a solid piece. I can make up to six pens, finished to box, in one session using CA glues.
Kelvin

 

[Penpal]

Tis with a wry smile I comment as a great user of Gorilla Glue I always coat the inside of the blank and the surface of the brass to about half way,insert the brass with a twisting motion. Then the reason for the smile I pop the potato out and wrap end for end with a rubber band and I never have had them pop this way,but as the saying goes to be sure to be sure.

Peter.

 

[Tiny James]

Thank you for your replies and advice to my gorilla glue I think I have a bad batch of glue so now I'm going to use CA or two part epoxy I think I will use epoxy as it will take color I have a lot of acrylic ink so that's sorted. Phil thank you for your kind comments on the pen it's appreciated your comment on the pen has given me a boost

 

[wm460]

which unless you live in the middle of the Gobi Dessert [/url]

Or Tennant Bloody Creek.

 

[fortress]

I saw a film about that once, Eric Sykes was in it.

 

[Pierre]

Erm I use gorilla glue all the time even when we get to 43 degrees C, never had a problem all I do is blow down the hole of the blank and it works, sometime I forget to blow but it works even when I only use metric but the tube requires imperial . I once tried to de-glue gorilla with an iron after 4 hours because I made a mistake of a pen kit but to no avail whereas medium CA glue stays wet in a juniper split even after 12 hours (I found that out today!!!).

And there is not much wrong with that pen except for one thing.... Its not in my sales box!!

 

[Tiny James]

No it was Frank Spencer lol