split in assembly of blank.

[amazilia]

Hi, last night I turned my 4th blank, a yew. When I came to assembly the clip wouldn't fit over the end cap so I filed it out a bit and carried on, this is a slimline. I thought it assembled well but on close inspection the yew has a tiny split right next to the end cap about 4mm long. So the question is did I mess up the assembly or may the end cap have been slightly oversize ?
Regards Terry

 

[Woody]

There was probably a small residue of dried glue on the inside of the tube from when you glued it in the wood I always run a small knife blade around the inside of the tube before I assemble the pen as it isn't always visible

 

[Terry]

Woody will be probably right I also clean the entry point of the tube!!!!

 

[dotslad]

Terry I would think this has happened to most people on this forum.
I had exactly the same thing happen the other day and just covered the tiny split with the clip simples

 

[stevenw1963]

Could just have been a defect in the wood too that you didn't see.

 

[Woody]

Terry I would think this has happened to most people on this forum.
I had exactly the same thing happen the other day and just covered the tiny split with the clip simples

That is something I wouldn't recommend not without doing a repair job on it first to stabilize it as the split could get a lot bigger when the pen is taken from one climate to another and the wood swells and contracts (moves) which it will do :nonono::nonono:

 

[edlea]

How many of my split ends would you like to see ?

 

[amazilia]

Thanks everyone, I have disassembled the cap and turned a new top section, then cleaned in case of glue !, lesson learned, and reassembled - all is well. When beginning anything the problem sometimes is knowing what the problem is ! It is fantastic that in 90 minutes I get all this help, thanks again.
Regards Terry

 

[Doug]

A good tip which I got offa Jim is don`t turn the blank too thin, rather chamfer/slope the blank to the end bush so leaving a bit more substance it the timber to avoid any cracking.
I also agree with making sure the tube is clean & also if I can`t start inserting any part of the kit into a tube by hand I get the calipers out & check the dimensions, I have had oversized parts before.

 

[Penpal]

During assembly I keep a 6 inch long taper reamer from Radio Shack or wherever and make sure I ream before assembling the tip and top and winder as well I use a step drill by hand after glueing and squaring, sizing the blank I hate surprises. The step drill is a firm slip fit even after 15 plus yrs and puts a small champher on the inside blank ends. All sounds very anal but it works for me. Pic 4 Cartridge Reamer inside outside.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[Jim]

Terry, i guess we have all been guilty of this in the past, but to reduce this i now as Doug states, make a pen which leaves more wood in the places where it can crack using a chamfer to bring the wood to the desired size ... I always use a potato to plug the tubes before i plunge the tube into the blank, and then knock out the potato within a few seconds then use a small reamer to clean the entry of the tube making sure it is clear of glue and potato juice ... Using this method i have reduced the splitting to almost Zero ...

HTH ...

 

[Terry]

Terry, i guess we have all been guilty of this in the past, but to reduce this i now as Doug states, make a pen which leaves more wood in the places where it can crack using a chamfer to bring the wood to the desired size ... I always use a potato to plug the tubes before i plunge the tube into the blank, and then knock out the potato within a few seconds then use a small reamer to clean the entry of the tube making sure it is clear of glue and potato juice ... Using this method i have reduced the splitting to almost Zero ...

HTH ...

I bet Carol still has to put the same amount of chips on your plate Jim !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL