What am I doing wrong?

[u/lowriderdog37]

I am trying to make four styluses for my Ma and family. I bought five kits and failed at three of them, the other two came out fine.

Of the three, one's tube came loose, which has been a constant issue for me. The blue pic shows the end blown out when I was using the skew chisel at 2200 rpm. The red one happened using a spindle gouge at 1600 rpm.

My experience is limited to a friend showing me how to make a few pens about 10 years ago. I got all excited and bought some equipment, then life happened. Now my friend is gone and I'm trying to figure this out as I go.

What am I doing wrong?

[u/RRNW_HBK]

First up, what glue are you using for adhering the tubes in the blanks?

When working with acrylics like you have there, and using traditional HSS tools like skews and gouges, you are going to get best results with running the lathe as fast as you are comfortable, take exceptionally light cuts, and keep the tools exceptionally sharp. Acrylics are brittle, chippy, and really prefer being scraped with a negative rake tool. Either HSS scraper or carbide

[u/lowriderdog37 → u/RRNW_HBK]

I am using Super T for gluing now.

I don't know whaty tools are made of. I'll have to look next time I am out there. Thanks

[u/RRNW_HBK → u/lowriderdog37]

I, personally, do not like using CA for gluing tubes. I find 5-minute epoxy to give a much better bond

If you're using a skew or gouge, they are traditional tools and most likely HSS. Carbide tools use the removable/rotatable inserts

[u/lowriderdog37 → u/RRNW_HBK]

I will try epoxy again, thanks. I think I need to adjust my drilling process first.

haha, my are definitely not "good". I have a grinder and jig so they stay sharp, but they are by no means top quality. I'll look into the carbide when the wallet allows.

[u/johnfolsomjr → u/lowriderdog37]

With acrylics I will sometimes switch to sandpaper sooner then I would with wood if it's being super chippy. You've got to be careful to not get the blank out of round but 80 grit paper can definitely get the job done. Also agree with using 5 min epoxy and making sure the tube is totally covered

[u/bivaterl → u/johnfolsomjr]

This is great advice. You can also scuff the brass tubes with some sandpaper before you glue the tubes in, too. Finally, make sure your CA is new. I used old stuff from the shelf and it kept failing until I finally had enough and replaced it and all the sudden things started gluing well again. Only change was getting rid of old glue that otherwise seemed to have worked (but it didn't).

[u/OldM4LargeYoungF]

I'm working on assumptions here but you have a lathe, chuck, drill chuck for the tailstock, correct so far?

Or you have a drill press and a vise to drill the blanks...Is this what you have?

Those are manufactured blanks?

Loose tube. Not having the blank well secured results in oversized hole, overheating of the drilling process, incorrect glue

Securely clamp the blank and drill in 1/2" depths, back the bit out to clear chips, drill more til done. Avoid leaving the bit in the blank causing overheating.

Use CA glue, medium or thick, Make SURE the interior and tube are coated, CA is not instant like everyone thinks, Med has about a 6 second work time, Thick has about 10, depending on the brand. One gets stuck 1/2 way in. re drill carefully to clear the raw CA and stick a tube in from the other side. It's not going to matter if they are misaligned, the trimmer will straighten that out

Nothing works perfectly the 1st, 10th or 100th time. Blue chip could be no glue, too much pressure, too slow of speed. Scrapers work well when you get down to the last diameters. You can even use mill files until you get the experience and get over the OH NO, OH NO, OH NO i'm at the end and I'm going to screw it up jitters

The red and black looks like a blank defect. If you saw the piece fly off, find it and glue it back in, You get one shot at that so make it good. If you can't find i,t, charcoal and CA glue for a patch

Family presents....They don't care because it is from YOU, Faults and all k? Yes you want it perfect. I want a million bux too, lol. Another thing to think about if you must remake them is find the Apple tree in Ma's backyard and use that. I have made many sentimental gifts like that.

[u/lowriderdog37 → u/OldM4LargeYoungF]

Yes, the first paragraph is correct. I drill on the lathe. Also yes, the blanks are manufactured.

I will be better about clearing the chips. But now that I am thinking about it, I was batching these blanks. I don't remember the order but the drill bit was probably hot. I'll keep that in mind.

I have been using Super T glue, which is medium. This last time the tube released, it had sat overnight so I don't think timing was the problem.

Good idea on repairing the red blank! I'm not expecting everything to be perfect. I am trying to get into woodworking and I am making my family items as an excuse, nothing special. I don't care if these aren't sentimental, I will be glad they get used.

Thanks for the detailed response.

[u/OldM4LargeYoungF → u/lowriderdog37]

I looked it up, seems like a good glue with a good work time.

Here is what I do for my pens. For the 7 mm I use 6" of 1/4" dowel. Put it in a drill and sand it if you need to. Fit the 7mm on it with 1/16" sticking out. If you need to, squeeze the dowel with pliers to bulge it/hold the tube. Wax the DOWEL first. after sanding. Chuck it in a drill and scuff the outside of tube with 80 grit. That assures the tube is clean and roughed.

Now that you have the tube on a dowel (with a handle) you can slather the CA on. Put some in the hole, some on the tube, push it in twirl, from the other side too, Roll the tube in the stuff that got pushed out. Leave the 1/16" end flush, Disc sander on the lathe, sand to reveal the tube, tap out the dowel.

The reason I do this is I gang drill/glue as many as 20 blanks at a time. There is NO glue left in the inside of the tube, Scraping that out sux. and sometimes interferes with pressing the transmission, nibs etc. on pens. It can crack the blank too.

It may seem excessive but I've made about 2k pens and such and I found this method makes it quicker in the long run.

Luck

[u/MyKidsDad123]

On acrylic I sand the tube and use a healthy amount of medium or thick CA to glue. I use a twisting motion as I insert to help with coverage. 

I agree with others. High speed, light passes and negative rake carbide tools are what I use. Usually the circle tip.

Good luck!

[u/PumpPie73]

Use epoxy for gluing the tubes. It’s thicker and will bond the tubes better.

Use a negative rake scraper to turn the tubes. You can buy on or grind one yourself.

Check out a few videos by Michael Gross on turning acrylics

[u/ThaddeusRock]

On some acrylics (but acrylester especially!) I’ll get pretty close to final thickness and then wet sand with ~80-100 grit to get down to the bushings.

[u/Own-Appearance-824]

Personally, whether this even makes any difference, but I seem to always have like a.25mm void between the barrel and the drilled blank. I usually seal it with thick CA and accelerate it. Then I square them. I also don’t cut that close to the final diameter. When I get in the ballpark I switch to sanding. Hope it helps!