Dennis, Wax question

[Michael Stafford]

A week or two ago Dennis Peacock posted a thread about using wax in the making of pens.

I was in the process of gluing up some blanks and trying the wax technique to keep the poly glue out of the tubes when it suddenly dawned on me "Oops I don't know what I'm doing!"

Dennis, do you put wax in both ends? If so how do you hold the tube while you are applying the glue and how do you insert it? If only on one end how do you insert it?

I've been using an old #2 Phillips screwdriver to hold my tubes while applying the glue and for insertion. Obviously as soon as I put the tube on the screwdriver I knock out the wax. I guess I should cut the screwdriver down to not remove the wax? Is there something else I'm missing?

Beeswax works pretty well as long as you're not knocking it out. Doh!! :o

[Dennis Peacock]

Michael,

I'm using wax in BOTH ends of each tube. I use a pocket knife with a thin / narrow blade to lightly scrape it out before using the pen mandrel on the blanks. The inside of the tubes stays clean and if you want it really clean, then use a brush from a small caliber gun cleaning kit and brush it out with only a couple of strokes and you will have a wisper clean inside of the tubes.

I'm working on refining my "formula" for making your own soft wax from parafin and mineral spirits. I'll post the exact setup and measurements as soon as I'm happy with my experiment. :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Applying glue to the outside of the tubes? Yea, just hold one end of the tube and apply a small amout of glue to the tube while slowly twisting the tube between your thumb and index finger. I then use a 6d finishing nail to spread the glue on the entire surface of the tube...but not where my fingers are. When I insert the tube into the wood blank, I then TWIST the tube as I'm inserting to spread the glue more evenly inside the pen blank. The glue that is pushed out of the blank will continue to coat the tube and then I use a papertowel to push the last 1/4" into the pen blank and wipe both ends of the blank. I have made several hundred pens this way and all without a failure of the glue joint.

Confused now? :confused: :D

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

I find what works great for me when gluing blanks with Poly Glue, (which is all I use for Pen Blanks), is a brass drift punch. The taper of the drift punch works great for gluing and inserting the tubes into the blanks. I scuff the punch up with 80 grit paper so it will grip the brass tube, which makes "spinning" the tube into the blanks easier to do. I just run a small strip of glue down the tube while it is slid on the punch, twist as I insert it into the blanks, and wipe off any excess glue after the tube in inserted in the blank. I don't worry too much about glue in the tube, because my blanks are always cut a little long, as I use a pen mill to true up the ends of my blanks until the brass tube is flush with the wood. When you use the Pen Mill, it cleans out any glue that gets in the tube......which is usually just a bit around the end.

Another thing I do that helps the poly glue cure, and also helps the distribution of the glue as you slide the tube into the blank is to wet the inside of the blank before inserting the tube. I just use a Q Tip dipped in water and swab the inside of the blank just before I twist the tube in. If you wait too long, the water can swell the wood slightly and make getting the tube in smoothly a little tougher. Your mileage may vary, but this procedure works good for me............I haven't had a glue bond fail me yet!

[Michael Stafford]

I see said the blind man. Thanks guys, I guess there is really more than one way to skin a cat, huh? Really like the wax thing, Dennis.