Frustration with Burls and Pens

[Erik Johanson]

Yesterday I was attempting to make a pen for a Christmas gift. The original plan was to make it out of Thuya burl (it looked really nice on line, and being the sucker I am paid the $7.00 buck for it) but this was not to be the case. I was working on turning down the burl which was already glued to the brass tube and had it all most finished. I was just starting to use my skew as a scraper just to clean up the edges and square everything up when, boom the whole thing blew apart.

Now after some ranting and raving and I decided to give it another shot with another burl pen blank I happened to have on hand, this time amboyna burl. Attempting to learn from my previous lesson I thought maybe it was because I was using the skew as a scraper and it just caught on the burl. This time I stuck with the handy gouge and at the same point, boom. This one blew apart too. Now I am totally frustrated. After wasting 20 bucks in wood and not sure quite where my problem is.

I have a few questions for those of you who have more experience than I. Do Burls have a tendency to catch? (I am assuming this is the reason for the blow outs) IF they are catching would soaking in some Thin CA help solve the issue especially when getting down very thin thickness? I also noticed that it did not seem as though there was solid glue adhesion the entire length of the brass tube. It appeard that only about 1/3 or 1/2 of the brass tube was glued, any thoughts on how to ensure a solid glue adhesion the entire length of the brass tube? ( was using medium CA glue).


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[John Spitters]

I no longer use CA for glueing pen blanks, what I now use is a 30 minute epoxy. first scuff up the tubes then plug the ends ( I use modelling clay that I cut into sheets and press the ends of the tubes into ) then liberally apply the epoxy running the tubes in ond out of the blanks in a twisting motion a few times from either end making certain that I have full coverage. Since I've used this method I've never experienced a failure.

John

[Sid Matheny]

I have a few questions for those of you who have more experience than I. Do Burls have a tendency to catch? (I am assuming this is the reason for the blow outs) IF they are catching would soaking in some Thin CA help solve the issue especially when getting down very thin thickness? I also noticed that it did not seem as though there was solid glue adhesion the entire length of the brass tube. It appeard that only about 1/3 or 1/2 of the brass tube was glued, any thoughts on how to ensure a solid glue adhesion the entire length of the brass tube? ( was using medium CA glue).



Yes burl does have a tendency to catch and when they get down to pen size it can be worse. Thin CA several times will be a great helper. I have always used thick CA to glue into the tubes. Make sure to sand the tubes and give them a twist as you insert the tube. Don't really take much of a catch when there is no glue in a spot.

Sid

[Marty Eargle]

I know that many have unkind things about it, but I've been using Gorilla Glue for inserting tubes in my wood. The issue that many have with it is that they don't apply it properly. But I've found if you follow the instructions and work it in your wood as best you can, it will expand and hold very well. I have yet to have a blowout with it.

As for the burl wood...I would do some thin CA gluing as you get near finishing thickness. Has helped me on more than one occasion.

[Erik Johanson]

Thanks guys, this really helps. I was so frustrated making this pen last night I was looking to throw something but I couldn't find anything I could live with out.

I will give the epoxy a try, since it has the added benefit that I wont glue my fingers together like I have been with the CA glue.

Marty, Whats your process for using Gorilla Glue? I am assuming your placing the glue on the brass tube and wetting the inside of the wood/acrylic blank?

[Marty Eargle]

Erik,

Not really a solid method for it. I'll rough up the brass tube, dunk the blank in some water, squeeze a bit GG in the blank and all over the tube, and kind of twist it into the blank. I usually twist it all the way through to the other side of the blank and then feed it back through to get as much coverage with the glue as I can. The only thing you have to watch for is trying to keep as much of the GG from getting into the tube as possible, it can be tricky to clean out if you don't have a proper sized drill bit.

[Jim Burr]

Since burl really has no gain pattern, they have a tendency to be kinda finicky. 1200 pens and I have never had a problem with gluing tubes with thick CA. Epoxy is fine, whatever floats your boat...as long as it works!!
Resist the urge to use the skew as a scraper! Scrapers work because the have a burr on the upper edge and that is the cutting edge/surface. A skew, although it can be used in that mode, isn't made for it and it is adding vibration to an already unstable blank. Remember the wall thickness at the end of the tube can be 1/16"!!! HF guys think they get thin?:p;) CA can help, but it's usually a technique thing. I have no problem getting just proud of the bushing, like 1/64" and sanding the remainder. A helpful tip could be that once you have trimmed your barrel, add a drop of CA to the end "grain" to seal it. This will help stabilize the wood on the end and buy you some additional safety. Hope that helps and Merry Christmas!!!:D

[Don Alexander]

i pretty much stopped pen blank blow out by putting as much thin CA glue on the blank as it will absorb after i turn it round or even before if its a blank i suspect might be prone to blowing up or any burl. i also reapply the thin CA again when i get the blank turned down semi close to where i want it to be when finished again letting it absorb as much as it will

i use medium CA to glue in the tubes , apply a liberal amount to the tube insert and twist rapidly fromthe butt end of the blank about halfway in then reinsert it while twisting it from the end that will be the middle of the pen; twisting it and inserting it from both ends makes sure you get full coverage inside the blank

HTH

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Don's idea works wonders on a lot materials that are "soft" or fragile and conducive to either exploding or easily damaged by even sharp tools like a sharp skew. Corn cob is a another. I have never had one explode but even "hardened" cobs are some what soft and delicate. I can turn those materials down close with a skew and then use thin CA to harden them.

[John Terefenko]

I am an epoxy guy so I will highly recomend epoxy as the go to source of adheshion of blank to tube. I will never use any form of CA to glue tubes in again. Just takes one failur to convert as they say. Anyway also the use of thin CA is also what I do when working with burls for pens or birdhouse ornaments. When you get that thin the cell structure is just so fragile. Needs abit of help.

Now the #1 rule most pen turners should abide by is to turn the ends of a blank close to the bushings first or ahead of the turning of the meat of the blank. This will apply less stress on those fragile ends when getting close to finished depth. I also take the last bit down with sandpaper to get me to exact dimentions.

These same problems can occur when turning any of these laser cut blanks because of all the various different grain directions and also hardness of the inlay material. Thin CA is your friend there as well. Good luck.


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