Best method yet for plugging tube ends IMHO

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ramaroodle

ramaroodle

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I saw Zac Higgins use a "mystery sheet of material" to plug the ends of the tube and emailed him to find out what it was.
It was this. Probably enough to do 1000 tubes for $12. No muss no fuss, tight fit seals the end of the tube, glue doesn't stick to it. Takes about 2 seconds to do.
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Greetings from Nebraska! I use Broodwax sheets (bees wax foundation sheets for use in beehives). They are made from beeswax and are used as a foundation for bees to use when they build their honeycomb on the frames inside of beehives.

They work pretty much the same way as the dental sheets that you have shown. I poke my tubes into the wax and then clean any wax residue from the outside of the tube with some denatured alcohol to prevent any issues with glue adhesion on the ends. The sheets are relatively inexpensive but usually only sold in larger quantities - I think they come in on the order of about 4 sheets per dollar.

They are even cheaper if you have a neighbor that is a beekeeper. Buy some honey and beg a couple of beehive foundation sheets! When I run out I will probably try trading a pen for a few sheets.

Regards,
Dave

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Order with your Kits and Blanks from Exotic Blanks...https://www.exoticblanks.com/base-plate-wax-pack-of-6-sheets.html
 
Joe Burns said:
I use plumbers putty.
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Exactly. That's what I've always used. This is
soooo much faster, easier and a much better and tighter seal.

ed4copies said:
THANK YOU, Rod!!
We have had it available for several years--since we saw it at our dentist!!
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Holy Moley Ed. I had no idea. I'm a loyal customer of yours. Never heard anybody mention it. I thought it was a new "thing". I ordered it the same day I placed my last order with you. Sorry. . Much better deal with yours as I now have much more than I will ever use.
 
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After inserting the tube into the wax, i find cleaning the ends of the tube with a little dna improves the adhesion of the glue. inserting the tube into the wax can leave a some wax residue on the tube ends.
 
I use the same wax to plug the ends of the tubes and it works great for me as well. I also use a rat tail file to clean out left over wax, glue or epoxy out of the tubes before squaring the blank.
Turncrazy43
 
Holy Moley Ed. I had no idea. I'm a loyal customer of yours. Never heard anybody mention it. I thought it was a new "thing". I ordered it the same day I placed my last order with you. Sorry. . Much better deal with yours as I now have much more than I will ever use.
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We have over 10000 skus====How could you POSSIBLY MISS ONE??????o_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
 
Yep. Been using dental wax for 20 years. Nothing new and no mystery. But, there are several other choices. I just never had a reason to try any of them. Dental was works great for me.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
I've used dental wax almost as long as Don. I'm gonna take that as an indication that he's older than me! [emoji41] Somehow over my semi long pen turning career I've obtained 2 boxes of dental wax. I'll need a much much longer career to every use it all!
I have a tee shirt that says "I plugged 200 slimline tubes today and all I have to show for it is the hole in my thumb"!

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ramaroodle said:
I saw Zac Higgins use a "mystery sheet of material" to plug the ends of the tube and emailed him to find out what it was.
It was this. Probably enough to do 1000 tubes for $12. No muss no fuss, tight fit seals the end of the tube, glue doesn't stick to it. Takes about 2 seconds to do.
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Ditto...I also watched the Zac Higgins bit and bought the dental wax. Works fine for me. :cool:đź––
 
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