Best way to clean tubes that leaked

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Indiana_Parrothead

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Last night I cast 3 watch parts pen blanks, a Gent, Jr and Nouveau Sceptre. I had 5 of the 6 tubes leak. They are between 1/4 to 3/4 full, what is the best approach to getting them cleaned out without destroying the blank. I already have a lot of time and money in the blank and would hate to lose them.

My first though is to drill them out, and I think on the ones that are 3/4 full that will work. I would start with a small bit and go a little bigger until I am close to the tube ID. Then use a punch to scrape out the rest.

On the ones that are only a 1/4 full I am afraid that I will have to start with a bigger bit and it might chew up the side of the tube that has no resin on it.

I have tried using just a punch before and that does not work at all. It tends to break the bond between the tube and the resin or the tube and the carbon fiber and leaves a very visable spot.

I am using Alumilite Clear if that will make any difference to the approach.

I am open for ideas,

Thanks, Mike
 
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Mike,

I just had the same problem last night with my pourings. And I did tear apart one of my tubes. for some reason I am getting leakage even with stoppers. I eneded up drilling mine out a little at a time. but be careful to stay cenetered. So for future I think I am going to stuff the tube with play dough or soething so it will be very minimal.

Dennis
 
I have had some leakage especially if I crank up the pressure. I have started filling tubes with playdough and no more issues...
 
I have avoided the problem altogether. I use molds and a stopper with a hole in it. The pressure equalizes and the resin doesn't get into the tube.

Now if only I could eliminate the bubbles!!!:frown:
 
I sand / barrel trim the end to the tube then use a punch to pop out then inside when that happens. Though since I started stuffing the whole tube with play dough this hasn't been an issue.
 
Next time pack the tube w/ Play-Do. Eliminate the space where Resin can flow. As far as clean out, I cant help but you have some nice suggestions above.
 
I like to use a piece of smaller diameter brass tubing. It has a thin edge so it can get under the resin and peal it off the tube walls. Putting a small bevel on the ID can help..
 
I've encountered this a few times. Most of the time I was successful clearing it out by drilling a hole smaller then the inner dia of the tube, so to leave a little resin along the inside of the tube, then use a punch that just fits inside the tube and tap out the resin. For deeper resin in the tube I've plugged one end after drilling a hole and filled it with acetone. This takes several days and refilling, to work at the resin until I felt it was soft enough to tap out. There have been times that I've knocked the tube right out of the blank, so don't take my method as full proof. Good luck!
 
Best way to clean out tubes that leaked UPDATED

Well when I got home tonight I decided to try and drill out the tubes. I got out the Drill Doctor and sharpend up some bits. I decided to go with the biggest bits that I have that would fit the ID of the tube. Because there wasn't a good flat surface that was perpendicular to the tube I decided to just hold the blank. I set the drill on the slowest speed and pushed the blank up into the bit.

The pen gods must have been looking down on me because as soon as I put pressure on it the plug popped out. I thought it was fluke until I did the second and the third. All 5 of the plugs popped out without cutting a single chip. The only thing that I can think of is that once the Alumilite cured it shrunk just enough to make it easy for the plug to slid out.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Mike
 

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