Plugging the end of a tube?

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Woodchipper

Woodchipper

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Back with another question. Getting ready to glue tubes in the drilled blanks. I have read of pen makers who push the end of a tube in dental wax. Could candle wax on a non-stick surface work? Thin layer of Play Doh or modeling clay? TIA.
 
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Play-Doh works great and this is what I currently use. I have also used dental wax with good results.
Just make sure to wipe off the outside of the tube after inserting it into the Play-Doh to make sure any oils are removed before gluing.
Edit: To do this I use denatured alcohol (DNA), I do not believe that a mechanical cleaning is enough to remove all oil/wax residue.
 
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I use dental wax. You can buy a box of sheets of it for less than 20$ on Amazon. A sheet will probably do 150 pens. So a box would probably do 1500 pens.

After I plug both ends I use a plumbing "sander", to clean the residue off. I can't think of the proper name, but it's the twist style that does two different sizes of exteralnpip and the has the corresponding internal scraper at each end. Basically a round wire brush.
 
My neighbor is a beekeeper, so I use Foundation Wax used by beekeepers. It is essentially a pure beeswax sheet with a honeycomb pattern that is used as a foundation layer on the frames that are put into beehives. Sometimes bees will use them just as that, a foundation for building up their own honeycomb. Sometimes, depending on how many young, wax producing bees there are, they will rob one foundation for the wax and build up a comb from scratch all of their own.

I simply press the end of the tube down on a sheet which cuts a circle and fills the end of the tube. I almost always do it twice just to add a little thickness inside the tube. Then, before I apply glue, I clean the tube, especially the ends, with denatured alcohol to remove any wax film from the outside of the tube. It's been working great for me so far.

It is relatively inexpensive, less than $20 for 10 big sheets about the size of a legal piece of paper. The cost is also similar to dental wax, but free is best. Friendly neighbors are great things to keep around -- which reminds me, I really should turn another batch of honey dippers for them.

Dave
 
d_bondi said:
Play-Doh works great and this is what I currently use. I have also used dental wax with good results.
Just make sure to wipe off the outside of the tube after inserting it into the Play-Doh to make sure any oils are removed before gluing.
Edit: To do this I use denatured alcohol (DNA), I do not believe that a mechanical cleaning is enough to remove all oil/wax residue.
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Thanks. Kids probably used 150 lbs. of Play Doh over the years. Have a gallon of DNA.
 
Not to be too much of a contrarian - but I don't use any of the above.

When gluing a solid tenon into a mortise, it is important to think about whether you apply the glue to the tenon or the mortise. If you apply it to the mortise, inserting the tenon will force the glue into the bottom of the mortise. However, since glue isn't compressible, the excess glue will prevent complete insertion of the tenon. If I'm dealing with a large mortise and tenon, and if the fit is tight, I may actually drill a small 'breather' hole to provide a path for the excess glue to escape. That hole will fill with glue, and after its cured, it won't be possible to tell it was a hole and not just another characteristic of the wood.

If you replace that solid tenon with a hollow tenon (ie, a tube), the excess glue will flow into the hollow (ie, inside the tube). Over the years, penmakers have (rightly) very concerned about filling the tube with glue; hence, tricks such as dental wax, PlayDoh, and potatoes have become part of the lore of penmaking.

The approach I take is different. I apply the glue to the tube rather than to the hole in the blank. I hold one end of the tube and apply a few streaks of glue along its length, leaving that last 1/2" of so (where I grip the tube) without glue. Then, I press the tube into the hole, using both rotation of the tube, and a back-and-forth motion to spread the glue along the inside walls of the hole. Before pressing the tube in completely, I apply a little additional glue on that last 1/2" to assure that the tube is fully covered. But because the glue is on the tube rather than on the inside of the hole, very little glue flows back into the tube. Instead, any excess glue will accumulate around the end of the hole that the tube is inserted into.

To complete the story, I use polyurethane glue ('Gorilla Glue') which relies on moisture to accelerate curing. I pass a little water through the tube to wet the inside before inserting the tube with its thin coating of glue. Its important to recognize that too much glue can be more harmful than too little - especially with traditional polyurethane glue (which foams as it cures), excess glue can plug the end of the tube with foam. I find that if I use the right amount of glue, and wipe off any squeezeout before it cures, foaming is not a problem.

Like any other task, there is no one magic way to do the job. Experiment - find an approach that works for you, and then stick with it.
 
I stick a small wad of paper towel in the end. Then I dip the end of the blank in mineral spirits. The paper towel absorbs the solvent. I have done this several hundred times. I don't leave anything to chance, so I put epoxy inside the blank and make sure I have good coverage. Then I roll the tube with the plug in the glue. I usually don't have a lot of excess. If some is left on the inside of the tube, later I use a round file to clean it up.
 
I have used dental wax, potato, play doh; and eventually went back to nothing. For gluing tubes, I always used 2 part epoxy and just was mindful to clean the tubes after gluing, and then used exacto knives for any residue, then a fine metal cleaning brush. I never got the wax/potato/play doh to really be any easier - I still needed to clean the tubes for a good/clean fit. As I was a segmenter, the components needed to be very clean fitting - any expansion of the brass tube could fracture the segmenting. JMO.
 
Playdoh, dental wax, potato, plumbers putty what ever is available. I have tried the potato a couple of times but liked it the least. My favorite is plumbers putty. It stays viable and pliable for several years if the cover is put back on after use, and doesn't cost much and easy to find at most any hardware store or plumbing store.
 
To Join the Thread; I was at the dentist and mentioned dental wax. I WAS aiming at asking him for a sheet or 2, but he told me many dentists no longer use dental wax. He asked his assistant, "Check in the store room to see if those boxes of wax are still there. If so bring one back." I got a whole box of wax for free. Still have about half of the box left.

I use thick CA. Scuff the brass tube. I block the end of the brass tube with wax and put CA on both the inside of the blank and the outside of the brass tube. Spin and twist the brass tube You know you have used enough when the CA comes out the other end. Lay the blank on a sheet of <pun mode ON> wax paper. <pun mode OFF>. Wear gloves.
 
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To be fair, I only wrote 'potato' as an answer to the question as to what could be used. ( seeing as I am from Ireland!!!)
I don't plug the ends either and do similar to Louie's answer above, though I use Epoxy.
 
leehljp said:
Playdoh, dental wax, potato, plumbers putty what ever is available. I have tried the potato a couple of times but liked it the least. My favorite is plumbers putty. It stays viable and pliable for several years if the cover is put back on after use, and doesn't cost much and easy to find at most any hardware store or plumbing store.
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I second the plumbers putty. Easy to find, reasonably priced and lasts a long time in the covered container.
I also apply two part epoxy on the tube and twist the tube as I insert it into the blank. Once the tube reaches the end I appy a small amount to the exited tube end and reinsert into the blank.
 
randyrls said:
To Join the Thread; I was at the dentist and mentioned dental wax. I WAS aiming at asking him for a sheet or 2, but he told me many dentists no longer use dental wax. He asked his assistant, "Check in the store room to see if those boxes of wax are still there. If so bring one back." I got a whole box of wax for free. Still have about half of the box left.

I use thick CA. Scuff the brass tube. I block the end of the brass tube with wax and put CA on both the inside of the blank and the outside of the brass tube. Spin and twist the brass tube You know you have used enough when the CA comes out the other end. Lay the blank on a sheet of <pun mode ON> wax paper. <pun mode OFF>. Wear gloves.
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Free? What was the dentist's bill? Good score, though.
 
Put drilled blank in holder vertically (anything will do - 2 fishing weights, blocks of wood,k etc). Hold scuffed tube in one hand and loaded glue paddle (pop sickle stick for me) in the other. Insert tube 1/16 into tube and touch the pop sickle stick with glue to outside of tube at the bottom (no need to wipe the glue on as the next part takes care of spreading the glue). Rotate the tube with one hand while holding the stick and glue in contact just where it enters the blank and as you turn and gently push the tube in with one hand the other holds the glue in touch with the tube as it descends into the hole. As you get to the end of the process you will see some glue built up on the blank and this should be wiped off so it doesn't accidentally flow into the tube as you finish pushing the last of the tube into the blank. Doing this means no need to slide the tube in and out (which is where a lot of the unwanted excess gets into the tube) nor plug the tube if you don't let too much build up at the end of the insertion. The rotation of the tube as it goes in gets the glue well spread all around.
 
I have had good luck with monophoto's method, but I also use a Teflon insertion tool. What I do is get solid Teflon 1/2" rod from Amazon and turn a portion of the rod to a slip fit for the tube being glued. Turn a section of the rod to just over the longest tube that you use of any given size, put the tube on the rod a put a layer of glue on the tube and insert into the blank with the usual twisting. Leave the unturned Teflon rod end with a full shoulder to bottom out against the blank so that any excess glue is pushed to the outside of the blank gently slid the Teflon out and wipe the excess off of the blank and insertion tool and set aside to dry/cure.
 
I tried silly putty, but found it made the process more complicated.

Currently, I use a pair of expanding tweezers to hold the tube and put the glue on the tube. Then I insert the tube with a twisting, in-and-out action until I've reached about 2/3 of the way through the blank, remove the tube, and insert it from the other end with the same motion, going to full depth this time. This ensures I get a good amount of glue on both ends of the blank. I think the in-and-out motion tends to get glue into the tube, so I may start stopping up one end of the tube again to see if that saves some headaches, but I need one end open for my tweezers.
 
Dental base plate wax. I also use it to coat the inside of a ring blank to keep the glue off of the surface. It is time consuming to clean. I have a small butane burner and a few wax spatulas at the ring prep station .
 
Blu tac works well and is reusable. I push it in then hold the tube down onto a metal plate and use a chopstick to ram it home level. Then cover with epoxy and twist into pre epoxy coated hole in blank.

Also a pen insertion tool made from an offcut of HDPE I had after making some slab moulds for resin, is very useful and keeps fingers cleaner.šŸ˜‰
 
Dental wax, bees wax, pig snot, in then out, twist, never twist! I love it! 27 posts and 27 different techniques, all producing phenomenal looking pens.
 
Just rememeber when plugging the end of tubes, the plugging material will adhere to sides of the ends which may (didn't say "will definitely") interfere with adhesive. I always wipe the exterior ends with DNA to pervent this, I am sure many have not had this experience, but I have esp. with wax.
 
TonyL said:
Just rememeber when plugging the end of tubes, the plugging material will adhere to sides of the ends which may (didn't say "will definitely") interfere with adhesive. I always wipe the exterior ends with DNA to pervent this, I am sure many have not had this experience, but I have esp. with wax.
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I always wipe the tube with DNA prior to gluing. Cleans off any crud and any micro particles of brass.
 
I tried to plug the tubes for a while. Tried potato, wax, play-doh, etc. I thought it would reduce my efforts, but...in the long run, it seemed to increase them and complicate things. Whatever you use to plug the tube has to be removed, and...that ends up not being as simple as it seems. As such, I've returned to what I've always done, which is use a round rasp to just clean out the tubes after the glue is dry. I use epoxy, rather than CA, and I coat the tubes (as others have mentioned) and use a twisting method to make sure that the glue I apply to the tube thoroughly coats the inside of the hole and the entire tube as I insert. In the long run, there sometimes is a bit of glue on the end of the tube, but anything that protrudes inside the tube is removed with the rasp, and then anything else is removed when I trim the blank down to the tube end.
 
jrista said:
I tried to plug the tubes for a while. Tried potato, wax, play-doh, etc. I thought it would reduce my efforts, but...in the long run, it seemed to increase them and complicate things. Whatever you use to plug the tube has to be removed, and...that ends up not being as simple as it seems. As such, I've returned to what I've always done, which is use a round rasp to just clean out the tubes after the glue is dry. I use epoxy, rather than CA, and I coat the tubes (as others have mentioned) and use a twisting method to make sure that the glue I apply to the tube thoroughly coats the inside of the hole and the entire tube as I insert. In the long run, there sometimes is a bit of glue on the end of the tube, but anything that protrudes inside the tube is removed with the rasp, and then anything else is removed when I trim the blank down to the tube end.
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I plug with dental base plate wax...make sure it is sealed...no space for glue to enter the tube. I then use an appropriate size punch to push the wax/dried glue out to the tube. Next a wire brush from a gun cleaning kit... 22 or 38/357 on a short rod works great.
As for using a potato or play dough I found it to be a hassle and not so clean..... That's just me...I'm not knocking the technique
 
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