Snakeskins seperating?

[Quality Pen]

So I've cast some snake skins lately but they only stay beautiful until I press to fit them...them... wahh wahhh...

I've attached a photo for example.

I glued with Thick CA to a painted black tube, then cast with PR... giving days between each step.

 

[longbeard]

Do you ream the inside of the brass tube out?
I do on ALL my casted blanks to prevent PR seperation from happening.
Looks to be a bolt action pen. Those, in my opinion, are the tightest fitting componenets i've pressed together.
I ream the bolt tubes out using a 1/4'' dremel sanding drum in the drill press to the point i can almost hand press the nib and upper portion in leaving about a 1/16'' to press in. Just my experience and opinion




Harry

 

[Quality Pen]

Well I did clear out the tube a little bit with the Dremel... but definitely not close enough so that I could hand press the parts!...

 

[BSea]

I would ream out the parts till I could hand press them in, then use some locktight for final assembly. I do this with scalloped pens.

 

[Charlie_W]

Yup! Tight fitting components swell the brass tube....and anything that is on the tube too. Cracking or separation is the result.
I use a chain saw file inside the tube and then lightly touch with a tapered reamer. After that, a small bit of sandpaper wrapped around a dowel will do the trick.
Likewise, I can push the parts in by hand to 1/16" and then press. A tiny touch of epoxy with a toothpick is all it takes to hold these.