Glue for pen inserts

[Kennith Gosnell]

I have read several articles about glue to use for the brass inserts for pens. Seems the most common is CA glue, but have heard some negatives about it drying before the insert is seated. i have tried 5 minute epoxy and from one article Gorilla glue. So far i have had the best luck with the gorilla glue. Yes, it foams up but the deburring tool removes that. Just wondering what other people have experienced when using different types of glue. I am currently only cutting wood pens, but may expand to acrylic later on. Any advise would be appreciated. attached a couple of my first pens.

 

[Wyatt Holm]

I believe all of them work. Kip Christensen says his favorite is Gorilla Glue. I prefer epoxy.

 

[John K Jordan]

I usually don’t do pens (except to make sure I knew how) but when I helped someone I always used CA, medium, I think. Just had to be quick with the insert and twist, one motion, no stopping. Note that SOME species of wood, in particular some exotics, seem to accelerate the CA setup. If any question, I too would go with epoxy (which I use more lately for many things.) I like the System 3 and the Parsons brands, and keep types with different set times.

I haven’t tried gorilla glue with woodturnings but I do use it around the farm for outdoor things and it seems to be good.

JKJ

 

[John Redding]

I haven’t done a pen in a number of years, but I was a Gorilla Glue user when I did. Never had a failure.

Tried the CA glue route, but just preferred the GG as I didn’t have to rush or worry about it setting up before I was ready for it.

 

[Bryan Field]

I've made pens for over 20 years and I really like Gorilla glue for gluing tubes. It has the advantage of expanding to fill gaps. I found CA to be a pain, often setting before the tube is fully inserted. Epoxy works well, but is harder to clean up than Gorilla glue. Just be sure to give the Gorilla glue sufficient time to set.

 

[Mark Hepburn]

Not a fan of CA for pen glue-up. I use 5-minute epoxy and find it's good for gap filling and haven't had any failures. I make about 40 or so pens a year. I'm not familiar with Gorilla Glue so can't comment on how good it is.

 

[Jeff Jackson]

Epoxy user here but like GG too. Just gotta be careful with the foaming so it doesn't push the tube out.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Fast epoxy with carbon black mixed in here. Gorilla glue never occurred to me; still cleaning up bits of the mess i made with it the first time I used it for anything a decade ago— not a good first impression!

 

[Dave Hulett]

have always used medium CA and can so no reason to use anything else.

 

[Bill Alston]

Fast epoxy with carbon black mixed in here. Gorilla glue never occurred to me; still cleaning up bits of the mess i made with it the first time I used it for anything a decade ago— not a good first impression!

I’m not a fan of Polyurethane Glue either. It does have its uses though. It’s flexible enough to be used to make sanding belts.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

We make some pens with our Junior High classes (they love it).
I've gotten away from the CA glue because it's always a mess and then complaints about stuck fingers. We switched to 5 min epoxy, but it's not actually ready to turn in 5, and asking a 12 year old to twiddle his thumbs for 15 minutes is torturous. Now I pre-glue some blanks with the epoxy, have the kids go thru the process and put it aside while they turn the blanks I pre-glued. How long does it take the Gorilla to set up?