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Removing Wood From Tubes

William Young

William Young

Joined
Dec 14, 2004
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Location
Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada
Website
www.picturetrail.com
To salvage tubes from some pen turning blanks that went wrong, which is the best way for ones glued up with two part epoxy? I know acetone works if they have been glued with CA but I am wondering if acetone or something else would work better for epoxy.
I am aware of the scraping off with a jackknife and then sanding method and also the turning them down to the brass on the lathe which also takes considerable sanding. I am looking for a lazy mans way that will soften the wood and either dissolve or soften the glue so the wood will remove easy and the tubes can just be wiped off for any left over residue. Aceteone , ? Laquer thinner ?, paint thinner ,? and how long to soak them for best results.
W.Y.
 
The lazy way is to use new tubes. You can get replacement tubes easily enough and having a few spares in your stocks will eliminate the effort.

If you are using 5 minute epoxy then alcohol will dissolve the glue. If you are using the longer cure time epoxy then it is made to resist solvents.

Good Luck
 
Pen Tubes

I agree that the best way is to use new tubes. For the common sizes I get 10" tubes and cut them to length, because sometimes I use a longer tube for design variations. At the same time this gives me extra tubes.

Of course, some of the kits use tube sizes that are not very common. I usually order extra tubes to keep on hand. Some of the kits are very sensitive to the tube length, so a reclaimed tube could be too short.
 
solvents

:confused: Many of these solvents are nasty stuff. If you really want to go that route make sure you have adequate ventilation and keep skin contact to a minimum. Are the pen tubes really worth the health risks?
Solvents aren't cheap either.
 
Thank you all for the advice.. Since posting my question I have ordered and received both slimline stlye spare tubes as well as some 10" ones in various diameters to have on hand. Your responses made sense. Seems like false ecconomy to try to save a few used ones.
W.Y.
 
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