# Pen blank stuck on mandrel



## JDPens (Nov 21, 2006)

Hi All,

I have a brazilian cherry euro pen blank on a #1MT pen mandrel. 
It was forced on a little too zealously and now we can't get it off. [:I]

We tried putting it in the freezer for 30 min, but that didn't work (as far as I can tell. I would like to get it off as soon as possible because it's the last pen for an order.

Does anyone have any ideas, tips, hints, etc.?


Thanks ahead of time,


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## TBone (Nov 21, 2006)

Josh, 

If you have an extra nut that will fit the end of the mandrel, screw it on far enough to make contact.  Then either put a rubber band around the blank or hold it with a mouse pad for extra grip.  Then tap the end of the mandrel lightly with a hammer.  Make sure your hitting the nut and not the end of the mandrel and tap it.  If you have a nylon hammer, that would be ideal.  Other than that maybe using the mouse pad to try to "screw" it off by twisting it.  Good luck


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## mrcook4570 (Nov 21, 2006)

If that doesn't work, unscrew the mandrel from the arbor and try sliding the blanks off the other end.  There may be a burr on the mandrel or some excess glue in the tube causing it to fit tightly on the mandrel.


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## NavyDiver (Nov 21, 2006)

I tried unscrewing the mandrel from the arbor this morning and couldn't get it to budge.


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## ed4copies (Nov 21, 2006)

Josh,

Just a word of discouragement:  If you twist it hard enough, and it is on there tight enough, you will succeed in getting the wood  to come off the tube and make the problem DIFFERENT, but not much BETTER.

I grab the blank with a rag, turn on the lathe and twist it off.  Make sure the tailstock is far removed when you get that far, cause piercing your hand with the 60 degree live center HURTS!!!  (That's what happens when it finally comes off-QUICKLY!!)

AMENDMENT:  THIS IS NOT SAFE!!!  HAVE YOUR DAD HELP YOU, IF YOU REVERT TO THIS TYPE APPROACH.  (It just occured to me that you are young men, probably VERY CAPABLE, but not as careful as you will be when you have been injured more often!!)[][][][]


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## jtate (Nov 21, 2006)

Drill a quarter inch hole in a thick piece of hard wood (this is now a "knock-out block").  Put the mandrell, tail stock end first, into the hole  so that the end of the blank rests squarely against the knock-out block. The mandrel should be snug but not tight.  You want the mandrel to be able to move in the hole but not wobble.  Tap the proturding end of the mandrel lightly with a hammer.  Multiple light taps are better than a few heavy ones.  You may need to hang the end of the knock-out block  off the work bench so the mandrel's end can proitrude through the hole in the bottom of the knock-out block.  

I think this is your best shot of getting it loose without damaging the blank.

In the future, a judicious application of WD40 to the mandrel may lessen the likelihood of this happening again.


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## jtate (Nov 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by TBone_
> If you have an extra nut that will fit the end of the mandrel, screw it on far enough to make contact.



You might try removing the arbor, putting a bunch of bushings on the mandrel between the blank and the end nut and then screwing the end nut on to the mandrel, while holding the blank firmly by hand.  The downward pressure of the nut might dislodge it.


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## Penmonkey (Nov 21, 2006)

Have my dad pull it off.


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## samuel07 (Nov 21, 2006)

If you have a drill press make a block like jtate said and set the whole assembly on the drill press and press the mandrel shaft through the spacer block out the bottom of the drill press. You could even use a pipe clamp if you have one.

Good luck.


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## Skye (Nov 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by ed4copies_
> cause piercing your hand with the 60 degree live center HURTS!!!  (That's what happens when it finally comes off-QUICKLY!!)



Man, I've done that a hundred times. Funny thing is I'm suprised every time.


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## NavyDiver (Nov 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Skye_
> <br />
> 
> 
> ...



In the Navy, that's what we call a slow learner. []


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## bob393 (Nov 21, 2006)

I have had good luck with a drill press and a block of wood.


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## ctEaglesc (Nov 21, 2006)

Have you found out why it was stuck in the first place?
My guess is the brass was peened over when it was milled.
A counter sinking tool or a chamfering tool will fix it.


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## NavyDiver (Nov 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the ideas.  I was unable to get the arbor off the mandrel, so I clamped the arbor in my bench vise and used a rubber pad to twist off the offending barrel.  Turned out that the barrel wasn't cleaned thoroughly when the pen was milled and some CA was inside the barrel.  The rubber pad messed up the finish, so we cleaned out the barrel and put it back on the lathe for re-finishing.  All's well that ends well. []


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