Thread: Glen 20 and Mitre Fix saga

I believe that experiments are still in progress and will be interesting to see if there is any further developments.

There wouldn't be a Space Shuttle without experiments, however, Glen 20 can stay in the bathroom after all the success and I have had with it, not to mention the lost blanks through the white film and the lost time. For the coast of Mitre Fix, it is worth the money. However, I am trying the PPG dipping at the moment and it seems to be working. Time will tell (although this seems to fly in the face of my earlier comment). I have discovered that both CA and PPG manage to give me a huge headache.

Don't get me wrong I used CA on 4 pens today and as usual I stuffed the first blank but did manage to sort it out after that. I had previously used WOP but went back to CA because it was asked for in an order I had recieved.

all I was saying in my earlier post was that I thought the Mitre fix even at its price was still economical.

Cheers

Ian

I agree totally with what you said Dorno. I wasn't having a go at you.

Totally agree with Dorno on the subject. I was not particularly interested in saving a few bucks on a ring-in accelerator, as I have always had great success with MitreFix. I can get about 40 pens per can, not to mention I always use the thick CA to glue my tubes into the blanks, & also to fix the grandkids busted toys etc. It's a great product at a very reasonable price. I'm going to start buying it from another supplier as David has discontinued stocking it

Here is my 2 cents worth.

We all know Mitre Fix is a tried and tested method. Glen 20 (and any other ethanol based dis-infectant) is just a inexpensive and freely available alternative.

Applying the CA finish is an art form/skill set. If it was easy we wouldn't be able to sell our pens for lots of money. Like any skill, it takes practice and more practice. Some can get it quicker than others. Its like when your turning your first few pens. If you gave up every time you blew your blank out turning with a roughing gouge, life would be boring. You can guarantee no-blowout by using a grinder or dremel, but we keep persisting with the chisel.

Using the Glen 20 is similar. Practice and practice, it may take 10, 20, 50 blanks before you get good at it, but once you get it right - life will be easy.

The reason I came up with an alternative is ( I could keep of kept selling it but chosen not to ) not everyone has access to Mitrefix (Mitrefix is dangerous goods), we can't send it overseas - so our friends in NZ, UK, Europe and the pacific island do not have access to Mitrefix.

Guys in WA and other regional areas (including TAS) - sending from the East Coast to the West Coast is not only expensive but can take up to 2 weeks to get there. There is nothing worse than having to wait 2 weeks to finish a pen if you run out of Mitrefix. What's even worse is that you purchase it and the vendor takes 2 weeks before they send it out, so it takes 4 weeks before you receive the Mitrefix - a long time to wait to finish the pen. Or they are out of stock and you can't finish your pen. We all need alternatives.

Dangerous goods surcharge means it's not only slow because it has to go by road but expensive as well. $20 for Mitrefix is not expensive in the bigger scheme of things, but the dangerous goods makes it very restrictive. Glen 20 can be purchased at any supermarket. Mitrefix use to be available at any Bunnings but Bunnings dropped the range.

So I invested some time to perfect the Glen 20 method, it took a few blanks but now that I got it down pat, I am no longer reliant on Mitrefix. The burden and cost associated with Mitrefix is now all gone. A few hours of my time practicing has eliminated a cost and the burden of being fixed onto one product which is available from one source (what happens if the Mitrefix product is withdrawn?).

Timberbits

Here is my .5 cents worth

WOW I can't believe we are still debating this but I am glad to see everyone is being civil about it.
I have tried and failed with G20 but not given up on it yet.
My situation is like David said dangerous good shipped to Darwin is expensive and very slow and as I do not get mail to my door & you can not get dangerous goods sent to a PO box it makes it very hard.
For this reason I have never used an aerosol based accelerent only the pump action and adjusted my technique accordingly. I truly think it is a case of you either like it or you dont just like we use to debate over CA/BLO and CA/Accelerent or WOP or Dip or whatever you chose as long as you are happy with your pen it does not matter how you get there.

Happy pen making

Well my situation was similar to Rumpigs, I was using the pump spray.. After trying the Glen20 I had a few failures at first, but I found the learning curve a lot less to get it right, than I had for getting the pump spray accelerator to give good results.
I think I am getting more consistant results with the Glen20, so will be sticking with it.

[QUOTE=Rum Pig;1383845]Here is my .5 cents worth

WOW I can't believe we are still debating this but I am glad to see everyone is being civil about it.

Hey fellers . Of course we are were all being civil, were all good mates here, and if it wasn't for Davids help and amazing in depth instructional video's, I would be still truning out broom handles, ha ha. I sure haven't given up the Glen 20 idea, and I am going to spend this weekend perfecting the technique. . Life's more enjoyable when you have a bit of a challenge eh ! Cheers.

Originally Posted by timberbits

(what happens if the Mitrefix product is withdrawn?).
Timberbits

I guess we would have to be patient and wait for the CA to dry by itself.