Here's my stab at making lube sticks. I figured I'd post it, since it's adapted from other posts, along with some of my own ideas.
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The PVC and fittings are all 1".
I used a 1" spade to drill perhaps 3/16 deep into the wood in order to help cradle the rounded bottom caps. As overkill, I even filled the holes under the caps with expoxy before screwing the caps down.
The tubes are 5" long. I used fine sandpaper on the ends of the tubes followed by 600 paper to help them slide in and out of the caps easily.
The 3/8" aluminum rods are cut 7" long. I rounded one end to rest in the bottom cap.
I drilled holes dead center in the top caps (7/16" so the rods can slip through the hole)
I used washers that fill the bottom cap, to aid in centering the rod. The hole in the washer is smaller than the 3/8" aluminum rod. The rounded end of the rod rests in the hole in the washer.
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The process is:
Drop a washer into each bottom cap.
Put a tube completly into each bottom cap so it touches the washer.
Put the rounded end of the aluminum rod into the washer hole and let the rod lay against the top end of the tube. The bottom of the rod is now centered.
Fill the tube with lube (about 1/2" from the top) and affix the top cap over the tube and rod. This will center the top of the rod.
After cooling off, remove the tubes and leave the aluminum rod in place.
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Take a 1" piece of dowell (mine was 16" long for ease of use) and push it against the "pour end" of the lube, since it isn't completely filled. This also squares off that end of the stick nicely. The aluminum rod will move to accomodate the dowell.
Since I put mine into the fridge for a while, I had to run a hair dryer on high over each one for 1 - 1.5 minutes. Push firmly and the lube stick will slide out.
To remove the aluminum rod without distorting the end of the lube stick, I put an oversized washer on the lube and pushed it with my fingers.
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The finished product - 4" lube sticks with 3/8" hole for Lyman, etc. lube sizers.
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