HELP!! Pen kit problem

[Noah Alkinburgh]

I need some help for you expert pen guys. Now I know some of you don't like the Flat Top American style, but I have had pretty good luck with it. Now I have assembled 3 that the pens twist mechanism will not work. The first one wansn't a big deal as I had made a pen from the same wood that had other problems on the bottom so I swapped tops... but last night two of them did the same thing. I can barely turn them to open them. Everything is correct as far a size, did I just get some duds? Can I fix them. I really need these two pens to work as they were supposed to be sent out to be engraved. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Noah

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

I need some help for you expert pen guys. Now I know some of you don't like the Flat Top American style, but I have had pretty good luck with it. Now I have assembled 3 that the pens twist mechanism will not work. The first one wansn't a big deal as I had made a pen from the same wood that had other problems on the bottom so I swapped tops... but last night two of them did the same thing. I can barely turn them to open them. Everything is correct as far a size, did I just get some duds? Can I fix them. I really need these two pens to work as they were supposed to be sent out to be engraved. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Noah

Unfortunately I can't help you since I haven't made any of these types yet. I'm sure Scott or Ken will jump in to help you out. Keep us updated on what the issue is, just in case I run into it when I get some of these kits.

Thanks,
Ron

[Jim DeLaney]

I recently bought a ten-pack of those pen kits from Woodcraft. Out of the ten, I got four good-working pens, and two with the problem you mentioned. The remaining four mechanisms wouldn't work at all. Guess I use some other style (and not Woodcraft, either) in the future.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Noah, I experienced a similiar problem on a few FT American Pens that I made. On one of them, after I unscrewed the top barrel to look for whatever the problem was, and screwed it back together, it worked fine. I am not sure what the fix on that one was, but whatever it was repaired itself after I reassembled it. On another FT Pen, it just seemed to be hard to turn, not smooth like the others. I took this one apart several times, and it stayed about the same. I took some Teflon Lubricant I had handy, and sprayed the smallest amount I could manage to get from the aerosol can into the twist mechanism, and that fixed the problem. I have found some sort of lubricant in the top portion of the twist mechanism a few times when I was assembling pens. The lubricant was a small glob, and it appeared to be about the same consistancy of Petroleum Jelly. I am not sure if this was a leftover product from the manufacturing process of the mechanism, or if that is what they use for a lubricant before the mechanism is pressed together. My thinking was the latter, and if so, this lubricant could be causing the mechanism to bind if it has too much inside. Try some spray lube...............I wouldn't use WD40 as it gets gummy over time. Maybe a thin machine oil would be just the ticket. Good Luck Noah, maybe Ken has some ideas also...............he has only made about 5000 more of these than I have! :D

[Jim Becker]

It's been a couple of years since I made any of those, but do recall that some of them "stuck" like you describe. I no longer have them...but suspected at the time that it was either "me" or the kits. Sounds like it was the kits after all! :rolleyes:

[Dennis Peacock]

Noah,

If you got the kits from Berea Hardwoods, just call Larry or Jim and ask them about the problem. If they are broke, the should replace them without question. If you have some sewing machine or very thin oil, try a drop of that on the pen transmission and give it a few good brisk twists. This helped resolve a similar problem I had with the RT Euro style pen mechanisms.

I just ordered 10 more RT Euro kits AND 10 of the new Steamline 7MM kits. I have already sold about all the pens I had already made. Give Bill a call at Arizona Silhouette for some really, REALLY nice pen blanks that puts most of the other standard blanks to shame. Prices and service are EXCELLENT.....Just tell Bill that I referred you to him. He may even give you an extra pen blank for free. ;)

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Ok, here is an update.

It would appear that it was a combination of bad twist mecanisms, and problems in the tube. Unfortunately I can't be sure of what was what. I lost one mechanism for sure, and I swapped one mechanism that works ok but not great out of my person pen. (I don't care if mine twists both ways, but someone who is paying for it might) Since I had one kit that was not salvagable from something else I was able to make something work by playing with parts.

I found that a 4mm bolt could be screwed into the final nib (or whatever its called) I put it in as far as it would go and then pressed the nib further into the tube. I pressed it untill the twist mechanism was flush with the center band, then move the pen over so just the center band edge was on a block in my vise. I would press the bolt flush with the top which would push the tube out past the center band. At this point I threaded on the spare lower tube center to the twist mechanism and grabbed it with pliars and pulled. Out popped the twist mechansim. Using a drill bit the just fit in the tube I put it in from the lower half (no drill end in the tube), placed the drill end on a piece of maple, and using a block of wood tapped on the top of the pen with a hammer driving the final nib back up flush with the top of the pen.

At this point I cleaned out the tubes using mineral spirits and ran a knife inside the tube to make sure there were no burrs or anything. After that would slip in the twis mechanism backwards first to make sure it would move freely inside the tube. I lightly sanded the ends of the mechanisms if the felt like the were binding at all. Then pressed them back togheter and they worked.

Well there you have it. It took me probably longer than making a new pen, but now I have a process and can dissasemble one pretty quickly so I salvaged two kits out of it.

Hope this helps someone else in the future.

Noah

[Ken Salisbury]

Noah,

That happens to all of us ( I have scaped more than a few in my time - It happens). As said in other responses there are various reasons for failures with that perticular kit and also on the one Dennis mentioned (RT Euro). A small drop of oil (I use sewing machine oil) will cure the problem some of the time. Occassionally you will get a defective twist mechanism. I have made it a habit to assemble the lower portion of the pen first and then insert the refill and screw the twist mechanism on prior to putting it in the upper barrel to insure it works.

As long as the upper barrel is made to the specified length (critical) and the mechanism functions it should work - sometimes a drop of oil is necessary.

It is also a good idea to assemble the upper blank without putting on the clip and the screw top (which should have a drop of superglue applied to keep the clip from rotating and scratching the wood). This will make disassemby/repair a little easier if necessary.

Posted by Jim DeLaney - 12-04-2003 at 4:10 PM I recently bought a ten-pack of those pen kits from Woodcraft. Out of the ten, I got four good-working pens, and two with the problem you mentioned. The remaining four mechanisms wouldn't work at all. Guess I use some other style (and not Woodcraft, either) in the future.

Jim,

A portion of that failure rate can be attributed to the fact the upper barrel length is critical. If only slightly longer than specified, the mechanism will not function at all. You can purchase a gauge from Berea to check the upper barrel in advance.

It should also be noted these Woodcraft kits are the same as Berea's. Berea is actually one of Woodcraft suppliers for that particular kit - along with some of Woodcraft's other pen kits.