problems with my first turned pen

[Brian Sommers]

This is the Curvado pen kit by PSI. when I close it, the ink refill doesn't go all the way back.

What did I do wrong?

anyway to fix it?

fully extended
curvado 1 fully extended.jpg

fully retracted (still sticks out)
curvado 1 fully retracted.jpg

Overall
curvado 1.jpg

did I get one barrel to short when I was trimming it flush, maybe?

[ALAN HOLLAR]

If it is a twist pen you have pressed the twist mechanism in too far. Disassembling a pen is tricky and usually results in damage to the twist mechanism. I would start over.

[Brian Sommers]

It is a twist pen.

[Bob Bouis]

You can usually drift out the tip and the twist mechanism and replace them. The twist mechanism is usually junked, true, but you can get replacements or take one from another kit. Use a tab of glue to hold the replacements in place as the barrel might be stretched out.

In the future you should test fit the twist mechanism when it gets close. Put the refill in and see how far down it goes, push it in a tad further, repeat until it's where you want it.

[Grant Wilkinson]

If the pen is go to be a daily user for you, you can cheat by sanding off a bit of the plastic end of the refill. DAMHIKT

Otherwise, the others have it right.

[Jeff Walters]

I had this problem when I first started making pens. I have not had any trouble disassembling. I use the disassembling tools from PSI. Once you have this done Reinstall the nib and then push in the mechanism only half way and check the fit with the refill and the mechanism in the close and then open position. Then remove the refill and press in just a few millimeters and check it again. Keep sneaking up on it until the open and closed positions are right.
Note: before doing this, check your instructions to make sure you don't have to measure and mark the mechanism as some kits require this.
Jeff

[Brian Sommers]

The good news things are going worse. (Sarcasm)
My second pen I ruined one of the barrels. I can reorder that, so not all is lost.

My third pen is a push button and the same problem resulted. When I push to retract it doesn't come all the way back in. I'm at a lost.

Maybe woodworking just isn't for me.

[Paul Williams]

Brian, keep at it. I think we all had problems while learning. Myself, after turning hundreds of pens, mostly twist or bolt action, I still have trouble with the push to retract mechanisms. Except I have no trouble with the Compson from PSI. Others have given you good advise on sneaking up on the mark as you push in a twist mechanism. Pens are fun to turn and make great gifts for family and friends. You will ruin a few kits, but you will also find ways to recover from almost any goof.

[Ronald Blue]

I looked at the instructions and since the transmission or mechanism screws on you didn't press it in to deep. However you likely trimmed to much off the length. Do you have calipers? You can probably get close enough with a good ruler. It calls for the lower barrel to be 2-1/16" in length. Measure the length of the blank only. Usually you have a little room to play with. Have you operated the mechanism with the top off of it? Make sure it isn't to stiff for the friction fit to fully retract. If you have a transfer punch set and the PSI disassembly pliers you have about all you need to disassemble.

[William C Rogers]

Brian, keep at it. I think we all had problems while learning. Myself, after turning hundreds of pens, mostly twist or bolt action, I still have trouble with the push to retract mechanisms. Except I have no trouble with the Compson from PSI. Others have given you good advise on sneaking up on the mark as you push in a twist mechanism. Pens are fun to turn and make great gifts for family and friends. You will ruin a few kits, but you will also find ways to recover from almost any goof.

+1 on Paul's advice. I've done pressed the transmission too far several times when I was starting. It's always a good practice to buy the spare tubes. I've also forgot to put the clip on before pressing the end cap. Here are some of the things I have done that help me. I put a set of instructions into a binder and made notes regarding the assembly and turning as necessary. I also measured the bushing size and wrote that on the instructions. I mark the inside of each tubes at the center band so I can keep grain orientation lined up and make sure the nib gets the nib and end cap are installed correctly. I've always turned with the nib at the headstock. Most instructions have the nib at the tailstock. This was because there is likely less runout at the headstock and you want the nib to be the best match. A mandrel saver is well worth the money. I have the Rockler drill alignment fixture (about $80 ) that I like. I eventually bought the HF arbor press and made my own fixtures for holding the pens for assembly. Micro mesh is a must for finishing. You will find your own method fo finishing.

[Joe Kieve]

All good remedies so far. Go over to www.penturners.org. Excellent suggestions there as well.

[Ronald Blue]

+1 on Paul's advice. I've done pressed the transmission too far several times when I was starting. It's always a good practice to buy the spare tubes. I've also forgot to put the clip on before pressing the end cap. Here are some of the things I have done that help me. I put a set of instructions into a binder and made notes regarding the assembly and turning as necessary. I also measured the bushing size and wrote that on the instructions. I mark the inside of each tubes at the center band so I can keep grain orientation lined up and make sure the nib gets the nib and end cap are installed correctly. I've always turned with the nib at the headstock. Most instructions have the nib at the tailstock. This was because there is likely less runout at the headstock and you want the nib to be the best match. A mandrel saver is well worth the money. I have the Rockler drill alignment fixture (about $80 ) that I like. I eventually bought the HF arbor press and made my own fixtures for holding the pens for assembly. Micro mesh is a must for finishing. You will find your own method fo finishing.

Except if you take time to look at the instructions this transmission is not a press in it is threaded on to an adapter.

pennstateind.com/library/PKSPENXX_INS.pdf

[William C Rogers]

Except if you take time to look at the instructions this transmission is not a press in it is threaded on to an adapter.

pennstateind.com/library/PKSPENXX_INS.pdf

your right Ronald. I was thinking euro twist. Looking at his picture he didn't turn flush with the center band.

[David Herring]

Brian,

Also keep in mind, when trimming the ends on your blanks be careful not to take off too much of the barrel. Some pens have looser tolerances that you can get away with taking a little off and get away with it. While others have tolerances that you're not able to take an off of at all. One thing to do is to get a digital caliper and measure your barrels and compare the lengths to the lengths in the directions of the pen kit. As Joe mentioned above, Penturners.org is a wealth of information on turning pens. They also have a library dedicated to having information on most pen kit suppliers and the specs that go along with each pen.