bl/ti slimeline

[smoky10]

I have bought a lot of things from CSUSA and never had a problem, until now. This may have been discussed before but I cannot get the clip on the finial.I have sanded both until I'm afraid to sand anymore. I may have to use a drop of glue to hold the finial in the pen and the clip may be loose. I have not contacted CSUSA yet, thought I see if any of you had a good way of doing it.

 

[BullDurham]

I have a few of then in the last one's i got from CSUSA also. A real pain to get to work had to sand the H*** out of them, and them CA.

 

[nightowl]

I have also had the same problem in the last 4 or 5 slimlined that I have done. These came from Harbor Freight though. They still have the same manufacturer. I have been able to press the clip onto the finial with my pen press after starting it into the upper barrel. You just have to make sure the clip is where you want it when you start. It will not move around the barrel on the finial.

 

[nightowl]

DUUHHHH! Man I just had a dumb moment. My slimlines came from Wood Craft.

 

[hughbie]

i was about to ask....since when did harbor freight start carrying pen kits.....talk about crappy quality!
thanks for clearing that up

 

[nava1uni]

I have had this happen a couple of times. I used a small reamer and just reamed a tiny bit off of the clip so that it just slides over the finial. I never sand the finial, just the clip. I have found that it is just that a little of finish has built up and sanding doesn't seem to get it off easily, but the reamer does. I just took a small screwdriver and ground a taper on it and sharpened the edges so it just fits into the clip and I can easily twist it without putting too much torque on the clip so it doesn't bend. It is sharp enough to slice off a little finish and even a little metal if necessary.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I have happen this to Statesman Jr a couple of times, guess the plating might be a smidgen thick inside the clip or on the cap.

 

[wdcav1952]

Yes, the Harbor Freight reference threw me off also!!

 

[rej19]

I keep a cordless dremel handy all the time for this use. I have a very small tapered grinding stone that works perfect. I takes just a second to ream out the clip ever so slightly. Seems like a lot of the slimlines have this problem. And I don't think it necessarily brand specific.

 

[smoky10]

Thanks for your comments, I guess a little too much plating is better than too little.

 

[sbell111]

I keep a cordless dremel handy all the time for this use. I have a very small tapered grinding stone that works perfect. I takes just a second to ream out the clip ever so slightly. Seems like a lot of the slimlines have this problem. And I don't think it necessarily brand specific.

That is exactly what I do.

I use the dremel so frequently that I no longer ever put it away. On the front end, I use it with a tiny sanding wheel to rough up the tubes prior to gluing (or painting). On the back end, I use it with a small grinding stone to give a quick ream to those too tight clips or for a little extra sizing to 50 BMG necks.

 

[Chasper]

I've had the problem a few times with the clip not fitting over the finial. Mostly it occurs with the specialty clips like guns, golf clubs, crosses, etc, they often tend to be too tight.
I took a reject turning with tube and reamed it out with a dremel, it is too big for the finial to properly pressure fit in. I take the clip and finial and press them into the reject tube which pushes the clip up on the finial where it belongs. It falls out of the reject tube and I can then press it into the kit I'm assembling.