Cigar pen length problem

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ossaguy

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I have been making several cigar pens lately,and on the one today,and at leasrt 2 others,I'm perplexed with this problem:

After the lower barrel is assembled,the writing tip does not poke thru the nib far enough.I'm really super careful to make sure the barrel is trimmed right,and the brass is level with the wood on both ends.

I fix it by hand lapping the black trim ring on a flat surface with wet dry paper.I have to take it down two-thirds as thick as new.Each one has been the same pretty much.It looks fine by itself,but on a multiple display rack you can tell something's not right,since they all don't match.

These are CSUSA Artisan kits,but I think it happened also on a Berea kit.

I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong,so thought I'd see if it's happened to anybody else here?

Thanks for any help!

Steve
 
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ldb2000

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I've done allot of cigar kits , both straight and modified , and have never had a problem with the refill not sticking out enough , too much yes but never not enough . I would say that you got a batch of bad tubes , a little too long . Did you use the tubes that came with the kits or were these purchased seperately ?
 

ossaguy

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I used the ones that came in the kits.At first I thought I mixed up the tubes swith some rollerball ones I was doing,but I know today's pen was out of an onopened bag.

Is there a chart here that shows the exact lengths of what each kit's tube length is?

Thanks for the help,guys!

Steve
 

Smitty37

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By nature.....

The length of the lower barrel on cigar pens is SUPER critical. The tip retracts just barely inside the nib when properly assembled...if it goes in a tad farther it won't extend properly if it doesn't retract all the way the barrel is too short.....real careful measuring of the barrel is the only way I know of to get them right.
 

MarkD

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Did you mix up the tubes. I believe that some of the Cigar pens use a shorter tube on the lower section of the pen. I had that problem once :)
I was able to fix the problem by cutting a small amount of the end of the transmission( the end that threads onto the lower section of the pen. By making the transmission slightly shorter it pushes the refill out the end a little farther. I cut the brass end of the transmission on the bandsaw and then filed the end smooth and removed any burrs from the threads. It worked for me but I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis.

If you try it and happen to mess the transmission up let me know...I have a bunch of spare cigar parts and I could send you one.
 

PenMan1

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I've done allot of cigar kits , both straight and modified , and have never had a problem with the refill not sticking out enough , too much yes but never not enough . ?

LMAO! Same here, I've made a bunch that stuck out too far, never had one not long enough,YET! I agree, sure sounds like a "tube error". AND......just when we think we have finally mastered the critical lower barrel length of the Cig!:biggrin:
 

ossaguy

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Thanks for all the help here,I'm 100 percent certain that the tubes are shiny on the ends so it's not under-milled.I guess it just has to be a tube mix up problem,so I'll have to measure before starting.

Thanks again, Steve
 

jbg230

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I just made the cigar hybrid and took so much care in making sure the bushings were in the right place, I didn't pay attention to the position of the barrels. Got a refill that stuck out way too long. The fix is fairly simple though. Just clamp the refill carefully in a vise and take off the black nubbin thing. Then just trim the reill 1/4" with hacksaw or scroll saw or some other small metal cutoff tool.
Replace the black plastic end on the refill and the pen will work fine. No disassembly, fancy repair or waste required.
 
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Mr Vic

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Check the refill length against a store bought Parker refill or from one that is correct. It could be the issue as well. I haven't done a cigar lately but have notice the Cross style refills in the kits are a bit longer then a real Cross refill or some of my older ones. Since I have a jig to press in the same every time I knew it wasn't the pen assembly at fault.
 

jttheclockman

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I just made the cigar hybrid and took so much care in making sure the bushings were in the right place, I didn't pay attention to the position of the barrels. Got a refill that stuck out way too long. The fix is fairly simple though. Just clamp the refill carefully in a vise and take off the black nubbin thing. Then just trim the reill 1/4" with hacksaw or scroll saw or some other small metal cutoff tool.
Replace the black plastic end on the refill and the pen will work fine. No disassembly, fancy repair or waste required.


That now is your own pen because you can not give to anyone or sell it. people will not know how to fix that. It happens. :biggrin:
 
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I bought a cigar pen & pencil, the tube for the pencil was just a little longer than for the pen. When I assembled the pen first, the nib stuck out too far, so I swapped it to the pencil and it fit perfectly. Since your problem was the exact opposite, it appears there may have been some QC issues with the tubes.
 

jbg230

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"That now is your own pen because you can not give to anyone or sell it. people will not know how to fix that. "

That's hysterical John! I'm so new at this, I don't think that way yet. I've given a bunch of pens away, but haven't sold any yet. My brain is only in the "make it look nice and make it work" mode and I don't think of someone actually using my pen to the point that they will need a refill. I thinkI just thought they would stare at it all day.:)

So I guess I finally made a pen for myself and learned a nice lesson. (I could always give it to my wife or one of my sons I guess:rolleyes:) I knew I wasn't ready to offer advice yet! One day, I'll stop thinking of the mechanics of pen making and start thinking of the business aspect and consumer side of this
hobby.
Thanks for pointing that out. I got a kick out of it.
 
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