disgusted!!!!

[jeff3285]

well I waited patiently on my order from penn state and it arrived today,,2 of the pens were Gatsby and I have made these before turned out great,,both on these 2 pens the blank I was using cracked,,both pens,,i first thought I was getting too thin,,so I used my calibers to measure the thickness and both blanks had plenty,,and you would have thought if they were going to crack it would have been on the ends but it was up in the body of the blank,,im thinking that maybe I got ahold of a bad blank,,is this possible,,,i know im not a pro like you guys,,but I have made these pens before and never had a problem,,the pen blank was the one called Lava Bright Classic Deep Purple and White from penn state,,lol,,kinda knocks the wind outta your sails when things like this happens,,,

 

[Edgar]

Sorry about your misfortune with that nice blank. Not that it particularly matters, but did it crack when you were pressing in the nib end or the cap end? Did it require more effort than usual to press the parts into the tube?

A few things that I always try to check before assembly:
Make sure the tube is round & not deformed.
Make sure there is no glue or residue inside the tube.

If everything else looks good, you might use a caliper to check the diameter of the pen parts vs the inside diameter of the tubes. Parts & tube dimensions can vary slightly from one to another.

 

[Terredax]

It looks like it got hot and expanded. Just my opinion, but it can get hot real quick and expansion and contraction will cause cracks. The brass will expand as well.

 

[magpens]

Give PSI Customer Service a call ... they will probably replace the faulty blanks.

 

[jeff3285]

I never got to pressing anything in,,lol,,I was finishing it when I noticed it cracked,,and I was trying so hard after the first one messed up,,

 

[JimB]

The problem might have started when drilling if it got to hot.

 

[Sabaharr]

The problem might have started when drilling if it got to hot.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Joey-Nieves]

If you have some purple mica mix it with CA an apply to the crack, it won't disappear but it will be very hard to find.

 

[fastgast]

had a similar experience and found the drill bit was dull and overheated the blank when drilling.

 

[rrfd4]

Too much heat while drilling.

 

[Woodguy95]

I agree with those of you that say that the blank probably cracked at the drilling process. It also did happen to me and I've found a way to help prevent it . It may sound crazy but I use the no name cooking spray because it gets between an oil an a paste and I just spray it in the blank while drilling. Then I soak it in alcohol to get the oil off. I've gotten great result with that thecnique.

 

[MikeinSC]

Send me a PM with your address. I've got a few extra Gatsby tubes and I make some purple and white blanks. I'll send you some to try.

 

[doctordan]

Been there, done that---and it REALLY bites!!!!!