Elegant American

[Sawdustier]

I just received my order from BB (woo hoo)and decided to try some of the elegant american. I had read previous posts about the need for exactness in barrel length so went to extreme measures to do this. All went fine until I tried to turn the top of the pen. It was extremely difficult. In fact it felt as if I had to force it. I decided something must be wrong so went to take it apart to reassemble and the top wouldn't screw off, it just kept turning the other direction exposing or withdrawing the nib. I then decided I had screwed up the mechanism somehow so opened another pen and tried again. The length of the assembly comes out just perfect with the end so dont feel that is the problem, but when I tried another mechanism the same thing happened. I looked over my shoulder and didn't see Mr Murphy so I tried again. This time I started off from scratch and knew it would all work out so I used a piece of BOW. Well I'm just a sucker for punishment [V] Double and triple checked length and tested and retested the mechanism before assembly. It looked great but again extremely difficult to turn and cap would not unscrew but kept turning. Somehow I just don't think this is the way it's supposed to work hmm. Anyone know what I did wrong? or how to fix?

 

[epson]

I have had the same experience. I do not know what is wrong.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Please explain what you mean by 'difficult to turn'. Was the wood too hard/soft/whatever? And how did that affect the mechanism? The puzzled want to know.

 

[Sawdustier]

Dang! and I reread that post to make sure it made sense. Sorry all. The problem is in the mechanism. It seems to work fine outside of the pen, but when I assemble it, it doesn't want to twist. When it does finally turn, it must mess up something inside because you can no longer unscrew the top to replace refill, it just keeps turning the opposite direction. It's very difficult to twist unlike any other Parker's I've done.

 

[Old Griz]

Shirley, I would suggest calling Berea and asking for some technical help... they are usually very good about solving problems with their kits...
One other thing just came to mind... when you try to unscrew the top and it keeps spinning... is the center ring spinning or is it in place... if the center ring is spinning it might not have had a real tight press fit when you put it in... on this kit I usually put a small drop of CA in the lower barrel before pressing in the centerband assembly...
If the centerband is spinning you might actually be able to pull it out of the bottom barrel by pulling hard on the upper barrel...

 

[Bob A]

I turned a few of these a while back. All but one had the same problem you describe. I did a search on this site and found that this is common with these pens. There were some fixes recommended, but none worked for me. It's a shame because I really like the look and feel of these pens.

 

[RussFairfield]

The brass tube in the cap fits inside of the center-band, and then slides over the metal fitting at the top of the lower barrel. This is a close fit, and there must be sufficient clearance for the cap to twist. There are 3 possibilities when the top will not twist, or is difficult to twist.

The stub end of the pen barrel that fits into the center-band must be cleaned down to bare metal. Otherwise the fit will be too tight if the tube is squeezed together when the center-band is pushed on.

There can be a burr, a glob of glue, a wire edge rolled over, or deformation of the end of the tube from the endmill trimmer or from turning. Either way an X-acto knife or a utility knife blade can be pulled around the edge of the tube to cut away the offending metal.

The wood at the top of the lower barrel must be <b>the same size</b> as the gold fitting. The center-band slides over this fitting, and if it slides far enough to contact the wood, it will bind the cap if the wood is too large a diameter.

 

[knottyharry]

One more thought, is to check and see if the cartridge tip goes in the end of the nib.
Not in this pen, but I had one a while back that the nib wasn't opened up to the right size for the cartridge tip to fit through it.
Harry

 

[Kevin M]

To get the top to un-screw from the body, hold the nib end down on the table so the refill can not extend and unscrew the top. This has been a common problem for me also and I no longer produce this style for this and other reasons.

 

[Sawdustier]

I finally got the pen partially apart. I just grabbed both ends and twisted and pulled until the bottom came off. I've played around with it quite a bit and what I've found is that it works great without the refill. Once you put refill in, and remember the bottom is off mine, the further you push bottom of pen on the harder it is to twist. I didn't think there was any problem with length but I doubled checked it all and it's fine, the tip comes out just the right length. It's too bad there is such a problem here because I really like the looks of it but I would hate to stick someone with a faulty pen.

 

[rduncan]

I also had a problem with the first (and only) 4 of those I made. I decided to play around with them the other day thinking I had nothing to lose. I was able to remove the cap. I then pressed the mechanism in slight further toward the tip and found the slight movement made all the difference. I recall seeing the note in the instructions about it needing to be at the bottom of the blank but I guess it was slightly off. Of course, I pressed another one in too far it it still feels and looks bad. One of the others I had gotten so frustrated earlier during the build, I think I actually broke the mechanism but that's a different story.