Elegant American Problem

[pipemaker]

I turned two Elegant American pens and have the same problem with both of them.
The refill extends properly, but to retract it, it is necessary to twist the pen over 4 full turns, until the upper barrel almost seperates from the connector.

I followed the instructions exactly, finished the blanks to precisely the length of the tubes, and even stretched the spring.

I disassebled one of the pens, and tried various thickness shims on first the lower and then the upper barrels.
The transmission assembly seems to work fine and dosen't appear to be slipping in the tube.

I am out of ideas. Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[pipemaker]

Well, I solved the problem.

After assembling a 3rd Elegant American and encountering the same results, I "wrung it's neck" out of frustration. I grabbed both barrels and twisted them until what I assumed were the threads giving way.
When I looked at the result of what was quite forcefil twisting, I noticed that the refill had retracted.

Now very gingerly, I turned the barrels both clockwise and counter clockwise and the refill extended and retracted just like a double twist should.

I used the same procedure on the other two pens and now both work perfectly. I am just surprised at the amount of force it takes to get the mechanism to work.

Mike

 

[KKingery]

Mike - I've not made that particular pen, so I would have been no help, but I'm glad you got it fixed! I had a similiar problem when I made my first cigar style pen. I finally figured out the refill was'nt seated in right.

 

[jwoodwright]

Great Thinking!
That should be added to tips and techniques... Wow![8D]