I fought Murphy...

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Draken

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...and Murphy won. I want to learn from this experience, so if you can see anything I may have done incorrectly, please let me know. Only thing I've been able to come up with is an oversized transmission. Here's my sad, woeful tale:

Trying my hand at a bullet pen. Got some directions from a fellow member here on IAP and used those as a guideline. I drilled out the back end of the 306 casing with an I drill bit, roughed up the outside of the tube and inside of the casing and glued in the tube, let it cure overnight. The tube extended out the back end of the shell casing a bit, so I gently hit it with the grinder. I was so gentle with it that I didn't create any sparks, and I didn't grind into the flat on the casing itself. Turned the upper barrel out of Rosewood, and went to assemble the pen. It was supposed to be a Slimline 24K Gold from PSI (came in the lathe starter kit). First I used a countersink bit to clear out any burs inside the tubes, and to bevel the inside lip of the tube. Transmission went in, about 1/3 of the brass part was in the tube. It wouldn't go any further, so I pull it out, and see a line in the brass part of the transmission, all the way around it, where it got stuck. So I hit the transmission with a bit of 400 grit sand paper to polish it up a bit and remove the line. Double check the tube, hit it some more with the countersink bit, and test it with a 1/4" drill bit, which goes in cleanly. Try to seat it again, again it gets stuck. Repeat cycle a couple of times, until I noticed the indent in the transmission has collapsed on itself, so even if I were to get it seated, the other barrel will no longer fit. Decided to make it into a pencil, since that was the only SL kit I had left. Well, it looks like cr*p, as it now has a centerband, but was designed to not have one. Guess I'll need to save this one for the next ugly pen contest.

There you have it, did I mess up or did I get a bum kit? I want to learn from this to avoid the same mistake/problem in the future.

Cheers,
Draken
 
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gerryr

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I have had exactly the same experience doing these. I think you have two problems working together. The first is that an "I" bit is really a bit small. Try using a "J" bit. The second is that when you drill the casing, a burr is created inside. I now use my Dremel tool with a chainsaw sharpening stone to grind away the bottom end of the drilled hole. Since I started doing this and using a "J" bit, I haven't had this problem. BUT, those twist transmission are really pretty flimsy so you have to be very careful that everything lines up correctly as you press the parts together. You can, BTW, buy just transmissions from CSUSA and Woodcraft also if I remember corrrectly.
 

gerryr

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I forgot to mention that I don't worry about the bit of tube that sticks out of the casing. When I make a bullet pen, the part that mates with the casing is also a drilled out casing and I just make sure the tube doesn't go all the way. I think it helps them line up better, that's just my opinion.
 

Draken

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I had replied to this one, but it got lost somewhere, so here goes again. I'm still using the brass tube that came with the kit on the inside of the casing. I didn't have any issues getting the tube into the hole using the I drill bit, so I don't see how this could be causing the problem, or am I missing something in your description (knowing me, it is quite possible)?
 

gerryr

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Berea recommends using a "J" bit for slimlines, most everyone else recommends a 7mm bit. An "I" bit is smaller than either one. Once the CA sets, it is very hard and you don't have a lot of clearance using that bit. The "J" bit will five you more clearance and deburring the bottom of the drilled hole will also help.
 
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