Made my first two pens yesterday - could use some guidance

[NewbieTurner]

Hi. I'm very new to pen turning, in fact yesterday I made my first two pens. I wanted to find a class to take but couldn't locate, so everything I did was from the internet and a book I picked up. After spending 5 hours figuring out how the mandrel attached to my lathe and the set up required I was finally able to turn my first pen. It actually turned out quite beautiful and I was very happy with it. Of course, the one thing I was missing was a pen drill, and after reading many posts online and looking at pictures I was able to fashion one that also worked out quite well.

Here's my problem. I made two slimline pens and of course when you twist them the ink cartridge does not come out. First thought was the top and bottom pieces were to long, but I used the pen kit tubes and the pieces are cut exactly to the length of the tubes. You can see that the tubes are flush with the blank on both ends of top and bottom. I even made sure the twist mechanism was sitting low enough in the bottom half.

Now what? Any other ideas of what I did wrong? I don't know anyone that turns pens and looking online trying to find troubleshooting guides hasn't produced any results....hoping someone here might be able to offer some guidance. Thanks

Dr. Chris

 

[mredburn]

Try and insert the refill tip into the nib from the outside to make sure the hole isnt to small. that has been a problem on a few of the slimline kits. A 5/32 drill bit will fix that. Also have you verified that the tranny is close by holding it approximatly in place alongside the outside of the pen to see if the tip would come through normally?

 

[randyrls]

Chris; The slimline is the most modifiable of all pens and can be made in endless variations. On the slimline press the nib onto the lower tube, press the transmission part way in. Screw the infill into the tranny and then extend the point. Remove the infill and press the tranny in a little further, repeat until the point extends. Sneak up on the final adjustments. Make sure you have screwed the infill all the way in each time.

Some make a measurement block the exact length needed for the transmission and the nib. Then press the tranny in using the block as a spacer in whatever press you are using.

Michael;'s (mredburn) suggestion is a good one too!

 

[bitshird]

Chris, I'm not trying to be a smart A$$ but are you sure you have the refill screwed into the transmission? If so then I would check if the ball point will actually clear the hole in the nib, There seems to have been quite a few pen kits lately that have an under sized hole in the end of the nib piece.