Parker Double Twist Pens

[dougle40]

I've made 2 of these pens so far and I've found that I've had to recess the transmission assembly about 1/16" inside the upper tube . The dimension from the top of the pen to the band is exactly 1 3/16" but when it was assembled the transmission was extremely stiff and almost impossible to turn but after I recessed it 1/16" , it seems alright now and is easy to turn .
Has anyone else had this problem or did I just get a bad batch ?
If it's a bad batch I'll definately contact Berea about it . The tubes all measure 2" .

 

[RussFairfield]

2 things that can cause problems with these pens is that, either there is a burr around the inside of the cap tube, or the diameter of the wood is larger than the metal ring at the top of the lower barrel where it butts against the metal ring. Both are easy to solve.

If there is a burr on the inside of the cap tube, it can bind on the metal end of the lower barrel. Run a knife around the inside of the cap end to remove the burr.

If the wood diameter is larger than the metal ring at the top of the lower barrel, it can bind against the end of the cap. Always make sure that there is no wood outside of the metal collar at the end of the cap so that it will fit into the upper barrel and freely rotate. An out of round pen, or one with wood that is not concentric with the inside of the lower brass tube can be a real problem with this pen kit.

 

[Paul in OKC]

One thing I do after assembling the lower parts, including screwing the transmission on, is to put the center band on the upper, and then slide the upper tube over the trans. If it slides easily, I finish putting it together. If it is snug or binding, I have a little tool for 'scraping' out the tube where the center band is and try again. I have found that sometimes the center band will squeeze the tube just a little. It is very important to make sure that the tube area is clean of any glue before putting on the center band. Ihave had more trouble with the chrome kits than the gold. HTH

 

[dougle40]

The tubes are clean inside , I do check the fit there before I assemble them . It seems like the screw fitting is binding on the center band somehow . When I push the top fitting (with the transmission attached) down inside the tube about 1/16" , everything is OK !!!

 

[wayneis]

Doug I take it that the transmision works fine before assembly? If that is the case then like Russ stated either you have something binding on the transmision or one or both barrels are a touch out of round. Because the bottom barrel fits up inside the top barrel its extremely important that both barrels get turned concentric.

If what you are doing to correct your problem is pressing the brass insert (with transmission attached)into the tube 1/16" what you are doing is raising the top barrel so what I get from this is that you have a binding with the inside of the top barrel and the outside of the bottom barrel. So with everything assembled as per directions, I would check the fit between the two barrels because I think that thats where your problem is at. The wood of the bottom barrel cannot extend beyond the ring of the transmission holder or the two pen halves will bind against each other.

Wayne