Parker Jell Refill Problem

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Jamie

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Oct 3, 2006
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Tucson, AZ, USA.
A friend just ran out of ink (jell) in an American from Woodcraft. She brought the pen to me with the Parker Brand refill wedged in the pen. I tapped it out, tried to get it operating smoothly, couldn't, and replaced it with a PK-PAR-XG-K and it works great. Has anybody had a problem with the metal Parker brand refill not working with a pen?
 
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gerryr

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Do you have another one of those kits that you test that same refill in? If it works in another kit, most likely the ID of nib was just enough smaller that it wouldn't fit properly.
 

Randy_

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This is a known problem and has been discussed before. The tips of the generic refills that come with the pen kits are a few thousandths smaller than the true Parker refills(Gel or regular BP). Sometimes the holes in the kit refills are big enough to work with kit refills but not with the brand refills. You need to keep a true Parker refill on hand and test every pen you sell to avoid this problem.

The Parker refill tips are exactly 0.10". The problem can be fixed by reaming out the tip of the pen kit using any one of several different methods.
 

Randy_

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Jamie: I didn't really offer a full response to your question because I needed to track down a piece of information that was missing from my memory.

There are several ways to deal with this problem. The best is probably to drill out the tip of the pen with a #38 drill which is 0.1015" in diameter. But since most folks don't have a 38 drill bit handy, you can try a 3/32" bit. It is definitely undersized; but you can use it to open up the hole by running it in and out of the hole with the bit at a slight angle. Since you are only looking to remove a few thousandths of relatively soft material this should work OK. I once tried a 7/64" bit; but it is enough over-sized that the final hole was too big and the fit of the cartridge tip was too sloppy for my taste.

Second alternative is using a very fine(jeweler's) rat tail file and gently opening the hole until you have a satisfactory fit. Once again, remember you don't have to remove very much material and if you remove too much then the tip slops around in the hole and is very annoying.

First time I ran into the problem, I had neither a file nor a 38 drill bit and I was in a hurry so I improvised. Clipped the head off a small finishing nail and cut a thin sliver of 600 grit sandpaper. Taped the SP to the nail and use it to polish the inside of the pen tip. Took me longer to make the tool than it did to open the hole.

I'm sure there are other ways to solve the problem; but this should get you started in the right direction.
 
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