PSI Faith, Hope, Love vs Legacy Inspirational Kits

[deeceedub]

I just completed my first FHL pen. I loved working with the BOW but I can't say the same for the FHL kit itself. The center band doesn't seem to be uniform in width, which caused the fit to look a bit off (I'm OCD and it may not be something a normal person would notice). The ink refill itself doesn't extend far enough from the pen nib, either. I took out my upgrade refill and used the original and it's not much better. The pen writes but also doesn't meet my QC specs. I made a rookie error of trying to press the lower barrel components together just a teeeny bit tighter in case that was the cause, and now I'm afraid I've split the BOW on the barrel. :frown:

After the fact, searching here shows that the FHL kit can be hit or miss. I can see that this pen might be a good seller, but I don't know that I'm willing to risk poor quality in the parts.

My question is- are any of you familiar with the woodturning store.com's Inspirational kit (Legacy)? It looks very similar to PSI's but possibly not exactly. I am hoping that it's not the exact pen just rebranded, and that the quality is more reliable. Anyone know?

 

[TonyL]

i can't speak for the legacy, but i have inconsistent results with the fhl. i don't buy them any more.

 

[magpens]

I don't buy the FHL ... too many problems reported here.

 

[deeceedub]

Thank you both for your input.

 

[magpens]

The two kits that you are comparing seem to have at least two differences.

I notice that the legacy kit has a clip with a rhinestone on it. The PSI kit does not.

I would think that PSI kits cannot be copied legally. But maybe replacing the clip is OK

The other difference is the price: Legacy is $11.99; PSI is $14.95 - same plating I think. PSI would not allow a discounted price ... makes me think it's not the same kit but the similarity is very strong.

FWIW, . I see that thewoodturningstore.com is in Long Island, NY ... not so far from PSI.

 

[deeceedub]

Thanks, Mal.

The center band of the Insp is tooled a bit differently, and I am hoping that it might be more uniformly made (possibly just wishful thinking).

The price of the three-pack on woodturningstore is $33.99 and the multi-packs ship free. I will probably give this kit a try before too long and will report back on my experience with it.

 

[magpens]

Thanks for starting this thread, Donna.

I look forward to your reporting any future experiences.

 

[DWalk]

I have also experienced less than satisfactory results with this kit. The center band is off on the one I made and there is a gap at the cap. The ink refill itself is sticking out far enough but will not retract. A very disappointing kit for the money.

 

[randyrls]

I like the pen, but have had problems with fit and finish. They are over priced for the quality. There is a Wiki Article (at the bottom) on how to make the pen better.

 

[deeceedub]

Thanks for that link, Randy. Looks like I have lots of company :redface:

 

[magpens]

Ha !! . I never would have thought to look in IAP's own "Wiki" for advice such as this.

Thank you, Randy, for pointing this out.

However, I am not going to need the information because I have no intention of ever buying this PENN kit !!

For one thing, I tend to shy away from religious themes, but there are other "things" such as questionable quality.

Yes, I know that Faith, Hope, and Love are words that apply in other ... definitely 'quality' ... themes of life.

 

[Rick95602]

Okay, so, I bought the kit, then joined IAP, then read this thread. Oi Vey! Did the kit today and was pleasantly surprised/disappointed. The BOW I used was beautiful. Assembling the kit was not so much. Why?: Well, I'm a newbie at all of this. One of the tubes I made a "tad" too short. Screwed up the extension of the point. Didn't do a good job of squaring the blanks. At least I think that was the problem. So, the parts did leave unexpected gaps. On a positive note, my wife loved the pen (always good to have a cheerleader in your camp). Would I try this again? Yes, I think so.

 

[Skie_M]

Rick ... with kits like these, the transmission (the tube that carries the refill and twists to extend the point) can be pressed into the barrel by an arbitrary amount and then checked to see if you have full extension by putting in the refill and working the transmission by hand. If you do not have full extension yet, then you can keep pressing the transmission (take the refill out every time, don't press on the refill!) until you do.

If you have pressed it too far, you can use a transfer punch or a small thin dowel rod and a board with a hole drilled through it for the transmission to pass into, and press it back out a little at a time ....

For example ... drill a small hole through a board on your drill press large enough for the transmission to pass through. Chuck a thin hardwood dowel rod into the drill press long enough to pass through the pen barrel .... remove the tip of the pen + refill and spring assembly ... place the pen body with transmission in place on the board with the transmission going down the hole and the dowel rod down inside of the pen body against the transmission. It may be required to get everything assembled and in place before you lower the chuck head to accept the dowel rod. Press GENTLY using the wheel of your drill press table to move the transmission.... you can use this method to totally remove the transmission as well.

 

[magpens]

Greg, .....

Rick ... with kits like these, the transmission (the tube that carries the refill and twists to extend the point) can be pressed into the barrel by an arbitrary amount ......

If you check the instructions for this kit ...

https://www.pennstateind.com/library/PKHPENXX_INS.pdf

... I think I am correct in saying that the transmission is not a "push in" transmission (as for the slimline) but rather a transmission that screws on to the center band.

The suggestion that you make therefore might need to be altered.

 

[Skie_M]

Ahh, yes, you're right ... I just had a look at one of my kits and that's true, the transmission attaches directly to the center band...

In that case, I would disassemble the lower barrel and either re-turn the lower barrel entirely or add slices of another material on the ends and re-turn it as a segmented pen. (I do keep spare bits of barrel tubes in various sizes just in case of an "oops" mishap ... in the case of 7mm pen barrels and keychains, it's from variously sized smaller keychains).

You could also take the opportunity to true up your barrel ends on the lathe as well.

 

[Rick95602]

Thanks for the input. I am thinking about adding a "slice" to make the thing work, but for now I'll fall back on the round TUIT approach. The chardonnay helped, too.