PSI Majestic

[Happy Honcho]

I have made 3 Majestic pens in Tulip wood in the last 2 weeks.All 3 cracked the nib end. Blanks were milled square,cleaned and debured. Everything was in line when pressed. PSI did send me 2 new kits. One had the same problem.


Anybody have this problem and have a fix for it.

Thanks :at-wits-end:

 

[RickLong]

Sorry, Not sure what you are asking... What was cracked? The wood (Tulip wood)?

If you are talking about the wood cracking after turning it, this can happen for several different reasons. Personally, I stabilize all my wood blanks. Especially, expensive woods like tulip wood. Was your wood dry before turning or did you turn a piece of tulip wood you just received?

If I am going to turn a piece of wood that was not stabilized, it would have been sitting in my shop for probably about 6months first with no wax on the ends. This will allow the wood to dry further and have the same moisture as the humidity in your area. The only way to truly prevent wood from cracking is stabilizing it....

Hope this helps.

Rick

 

[Happy Honcho]

It cracks as I press in the nib. Blanks were received about a week before use.

Thanks for your reply

 

[Charlie_W]

Glue in the tube? A burr in the tube?
Sometimes, the parts just fit too tight. If you press them in, they expand the tube and thus the blank. What glue are you using? CA glue dries rigid. When the tube expands, so does the glue...blank says "uncle"!

I will file the inside of the tube so the parts go in easier. You can lock the parts in with a spot of epoxy or blue permatex.

 

[vakmere]

I have the same issue with other kits to. Problem is the milling process and the coating. I cracked 2 pens at the finial and as I was pressing it in it was too tight a fit. I wasted (or experimented ) with a spare finial, transmission, and nib. Pressing them into a 7mm tube alone I could see the brass mushrooming out far enough to stress (or push out) any piece of wood that would be in the path of travel. We only have so much clearance between the tube and the inner wall of a blank. Excessive expansion of a tube can fracture a blank at that point. If there is a fight pressing in any part then we're asking for trouble. I sand off the coating around the nib and/or finial if I feel tightness. That usually helps. Then there are other kits that go right in and there is no problem. Luck of the draw sometimes.

 

[Timbo]

There is the possibility that the tubes supplied with the kits were slightly undersized, or the nib parts were slightly oversized. Kit makers have been know to make defective lots. You indicated you were deburring and cleaning the squared blanks...good! There are two ways to solve your problem.

1. Pre-press the parts into the squared blank prior to turning. This will expand the brass tube while there is still plenty of wood in place thus preventing it from cracking. Of course you'll need to own a set of transfer punches in order to remove the parts, but these are cheap.

2. Use a rat tail file to slightly enlarge the inside of the brass tubes prior to pressing the parts together. I always do this with expensive watch part and feather blanks. It needs to be a snug slip fit. I use epoxy to secure the parts when I use this method.

Good luck!