Sierra Button Click-- Hole in tip Too Small

[Moosewatcher]

I had 5 Sierra Button Click pens and every one of them wouldn't work after assembly because the hole in the tip was too small for the refill to go through. The Schmidt 900 would work because it turns out its tip is 0.01 smaller than the refill that comes with the kit. I was able to use them because I reamed the hole out with a punch rod, but one shouldn't have to do that with a new kit. Anyone else seen this problem with this kit?

Has anyone used any of the Elegant Beauty kits from Timberbits? How do they compare for looks and quality?

Ken

 

[hunter-27]

I had 5 Sierra Button Click pens and every one of them wouldn't work after assembly because the hole in the tip was too small for the refill to go through. The Schmidt 900 would work because it turns out its tip is 0.01 smaller than the refill that comes with the kit. I was able to use them because I reamed the hole out with a punch rod, but one shouldn't have to do that with a new kit. Anyone else seen this problem with this kit?

Has anyone used any of the Elegant Beauty kits from Timberbits? How do they compare for looks and quality?

Ken

I had one out of maybe a hundred that had that happen.

 

[sbell111]

I would never even notice this issue as I ream the tip of every 'parker' pen that we make to ensure that a customer can use any Parker compatible refill.

 

[ed4copies]

Because of the differences among "Parker" refills, I did the same thing with hundreds of Cigars, when we did shows.

(After several returned when they tried to replace the refill--they were NOT happy. An ounce of prevention...)

 

[corian king]

I had two do the same thing last week.I have a small round file that I use to take care of the problem.But I agree with you.We should'nt have to work on something brand new.

 

[arioux]

Same here. Any parker type pen get the end reamed a little because if your customer get original Parker, he is going to have this problem.

 

[jttheclockman]

When drilling the nib out you now open another can of worms and that is plating chipping issues. That is probably the reason in the first place they are too small, too much plating. I would send them back.

 

[ghostrider]

When drilling the nib out you now open another can of worms and that is plating chipping issues. That is probably the reason in the first place they are too small, too much plating. I would send them back.

That was my question when reading this thread.

Wouldn't reaming out the nib cause this?

 

[jttheclockman]

When drilling the nib out you now open another can of worms and that is plating chipping issues. That is probably the reason in the first place they are too small, too much plating. I would send them back.

That was my question when reading this thread.

Wouldn't reaming out the nib cause this?

Yes on some of the kits it would definetly happen. The cheaper the kit the cheaper the plating.

 

[76winger]

Interesting discussion. I didn't realize there were variances in the sizes of the tips for Parker style refills.

What is the biggest one you have to worry about, the Parker branded one?

 

[Smitty37]

Elegant Beauty

I had 5 Sierra Button Click pens and every one of them wouldn't work after assembly because the hole in the tip was too small for the refill to go through. The Schmidt 900 would work because it turns out its tip is 0.01 smaller than the refill that comes with the kit. I was able to use them because I reamed the hole out with a punch rod, but one shouldn't have to do that with a new kit. Anyone else seen this problem with this kit?

Has anyone used any of the Elegant Beauty kits from Timberbits? How do they compare for looks and quality?

Ken

The Elegant Beauty is a Dayacom kit and probably will stand up in quality to any comparable kit out there. I would be surprised if they don't come with a Schmidt Refill. I know the Ligero from Dayacom does.

 

[Smitty37]

Maybe

When drilling the nib out you now open another can of worms and that is plating chipping issues. That is probably the reason in the first place they are too small, too much plating. I would send them back.

That was my question when reading this thread.

Wouldn't reaming out the nib cause this?

I don't think I'd lose any sleep over it. I've seen an awful lot of folks here post that they had to ream the tips and never saw one say this has casued a problem with the plating chipping.

Since this problem seems common across pens using parker style refills, my guess is that the nominal spec for the hole could be changed a tad to deal with it. On the other hand the real problem might be that there is too much variance in the od of parker refills from different manufacturers and the hole in the tip being bigger might cause other problems.

 

[ed4copies]

The largest diameter I have encountered was exactly one tenth inch. There is a wire size drill bit that is .105 if I recall correctly---or a Dremel tool can be used to accommodate the "name brand refill" (which is the way I approached it--again, there was no IAP so it was my "first instinct"---I would use the drill bit today.)

The ones I "modified" were all TiGold--sold hundreds, never had one that was modified come back for any reason--so, I am pretty certain the plating did not have any problems, but that was TiGold---I have no idea about other options.

BTW, the kits came from various suppliers, NONE of them had a large enough opening.

 

[jttheclockman]

Before we get everyone jumping and stating it does not happen to them, You will find more problems when the kit has the clear epoxy coating to protect the metal such as copper kits and yes it has happened to me. I would be careful about opening the hole too much because you then add another problem and that is slop when the tip is pressed to write with. Tell the customer here is the number of the parker refill that works with the kit and that is all. It is not your fault there is not an industry standard in refills. Good luck.