A suggestion for our Suppliers- Kit fit templates

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redfishsc

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Russ raised a good point about using the calipers since the bushings you guys sell us aren't aways what we might say...uh.... CORRECT.


Anyhow, the problem of bad bushing sizes and the problem of mandrel whip (which is my fault moslty for not having the collet chuck), I have assembled more pens that I'd like to mention that turned out UGLY. Now I have to unassemble the thing, perhaps re-turn it or even remove the wood and just make a new blank.

If you had a template kit that I could fit together with my fingers to test the joints out before actually assembling the kit, you would make my life so much easier. Blood pressure dropping by the inches of mercury while assembling the kit worrying that one of the ends is oval or a bit too fat/skinny.




Just take your cheapest version of the kit (ie, the 24k gold or even unplated) and have the tenon that presses into the brass tube made slightly smaller. Small enough that we can slip it into our newly turned blank (before it ever gets finished) and feel the joint. Then slip it out.


I plan on purchasing a cheap version of each kit I make and using jaw chucks to sandpaper the tenon down to an appropriate size for this- at least for pens that don't cost $40 even on the cheapest. A "dry run" kit for something like the Emperors and Imperials would, to me, make life much less stressful!

If you guys would offer these, perhaps unplated and with slightly smaller (talking hundreths or thousandths) tenon that would provide for easy insert-check-and-removal, you have at least one buyer. No refill included, only the fitted parts. Of course, cheap.[8D]
 
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Why not just buy a set of calipers? I got my digital calipers from HF for something like 20 bucks. With calipers you can check the fitting of every kit, then turn the blank to that kits specific measurement.
 

Randy_

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Originally posted by redfishsc
<br />.....If you had a template kit.....with slightly smaller (talking hundreths or thousandths) tenon that would provide for easy insert-check-and-removal.....

Good idea in theory; but..... Just as bushings vary in size from lot to lot, so will the pen parts themselves. Just because your test piece fits fine, doesn't mean a kit bought three months later will assemble properly. If you want accurate pens, the only practical way is to buy calipers and measure!!!
 

redfishsc

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Yes, agreed, and I have some calipers that I do use now (a day late and a dollar short, which is sad b/c our shop had the calipers all along).

My main reason for saying this is b/c of oval shapes and whatnot.

I believe Russ is right in that most of the pen kits actual parts are quite consistent, it's the bushings that vary.
 

Russb

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Yup, use calipers I have an inexpensive pair of digital calipers that read to the thousands. Very easy to read and use. On some kits I measure the pen parts and the bushings, if the busihings match the pen parts I can use the bushings for sizing. If not I use the calipers for final sizing.
 
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