"Lip" on end of rollerball after finishing

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putnamm

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Last night I made my first "Over Under Shotgun" rollerball. I was making it for a fairly important person, so I really wanted to get it right. But after assembling it, I noticed a major error.

At the bottom end of the pen, where the wood barrel meets the bottom coupler, there is a severe "lip"--an excess of material on the barrel itself that causes the diameter of the barrel to extend well past the diameter of the coupler. (See the attached picture.)

I'm honestly not sure how this happened. I turned the barrels down to even diameter with the kits' bushings and then sanded them to 320. So I know the wood barrels were the proper diameter. I removed the steel bushings and replaced them with the Hold-Fast Nonstick bushings that I use for all of my pens. Then I proceeded to apply my CA (one quick coat of thin, followed by five coats of medium, each with a single spray of accelerator). I polished with Micro Mesh pads and then applied a thin coat of Renaissance wax, which I buffed with a shop towel.

The only thing I can figure is that I loaded up that end of the pen with too much CA. However, I've made a lot of pens at this point. And I've never had this problem. Also, there was no apparent "bulge" of CA glue when I applied it. My polishing with the MM pads was consistently even, too. Yet when I measured the two ends of the pen with a calipers, that bottom end was clearly wider in diameter than the top end.

Has anyone experienced this before? Is it perhaps a flaw in the bushings that I purchased? I'm really confused.
 

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jttheclockman

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Would like to see more angles of this. Did you use your calipers to measure the components or did you rely on the bushings??? Never trust bushings. Always measure the components and match to that.
 

JimB

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It could be any of the things you mention.

Measure the bushings and the coupler with your calipers to see if it is the bushings. Stock bushings are really more of a guide.

If you turned the wood to the bushings and then added thick layers of CA then that could be your problem. It will add thickness.

You can disassemble the pen and tune it down and refinish it.
 

putnamm

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Would like to see more angles of this. Did you use your calipers to measure the components or did you rely on the bushings??? Never trust bushings. Always measure the components and match to that.

I did rely on the bushings and only measured with the calipers once the pen was assembled...which is when I noticed the fault.
 

putnamm

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You can disassemble the pen and tune it down and refinish it.

I'm sure this topic has been addressed ad nauseum on the forums, so I don't want to ask for a walkthrough of disassembly and refinishing. But I assume I will need a set of punch tools, at least? And then I will need to sand off the glue down to the wood again, correct?
 

JimB

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You can disassemble the pen and tune it down and refinish it.

I'm sure this topic has been addressed ad nauseum on the forums, so I don't want to ask for a walkthrough of disassembly and refinishing. But I assume I will need a set of punch tools, at least? And then I will need to sand off the glue down to the wood again, correct?

I've never done that kit so I can't say for sure but basically yes, a set off punches (harbor freight, about $10). You can then either sand off the finish or if it is thick you can turn it off. I prefer a skew for this but use whatever tool you are comfortable with for light cuts.

Even if you can't save the blank for some reason this will be good practice as everyone, at some point, needs to disassemble a pen and refinish it either because of an issue like this or because a customer brings you a pen they damaged. You don't want your first time to be with a customer's pen they are bringing back to you.
 

mecompco

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Had something similar happen with an Atrax. Upon examination after the fact, I think the lower barrel end cap was slightly over-large. It went in so tight during assembly that the brass tube sunk into my press end and the acrylic blank buldged out.

Along with the punch set (HF or Amazon), the pen disassembly vise grips are also a darned good investment (IMHO).
 

putnamm

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You can disassemble the pen and tune it down and refinish it.

So, I just picked up a set of punches, but I have no idea how to use them. Direction to a previous post or a quick walkthrough here would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

JimB

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Remove all pieces that are not pressed in such as refill etc. then you use the punches to knock out the pressed in parts. Use the largest punch that will fit into the brass tube to knock out the part. What I do is is slide the punch into the tube. I hold the blank in one hand and start tapping the punch with a hammer. Light repetitive taps to knock the piece out. I wear a rubber glove (the type used to wash dishes) so I get a good grip on the blank. Do not try to knock it out with one or two hard hits as you will damage the part.

As I said, I have never made that pen. The process varies a bit pen to pen depending on what parts need to be knocked out. Basically it is the opposite order from assembling the pen.

I hope that helps.
 

putnamm

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Remove all pieces that are not pressed in such as refill etc. then you use the punches to knock out the pressed in parts. Use the largest punch that will fit into the brass tube to knock out the part. What I do is is slide the punch into the tube. I hold the blank in one hand and start tapping the punch with a hammer. Light repetitive taps to knock the piece out. I wear a rubber glove (the type used to wash dishes) so I get a good grip on the blank. Do not try to knock it out with one or two hard hits as you will damage the part.

As I said, I have never made that pen. The process varies a bit pen to pen depending on what parts need to be knocked out. Basically it is the opposite order from assembling the pen.

I hope that helps.

Got it. Thanks!
 

thewishman

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It helps to wrap the tube with something grippy - rubber glove, rubber band... When tapping on the punch with a hammer, lighter taps reduce the stress on the parts. Always, ALWAYS, tap the punch over a box or soft landing place for the part you punch out. Bouncing a piece off the floor usually ruins the part for reuse.
 

putnamm

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Thanks!

And I like mecompco's recommendation of the grip vise pliers. Unfortunately, I've already spent WAY too much money on pen stuff. I'm thinking I could use my existing vise grip pliers with some rubber kitchen glove material to cover the teeth...
 

JimB

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Thanks!

And I like mecompco's recommendation of the grip vise pliers. Unfortunately, I've already spent WAY too much money on pen stuff. I'm thinking I could use my existing vise grip pliers with some rubber kitchen glove material to cover the teeth...

I would not recommend that. The vise grip teeth will dig through the thin rubber. Trust me, just put on the glove and hold the blank. Light repetitive taps. Use the side of the hammer for a larger surface.
 

putnamm

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Thanks!

And I like mecompco's recommendation of the grip vise pliers. Unfortunately, I've already spent WAY too much money on pen stuff. I'm thinking I could use my existing vise grip pliers with some rubber kitchen glove material to cover the teeth...

I would not recommend that. The vise grip teeth will dig through the thin rubber. Trust me, just put on the glove and hold the blank. Light repetitive taps. Use the side of the hammer for a larger surface.

Ok. Thanks.
 

mecompco

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Yeah, I've done the glove/jar opener thing. The $13.95 spent at Exotic Blanks for the vise grips has way more than paid for itself in time and frustration in just a few uses. They really make tapping out components (even loctited in) almost painless. I put a rag over the anvil of my bench vise and a pad under it and use a rubber dead blow hammer. Rest the vise grips on the vise with the pen hanging over the edge. Let the hammer to the work and many taps are much more effective than trying to hammer it out with hard blows.
 

putnamm

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So with the pen punch set, how do you handle a barrel that has a coupler in either end? So you cannot get a punch in there that is the nearest diameter to the barrel because the coupler on the nearest end is restricting the size of the punch you can use.
 

Charlie_W

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Use the largest punch that will slide in easily and let the end of the punch come against the edge of the part you are tapping out. You may need to reposition the punch as the part starts to move.
After that one is out, then again, largest punch fitting tube for other piece.

You may find some videos of the pen vendors sites or YouTube.
 

SteveG

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I have read through your Q & A in this thread, and you are getting good help on the disassembly, so all I will add is to emphasize the point about many taps done lightly. If the parts stick a bit, the tendency is to tap harder. Avoid that temptation...tap lightly, and tap more times!

Now, for my input. If the oversize "lip" is an excess build up of CA, it may not be concentric with the tube, and if you try to deal with it by sanding, it could aggravate the situation. Since you use bushings (instead of turn between centers), the whole finished piece (tube + blank + finish) could be off from being centered. If you remount to the metal bushes to try your rework, THAT could introduce a slight off center situation. The point is, if you are attempting to save the blank, analyze it carefully first to determine if it is concentric, and if not...why not. Then attempt the fix. Consider careful, judicious use of a sharp skew, in scraping mode, very light cuts. Oh, also, take very light cuts!

You know what your experience level is, so try to stay close to something that you are comfortable with. A final thought: attempting a "save" like this may be best achieved with a small, taper down bevel applied to the last 1/8th inch of the blank instead of reworking a longer segment of the blank. Get this one reasonably well fixed, and in the future do more caliper work as you go. Here is hoping you have success!! Have fun!
 

putnamm

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Thanks to everyone for your replies.

In the end, I've decided to make a whole new pen from scratch for this individual in order to meet their deadline. However, I still have the original pen as assembled. It will be my first time breaking down an assembled pen, so I didn't want this person to be my guinea pig! This time I will be relying on calipers measurements of the components and turned tubes prior to finishing. And I will be finishing on centers and also cutting back to 3-4 drops of medium CA on my finish.

I'm hoping to have it disassembled tonight to get a better idea of where I went wrong. I will report back what I learn.

I really appreciate all of the feedback. Thanks!
 
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