soligen
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Pen Kit Name: Gold Titanium with Black Titanium Le Roi from Smitty's Pen Works
Kit Cost: I paid $45 for 10 kits (pre-purchase). Current price is $29.61 for 5 kits
Description: This is a sierra style pen. It uses the same tube/bushings as the sierra/wallstreet, however it is finial operated. Instead of twisting the whole barrel section, you twist just the finial. This kit used a Parker style refill and is 5.25 inches long when assembled
Instructions: To be honest, I did not read the instructions. Assembly is very easy, and easy to figure out. However I did read the instructions after making a pen for the purposes of writing this review.
The instruction state all the items needed. It calls for a blank at least 5/8" square.
I think the instructions were complete. One thing to note: The instructions say to press the _coupler_ into the barrel. Press just the coupler without the tip assembly. Don't attach the tip assembly until all the pressing is complete. The instructions correctly read in this order, so they are accurate. I just wanted to emphasize this because I did not follow this procedure and I damaged the nose cone while pressing. (I may have been a little heavy handed in the pressing too). Entirely my fault since I didn't follow the instructions.
Although not stated in the instructions, I used a touch of blue Loctite on the transmission threads. The refill is changed through the tip assembly, so the transmission never needs to be removed by the customer.
Turning: Because the kit is finial operated, it is tube length sensitive. Do not over trim the ends of the blank. However, this kit is forgiving on the final diameter of the barrel. I usually use a micrometer to measure barrel diameter for a good transition to kit parts. With this kit, micrometer accuracy is not needed. The raised bands on either side of the barrel are rounded, and it is not designed to have the barrel sit flush (see photo). As a result, small variations in final diameter are not noticeable.
Part Quality: Plating looks good. The Black TI is much darker than the Black TI I've seen on other kits. I would rate it at very dark grey, almost black. I have not had the kit long enough to rate plating durability.
The supplied refill tip fit into the nosecone, however I upgraded to an Easyflow 9000 refill. The Easyflow tip must be just a hair fatter than the kit refill, because it bound in the tip hole. I used a #39 drill bit by hand in the tip to resolve the issue.
After widening the tip hole, I found that the refill still did not always retract. The issue is that on this style transmission, the plunger pushes the refill completely out of the transmission. The refill was hanging up on the lip of the transmission when retracting. I used a counter sink bit to put a chamfer on the transmission lip which resolved the issue (Photo shows chamfer)
Conclusion: I really like this kit. This is the easiest kit to make that I have ever done. The part issues I mentioned above are minor and easily remedied in less than 2 minutes. At the pre-purchase pricing this was an excellent value, and is still a very good value at the current pricing. Being that this design is finial operated, it is not subject to the sierra problem where transmissions get pushed up into the barrel.
Kit Cost: I paid $45 for 10 kits (pre-purchase). Current price is $29.61 for 5 kits
Description: This is a sierra style pen. It uses the same tube/bushings as the sierra/wallstreet, however it is finial operated. Instead of twisting the whole barrel section, you twist just the finial. This kit used a Parker style refill and is 5.25 inches long when assembled
Instructions: To be honest, I did not read the instructions. Assembly is very easy, and easy to figure out. However I did read the instructions after making a pen for the purposes of writing this review.
The instruction state all the items needed. It calls for a blank at least 5/8" square.
I think the instructions were complete. One thing to note: The instructions say to press the _coupler_ into the barrel. Press just the coupler without the tip assembly. Don't attach the tip assembly until all the pressing is complete. The instructions correctly read in this order, so they are accurate. I just wanted to emphasize this because I did not follow this procedure and I damaged the nose cone while pressing. (I may have been a little heavy handed in the pressing too). Entirely my fault since I didn't follow the instructions.
Although not stated in the instructions, I used a touch of blue Loctite on the transmission threads. The refill is changed through the tip assembly, so the transmission never needs to be removed by the customer.
Turning: Because the kit is finial operated, it is tube length sensitive. Do not over trim the ends of the blank. However, this kit is forgiving on the final diameter of the barrel. I usually use a micrometer to measure barrel diameter for a good transition to kit parts. With this kit, micrometer accuracy is not needed. The raised bands on either side of the barrel are rounded, and it is not designed to have the barrel sit flush (see photo). As a result, small variations in final diameter are not noticeable.
Part Quality: Plating looks good. The Black TI is much darker than the Black TI I've seen on other kits. I would rate it at very dark grey, almost black. I have not had the kit long enough to rate plating durability.
The supplied refill tip fit into the nosecone, however I upgraded to an Easyflow 9000 refill. The Easyflow tip must be just a hair fatter than the kit refill, because it bound in the tip hole. I used a #39 drill bit by hand in the tip to resolve the issue.
After widening the tip hole, I found that the refill still did not always retract. The issue is that on this style transmission, the plunger pushes the refill completely out of the transmission. The refill was hanging up on the lip of the transmission when retracting. I used a counter sink bit to put a chamfer on the transmission lip which resolved the issue (Photo shows chamfer)
Conclusion: I really like this kit. This is the easiest kit to make that I have ever done. The part issues I mentioned above are minor and easily remedied in less than 2 minutes. At the pre-purchase pricing this was an excellent value, and is still a very good value at the current pricing. Being that this design is finial operated, it is not subject to the sierra problem where transmissions get pushed up into the barrel.
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