"No Press" kits from PSI - first impression
I ordered some and got them today.
I haven't turned a barrel/blank yet but that won't be much different from the original kits.
The only dimensional difference is that the "No Press" kits require drilling the blank with a 10mm bit, slightly larger than the 3/8" for the original kits. . (see below for the consequences of this difference).
I have assembled the pieces and can write with the resulting blank-less pen, of course.
My first impression is very favorable ... seems to be a nice job of threading, etc. . And things hold together very solidly.
I got a few of the Executives and the Diva Charm kits.
One thing to worry about is that the brass tubes have larger diameter than in the original kits ... but ... the bushings are the same. . This means that the barrel wall thickness is very thin at both the nib end and the clip end.
For the Executive, the brass tube is 0.382" and the clip ring is 0.412", so the finished barrel material thickness at clip end is only 0.015" (0.023" at the nib end). . This thinness has always put me off the Executive right from their introduction, and with the "No Press" version, things are even worse.
The Diva Charm is OK, but again the brass tube diameter is slightly enlarged (same as above, 0.382"), so we also have thinner barrel material at the ends compared to the original kits but the thinness is not as significant as with the Executive. . Wall thickness for the Diva will be about 0.035" at both ends, it looks like, and that is perfectly OK.
So there you have it ! .... that's my report.
Now ... to get making these pens .... and screwing them up !!!!
I like the idea of being able to temporarily assemble all the metal parts into a working pen even before turning the blanks.
I also like the idea of being able to swap out barrels for the same pen after you have put it together. . You can buy spare threaded tubes so you can match pen barrels to suit your wardrobe !