Random Fluke or Rookie Mistake?

[ghansen4]

Ever have one of those days where you are afraid to touch anything because you are sure it will be the next thing to break?

Tonight I was looking forward to finishing an order of 13 Antique Pewter Dragon pens. I've been approaching this "production style" by completing all of one step at a time. Having turned and polished all the blanks over the last few weeks, tonight I started assembling them. I had the bright idea to open all the kits and take all the pieces out of the bags so I could assemble all the nibs, all the clips, etc. While installing the nibs I cracked a couple blanks and after checking the previous pieces realized I had cracked 6 separate pieces. I wondered if it was something wrong with me, my press, the temperature, etc. However, then I realized that 4 of my kits were different than the others with different sized pieces. (The two toned twist mechanism tipped me off that they were different.) I now believe that I was probably pressing over-sized nibs into tubes that were too small.

I would discuss this with the vendor that I purchased the kits from, but I purchased these kits from 3 different vendors. (long story) So I have no idea who sent me these kits. All the bags have the same PSI sticker on them. Very frustrating to have to go back and redo nearly 25% of the order....

In the future should I always assemble one pen completely while ensuring that I track which tubes came from which specific bag of components? Or do you think this is just a random fluke?

 

[WriteON]

Anytime I try to mass produce it goes south. I think it's a good idea to check/study components before starting. My biggest problem sometimes is not reading instructions first.

 

[longbeard]

Before inserting the components, I always clean the inside of the tube.
I use a dremel sanding drum in my drill press.
I sand the inside of the tube to the point that I can almost press the components into the tube by hand. Then finish pressing things together using a pen press.
By doing this, you're less likely to crack any blanks. DAMHIKT



Harry

 

[Beautys_Beast]

I often use assembly line for turning. I pick a blank for each kit, and place both the kit, and the blank, in a sandwich size ziplock. I put them all in a box. Then I Measure all the blanks, cut all the blanks, drill all the blanks, but after each step, I put them back in their prospective ziplock, and into a second box. So I am always using two different boxes. (plastic bins actually, but you get the point). This ensures that I always have the right kit, with the right blank. If something goes wrong, like a blow out, I take the remains, and place them in the ziplock with the kit to be dealt with later. This saves from me wasting a bunch of time trying to "fix" something. When I assemble, I assemble each pen, one at a time. This seems the most efficient way for me, and prevents me from losing anything. Im really good at loosing stuff. LOL

 

[RKB]

Sorry you are having this issue with the pen kits. It is so frustrating to have a blank crack at final assembly.

I think you would be smart to order all your kits for a production run from one place and order some extra ones for backup and check them for consistancy. One obvious reason is, from what you mentioned and I have noticed too, the parts are different sometimes.

Take care,
Rod

 

[mmayo]

A couple of suggestions

Use a conical countersink to soften the inside edges of the brass tubes (I use it)
Buy rifle or pistol barrel brass cleaning brushes ( I use it) thanks mecompo
Buy a rat tail (I use it). I have several sizes

With these suggestions you can eat out of my tubes!

Less install problems, but never zero. I deal with it and hate that much work in the trash. Life is still good.