Sierras Returned for Repair...

[Randy_]

Dave: Get control of yourself. You and I are saying exactly the same thing, just using different words.....at least I think we are. When the transmission is pushed too far into the cap, it no longer engages the "drive unit" and just spins.

"Further inspection revealed that the cap connector/drive units that fit on top of the transmission</u>, had slipped so far down the transmission shaft, that they were no longer engaged</u>; just free-wheeling. Once they were pulled back up into position</u>, they worked fine."

And when the transmission is withdrawn from the cap a little(returned to normal pen configuration) it re-engages the drive unit and again functions properly.

The difference between your situation and Sue's is that you only had to reposition the transmission relative to the cap to make it work while Sue had to install a new transmission. There may be more to Sue's situation than she reported; but based on what she posted, the two situations are different.

P.S. If you want to continue this discussion in an intelligent and adult fashion so that everyone can understand and learn from your experience, you need to tone down your rhetoric. Otherwise, a mod will likely pay a visit and shut the discussion down.

 

[Russianwolf]

Originally posted by SuperDave


2. ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PULL THE CAP/DRIVE UNIT BACK ON TOP OF THE TRANSMISSION TO GET IT TO WORK PROPERLY![}]

Okay, referencing Nolan's picture above, where is the "Cap/drive" assembly and where is the "transmission"??

I think you are Randy are fighting over symantics here (If I'm reading you both right). You say you pull the cap back on top of the tranny and he says you pulled the tranny back out of the cap a bit. What's the difference? I'm totally confused and need to know what parts we are talking about.

 

[Texatdurango]

Good grief... all these different colors are making me dizzy!

 

[Glass Scratcher]

Originally posted by Texatdurango

Good grief... all these different colors are making me dizzy!

Yes, this is one of the reasons I stop reading some of these threads. The dreaded Font & Color wars. When it get that dizzying who cares what anyone is saying.

 

[Robert Taylor]

as a newbie i am shocked at superdaves reaction. i feel it is totally inopropriate to condemn randy for merely trying to help. bob

 

[MesquiteMan]

The problem has been discussed, a solution has been proposed, and now this thread is no longer serving its purpose. ANY MORE ATTACK ON EACH OTHER WILL GET THIS THREAD LOCKED!

 

[CSue]

Just give me a moment to reitterate my statement. What I said was quite straightforward. The reason I replaced the transmission is that I didn't want to take all the time to figure out what went wrong myself. I knew someone in this group would post an answer to the difficulty sooner or later. My brain couldn't deal with that part.

So when I saw Dave's post, I knew I finally had the answer to what happened. I really appreciated someone taking the time to figure it out. I also appreciate all the others for measuring different aspects of the Sierra. It's all relevant in time.

Randy saying

The difference between your situation and Sue's is that you only had to reposition the transmission relative to the cap to make it work while Sue had to install a new transmission. There may be more to Sue's situation than she reported; but based on what she posted, the two situations are different.

was accurate only in that I was not able to wade through and figure out the problem as most of you can and do. That's the only reason I replaced the transmission.

Nolan's picture now completes this part of one big learning experience.

I say this sincerely, thank you all very much.
Cathy Sue

 

[wudnhed]

Without reading thru all the posts, someone may have already suggested this but here goes. I unscrewed several of my Sierras and I will try to explain what I noticed. The customer can uscrew the Sierra the wrong way and disengage nib and refill from the tranny and barrel end. The refill has slots in the black backend that meets with the tranny. These slots must be turned just right to fit correctly into the tranny before screwing down. If the slots and tranny aren't met, the tranny and barrel seem springy and a person could be trying to force the screwing and shoving the tranny up into the end cap. I hope that makes sense, and like I said, someone else may have posted this already, if so, please disregard, []

 

[opie]

I have had the same problems with the sierra twist. I won't turn anymore of them either. More of them have lost the transmission than not. I do however like the click sierra. I found out the rattle of the click button is almost eliminated when using the uniball 65873 refill. I have only found this refill in the 1.0 mm bold locally. Too much ink comes out. Sorry for going slightly off topic.

 

[bobaltig]

I think you're right on the mark Randy. Additionally, I would look at this incident as a terrific opportunity to interact with the customer and build an even better relationship with them. Those types of opportunities don't come along often enough.

I have been making Sierras since the kit first came out, and I've never had a problem with them. The gentleman who wants to make only fountains and rollerballs will be forfeiting his ballpoint business and ballpoints outsell other types of pens by a wide margin. That is hardly a good business decision as far as I can tell.

Bob
"If you're not willing to stand behind our troops, please feel free to stand in front of them."
www.altig.net

[teal]I wonder if you would advise a Porche dealer that he should quit selling his cars because several were returned with burned up transmissions and it turned out the new owners were driving the cars without using the clutch? Whether it is a $70 pen or a $70,000 car if you don't operate it properly, there are going to be problems.

 

[DocStram]

Originally posted by Randy_

I wonder if you would advise a Porche dealer that he should quit selling his cars because several were returned with burned up transmissions and it turned out the new owners were driving the cars without using the clutch?

Geeezeee .... so THAT'S what I've been doing wrong! The dealer never said anything about a clutch!

 

[pipeyeti]

Originally posted by opie

I have had the same problems with the sierra twist. I won't turn anymore of them either. More of them have lost the transmission than not. I do however like the click sierra. I found out the rattle of the click button is almost eliminated when using the uniball 65873 refill. I have only found this refill in the 1.0 mm bold locally. Too much ink comes out. Sorry for going slightly off topic.

As I said before snug the transmission down with a small pair of pliers when you assemble it. Really how easy do you want this to be. No kit is perfect. You have to learn how to tweek them. Thats why we get to charge for what we are doing. As previously stated its an opportunity to talk with your customer and advise them how to properly use the pen and change the refill.