Transmission issues with Classic Twist kits

[Carl Fisher]

We put together 5 classic twist kits this weekend and noticed that there is a consistency issue in the amount of effort it takes to twist the transmission once it's built.

I think only one is what I would consider smooth action on the twist while the others are various degrees of tight. A couple would rather spin the transmission or unscrew the transmission from the body than extend or retract the refill.

The trans doesn't feel overly tight to turn when out of the pen and I've verified that everything is square and seating well on the turning and assembly (no angled tubes or mating surfaces).

Has anyone else experienced this with these kits?

 

[paramount Pen]

Yes I manage to get one out of 5 to work well on those. not sure if its because its psi kits as I havn't tried it from other vendors.

 

[glen r]

I have found that putting a little drop of oil on twist mechanism will make the unit turn easier. Put the oil on and work the mechanism a few times then wipe the oil off the part as the oil has already gotten into the unit to make it turn easier. I use Duralube but almost any synthetic light oil should work.

 

[its_virgil]

The classic or Americana twist kits are very sensitive to any glue inside the upper tube. The transmission must pass through the upper tube with out any restritions.So, there is any glue in the tube the tube will bind on the transmission. The transmission is acivated by the finial...and not a friction fit between the tube and transmission. When twisting to propel the refill the upper barrel, and tube, must rotate around the transmission unrestricted. Ifg the transmission will not pass through the upper tube prior to assembly then clean out any glue. Also, it is possible to "crush", just a little, the upper tube at the end when parting off the wood for the CB or when pressing on the CB itself. If this happens binding will occur. Be sure the end of the tube under the transmission is open and the transmission will pass through. A punch or drill bit may be needed to expand the tube after pressing on the CB. Also, they are very sensitive to upper tube length and parting off the correct amount of material. The binding problem is most often glue in the tube or the CB end of the tube being crushed a little as mentioned above.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Carl Fisher]

Great information and thank you for the detail Don! Definitely gives me some things to pay special attention to as I seem to have a fairly decent demand for these pens around here.

I did try a drop of light weight oil that I have for my r/c bearings at the twisting joint of the transmission and it seems to have freed it up quite a bit on the one that just came off the lathe. I'll go back to some of the others and make sure the tubes are well cleaned out, true, and add a drop of oil to the trans and see if that gets them going again.