tubes of the mesa and the Gatsby.

[endacoz]

I have ordered the mesa as well as the Gatsby pen kits.

both have 27 / 64 tube size, I can not find a difference in the tube length. are these identical kits with a slight variation on the outside style only?

 

[TBCbushings]

They are the same tube. They are the same but just look different...

 

[endacoz]

They are the same tube. They are the same but just look different...

Thank you! I'm cutting drilling and glueing up blanks for both and when I went to glue the tubes in I droped them and wanted to make sure I didn't confuse them.

Thanks

 

[Smitty37]

They are the same tube. They are the same but just look different...

Thank you! I'm cutting drilling and glueing up blanks for both and when I went to glue the tubes in I droped them and wanted to make sure I didn't confuse them.

Thanks

They look alike and the tubes are interchangeable but the internal parts, assembly and operation are different. The Gatsby is a finial twist and the Mesa is barrel twist.

 

[mmayo]

Even though all kits stress that tube length should be maintained (don't trim/sand too much) the Gatsby makes you pay if your tube is too short. Mesa does not seem to be as critical to me. I love the Gatsby finial twist and will buy many more.

Be warned!

 

[Smitty37]

Even though all kits stress that tube length should be maintained (don't trim/sand too much) the Gatsby makes you pay if your tube is too short. Mesa does not seem to be as critical to me. I love the Gatsby finial twist and will buy many more.

Be warned!

You are right. barrel twist Sierra style kits are more forgiving on tube length that finial twists are.

 

[vtgaryw]

I've never made a Gatsby, is the finial twist smooth and easy? I've not been impressed with any of the other finial twists I've made, they've all been very inconsistent in terms of how easy they turn.

-gary

 

[Smitty37]

I've never made a Gatsby, is the finial twist smooth and easy? I've not been impressed with any of the other finial twists I've made, they've all been very inconsistent in terms of how easy they turn.

-gary

Your question can't really be answered without knowing which ones you have tried.

 

[vtgaryw]

No, I wasn't really asking how it was compared to others, just in general. But to answer your question, I've seen varying quality of the action on the Polaris, Aero and Liberty.

Gary

 

[Smitty37]

No, I wasn't really asking how it was compared to others, just in general. But to answer your question, I've seen varying quality of the action on the Polaris, Aero and Liberty.

Gary

I think what you have experienced is inherent in the design of the transmissions - The three pens you mention use entirely different transmissions and approaches the Liberty is actually closer to a cigar style than to the other two. The Gatsby is really not much like either the Aero or Polaris in that the transmission is a screw in rather than press in.

 

[vtgaryw]

When you have a barrel twist, you have a lot of meat to grab and turn. The problem I see with a lot of the finial twists is that the finials are often tapered, and if you have just a bit of tightness in the transmission, you don't have much to grip to turn it.

I've been pre-screening the finial twist transmissions before I install them now.

-gary