All CROSSED up

[papNal]

I just ran into a new (to me) problem,I've got a couple hundred pens,both free and sold scattered around my area,up to now no problems.Today had to replace a bad 7mm transmission on a friends pen who has bought about 7 pens.He mentioned that he had replaced all the generic cross refills with genuine CROSS refills now none of the pen points will extend as far as they should.PUZZLING so I checked out the one I replaced the trans. on and found that some cross refills are larger in dia. than others the refill he was using was blue (shouldn't matter) the ones I had was black (and smaller in dia.).The nib hole in the various kits I tried was too small for the larger refill barrel to go into,just leaving less than 1/8" point exposed also kept it from locking down.I relieved the inside hole a little with a 1/8" bit and things worked ok.Now I'm afraid of customers getting the larger refill and having problems.Alyone else run into this? Thanks John

 

[MobilMan]

Are you sure they were'nt Parker refills. I have Cross and never had a problem, but have found the Parker has a larger diameter & won't work.

 

[witz1976]

I ran into a couple of instances where the different cross style manufacturer had different lengths, but not widths

 

[DurocShark]

EDIT: SOrry, wrong thread.

 

[papNal]

The refills in question had CROSS printed on the shaft.I measured some of the cross refills I had ordered and also some kit refills they both measured about .113 the cross refills that my friend friend had put in his pens measured .119 and wouldn't go into the nib deep enough to get proper point extension.I checked out the Cross website,but they don't mention any different ball point refill sizes.Weird,I'm going to try to get a refill from Office Depot and see if another .119 shows up.If so guess I'll have to hold my breath and hope other people don't have problems and also start checking all my new kit nibs to ensure the larger refill will fit.I do seem to get some oddball problems); Thanks for replys. John

 

[dalemcginnis]

Could it have anything to do with the point, i.e. fine vs medium?

 

[papNal]

I'm not sure about the points having a different barrel dia.,I just got back with a pack of blue med. cross refills I got from Off.De. I looked at all the different colors and point types and they all looked alike.These new ones measure.119.Some of the other refills they carried that suppose to fit the cross pen did look a little skinnier and would probably fit the 7mm kit nibs.I tried the new cross refill on several more nibs but all had to be reamed a little with a 1/8" bit running in reverse so I wouldn't drill too deep. The mystery lives on.John

 

[Rfturner]

I have purchased both off brand and cross refills and I have never had a problem.

 

[seamus7227]

when i make my rifle shell pens or any pen that uses a cross refill, i use a true cross refill to check the depth of the trans when being pressed into the lower barrel, that way when the customer changes the ink, then you dont have to worry about there being an issue. Also, depending on the pen and selling price, I will install a cross ink into the pen before delivery, it works for me as a selling point. Some people down here and in the DFW area want their pen to come with the cross ink. Like i said though, I wouldnt give out a cross ink with a pen that i sold for only twenty bucks, but my rifle shell pens come pre-loaded with cross for the price that i sell them for. Just my two cents worth.