Brass Tube got a flat

[Band Saw Box]

I was going to perp a blank to turn a Wall Street II click. I was seeing what blank would go best with the finish of kit by holding the nib assy.next to theblank. I set the brass tube along with the other parts on my lathe stand. I heard the brass tube hit the floor. I stepped back to see were it went. I did find it under my shoe, flat as a pancake or should I say crape. I guess I should have left the parts in the bin I use to store them. I can order replacement tubes from Woodcraft so it no big loss.

 

[jsolie]

I'm glad all it did was collapse. It'd be bad if it sent you over backwards.

 

[Jim Burr]

One thing I have gotten into the habit of, is always ordering spare tubes!!!! Ordered some bolt actions...3 spare tubes...Sierra EB's...5 spare tubes. Just a thought and it might keep your wife out of Woodcraft!!

 

[JD Combs Sr]

One thing I have gotten into the habit of, is always ordering spare tubes!!!! Ordered some bolt actions...3 spare tubes...Sierra EB's...5 spare tubes. Just a thought and it might keep your wife out of Woodcraft!!

I do similar to Jim but I buy the ten inch tubes, that way I only have to stock one set of each diameter. I can then cut to any length. The long ones come in handy for customizing as well such as long woods. You can usually buy 6(~10mm etc), 8(3/8), or 10(7mm), ten inch tubes per pack for around $9-10. I will cut them to length on the lathe with my 1/16" parting tool or use a tubing cutter depending on circumstances.

 

[Mike Powell]

Shoot, I like it when my wife goes to Wood Craft unsupervised. Last time she was there she Skyped me in Afghanistan and said what do you want?

She walked away with multiple blanks, several pen kits, and the square and round carbide cutters. when she walked out, she said Merry Christmas. When I move back to Tx, WC will only be about 15 miles from the house. From what I understand there is one on the Beltway and HWY 59. I think that will be the closest one to League City.

 

[monophoto]

I'm not a high-volume penmaker - I only do an occasional pen or stylus for a friend, so I don't have a lot of kits in inventory.

But one thing I've learned is that if you intend to be a volume penmaker, a smart move is to focus on a small number of kits, and buy a few extra kits specifically for use as spare parts in case something goes wrong.

I just finished a fountain pen for a good friend using a kit that I bought several years ago and that is no longer available. It has a screw-on cap rather than one of those tacky snap-cap affairs. After assembling the pen, I discovered that the coupler in the cap portion was missing its threads!

Fortunately, I had an old pen in the drawer that I had made from the same kit. I was able to disassemble both kits, and swap the cap couplers to that the new pen is complete and functional.