Cigar Barrel Too Short

[JonathanF1968]

Somehow, I made a mistake in a PSI Cigar, and the cartridge doesn't retract all the way. I must have cut the tube a little short, around 1/32nd of an inch. Just enough that it will still write. I imagine I was too aggressive squaring the blank. (I've made about ten of these kits, and this is the first time I've had this issue. The longer barrel is on the bottom.)

I wonder if another type of blank would fit and solve this problem. This amazing page lists the Parker (standard for Cigar) as 3.875", the Caran D'Ache at 3.81, and the Sheaffer at 3.75".

https://refillfinder.com/pages/refill-size-guide

Do you think one of those would work? The wood used has some sentimental value and there's no more of it left, so it would be nice to fix this.

 

[Bryguy]

I've done this too. If you plan on keeping the pen you can just sand down the plastic end of the Parker refill until it looks good. I wouldn't sell this one though.

 

[TonyL]

You may not have...sometimes the ink point gets caught on a burr inside the "nib" (the lowest section where the point protrudes from.

If it is too long, you can disassemble and sand as suggested.

You can also try to slip an object like a piece of guitar pic or other plastic into the throat of the transmission. This may push the point further down well extended.

Good luck!

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I've also seen where the part inside the transmission doesn't retract all the way. It's because what ever the lubricant they put in it is too thick and it doesn't move freely. I have some machine oil that I use for fishing reels and it frees it right up.

 

[bsshog40]

Not sure how it would look but could also put the pen tip on a sanding wheel with fine grit paper and take it down a bit. Just a thought if you can't find another fix. Of course then you might get too much play when writing.

 

[ed4copies]

You can drill a thin black piece of acrylic, turn it to match outside diameter and insert it at the end of the pen, above the nib.

 

[magpens]

I think you know this already ....

Your best bet would be to choose a shorter refill of the same diameter.

 

[MRDucks2]

Ed's answer is the one I recently used and it works well. A spacer/washer at the nib end between it and the barrel.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Woodchipper]

Use a piece of soda bottle cap and turn down or sand?

 

[bsshog40]

I was reading wrong anyway. Retract, I thought it wouldn't go out all the way. Dummy me! Lol

 

[JonathanF1968]

Thanks everyone! Oh, how I need you people.

Mike gave me the tip that did the trip: use a drill bit (hand turning it)1 to cut just a teensy bit of the plastic away inside the transmission, so that the cartridge goes up higher, and voila! Now, it purrs like a kitten.

Whew!

I actually wonder if there was a bit of debris up there. Maybe a little bit of stray plastic or saw dust that got in, because I barely did anything, and then it worked fine.

Thanks so much, everyone! This piece of wood came from a cherry bannister cutoff, from a much beloved house that is no longer in my family and that we all miss very much. Everyone in the family got a pen made from this small scrap, but this was the last remnant for the last sibling.... It would have been very frustrating if I wasn't able to get it to work.

 

[JonathanF1968]

Here it is, all fixed up.

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