Cigar pen nib extends too far

[Tiger]

First ever cigar pen I've made and the nib extends a little too far. When the pen is retracted fully the nib pokes out ever so slightly but alas it sticks out. The pen kit has a spring as well as a twist mechanism. The instructions say the tube has been shortened too much when the nib extends too far, I don't believe I have shortened it too much, any solutions?

 

[its_virgil]

The lower tube is a little too short which may have happened when you squared the ends or the tube may have been too short out of the package. Either way there is a fix. Actually two:
(1) If you plan to keep the pen for your personal use you can remove a little material from the black plastic end of the refill shortening the refill. Removing material from the black plastic end cap of the refill will not cause a problem with the operation of the twist mechanism. Remove a little and test and continue until you are happy with the refill extension.

(2) Add a thin slice of material (to lengthen the lower barrel by how much you think the refill extends too far) to one end of the lower barrel. This will make the lower barrel longer and solve the extension problem.

Both of these fixes plus others of interest are outlined in this article: http://www.penmakersguild.com/articles/mistakes.pdf

The lower tube length should be 2 1/16 inches in length.



Do a good turn daily!
Don

First ever cigar pen I've made and the nib extends a little too far. When the pen is retracted fully the nib pokes out ever so slightly but alas it sticks out. The pen kit has a spring as well as a twist mechanism. The instructions say the tube has been shortened too much when the nib extends too far, I don't believe I have shortened it too much, any solutions?

 

[ssalvage]

In addition to what Don said, I have also found that adjusting the spring slightly can fix this type of issue. Unfortunately this type of adjustment has its limitations though. It all depends on what exactly your definition of "the nib extends a little too far" is. Hard to say for sure without a picture.

 

[Tiger]

Thanks Don and Ssalvage, very helpful. I ended up replacing the nib end band with a slightly wider acrylic band. Works a lot better now. Being the first Cigar pen it was a fair bit of work. The brass tubes inside diameter was at least a couple of thousandths too narrow for the mating pieces which required some careful turning down of the mating pieces. May have just been a bad kit but a few lessons learnt here.