Hard to press fit - Berea vs PSI

[BobRad]

Most of the pens I've made so far are from PSI or Lee Valley (and the LV as far as I know are Berea). The Berea tend to have very tight fits putting the parts together - a few times putting the transmission in, I'm pressing so hard, that it suddenly gives and goes in too far also I'm concerned that I'll damage the tip when I'm putting it in, even though my pen press had nylon on it. Once assembled, it seems they will never come apart - if I make a mistake and need to correct.

The PSI on the other hand seem a little too loose. The good side is that I was able to repair one I assembled in the wrong way. But I'm afraid that the use could too easily push parts out of alignment.

 

[bgibb42]

I find it helps on tight fitting parts to ream the tube a bit before pressing anything together. Don't forget to check the tubes for glue before pressing anything together as well.

For loose parts, a drop or two of red Loctite will hold everything together, but still allow you to disassemble pens if repairs are needed in the future.

 

[BobRad]

I use Gorilla and a mill and that seams to clear out the excess, and the only difference see,s to be between the supplier of the kits.

Loctite is a good idea, I need some for my glasses anyway since one lens keeps coming loose.

 

[Smitty37]

Kits

Most of the pens I've made so far are from PSI or Lee Valley (and the LV as far as I know are Berea). The Berea tend to have very tight fits putting the parts together - a few times putting the transmission in, I'm pressing so hard, that it suddenly gives and goes in too far also I'm concerned that I'll damage the tip when I'm putting it in, even though my pen press had nylon on it. Once assembled, it seems they will never come apart - if I make a mistake and need to correct.

The PSI on the other hand seem a little too loose. The good side is that I was able to repair one I assembled in the wrong way. But I'm afraid that the use could too easily push parts out of alignment.

Was this with a particular style? Or does it seem to be across the board?

 

[KenV]

Bob -

I have not had that problem - but I do deburr the ends of the tubes and assure they are clean before assembly.

I am also very careful to make sure the fit is not tight on some materials that do not accomidate streaching the brass tube (think dense materials like corian, snakewood, ebony).

I use locktite also, but the purple, which has a much lower "death grip" in case I later need to take the pen apart for repair or refinishing.

 

[JerrySambrook]

this is actually a good use for medium ca, as ca has a very low threshhold for stress breaking, much lower than the locktites.
It will do a good job of holding the parts, but will typically break free much easier

 

[aggromere]

I use a yellow tool called a vargus from Johnny CNC. I used to use an exacto knife and a gun barrel reamer. The vargus makes it a nice one step process. The only recent problem I have had is with the long click. The nib coupler apparently is made in a way that it can be pushed all the way up into the tube, so you press it in with the nib attached and then have to leave it in while you press in the other end. Everyone I've made I've had to use pliers (softened by a piece of leather) to get the nib off to put the refill in.