I had a learning experience, need help

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pmpartain

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I have made an order of 50 or so Churchills. Pens were completely finished except the threaded end of the cap that screws onto the nib coupler is a little loose on nearly every pen. You can push it in and pull it out with your hand. So I took a toothpick, applied a dab of thick CA and re-inserted the part into the tube. 30 min or so later, I put the caps back on the pens and went to work. Came home that night and opened a pen. There is a cake of white crud from the CA on every stinking pen! On several pens, I took some Brasso and buffed the crud off. On some, there is actually dabs of CA on the nibs. I managed to repair maybe half. On some, I was able to take 600 grit and sand the plastic edge, then re-buff with Brasso for a decent fix. Anybody have any suggestions please?

Lessons learned.
The Churchill parts don't fit really tigtly in the tubes.

Don't use thick CA to glue the parts in, use thin.

Allow a day for the CA to dry in the cap, I think because there is no air movement and it takes that long.

Right now, I suppose I'll have to buy a couple dozen kits just to get the nibs and fix the pens.

Thanks very much.
 
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Haven't had the problem myself, but there was also a post about waiting 24 hours before putting caps back on due to the fumes discoloring some kit parts
 
<b>Immediately open the parts you glued with the CA.</b>


I would not use any CA on kit components.Thick or thin you run the risk of the "blooming effect" on parts.
USe a one minute epoxy
50?
Ouch!
If you can get some TSW I have clean the bloom of of parts with that.
Immediately open the parts you glued with the CA.
 
I already opened them last night. Yeah, it got all 50, stinks. What can you do? Gotta learn the hard way. I'll get some TSW and try that. The Brasso works pretty good as well. Fixed several of them anyway.

Thanks for the input
 
You've actually answered your own question about not closing the pen after using CA. Eagle's epoxy will work, but I prefer a drop of blue Loctite as I don't have any mixing to do...particularly if it is only one part on one pen.
 
50..... That's learning the hard way [V] I assemble ALL parts for ALL kits with a dab of epoxy. I've also had luck removing ca fume residue on METAL parts with acetone.

I don't think you mentioned if they are FP or RB. If FP, you could buy just the replacement fp nib/section for the el grande series to replace them. BB sells them and the only difference I see is a trim ring. Berea might sell you a bunch of nib/section units for churchills.
 
My question is why were they that loose in the first place?
I am not familiar with that kit.
Is it similar in design to any others?
Like the sttreamline Ameriacan falttop RB has a section that gets turned down to the tube.The CB has the threas inside that part.Metal to metal threads.
 
I agree with you there. On other kits like the Statesman, the part is metal. On this kit as well as the El Grande, the part is plastic. I asume that is why they were that loose. On any other kit, the parts press fit together hard enough that you can't pull them apart. The other parts seemed to fit loose as well, but not as loose as the nib coupler on the cap. I hope I got the name of that thing right.
 
I have had similar problems with European kits and found the epoxy to be the best answer. I do like DCBluesman's idea of using Locktite, much quicker. Has any one else tried this?
 
Originally posted by fatharry
<br />I have had similar problems with European kits and found the epoxy to be the best answer. I do like DCBluesman's idea of using Locktite, much quicker. Has any one else tried this?
Click to expand...

I've seen a few others recommend this as well. In addition, Lou makes quite a few pens a year, so I'd be inclined to trust him on this recommendation (in fact, I ran to Home Depot at lunch and bought some!).
 
Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />
Originally posted by gerryr
<br />I've used blue Loctite several times and it works great. If you make a lot of Berea kits, you need to have some available.
Click to expand...

This doesn't sound like a strong selling point.
Click to expand...
Actually, I'd prefer that the kits did not have press fittings. Many of a pen maker's problems stem from this method of assembly. Some of us have started using a wire brush to bore-out the tubes such that the components can be fitted with finger pressure and I know I make quite a few pens with no tubes at all. Epoxy or blue loctite does the job and I haven't had a barrel crack in nearly two years...not ebony, not snakewood...nothing. The tubes and pressure fittings make assembly easier, but not necessarily better. In my (never) humble opinion.
 
I've had that happen as well...learned the lesson, and I won't do it again.

I second the suggestion of acetone...it's what I did to salvage my mistakes. Acetone will penetrate the CA, but not harm the plating. Take a cloth, and rub until it disappears. I've found that it can take plenty of rubbing, but it worked for me.
 
I'd like to know the brand and source for the 1 minute epoxy if someone could post it.

I had the CA fume thing happen two weeks ago on two Barons.

I had waited over 24 hours to put the cap on (on which I had put some CA to hold the clip cap in the tube) and it wasn't long enough. It polished off (with effort) with some soft jewelers polishing cloth.
 
Originally posted by kenwc
<br />I'd like to know the brand and source for the 1 minute epoxy if someone could post it.

The blue locktite as stated above is a lot easier and less messier than epoxy, but if you have to have epoxy you can find it at Home Depot or Loews.
Click to expand...
 
Devcon has some 1 min epoxy in the double syringe tubes. I prefer 5 min stuff myself, and get it here from Mannie,
http://woodenwonderstx.com/WW-06/CA_Glue_Page.html
The epoxy is at the bottom of the page, but while you're at it, I think old glue is the primary cause of most CA hazing. Old CA takes much longer to cure. IME
 
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