Less barbaric pen disassembly technique?

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MattTheHat

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I posted in another thread about a couple of TruStone pens I need to disassemble and re-polish. I've got a couple of sets of transfer punches as well as PSI's rubber coated vise-grips for holding the pen body while applying whackage to the punches. This technique seems to work okay, but I'm always shocked when everything comes apart with minimal damage. With the thin TruStone, though, I'm more than a bit worried that the material will break while hammering the bits apart. I'm worried because I've broken this exact flavor of TruStone before while disassembling this same kit.

Has anyone come up with a less agricultural method?

I've got an idea for a shop-made tool, but I don't want to re-invent the wheel if it's already been done.

Hs anyone else found a more elegant solution?


-Matt
 
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only $12.00 a blank, beat the guts out it!:rotfl:
sorry Matt, i hold the blank with my hand, but have been lookin at those grips you mentioned, but it looks like you could crush the blank with those if you use to much pressure. i have taken only 1 TS apart with no incendents, yet.
Harry
 
I used the PSI grippers on a tru stone with no problem. Make sure you only grip it tight enough to keep if from sliding. I usually grip it snugly, whack it, if it moves snug up the wrench a 1/2 turn and do it again. Have no broke any tru stones
 
I use a PSI blank drilling chuck to hold for disassembly. I warp the pen in one gun cleaning patch to aviod scratches, then put it in the chuck and tighten. Just be sure the part you are removing is NOT in the jaws... it should be in the hole at the back of the chuck. Then use a punch and 2 or 3 light taps usually has the part off
 
longbeard said:
only $12.00 a blank, beat the guts out it!:rotfl:
sorry Matt, i hold the blank with my hand, but have been lookin at those grips you mentioned, but it looks like you could crush the blank with those if you use to much pressure. i have taken only 1 TS apart with no incendents, yet.
Harry
Click to expand...

Yes you can...DAMHIKT :redface:
 
I've disassembled plenty using the hand hold technique as well as with the PSI vise grips. The barbaric part is hammering on the transfer punch.

I've already started working on an attachment for the PSI vise grips that will allow me to use a threaded bushing as a screw vise to gently press the pen pieces apart.

I'll post some pics if it works.


-Matt
 
My only suggestion is to hammer the parts over an empty cardboard box. That way if (or when) the parts go flying, the cardboard box catches the parts and prevents dents and chips.
 
The process is a little less barbaric if you remember to go with many light taps instead of few heavy taps.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap

And be sure to have some gentle method, as mentioned above, to catch the parts at the point where they separate.
 
I'll sometimes set up some sort of jig so that the vise on my drill press can hold the barrel, and chuck up the transfer punch. Then I just lower the spindle gradually until the piece pushes out the bottom. An arbor machine would probably work even better.
 
I just use my hand. I tried other, even more barbaric, methods and ended up with a mangled mess.
What I really want to know is how to disassemble a click pen, or a sierra.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

To clarify, I have no problem *holding* the pen. I can do that with the PSI rubber-coated vise grip tool which works great, or with my hands. The barbaric part is hammering on the transfer punch to get the parts to separate.

By less barbaric, I mean something that requires no beating on anything. It's the hammering action that has me worried about breaking the thin wall of the TruStone blank.

I'm working on a little add-on to the PSI vide grips that will allow me to drive a transfer punch with a screw lead. No hammering and the amount of pressure can easily be regulated by how much elbow grease is applied to the wrench on the lead screw. This also solves the problem of flying parts. The contactor on my mill is on the fritz, which is making the process take longer. I'll post some pics when I get it finished.

-Matt
 
To remove transmissions and the like, all you really need to do is to drill a piece of hardwood approximately the same size as the pen's tube. Set this on the drill press table and chuck the appropriately-sized transfer punch into the drill press. Then use the drill press as an arbor press to gently push the fittings/transmission/whatever out of the tube.

Of course, this scheme doesn't work to do 'offset tap' jobs such as removing the first coupler when breaking down the long tube of a Jr Gent or to remove fittings that are larger than the tube.
 
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Even more barbaric than hammering the punch is when you catch the edge of your hand between the hammer and the edge of the pen barrel... :eek: $%^$&#!!

Then there's blood. Barbaric enough for ya?:rolleyes::biggrin:
 
I have had very good luck using the same vise assembly I use to assemble the pen components: the vise is lined both jaws with 3/16" thick untreated belt leather. This arrangement has never left a scratch on any of my wood or acrylic blanks.
 
Gilrock...

Really and truly? You only push that stupid tranny in too far a coupla times... and then you learn to push it in almost to the line, and then test the retraction amount, then and only then push it in the rest of the way...

Now I only disassemble a pen if it gets damaged somehow...
 
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Do any of you find that the softer metal of the part being removed is damaged enough from the severe beating to require a Dremel or a file to get it back to usable condition? I haven't done that myself but I've heard of this happening.
WB
 
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