Longwood Problem

[Clement Feme]

Put together four Longwood pens today. The kits werte from Pen State.
The blanks were round Predrilled Acrylic. The problem that I am having is that the transmission is extremely difficult to twist. I made sure that the top section is at least 3 in. plus a fraction. also the fit of the top barrell to the bottom section is really tight. The one inch part of the top section without the barrell was clean. Could there be a possibility that the predrilled blanks were drilled a fraction smaller. I had no problems Inserting the barrells.

Thanks for any thoughts

Clem

 

[ldb2000]

Take the upper barrel off and see if the transmission turns freely . If it's tight try putting a drop of WD40 (just a drop , too much is no good) in the transmission and twist it a few times . I have made many Longwoods and have never had a problem with them other then the grease they use is very stiff and it makes it hard to turn .

 

[Rangertrek]

What Butch said above. Try the wd40. I have also made a bunch of Longwoods, a favorite kit of mine, and had a little problem with a few transmissions.

 

[Seer]

If the tranny is stiff from the grease can you use a hair dryer to heat it up a notch and see if it turns freely then?

 

[Smitty37]

Possible

I have used pre-drilled blanks to make a long wood and had the same problem. I think it might be because the blanks are drilled from both ends to the middle and the point where they meet they might not be exactly lined up. I would make sure that when you cut the blank to length you put the cut end closest to the middle toward the upper end of the finished pen. I would also run a drill all the way through the blank.