"perfect fit" pen - question for those with experience

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Paladin

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Sep 21, 2009
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I just got 10 kits and was going to work on them tonight. Reading the (crappy) instructions...and now I am lost.

I bought them from Ernie McFarlane at Beartoothwoods. I also bought the bushings. I got five bushings. Why? I am trying to make pens, not pencils...does that matter?

His website says this about the bushings...

pixel_trans.gif

[SIZE=+1]This bushing set (14B) is used for the following kits:[/SIZE]
- Perfect Fit Pen/Pencil
[SIZE=+1]Dimensions[/SIZE] Number/Location Diameter (inches)Length (inches)
1 (Nib).367
2 (Center Band side of lower barrel) .467
3 Center Band side of upper barrel) .542
4 (Finial) .462
5 (Optional) .542

What the heck is an optional bushing?


Also, the instructions say: "After sanding with the 440 grit, stop the lathe and measure 1 7/8" from the cap clip end and mark. With a sharp parting tool cut a groove all the way to the brass tube on the cap center band end. This will receive the center band of your pen."

Just a groove? Do I part off all the wood down to the tube and all the way from the 1 7/8" mark to the end of the tube?

Wow, I must be dense, but these instructions just are not clear enough for my pea brain. Any help is appreciated.
 
Last edited:
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Paladin said:
I just got 10 kits and was going to work on them tonight. Reading the (crappy) instructions...and now I am lost.

I bought them from Ernie McFarlane at Beartoothwoods. I also bought the bushings. I got five bushings. Why? I am trying to make pens, not pencils...does that matter?

His website says this about the bushings...

pixel_trans.gif

[SIZE=+1]This bushing set (14B) is used for the following kits:[/SIZE]
- Perfect Fit Pen/Pencil
[SIZE=+1]Dimensions[/SIZE] Number/Location Diameter (inches)Length (inches)
1 (Nib).367
2 (Center Band side of lower barrel) .467
3 Center Band side of upper barrel) .542
4 (Finial) .462
5 (Optional) .542

What the heck is an optional bushing?


Also, the instructions say: "After sanding with the 440 grit, stop the lathe and measure 1 7/8" from the cap clip end and mark. With a sharp parting tool cut a groove all the way to the brass tube on the cap center band end. This will receive the center band of your pen."

Just a groove? Do I part off all the wood down to the tube and all the way from the 1 7/8" mark to the end of the tube?

Wow, I must be dense, but these instructions just are not clear enough for my pea brain. Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Howdy,

So you use both bushings for both pen and pencil, so no, there is no difference.

You have to cut a tenon at 1 7/8" on the center band side and remove all of the 1 7/8" of material. Some people will cut their blanks short and use the optional bushing that way they do not need to cut the tenon after turning.

When you are assembling the pen you will need to glue the CB in place.

It's not too bad, once you get your tubes glued in I would lay everything out to see how it would be assembled before you start to turn.

Good luck!
 
I saw some on the forums that someone made and they looked really nice. I also bought ten kits and I have made 3 of them so far. All in all, it's a pretty pen, but it feels cheap to me. Maybe I did something wrong, but it doesn't have the feel of my other pens. I wonder if I did something wrong?
 
aggromere said:
I saw some on the forums that someone made and they looked really nice. I also bought ten kits and I have made 3 of them so far. All in all, it's a pretty pen, but it feels cheap to me. Maybe I did something wrong, but it doesn't have the feel of my other pens. I wonder if I did something wrong?
Click to expand...


It has a plastic transmission. It will never "feel" the same as your metal tranny pens.

Doesn't make it BAD, just DIFFERENT,.
 
witz1976 said:
Howdy,


You have to cut a tenon at 1 7/8" on the center band side and remove all of the 1 7/8" of material.
Click to expand...

Don't remove all of the 1-7/8 inch of material - remove all of the material up to the 1-7/8 inch mark (I know that is what witz intended to say).

One tip I would offer is to cut the tenon BEFORE cutting the upper barrel to size - otherwise with the taper between the centerband and the finial, you will have a tendency to overturn by the centerband (at least I did).

ed4copies said:
It has a plastic transmission. It will never "feel" the same as your metal tranny pens.

Doesn't make it BAD, just DIFFERENT,.
Click to expand...

I have carried a perfect fit since I made it in 2007 - almost 3 years. It still feel about the same as when I made it - and still looks good (CA finish and Gold-TI plating). In talking tech support at Berea, I understood them to say this is a Schmidt transmission, and Schmidt has a good reputation for quality.
 
The PF tranny is perhaps the "best" functioning of all the kits. It "glides" so effortlessly and smooth that it doesn't have the "heavier" feeling of say the 7mm slims or Euro style trannys. JMO, but I love the PF's.
 
wood-of-1kind said:
The PF tranny is perhaps the "best" functioning of all the kits. It "glides" so effortlessly and smooth that it doesn't have the "heavier" feeling of say the 7mm slims or Euro style trannys. JMO, but I love the PF's.
Click to expand...
Hi Peter; I'm the same as you. My carry pen has been a PF/BOW for the past 2-3 years, and still works very smoothly. I have converted mine to a rollerball for my curiosity.

The other benefit to the PF is it's capability to be converted to a pencil with nothing other than the pencil mechanism.
 
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