Question (observation) on Fit Of Cigar Pen

[ghostrider]

This is something that recently caught my eye, and then realized it was the same when I checked the other three or four cigars that I have assembled.

I've noticed that there is an ever so slight gap between the centerband, and the coupler when final assembly is complete. I'm pretty sure that I didn't mill any of the barrels too short (as matter of fact, two of these are my first pens, and I didn't even mill to the point of getting shiny brass.

I've noticed this on kits from Johnson's Workbench (Rockler), Woodcraft (I'm assuming Berea), Woodturningz, and W n' W.

I'm sure it's an easy fix as I could just Mill down the Clip Housing a bit so that it could seat more. I'm just wondering if anyone else has addressed this issue. It gives the Cigar a little play, and prevents it from being such a tight pen.

 

[Bobalu]

I never paid any attention to that, until you mentioned it. I checked my stash of finished Cigars (about 12) and see that they all have that tiny gap. To me this would seem correct, as you wouldn't want the center band and the bottom barrel coupling rubbing against each other as you moved the pen tip in and out.

 

[ldb2000]

How much of a gap are you talking about ? I use allot of cigar kits , although lately I haven't made any stock cigar pens , but I never noticed any gaps . Are you sure you are assembling the two half's all the way ? There has to be a very slight gap , less then a paper thickness between the two half's , or it will scrape together while twisting . On the transmission , there is an area of the brass part that is turned down to the same diameter as the silver part that twists . I had a run of kits that weren't turned down and the activator tube in the cap wouldn't go all the way over the transmission this left a gap but it was quite obvious . the simplest solution to this problem was to trim the activator tube by 1/4" or get replacement transmissions from the vendor .

 

[ghostrider]

How much of a gap are you talking about ? I use allot of cigar kits , although lately I haven't made any stock cigar pens , but I never noticed any gaps . Are you sure you are assembling the two half's all the way ? There has to be a very slight gap , less then a paper thickness between the two half's , or it will scrape together while twisting . On the transmission , there is an area of the brass part that is turned down to the same diameter as the silver part that twists . I had a run of kits that weren't turned down and the activator tube in the cap wouldn't go all the way over the transmission this left a gap but it was quite obvious . the simplest solution to this problem was to trim the activator tube by 1/4" or get replacement transmissions from the vendor .

It's the normal, "..less then paper thickness" gap. I'm just being a newb, and didn't think about the reason why it was there. :redface:

 

[Rmartin]

If you're talking about the upper end of the lower barrel where the ring is pressed in, then yes there is a slight gap because the ring is rounded. I usually under turn just slightly for a cleaner look.

 

[zig613]

I haven't made any cigars for awhile until this past week. I also noticed the small gap. I found that I could press the upper and lower barrel together with no gap however, after twisting the transmission 2 or times and the gap would re-appear.

I found that there was a small amount of play in the transmission assembly and found that by replacing the stock spring with a slightly shorter spring the gap is corrected. At least this worked for me.

Wade

 

[ghostrider]

If you're talking about the upper end of the lower barrel where the ring is pressed in, then yes there is a slight gap because the ring is rounded. I usually under turn just slightly for a cleaner look.

Nope. The others have it correctly. It's the normal gap between the coupler, and the center band. As they said, it's supposed to be there (I knew it was manufactured in, and figured it was consistent enough for there to be a reason).

What your talking about, I actually like to over turn (roughly the same dimension as the upper barrel at the center band), and then round down into the coupler ring. I just like the way it looks like that. Below is an example where I took it a bit to the extreme, but I liked the final product so left it as is.

 

[redfishsc]

Agreed with the above. I used to be bothered by the gap, because it was inconsistent with some of the kits I had, but in time (and several hundred cigar pens later) it has never become an issue.

The only problem I've ever had with cigar pens is the way the double-twist action easily causes the transmission to begin unscrewing. This happens way more easily than it should so now I use a touch of lock-tite to hold it together. I instruct my customers to refill the pen by removing the "nose cone".

Definitely one of my favorite kits.

 

[jttheclockman]

Sierra kits are also the same. It is normal. Someone mentioned the reason as being you do not want the parts to constantly be rubbing and I feel this is the correct answer.