Re-Turn a Pregnant Slimline

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egnald

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Hello all,

Has anyone every re-turned a pregnant Slimline? I have several Slimline pens that I made when I was learning and most have quite pregnant bulges. I was wondering if I could salvage both the kit and the wood by re-turning them. I don't know for sure how to handle the ends because they already had a good fit and turning them would make them too thin?

All suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Dave (egnald)
 
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magpens

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I think it would be possible to reshape just the middle portions of the two barrels.

But you would have to take the nib and finial off, after pulling apart in the middle and removing the transmission.

You could then turn each barrel using the bushings or "turning between centers".

Having said that, it may not be all that easy to remove the transmission, nib, and finial. . Of course, you don't want to damage any parts.
A common disassembly method is to "bash" out the nib and finial using an appropriately-sized punch. . That sounds harsh, I know.
Maybe there is a gentler method .... perhaps by using a mechanical bench press. . But you'd have to make some parts to do this, I would think.

In the process of pushing out the nib and finial, you would have to grip the barrel, and that process might damage the center part of barrel.
However, that might not matter if the part that gets damaged is going to be turned off anyway.

Just some thoughts ....

Oh, and here are some more. . The finial and clip are the easiest parts to remove. . After that's done, you could re-install the top barrel over the transmission, leaving off the center band. . Then you have one long piece, consisting of the two barrels and nib to turn. . Hopefully the two parts of that one long cylinder are quite accurately aligned. . Maybe you can find a way to hold the nib end (possibly with a dead center poked into the tiny end hole of the nib). . At the other end (finial end) use a bushing butted up to a live center (held in tailstock). . Then turn the center parts of both barrels down to the size/shape you want.

Instead of mounting the nib on a dead center (which could damage the hole in the nib), maybe you could hold the nib in a rubber-lined cone of some sort (you'd have to make this). . The rubber-lined cone would go in the headstock chuck for turning. . Would be a bit of finicky work to make that rubber-lined cone .... and it would have to be made quite accurately so the pen barrels would turn properly about the axis.

I have never done this, but I have often thought about it .... so you're not alone !! 😀
 
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Kenny Durrant

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I agree with the first two reply's. The kits are pretty cheap but if you have time and don't care about the extra work then you'd need to disassemble the entire pen. There are tools available but they cost more than a few kits. I was once in your shoes so I have a tool/kit to disassemble the slimlines. When disassembled put back on the lathe with your bushings and do what you'd like done.
 

egnald

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To all - thanks for your comments and suggestions so far. I'm not so much concerned about the pen kit, but some of the wood that I used is so nice that I think it is a shame for it to be wasted. As for disassembly, I have the PSI pen assembly/disassembly press and for the most part it works pretty good for disassembly. - Dave
 

Larryreitz

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I think the first question you have to answer is "how much do I like this wood or resin blank" Is it really nice and worth saving or is it pretty plain without any real figure? If it is an above average piece then it is probably worth disassembly and turning the bulge down. Otherwise it is a cost analysis. A Penn State press for disassembly is in the $65-75 range. Sooner or later you will probably want to save the components of a kit that is not cheap and will be glad you bought it. If you decide to disassemble you might want to have a spaare transmission or two on hand.
 

mick

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Disassembling the nib and final is easy using transfer punches. I don't know if you have a way if removing the transmission but here's what I've found works for me. Using a half blank you've drilled for a slimline(7mm) but not glued a tube in. Take the lower half if the pen, nib removed with just the transmission left in and insert the transmission into the drilled out blank. Using thes largest punch you can get into the 7mm tube knock the transmission out into the untubed blank. Easy peasy!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

Roger Schlenz

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For pen disassembly, you might try a tool used for golf club grip removal. It's a rubberized plastic tool, used in a vise, to hold the golf club shaft while the old grip is removed, so as not to mar the shaft. They're very cheap, $5-$6. I use one when I have to take apart a pen. Here is a link to Amazon:

 

Mortalis

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Harbor freight set of transfer punches work for the finial and nib. The transmission is the tough and slightly more delicate part to remove.

I like the golf club grip removal tool idea. I;m going to look into that. Thanks Roger.
 

Charlie_W

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Even if you damage the components while disassembly, they are inexpensive to replace as long as you can save your blanks. Give it a try!
Small punch through the transmission first to knock out the nib. Then punch out the tranny.
 

wouldentu2?

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To remove the tranny first punch out nib with a long punch and hammer, using a fractional drill card insert the tranny end into the 1/4" hole. place the card on a socket taller than the tranny is long, using a punch and hammer drive out the tranny. the blank is not damaged and neither is the tranny. Instead of a socket a hole in your bench also works.
 

DrD

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All the above is good advice and most probably works well for those who use the suggested procedures. In a Slimline definitely the most expensive single component is the wood, AA, whatever used for the blanks. Tranny is widely available for $0.75 to no more than $1.25 ea. I use center punch set from Harbor Freight. Pop off the cap & clip; then pop off the nib - all as stated above. I do this holding the tube in my left hand and swinging a heavy brass mallet with my right. Finally with the appropriate sized punch, drive ot the tranny and toss it - don't even try to resue it. Whole process - maybe 60 seconds.

Good fortune on your endeavor.
 

jrich7970

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So, this has nothing to do with expense, but....

Last week I had made two pens to give to my daughter as a present. Both my wife and I had agreed they turned out pretty good, and we both were excited to give them to her. The next day.

I looked over one of them, noticed that the nib was sort of "off". Not aligned against the barrel. A little skewed.

As I had two more transmissions and nibs, I decided to try my hand at disassembling the bottom of the pen.

The upshot of all this is, I was very lucky. Because I had made the blank myself, and did not have any material left to make another one, then turn it, all with a 24 hour turnaround. But at the time, I didn't even think about that.

The first thing I did was remove the nib by grabbing it with a pair of pliers, grasping the barrel with a rubber jar lid twister thing. The nib came off with no problem, but was damaged by the pliers. Not a big deal, I had two more.

But removing the transmission...that was more problematic. I tried the same procedure, but what I accomplished was breaking the transmission off when it entered the barrel. Now I had a problem. I couldn't get the transmission out. Nothing to grab.

Good job Jeff, you just ruined the pen. So, perhaps I could drill the transmission to the point where it would just fall apart and I could pick the pieces out. No such luck, the drilling was iffy at best, the barrel was turning around, and I was afraid to clamp it lest I would crack it or mar it with pliers.

So I grabbed all of my drill bits and found the one that was closest in size to be able to fit inside the barrel, and tried to push it out from the other end. No such luck.

Finally, I put the barrel (with the transmission side down) on top of a bushing and centered it as best I could, grabbed a drill bit, stuck it through the barrel, and hit it with a hammer. It worked.

Then I reassembled the pen, but this time, for some reason, either I messed up the transmission, or it was bad. So, I had to go through the same process again.

Now I was on my last nib and last transmission.

Thankfully, this time I was able to reassemble the pen, everything lined up, it worked, and I did not damage the barrel in any way.

But I was very lucky.

Lesson learned.

Jeff
 

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pshrynk

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So, this has nothing to do with expense, but....

Last week I had made two pens to give to my daughter as a present. Both my wife and I had agreed they turned out pretty good, and we both were excited to give them to her. The next day.

I looked over one of them, noticed that the nib was sort of "off". Not aligned against the barrel. A little skewed.

As I had two more transmissions and nibs, I decided to try my hand at disassembling the bottom of the pen.

The upshot of all this is, I was very lucky. Because I had made the blank myself, and did not have any material left to make another one, then turn it, all with a 24 hour turnaround. But at the time, I didn't even think about that.

The first thing I did was remove the nib by grabbing it with a pair of pliers, grasping the barrel with a rubber jar lid twister thing. The nib came off with no problem, but was damaged by the pliers. Not a big deal, I had two more.

But removing the transmission...that was more problematic. I tried the same procedure, but what I accomplished was breaking the transmission off when it entered the barrel. Now I had a problem. I couldn't get the transmission out. Nothing to grab.

Good job Jeff, you just ruined the pen. So, perhaps I could drill the transmission to the point where it would just fall apart and I could pick the pieces out. No such luck, the drilling was iffy at best, the barrel was turning around, and I was afraid to clamp it lest I would crack it or mar it with pliers.

So I grabbed all of my drill bits and found the one that was closest in size to be able to fit inside the barrel, and tried to push it out from the other end. No such luck.

Finally, I put the barrel (with the transmission side down) on top of a bushing and centered it as best I could, grabbed a drill bit, stuck it through the barrel, and hit it with a hammer. It worked.

Then I reassembled the pen, but this time, for some reason, either I messed up the transmission, or it was bad. So, I had to go through the same process again.

Now I was on my last nib and last transmission.

Thankfully, this time I was able to reassemble the pen, everything lined up, it worked, and I did not damage the barrel in any way.

But I was very lucky.

Lesson learned.

Jeff
This is why I love my pen assembly/disassembly thingy from PSI.
 

egnald

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This is why I love my pen assembly/disassembly thingy from PSI.

I use the PSI Assembly/Disassembly press all the time; however, I also bought the new PSI "Soft Jaw Barrel Gripper" and I must say, using it on the last pen I disassembled, I like it better than my press. Of course I have a bench vise that I held the gripper and pen barrel in so I could tap my transfer punch with a hammer. I guess I liked the fact that I didn't need to convert my press over to disassembly mode. - Dave
 

pshrynk

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I use the PSI Assembly/Disassembly press all the time; however, I also bought the new PSI "Soft Jaw Barrel Gripper" and I must say, using it on the last pen I disassembled, I like it better than my press. Of course I have a bench vise that I held the gripper and pen barrel in so I could tap my transfer punch with a hammer. I guess I liked the fact that I didn't need to convert my press over to disassembly mode. - Dave
Yeah, it's a process. I don't have the bench vise, so sorta stuck with the pen press route.
 

sorcerertd

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I've done this a few times. It's already been said, but Harbor Freight transfer punches and a hammer work just fine. Drive the transmission out through a hole in a board set on top of a vise. If you have a workbench with dog holes that go all the way through (Harbor Freight again), pound it through the hole right into the drawer.

As for finish, if you are careful, the worst case would be having to put on an extra couple layers of CA to build up the diameter.
 

pshrynk

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One of the things I learned early on with Slimlines is that you can remove the transmission by using the punch that will fit through the hole of the nib and angle it so that it is pushing the side of the trans, rather than the center. This leads to fewer swear words. DAMHIKT. After the trans is out, then pushing out the nib is cake.
 
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