Repair / trash

[WriteON]

I made a Nouvea body a little too long. Refill did not advance enough. I shorten the blank... now it does not retract enough. I trimmed the refill. That is schlock. I disassembled... pulled the twist back slightly and secured with a drop of epoxy. Works fine. Now the refill is replaceable by the new owner. I spent more time repairing than doing over but enjoyed the challenge... the thought process of how repair. I hate tossing a pen. Sometimes it is time to quit. But persistence takes over. Question of the hour is How involved do you get when things are not clicking. No pun.

 

[magpens]

That's always the big question. . I hate scrapping a pen also, especially a fairly expensive one like a Nouveau Sceptre, and I always try hard to make something out of every one. . Usually the "salvage" works out even if the pen becomes a "stay at home".

The "salvage challenge" can be fun .... and you can learn from being presistent. . But frustration can also be persistent and you need to draw the line when you are just butting heads with it !

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I wouldn't scrap the pen. I'd buy new tubes and redo the barrels and reuse the kit.

 

[wolf creek knives]

I work at it until my frustration level gets way too high. I set it aside and wait a few days then try again. If I can't get it to work correctly it becomes a shelf decoration.

 

[mark james]

I rarely sell pens, I don't do shows. But... I segment (a huge black hole).

So there is a parallel issue. After putting 4-5-6 hours into a segmented blank and it is not behaving, but another 1-2 hrs of tweaking will get it to behave... Is it worth it? Of course not - But it is a challenge and I will persevere and teach it a lesson! (I may never do that design again ).

As you and Mal both indicated, "Persistence takes over", and "Salvage Challenge" takes hold: I am prone to succumb to each.

 

[WriteON]

Is it worth it?

It certainly is. It's about completion. I made orthodontic dental appliances for a livelihood. Also repaired dentures. The challenge was plan and execution. Some repairs went way overtime ...but they got finished. I can't leave something undone. Right now the world is in crisis and I kept thinking about how I'm going to repair the Nouveau all night long. This is my mind on pens..and projects that need to be fixed. . Help. Need Help. Lot's of it.

 

[magpens]

It certainly is. It's about completion. I made orthodontic dental appliances for a livelihood. Also repaired dentures. The challenge was plan and execution. Some repairs went way overtime ...but they got finished. I can't leave something undone. Right now the world is in crisis and I kept thinking about how I'm going to repair the Nouveau all night long. This is my mind on pens..and anything that I think I can get back in working order. Help. Need Help. Lot's of it.

Actually, I think you are quite OK !! . (Based on what you've told us !!)

 

[WriteON]

Actually, I think you are quite OK !! . (Based on what you've told us !!)

I'm good. I came to terms with myself along time ago. I love this hobby. I'm looking into local charitable organizations that I can donate pens for raffles or gift baskets. People need help more than ever.

 

[jttheclockman]

I would urn off the blank and save the tubes. I just did this today. I casted 3 pen blanks in LD. I always vertical cast in clear tubes. Never had a problem. But for some reason these 3 blanks are giving me fits. All 3 blanks were sitting dead center of the tubes as always. Pour the resin and put in the pot as normal. Pulled out this morning and all 3 tubes leaned over and were touching the tube. So now there is not enough resin on one side of blank. So I turned them off the tubes and will soak the tubes to rid the epoxy adhesive. I need to save these tubes because the kit has no replacement tubes any more and when the kits are sold out that is it. Will have to make some sort of stand off so this does not happen again. So starting from scratch again. I have done this before with other kits. Maybe I did not like the final look of a blank and did not waste time putting on a kit but wanted to save tubes. Easy to turn blank off.

 

[WriteON]

I would urn off the blank and save the tubes. I just did this today. I casted 3 pen blanks in LD. I always vertical cast in clear tubes. Never had a problem. But for some reason these 3 blanks are giving me fits. All 3 blanks were sitting dead center of the tubes as always. Pour the resin and put in the pot as normal. Pulled out this morning and all 3 tubes leaned over and were touching the tube. So now there is not enough resin on one side of blank. So I turned them off the tubes and will soak the tubes to rid the epoxy adhesive. I need to save these tubes because the kit has no replacement tubes any more and when the kits are sold out that is it. Will have to make some sort of stand off so this does not happen again. So starting from scratch again. I have done this before with other kits. Maybe I did not like the final look of a blank and did not waste time putting on a kit but wanted to save tubes. Easy to turn blank off.

Right ... know when to quit. Good instinct.

 

[wolf creek knives]

Like I said in my post, here's one of my shelf decorations (That's the Three Goddess's holding up the Vertex but don't look them up on the internet) This sits on the shelf just above my lathe to remind me every time I turn a pen not to rush it.

 

[mick]

At times I've gotten to the point of being totally disgusted with a piece I'll put it aside. (I never throw any thing away.) I come back, sometimes months or years later and picked it up again. Sometimes a solution or an idea will come to me. Other times I'll be working on something totally unrelated and something will pop in my head. Some of the pens that result from this have been quick sellers for me. So never throw things away, I've told people that some of my pens were years in the making! [emoji16]

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