Rubber coated vice grips

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Tiger

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Feb 15, 2009
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Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
I've got approx 6 or so pens that I'd like to re-finish because of blemishes. Like most of you I hold the pen in my hand and use transfer punches to extricate the pen parts. I do have some arthritis in my hands so the whacking does cause me a little pain, so for those that have these special pliers, how much help are they? Have they ever been able to take apart a pen that you couldn't take apart by holding in your hand wrapped in router mat or something similar?
 
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A vice can get a grip on you.
I use a piece of foam rubber drawer liner to hold the pen in a piece of 2x4 with a shallow V cut into it. Penn State has a coated pliers to hold the pen while disassembling.
 
I have pliers with nylon jaws that are non-mar on metal. However I can see them crushing or denting some portions of a pen or scoring the finish. The force of several blows will move the pen that you are wanting to dis-assemble. I have just accepted the fact that it is going to take so many blows to dislodge the parts from the tube. Anything that I could come up with that would hold the outside absolutely steady while dislodging the parts would also damage it. That brings us back to your solution that is difficult with arthritis - holding on with the rubber mat and hand.

I did make a jig once that had a hole in it and crammed with the rubber mat stuff, but the blows only pushed it through.

I am waiting to see a better solution and hope someone posts it.
 
The rubber coated vice grips did not work well for me as the ones I had, I guess the rubber was not the right type. At first I didn't get enough grip and when I did, still had some crushing damage.

I ended up getting a roll of surgical tubing (like we used to use for sling shots) cut pieces about 1" long, then split one side. I wrapped this around the pen and used regular vice grips over the top and had no damage.


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I use the PSI Woodworking PENPRESSXL for my assembly, which works well. Disassembly tools are included with the press. I haven't used it for disassembly yet but it looks like it will do the job. The disassembly materials include a length of hose from which sections can be cut as needed for cushioning, a clamp with V grooves in the jaws and several different sizes of punches. To disassemble a pen, you cut off a short section of the hose (which can be used until it wears out). Put the assembled pen in the hose, then clamp the pen in the jaws and use the correct size punch to push out the pen components.

Like I said, I haven't used it for this yet but it appears to be a good system. No hand-holding or hammering is required.
 
The PSI rubber coated vice grips are one of the better investments I've made. I use mine a lot--not just for the occasional re-work, but also for removing stuck bushings (I have some TBC ones that are very tight in the tube, which I appreciate but sometimes is a bit of a pain). Yes, you "can" hand hold with a rubber jar opener or similar item, but it is very hard on the hands. For the modest investment, I think the vice grips are a must.

Oh, and remember that many small taps just using the weight of your hammer (I use a 1 lb. rubber mallet) are much more effective than trying to pound hard. Even blue Loc-Tited parts will separate fairly easily this way.
 
I have the PSI rubber coated vice grips and love them. There have been a few occasions where I experienced crushing damage, but it was my fault for adjusting them too tightly. They work FAR better than using your hands. There's just no way to keep your hands/arms from absorbing a majority of the striking force. With these, you lay them on the edge of your workbench, and all the force goes into the punch, where it belongs. (Just be sure to have something to catch the parts - the first couple times I found myself crawling around on my workshop floor trying to fish parts out after they bounced under the bench. Serious PIA.
 
Stop by your local NAPA auto parts store and buy about 6 inches of all of their small rubber hoses. Small 1/2" to 3/4" pieces can be slid down on pen parts for protecting the parts.

You can also cut pieces of hose and slide them over the jaws of your pliers, channel locks, vise grips etc..
 
Tiger said:
I've got approx 6 or so pens that I'd like to re-finish because of blemishes. Like most of you I hold the pen in my hand and use transfer punches to extricate the pen parts. I do have some arthritis in my hands so the whacking does cause me a little pain, so for those that have these special pliers, how much help are they? Have they ever been able to take apart a pen that you couldn't take apart by holding in your hand wrapped in router mat or something similar?
Click to expand...

I use the PSI new pen assembly/disassembly tool. Really like it and wish I had gotten it earlier. Before that, I would wrap the pen tube with compression tape, the stuff you get at a drug store. It works great for increasing the diameter to a comfortable grip, and is "sticky" so it holds the pen really well.
 
+1 for the rubber coated vice grips.....I did crush a rather thin acrylic blank once so care needs to be used for clamping pressure. And as mentioned by MECOMPCO, more light taps are much better than one big hit. Overall, I think they are great, I would buy them again in a heart beat.
 
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Appreciate the replies. I use a wooden pen press that I made up and it works great for assembling pens. I have experimented to see if I could use it for disassembly by cradling the blank under a wood vblock clamped to the press and my bench. The blank has been wrapped in router mat but slid under the force of the press, then I tried insulation tape and same thing happened.
The press cited in the previous replies looks good but I'm sceptical that it will work when you have a very tight fitting, I'm also sceptical that the rubber coated vice grips will work when you have a very tight fitting but judging from the replies, most here are satisfied with their purchase. Another issue is that the press mentioned here is only available overseas, postage could be a concern.
I would have to say that holding the blank in one's hand and applying light taps has proved effective for me so unless you do have pain it's probably the way to go but in my case I've got to look at alternatives.
 
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