Third time is NOT a Charm

[egnald]

Greetings all from Nebraska.

Well, today I made my third Magnetic kit from Crooked Mill and as the title suggests - things went amuck. The blank is Granadillo. I've had some Granadillo for years but this is the first time I've used it on a pen. The finish is Gun Metal and it was their "straight clip" design.

All was going good up to assembly. When I was pressing in the cap end, I heard that horrible little click, and sure enough the blank has a crack by the cap. The Granadillo is a rich brown color, but the grain (at least on this one) is very straight and plain. Also I got sloppy and over-turned the center a little so it isn't as nice and straight/flat across the entire length as I would have liked. Oh well, I guess I re-learned some things along the way, especially regarding using my round file and making sure of the fit before pressing the parts in. It's not bad enough to be sent off to the island of oops, so I guess now have a new personal carry - for a while anyhow.

I still snapped a picture just for posterity, my fingerprint smudge on the cap and all.

Regards,
Dave

 

[qquake]

I feel your pain, Dave. It happens. Are you going to disassemble it and start over?

 

[egnald]

I feel your pain, Dave. It happens. Are you going to disassemble it and start over?

I'm just going to carry it for a while. Maybe the next time I order I will get some extra tubes or some long 10.5mm tubes I can cut to length and re-make it. - Dave

 

[derekdd]

Sorry about that, Dave.

I've got a small board of granadillo I've yet to cut up for blanks. Pretty wood.

Disassemble and remake it?

 

[egnald]

Sorry about that, Dave.

I've got a small board of granadillo I've yet to cut up for blanks. Pretty wood.

Disassemble and remake it?

I probably will remake it at some point. I just need to order some spare tubes or a batch of 10.5mm tubes to cut down. I have lots of standard sizes but no 10.5mm. - Dave

 

[sorcerertd]

I probably will remake it at some point. I just need to order some spare tubes or a batch of 10.5mm tubes to cut down. I have lots of standard sizes but no 10.5mm. - Dave

Might be better to turn the wood off the current tube since it's already expanded to fit the hardware. It's funny how some of the tubes and/or hardware are off just enough to cause things to crack. (Well, not haha funny). I find the Smitty's pens to be slightly off from the standard kit tube sizes.

Anyway, don't give up on the granadillo. It's one of my favorites because it can have such a beautiful chatoyance to it.

 

[keithlong]

I feel your pain, been there and done that.

Might be better to turn the wood off the current tube since it's already expanded to fit the hardware. It's funny how some of the tubes and/or hardware are off just enough to cause things to crack. (Well, not haha funny). I find the Smitty's pens to be slightly off from the standard kit tube sizes.

Anyway, don't give up on the granadillo. It's one of my favorites because it can have such a beautiful chatoyance to it.