Thread: Splitting ends when putting cap on

Maybe a tappered hand reamer often sold in $2 shops or a pen hand reamer see www.addictivepenkits.com.au

the only time i have had this problem was when the nib or finial(???) tried to go in crooked

santa got me a vice for xmas and since using this with the pressure equal and straight i have not had one breakage (touch Wood)

MIK

I'd guess you are mainly doing slimlines at this point ,are you using a 7mm drill to drill your blanks ,that will ensure that the hole is big enought to have some clearance and room for glue ,whichever one you use. You could use a 1/4 " drill to ream the brass and insure there is no glue inside to make it too tight.If there is no give in the tube when you press components something has to give , I have destroyed a few activaters doing bullet pens for that reason ,with no give between tube and brass shell they just buckle , a small rat tail file will also prove useful to take a small amount out for fitting parts , if you take too much a speck of CA will lock the parts in for most purposes. It's all practice and learning what works for you . Good luck with it all .cheers ~ John

I always use a small file after I have finished the blanks prior to assembly to remove any unwanted glue or rough brass edges.

I was having similar problems and I purchased a deburring tool from toolies here in Newcastle but I am sure you can find one up there mine was around 15 bucks and I just clean each end before I put the pen together.

Hope this helps

Cheers Ian

Check and see if when your are trimming the ends with the pen mill you may accidentally be cutting into the brass tube…only takes a tiny amount to form a small lip inside the end of the tube.
If you are doing 7mm slim line kits, then you might not notice the lip because the bushing don’t fit inside the tube, they simply butt up against the end of the blanks.
If there is a small lip or “flange” inside the tube, or any glue whatsoever, then the tube will expand way too much when the hardware is installed, splitting the blank.
Your solution is to take a sharp hobby knife like an Xacto razor knife and gently bevel the inside of the tubes, and clear out any excess glue before assembly.

A little smear of vaseline or grease will assist with the insertion of the part into the tube.

I have one of htose reamers shown in the first respons but maybe I need a slightly larger one.

I'll also try and do the vasalene and also try useing the hobby knife trick.

Thanks,

Will let you know how it goes when the tide disapears from my shed. Its knee deep in H2O at the moment.

Originally Posted by Spanner69

I have one of htose reamers shown in the first respons but maybe I need a slightly larger one.

I'll also try and do the vasalene and also try useing the hobby knife trick.

Thanks,

Will let you know how it goes when the tide disapears from my shed. Its knee deep in H2O at the moment.

A dedicated penturner from the "wet Country" would have their shed mounted on a pontoon with a portable generater lol.
Remember those reamers for the end milling are of necessity slightly smaller than your tubes and will leave a few thousandths of an inch of glue in the tube ,you usually can.t see it but as you have found it does make for a much tighter fit than you need. As well as the filing and deburring the sharp corners off the brass I sometimes slide a slightly smaller drill than the tube ID and rub the tube up and down the flutes as a reamer ,done by hand of course ,and on inspection you should have a nice shiny finish in the brass all the way through. You will get it though and it becomes automatic in time ,good luck !!!