frustrated with penn state ind....

Dan Noren

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,984
Location
falcon heights, minnesota
i'm really annoyed with psi, turned 10 (would have been 12 but i had 2 burst blanks) pens, pencils, and fountain pens yesterday. found out to my dismay that the bushings that worked with the pens, didn't work with the pencils. the fountain pens were ok, and so were the pens. i found out also to my dismay, that with the pens and pencils, you cannot go down to the brass, you have to shave and fit, and shave and fit, and shave and fit a tenon on the blank for the cap. needless to say, i presumed they were like all the other kits i used, and took it down to the brass. it turns out the tubes for the pencils are half a red cat hair smaller than the pen tubes. without these tenons, the center band does not fit at all, too big. i'm going to try to salvage what i can of the pens, but the fountain pens came out ok. but the way i was treated by thier customer service and tech people was unbelievable. i haven't been treated like that much of an idiot since the one time the wife was mad at me. after this, it will be a very, very, very cold day in hell, michigan (a real place!) before i order from those folks again.
 
dan, doesnt an instruction sheet come with a different type of pen or pencil?
I only have 2 different types, and they both come with instruction sheets.
Although the keychain I bought doesnt have instructions:huh:
 
Allen, the instructions I've seen with pen kit vary from pretty good to really bad. Sometimes even with the instructions, there's some trial and error involved to get things all fitting right.

Dan, if you want PSI kits at better prices and with better service, try Ryan and the crew at Woodturningz. ;)
 
I've also noticed that sometimes the bushings you get don't exactly match up to the instructions.

I've got several sets of bushings that just don't quite measure up right.

I usually pull out the digital calipers to check the various parts of a pen kit and compare them to the bushings just to make sure I get things setup correctly.

A really good way to screw up a good blank is to turn a pen with the bushings setup wrong on the mandrel... DAMHIKT... :rolleyes:

For the pen kits that require turning a tenon, I use one of the bands from a 'factory defect' :rolleyes: with the band over the bushing. I trim the tenon down, check for fit, turn the tenon down, check the fit, then use a gap filling glue for when I eventually turn it down to far... :eek:
 
Similar problems and experiences are often discussed at the IAP forum.
http://www.penturners.org/

Personally, I do not buy pen kits from PSI. I consider their quality absolutely the pits.
I will buy other items, like tools and accessories but not pen kits.
My experience, however, with their customer service has been tops. They demonstrated to me they want the customer to be happy.
You also need to understand (please forgive the condescending tone here) making pens is often a very frustrating exercise. Kit names are confusing, drill bit sizes and bushing sizes are often inconsistent. Catalog descriptions would be more decipherable if written in hieroglyphics.
I buy most of my kits from CS because I like their quality and the quality of the better platings. When I order something new I ALWAYS use the telephone and ask questions as to whether anything has changed since the catalog was printed (they often do not update when errors are found). I ask if the drills listed are correct or if something else is needed and so on, like do pencils and pens use same bushings.
It often does seem the goal of the vendors is first to make you crazy and second to sell weirdo drill bit sizes you don't need and a distant third to sell you pen kits. This is common with all major vendors.
If you are going to make pens, expect failures and always-always buy extra tubes. Never-ever-never use expensive or special blanks on a kit you haven't tried before. If you do, you will ruin it, that is a fact of penturning life.
Now, go bang yer head against a wall :bang:, take a break and try again tomorrow.
 
I see bashes of PSI all the time on both forums... I've been dealing with them ever since I started turning pens and never had any difficulties with them. Woodturningz was mentioned... they are a PSI re-seller...

If you need any instructions for pen kits, you can go to the PSI website and download any instruction you need.
 
it's not so much a problem with the merchandise, as the support people. after being given so many hinted at insults, the tech guy i was talking with said there was no way the refill for the parker style pen would fit inside the tube for the pencil, as the tube was smaller. at the time he was telling me this, i was repeatedly dropping said refill down said tube, without it hitting the sides, while he was telling me it couldn't be done. one bone of contention was the sloppy fit of the tubes in the holes. the kits i used to use had a good tight press fit, so no glue necessary. these ones, for all 3, dropped straight through. i mean they dropped through like the blank wasn't there. his reasoning was, well, you have to have room for the glue. i asked if they should be that loose, and his reply was that the bit was off(their bits, brand new), it was problems with the drill press, worn bearings and such(also brand new), and so on. it was anything but the bits were too big for the tubes. he even had the nerve to suggest i was making 4-5 passes drilling the holes(got it done in one pass), and that's why the holes were too big. he even went on to say that with a good tight press fit, eventually the tube will loosen up and spin. i had that happen with 5 of the blanks i glued, and that's gluing them better than half the length of the tube. so between all this, and his attitude, penn state has lost me as a customer.
 
it's not so much a problem with the merchandise, as the support people. after being given so many hinted at insults, the tech guy i was talking with said there was no way the refill for the parker style pen would fit inside the tube for the pencil, as the tube was smaller. at the time he was telling me this, i was repeatedly dropping said refill down said tube, without it hitting the sides, while he was telling me it couldn't be done. one bone of contention was the sloppy fit of the tubes in the holes. the kits i used to use had a good tight press fit, so no glue necessary. these ones, for all 3, dropped straight through. i mean they dropped through like the blank wasn't there. his reasoning was, well, you have to have room for the glue. i asked if they should be that loose, and his reply was that the bit was off(their bits, brand new), it was problems with the drill press, worn bearings and such(also brand new), and so on. it was anything but the bits were too big for the tubes. he even had the nerve to suggest i was making 4-5 passes drilling the holes(got it done in one pass), and that's why the holes were too big. he even went on to say that with a good tight press fit, eventually the tube will loosen up and spin. i had that happen with 5 of the blanks i glued, and that's gluing them better than half the length of the tube. so between all this, and his attitude, penn state has lost me as a customer.


Dan, I'm not defending PSI. I have said there are inconsistencies in dealing with them and their products.
As I pointed out, pen making is almost by definition a tangle of contradictions. Drill bit sizes are a huge bug-a-boo. Never trust what the catalog says. Some guys will buy the kits then mic measure the tubes before selecting a drill bit size.
Tech support and customer service people hear problems all the time that are often customer generated. I think he is obligated to run through the litany of possibilities. How he does it is another matter.
As I said, most of my pen stuff comes from CS. That doesn't mean I'm a huge fan of theirs. It just means that order after order their products are sufficient quality to keep me coming back and their customer service is usually good.
 
Top