Cap problem

June 28, 2007

I have a black lacquer Cross Townsend. The thingy at the top of the cap - I think it's called the jewel - is loose. This allows the whole black part of the cap - the part the clip is attached to - to slide up and down. This used to be tight but now there's about 1/16 in. of play. The jewel turns, but will not tighten up. Neither can I take it off by unscrewing it - so apparently it has no threads. I don't know what holds it on. This pen is less than a year old - from E-Bay - and was not like this when I got it. I can't imagine how this happened. The pen has never been dropped or abused.

So I'm asking all you Townsend owners -- is there a simple way I can fix this myself or is my only option to send it to Cross to be repaired?

Judybug

June 29, 2007

Judy,

What you need to do is get your hands on a 3/32 allen wrench. There is a screw that holds the whole assembly together. Right now it just turns because you have nothing to hold the other end. Put the allen wrench up into the cap and while holding onto the top tighten (clockwise) the screw that's in there. Normally there is a drop of loctite on the threads to keep it from loosening but seeing as the unit came from Ebay it's tough to know the history of the pen.

Bill

Edited June 29, 2007 by refillczar

June 29, 2007

Also when trying to tighten a jewel, put a section of drinking straw on the clip to keep it from scratching the cap when turning. Use a small piece of sheet rubber as a gripper on the jewel itself. If you buy a 3/32" allen wrench to make the repair make sure you get one that has a extra long leg to fit up in the cap.

June 29, 2007

Thanks to both of you for this information. I'll give this a try - with hubby's help. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll get him to do it. After analyzing this pen problem and the way I take the cap off, I think I know why it's loose. The cap on this pen is an extremely tight fit. I've never seen a cap so hard to get off! No doubt, having to pull so hard has probably caused the jewel to loosen.

Judybug