Pen assembly problem

[Herb Robinson]

I've been assembling pens for several years and recently have developed a problem that I cannot figure out. When pressing the top portion of the pen onto the bottom, if I go so far as to have the decorative ring of the top part cover the screw mechanism of the bottom part, the mechanism binds and will not turn. The decorative part on the bottom side of the top appears to be centered properly, but binds nevertheless. I buy my pen parts from Craft supplies, so assume they should be good. My lathe -- a Jet mini -- appears to be centered properly, but with the close tolerance we're talking about, it would be hard to see if it were off a hair. As I said, looking at the finished product, the decorative ring does seem to be centered. If I press the top only to where it just touches the screw portion located on the bottom part it works OK, just does not look good. Would appreciate any suggestions.

[Doug Miller]

Best thing I can suggest for you is to repost this at rec.crafts.woodturning, and specify exactly which CraftSupplies pen kit you're talking about (they have many).