Sylvanite
Member
I first had the idea for the angels and demons design about two years ago, and finally got around to making if for the Birthday Bash this year. This pen was my entry into the Kitless Pen Contest, where it finished third.
The tessellation is a (very) simplified rendering of the famous M.C. Escher drawing. I poured blanks in both White and RC3 Black Alumilite resins, laser-engraved the appropriate image out of each, and then recast them with the contrasting color.
In order to preserve the centers while recasting, and to be able to rotate the blank (to prevent trapping air on the underside), I made a custom mold. That was a learning experience in itself, as I'd never poured a silicone rubber mold before.
It took a few tries to get good blanks. I had to adjust the blank diameter, modify the engraved pattern, and increase the engraving depth along the way. I also had to change the concept a bit.
This was my first kitless pen of this style. My initial attempts at the grip section failed (mostly in tapping threads for the feed, but also in cutting other threads). After figuring out the correct order of operations, and learning to keep a very light touch when tapping, however, I succeeded. I turned both black and white grips for the pen, and decided to keep the white one.
I had to make several other test pieces along the way, which was quite useful in measuring the necessary drilling dimensions for the cap and body. In order to turn those, I made slip-fit chucks for mounting. I don't like a big step between the pen body and the cap threads, nor a large difference between body and cap diameters, so I split the difference between them. There's about a millimeter of step in each. The cap threads are triple-start, and it took some care for the cap and body patterns to line up.
I felt that straight walls and flat ends would look better than an ovoid shape, although I did put a small taper on the pen. I also didn't like the idea of a line showing where the clip attached, so I elected to omit the clip entirely. If I revisit this design, I think I'll add some contrasting bands. One at the clip would conceal the joint and allow me to do a hidden clip.
All in all, I'm quite happy with how the pen turned out. I'll make some changes in the future, but do plan to make more kitless pens.
Thanks for looking,
Eric
The tessellation is a (very) simplified rendering of the famous M.C. Escher drawing. I poured blanks in both White and RC3 Black Alumilite resins, laser-engraved the appropriate image out of each, and then recast them with the contrasting color.
In order to preserve the centers while recasting, and to be able to rotate the blank (to prevent trapping air on the underside), I made a custom mold. That was a learning experience in itself, as I'd never poured a silicone rubber mold before.
It took a few tries to get good blanks. I had to adjust the blank diameter, modify the engraved pattern, and increase the engraving depth along the way. I also had to change the concept a bit.
This was my first kitless pen of this style. My initial attempts at the grip section failed (mostly in tapping threads for the feed, but also in cutting other threads). After figuring out the correct order of operations, and learning to keep a very light touch when tapping, however, I succeeded. I turned both black and white grips for the pen, and decided to keep the white one.
I had to make several other test pieces along the way, which was quite useful in measuring the necessary drilling dimensions for the cap and body. In order to turn those, I made slip-fit chucks for mounting. I don't like a big step between the pen body and the cap threads, nor a large difference between body and cap diameters, so I split the difference between them. There's about a millimeter of step in each. The cap threads are triple-start, and it took some care for the cap and body patterns to line up.
I felt that straight walls and flat ends would look better than an ovoid shape, although I did put a small taper on the pen. I also didn't like the idea of a line showing where the clip attached, so I elected to omit the clip entirely. If I revisit this design, I think I'll add some contrasting bands. One at the clip would conceal the joint and allow me to do a hidden clip.
All in all, I'm quite happy with how the pen turned out. I'll make some changes in the future, but do plan to make more kitless pens.
Thanks for looking,
Eric
