First Ligero

[Old Griz]

Recently bought a couple of Ligero Platinum FP kits from AZ on closeout... have to admit it is a nice kit.. basically the same size as the El Grande, but feels a bit better. The FP nib writes very well.. I am impressed with it... the only problem I found is that if you are not careful when pressing the center cap onto the upper barrel the edge will fold and bend... really ticked me off.. it is soft material.. it should have been made from harder plastic.. So I own another FP..
Like the El Grande, I think there is too much plastic on this kit... I think I will try a solid body the next time..
Here it is
Black Chacate ... new wood from the CSU catalog only $0.95 for a 1x1x10" piece.. I ordered 6.. 3 have the tan sapwood and the others are all heartwood.. heartwood is dark brown with light brown grain.. on the ones with sapwood/heartwood, there is a very dark brown line between them.... very pretty.. also a hard wood.. came off the skew more in chips than ribbons.. sands very well and takes a finish well.. finish on this was sanding sealer and TSW to a semi gloss polish

 

[PenWorks]

Good lookin pen Tom, I really like that kit has some nice trim, I wish they would have just change the look on the clip. Nice stick of wood to for .95

 

[coach]

Very nice Griz!!!!!!

 

[rtjw]

great looking pen Tom.

 

[pastorbill1952]

interesting pen. Like the wood.

 

[WoodChucker]

Nice looking pen Tom!

 

[alamocdc]

Looks good, Tom! Thanks for the warning.

 

[Glenn McCullough]

A handsome looking pen, Tom. The wood looks great with that kit.

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by Old Griz
<br />Recently bought a couple of Ligero Platinum FP kits from AZ on closeout... have to admit it is a nice kit.. basically the same size as the El Grande, but feels a bit better.<br />

I'm curious... In what way does it feel better? Same weight, same dimensions, nib probably for the same source albeit CSU chooses rhodium plated nib with the rhodium-plated kit which I think is nice. I've made a ton of El Grandes, and quite a few Ligeros also now, and I don't notice a different 'feel'.

<br />the only problem I found is that if you are not careful when pressing the center cap onto the upper barrel the edge will fold and bend... really ticked me off.. it is soft material.. it should have been made from harder plastic..

I wonder if they changed something? Are you saying the CB fitting is softer than an El Grande ??? Since you compare it to the EG, that's how I read this. First, it seems to me if you have to use a press you might be doing something wrong - maybe you're not deburring the brass tube, or have glue inside. In all the EGs and Ligeros I've ever made I simply press it in by hand. I use epoxy inside the brass tube, and I give the plastic that fits inside a little roughening up with sand paper, it gives me the illusion of providing a little something for the glue to grab only - plastics are touch to glue bite, not sure this step is actually doing something.

Anyway, on the Ligeros I have, the plastic is too hard!!! Mine are all definitely from the early batches. In fact, the plastic seems the same hard plastic use on the receiver tube. Which seems the same material Berea uses. And in the 1st Ligeron I made I dropped the cap from a 3' table onto the wooden shop floor, and the fitting broke!

<br /> I thought Berea's choice of plastic for that part was better (Delrin, I think). I think the harder plastic the more brittle. So careful what you ask for!

If the plastic is soft now, maybe they also changed the dimension a little and finger pressure no longer suffices - like I said, my kits are rearly ones.

 

[scubaman]

Oops, sorry, I forgot: Bravo, nice pen

 

[swm6500]

Good looking pen Griz.

 

[Bob A]

Tom, I did the same exact thing today on a Platinum Ligero. Worse actually, mine folded and broke. I was able to trim it evenly with a utility knife and it turned out. I haven't previously had this problem with the Ligero. Got the kits from BB this week, wonder if they did change the material on the centerband?

 

[Old Griz]

Originally posted by scubaman
I'm curious... In what way does it feel better? Same weight, same dimensions, nib probably for the same source albeit CSU chooses rhodium plated nib with the rhodium-plated kit which I think is nice. I've made a ton of El Grandes, and quite a few Ligeros also now, and I don't notice a different 'feel'.

It might be the weight of the wood on this one.. for some reason this one feels a bit more "substantial".. the wood on the Ligero a lot more dense and hard than the one I used on the El Grande. As you know sometimes it just takes a little to make it feel different..

<br />
I wonder if they changed something? Are you saying the CB fitting is softer than an El Grande ??? Since you compare it to the EG, that's how I read this. First, it seems to me if you have to use a press you might be doing something wrong - maybe you're not deburring the brass tube, or have glue inside. In all the EGs and Ligeros I've ever made I simply press it in by hand. I use epoxy inside the brass tube, and I give the plastic that fits inside a little roughening up with sand paper, it gives me the illusion of providing a little something for the glue to grab only - plastics are touch to glue bite, not sure this step is actually doing something.

Anyway, on the Ligeros I have, the plastic is too hard!!! Mine are all definitely from the early batches. In fact, the plastic seems the same hard plastic use on the receiver tube. Which seems the same material Berea uses. And in the 1st Ligeron I made I dropped the cap from a 3' table onto the wooden shop floor, and the fitting broke!

<br /> I thought Berea's choice of plastic for that part was better (Delrin, I think). I think the harder plastic the more brittle. So careful what you ask for!

If the plastic is soft now, maybe they also changed the dimension a little and finger pressure no longer suffices - like I said, my kits are rearly ones.

Nope brass was deburred and smooth.. something I am very careful about on all my pens.. been there and done that during the learning process.. [][]
I could not press it in with finger pressure... so I used my pen press... and the overlap on the centercap just folded ... I was able to straighten it, but it still left a mark, so instead of a seller, it became a keeper... [] I did not have this problem on the El Grande... no big deal, at least now I know I have to be a bit more careful when pressing it in place..

 

[jvsank]

Tom nice looking pen

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by Old Griz
<br />
It might be the weight of the wood on this one.. for some reason this one feels a bit more "substantial".. the wood on the Ligero a lot more dense and hard than the one I used on the El Grande. As you know sometimes it just takes a little to make it feel different..

It's a nice looking and apparently quite dense wood, but... I took out my scale and weighed a few things, and was surprised!

The parts for an El Grande RB weighed 31.2g. A finished EG RB weighed 32.9g. That I knew, but I wanted to confirm it with a measurement - the actual wood accounts for VERY little in this pen, because wall thicknesses are thin - this could be considerend an environmentally wasteful pen because such a small amount of the blank actually makes it onto the pen [] Anyway, I doubt that my hands are sensitive enough to detect a difference due to wood densisty (in a pen turned to the same basic El Grande shape)

The big surprise came when I weighed the part for the Ligero... the parts weighed 37.1 g! I hadn't realized that! I know that metal and plastic are used differently in the kit, e.g. the main coupling has substantially more metal in the Ligero, I jast didn't realize the small changes amounted as much as 20%! Live and learn, glad youpointed this out!

Nope brass was deburred and smooth.. something I am very careful about on all my pens.. been there and done that during the learning process.. [][]

I have no doubt about that - takes 1 time. Hey, it you have any more of this vintage kit, why don't you take a fresh 'raw' brass tube and see if the fitting can be pressed in my hand? You probably have a knock bar to push it back out with (it's easier to push a fitting than pull it []) but if you don't you can screw a section in to give you soemthing to grip

 

[woodwish]

Nice pen Tom. The wood is beautiful and finish is very nice. Yo also seem to have matered pen photos better than most of us.

 

[driften]

Nive pen Tom... and thanks for the info! I think I will order some Ligero's soon.