First two one piece slims

[phil]

Biednick posted an awesome one piece slim the other day and it inspired me to give it a try. This is the closest ive ever come to kitless, and i think it might just be a new direction for me in 2011. the toughest part of this was drilling the 4 1/2" blank on my REALLY cheap drill press that only has a travel of about 2 1/4" before i have to raise it up. im getting a new lathe for sure this year so ill have to deffinately get myself set up for drilling on the lathe.

anyhow, sorry for rambling. chrome slim hardware, first is indian princess from psi, and the second is Jade Princess from beartoothwoods.

Being this is my first time with these, id apreciate a fair critique, not just "Wow thats the sweetest thing ive ever seen!!!" (although id take that too :tongue: ) Personally im not too sure i like the shape, but they are very comfortable to write with this way.

 

[mbroberg]

Nice job Phil. From what I can see in the photo the finish is spot on. The shape is not too bad. Th green might be slightly overturned at the tip but that may be an optical illusion due to the picture. I do like the one piece pens. They show off the blanks nicely.

 

[Crickett]

Those are 2 very nice looking pens.:good:
The only thing I would do different is change the clip position of the purple/blue pen, it's tough when the blank is clearly split in half with colour so I would tend to have the clip on the division line to show both sides, please keep in mind that's my preference.

 

[Laurenr]

Wonderful, wonderful! Great pens, and great craftsmanship.

 

[fernhills]

Very nice. I have made a few and you are right the hardest part is the drilling. The next one i will do is some sort of a segment to enhance the length of the pen so it does not look so plain.

 

[Ruby pen turning]

how do you make the tip come out?

 

[mach9]

how do you make the tip come out?

What he said.

 

[boxerman]

2 really nice pens there.

 

[hunter-27]

how do you make the tip come out?

What he said.

I would imagine it twists at the nib(at least that is what mine do).

 

[Seer]

I make these and you remove the insert by turning it counterclockwise and pulling it straight out. I need to use something that will grip the nib otherwise my hand slides off. One of those kitchen cap removers works well for me.
These 2 pens look great, I use about the same shape and I like it that you do not interrupt the grain, especially on a beautiful piece of material. Well done.
Jerry

 

[hilltopper46]

I've turned a couple of those Indian Princess blanks and that is an excellent job - I am impressed that you used it on a 1-piece pen.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I really like the shape. It gets the point across without potentially offending some sensibilities. Not much I can see to criticize.

 

[phil]

Thanks for the comments. The tip is slightlly overturned on the green one, but only on one side. with it not being glued to the tube, it gave a little while turning and it got a bit narrow on the one side. and as for the split blank, i wasnt sure which way to do it. when i pressed the final in, i left it a bit loose so i could still move the clip. my wife actually chose which way to do it. but your right i think it would have been better the other way.

hilltopper, i used a skew the whole way, and went rrreeeallll slow. i like the way this stufff smells while turning. alot better than acrylic acetate. (although that stuff is growing on me)

the picture of the green one dosent do it justice. i would highly recomend getting one of these blanks, they are absoluty amazing. the depth of the iredecene is outstanding!

 

[seamus7227]

I think you did a wonderful job! And every time I see someone post something like this, it makes me want to go make one! Excellent Job, I really like the first picture with the split colors, great choice of plating to match!

 

[its_virgil]

Jerry, and others. I had the same problem with the first one piece slims I made...quite difficult to twist to extend the point and also difficult to take apart to replace the refill. The hard to twist problem can be solved by enlarging the 7mm hole just enough to allow the barrel to revolve around the lower tube more freely. I roll sandpaper around a metal shaft and sand the lower half of the hole a little. Also, I solved the hard to twist problem using a little WD40 to clean the inside of the transmission making it twist more easily. Another fix is to use a tube from a bracelet helper. I get extra bracelet helper tubes from Woodcraft (I think). The slimline tube will just slip inside the bracelet helper tube. Use the bracelet helper tube in the wood blank and it will slide over the slimline tube and make the twisting work more easily. The bracelet helper tube is cut to the same length as the slimline tube or just a little shorter. Taking the pen apart to change the refill is made easier by shortening the upper tube. Shorten the upper tube so it is just long enough to grab the transmission so it will twist. About 1/4 inch of upper tube sliding over the transmission is enough to catch and operate the transmission and the pen will come apart quite nicely.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I make these and you remove the insert by turning it counterclockwise and pulling it straight out. I need to use something that will grip the nib otherwise my hand slides off. One of those kitchen cap removers works well for me.
Jerry

 

[biednick]

Those look great, I recently gt a drill chuck for my lathe, with a collet chuck or scroll chuck you don't to drill all the way through in one pass, you can just flip the blank around and the holes will line up.