Firsts for Me

[silent soundly]

This is my first project using acrylic and my first pen that isn't a slimline or bolt action. 10k Jr Gent II. Please critique me. Obviously, photography isn't my strong suit.

My wife couldn't get over the fact that I used our high school colors. That's not why I picked them and actually didn't really think of that.

 

[Charlie_W]

Looking good there Nick!
Nice things happen when you try something new!

 

[1080Wayne]

Not much to critique . Looks good on fit and finish . Maybe?? a small radial scratch halfway down the barrel in the second photo , but it could also be the material .

 

[vakmere]

Back end looks wider than the front end. Did you reverse the rings? If so it's a nice profile and blank. The pen looks good from here. Nice job.

 

[Edgar]

Looks great to me.
Nice kit choice for that blank.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[J Michael]

I don't see a thing wrong with it - lovely pen!

 

[silent soundly]

Back end looks wider than the front end. Did you reverse the rings? If so it's a nice profile and blank. The pen looks good from here. Nice job.

Thank you very much. I thought it looked funny.

Let me tell you a story. I made the cap and completed it before starting on the barrel. I am turning between centers and thought this would be the way to go. Next, I mounted up the barrel blank and and trued it up. I realized that the nib and end cap couplers were different diameters but I assumed that the nib was the smaller diameter. after truing the blank up I looked at the pen parts and realized that the nib end was actually the larger diameter. This seemed counter intuitive to me for some reason, but I switched the bushings and went on my merry way. I completed the pen and pressed everything together, but I forgot to put the cap on to orient the barrel blank before pressing so the "grain" didn't line up. But, at the time, the barrel was facing the correct direction. I took apart the barrel and punched out the nib coupler end and oriented it correctly and put everything back together. Now the "grain" of the blank looks fine, but as you point out, the barrel is backwards. I inadvertently switched the nib and the end cap when orienting the blank. Now I have to take it apart again. Why are these interchangeable!? Hehe. Live and learn!

TLR I switched the end cap and nib on the barrel.

 

[Katya]

Yep.. I bet we've all done this at some point! No worries! As you go further, you might find that using callipers works for you. Nowadays I measure the actual hardware for the pen (it's not always what it's supposed to be..) and then measure the blanks to fit. I also spend time making sure I mark which parts of the blank match up.. saves me confusion later (usually). Nice pen!

 

[RedBeard]

Looks great from here. I really like the color and it looks very, very similar to the first blank I ever turned.
When I first started to think about turning pens, or anything for that matter, I researched as much as I dared and it seemed to me that acrylic/plastic was more difficult to turn than wood so I made the decision to start with acrylic. I guess my mindset was that if I could get it right with that then wood would be easier.

 

[silent soundly]

Yep.. I bet we've all done this at some point! No worries! As you go further, you might find that using callipers works for you. Nowadays I measure the actual hardware for the pen (it's not always what it's supposed to be..) and then measure the blanks to fit. I also spend time making sure I mark which parts of the blank match up.. saves me confusion later (usually). Nice pen!

I used the bushings to get close, then calipers to get it perfect. I also marked the inside of the tubes to match the blank up when putting it together. It was fine until I accidentally switched the nib and end cap after taking it apart. This blank looks fine either way, actually.