Full of holes.....

[skiprat]

Could this be the first pen posted on IAP this year??:biggrin:

Basic, clipless pen with Titanium barrels, stainless other bits and a Schmidt 5888 roller refill as it has a metal body.

Drilled all the holes on the mill with a centre drill. Used a piece of aluminium tube as a support to stop the Ti flexing so I could ensure good pressure on the drill. Going to make a screw jack this year...:wink:

Had to put it back on the mill to add more holes.....measure twice cut once...

Can't decide if it needs the 'gas torch' effect? Waddaya reckon?

 

[magpens]

Yup, I would say yours is the first for 2017 !!!! . Better apply for your prize for that !!

Lovely work, Steve !!!! . I would say leave it uncoloured. . Make another and colour the second one.

Where do you get the titanium ? ... and is it expensive ?? ... hard to work ?

 

[Dalecamino]

Sometimes, I think you dream of these pens in your sleep, then wake up in the morning, and make it. :biggrin: Nice work Steven!:wink:

 

[skiprat]

Mal, I get my titanium from here

I have to buy it in 1 metre lengths even though it's a lot cheaper as two metres.
I also am bidding on ebay for some thin sheet to make clips.

I don't have a lot of experience working with it, but as I'm confident with stainless steel, it seems ok to work with.

I have just ordered solid rod so I can make nibs too.

 

[Skie_M]

Best lookin "Holy Pen" I ever seen .... don't let the Pope see it!

 

[Dale Lynch]

reminds me of your olympic torch pen.Nice work Skip.Yeah,torch it,just the cap though.

 

[Terredax]

Oh my... either that is a very small pen, or you have very large hands.

It looks a lot like a rifle barrel I've seen. I like it they way it is.

 

[LouCee]

I would say leave it uncoloured. . Make another and colour the second one.

That was my thought also. I love the look of it as is but a torched one would look good too.

 

[mark james]

I'll vote also to make another and torch one (I love the colors you are getting).

Wonderful pen.

(Thought I heard the first 2017 SOYP get's a "Drill Doctor") :RockOn:

 

[skiprat]

Oh my... either that is a very small pen, or you have very large hands.

It looks a lot like a rifle barrel I've seen. I like it they way it is.

:biggrin: John it is fairly small but I do also have pretty big hands too...
It's 10mm diameter and 145mm long capped and a shade under 30grams

Here's a comparison pic... This pen, a Filigree Sierra, and my daily user, a long clicker with a Ti knurled grip and my own resin mix.

 

[Skie_M]

I'll vote also to make another and torch one (I love the colors you are getting).

Wonderful pen.

(Thought I heard the first 2017 SOYP get's a "Drill Doctor") :RockOn:

heh ... he's probably already got one!

 

[jttheclockman]

I'll vote also to make another and torch one (I love the colors you are getting).

Wonderful pen.

(Thought I heard the first 2017 SOYP get's a "Drill Doctor") :RockOn:

heh ... he's probably already got one!

Yea but he has to buy it:biggrin: He is due to win it this year.

 

[skiprat]

I've hummed and haaa-ed about getting a Drill Doctor for years but I used to use one of the manual gadgets in the attachment.
Jeff hasn't ever got the hint....:biggrin:

But mostly I do all my sharpening free hand on my bench grinder.


I have no idea what my wife is cooking for dinner....but OMG....it smells good!!!:biggrin:

Back later :wink:

 

[Skie_M]

That's not a bad little contraption ...

A Drill Doctor does pretty much the same thing, in theory.

You mount the bit in the holder (it should be able to accommodate your center drills as well). You set the index in the flutes of the drill bit so that you are grinding the correct faces and at the correct angle. You then tighten the holder, of course.

You then take light passes by turning the holder in the mounting socket. It is DESIGNED to "wobble" a bit. This ensures that the leading edge of the bit has a relief angle behind it. Continue light passes till you don't hear any grinding noise when turning the holder.

If your DD came with a port for making a split point bit, and you wish to use it, DO NOT remove the bit or loosen the bit holder. Line it up with the marks on the splitting port and push the bit holder all the way in. Pull it back out, rotate the holder 180 degrees and push the bit holder all the way in again.

Examine the tip of your newly sharpened bit ... if all is well, then loosen the bit holder and be on your merry way!


Some Drill Doctors don't have a split point sharpening port (it's located on the SIDE of the unit) ... some Drill Doctors have the ability to sharpen for 118 degree angle (more general purpose work, metal work, wood work, ect) and some have the capacity to give you a 135 degree angle (usually in addition to the 118 degree angle marks). The 135 degree angle is supposedly for "more aggressive" drilling, typically for softer materials like pine ... softwoods.


Anyways ... to split the point on your bits, you'ld have to "eyeball" it and use the very corner of your grinding wheel to undercut the cutting edge of the drill flute. The way they have the Drill Doctor set up, the bit holder keeps the bit properly oriented so that the very tip of the bit makes contact with the very corner of the diamond coated grinding wheel.

 

[skiprat]

I'm stuffed...:biggrin:....Cajun marinated chicken breast burgers with potato wedges with herb butter.......:biggrin:

Skie M, no offence, but if you spent half as much time putting all your vast book smarts to good use in creating pens and stuff, as you do writing stuff down then you would have a massive collection of cool pens by now...:biggrin:


....or as Elvis once said...' a little less conversation...a little more action please':tongue:

 

[Skie_M]

I hear that a lot .... but more along the lines of "walking encyclopedia" ...


I need to buy more pen kits!

But for that, I need money ... and I don't have permission from my landlord (dad) to make more pens in the house soo .... waiting till I have my shop done and I can move my woodworking tools over. He does know that I have 4 more projects that I need to do, but none of them are pens.

 

[Terredax]

I hear that a lot .... but more along the lines of "walking encyclopedia" ...

I heard someone received a free membership to Google for Christmas.:wink:

 

[Skie_M]

Nope ....

Didn't have a lot of books to read as a kid ... back in 7th and 8th grade, my dad bought an encyclopaedia set so that my brother and I could look things up ... I got all the way through it before the end of 8th grade.


And I have a near photographic memory.

 

[skiprat]

Don't bust his chops John.:wink: Lets just look forward to some amazing shows of craftsmanship once Skie gets into his shop.

Skie, in the meantime, why not do a tutorial on getting the most out the Drill Doctor, for the library. :wink: You may even convince me to buy one:biggrin:

 

[Skie_M]

Oh, so they're not gonna send you one? :biggrin:


As for a tutorial, google's got the videos already, and I have no video cameras. :tongue: They do a pretty good job with the official video for the DD already as well. Mine came with a CD that contained over half an hour of them. If you get one, yours will too!

 

[OZturner]

Beautiful Pen, Steven.
Great Concept, and Execution.
Excellent Proportions,
Superb Machining.
I am joining the Each Way group, I would like to see a second one, Flame Coloured.
I think the Side by Side Comparison would be Spectacular.
I loved your Aluminium "Prop" , Ideal, Simple and Functional.
Congratulations,
Brian.

 

[jttheclockman]

Skip, question for you. Being I do not own a metal lathe and have no plans of buying one I do all my work with woodworking tools, is is possible to work Titanium with carbide woodworking tools? Is the hardness beyond this capability?? Is there a grade of Titanium that is better to use?


I know you like pens with holes in them because you have done one before.

 

[magpens]

I am interested in Skip's answer to your question, JT. . I know Skip has a lot of experience machining difficult materials.
The pen that he presented today is a beauty and it would be nice to do similar work.

I did a google search "How difficult is titanium to machine":

https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+...-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=78xpWNrXKZPIjwP56KdY

Found this article from that search and it is not encouraging:

Machining titanium on a lathe [Archive] - The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop Magazine's BBS

 

[skiprat]

Guys, I've said several times that I don't have lots of experience with titanium..
But it has similarities to stainless that could be golden rules, I suppose.

The first is decent quality cutters. I've used HSS and inserts. The taps and dies on my last three pens were all done with the 8.4mm Tapco tap and dies.
I shake my head when I see guys wanting to buy DIY store drill and taps
Same goes for wet'n'dry paper too.

Don't even attempt to cut, drill or tap with a dull tool. You will see pretty colours on the tool and workpiece in nano seconds and the air around you will be blue too.

Don't mess about. A tool mustn't dwell on the piece. The feed must be steady and constant. Think low speed, high feed.

Rigidity is paramount for any successful machining. I'm starting to think that you to some extent, need a bigger machine to do finer work.

Material comes in a vast range of sizes. Buy the size you want to limit the work. The titanium I used here is 10mm O/D and 8mm I/D . So besides the threading, the only turning was the step between the cap and body. ( some people leave that step, but I think it's essential)

To answer your question though. Yes you could use a wood lathe but the only hand tool I'd use is a good quality file.

:biggrin:

Edit in: I forgot about coolant/ lubricant...

Although people often interchange them, they are supposed to do different things.
Heat is your enemy. But perhaps surprisingly it's ok too. Blue chips from stainless is fine and that is pretty damned hot. The heat being referred to is that which will destroy the cutter. Most heat is generated by the chips being formed as the material is crushed on the top of the cutter.
Coolant flowing over the action will draw away the heat. But the lube in my opinion is the important one....it allows the chips to move away from the point of cutting. The heat here can actually weld the material to the top of the cutter.
If it is lubed, it can't stick.

I don't think turning needs much lube/cooling but deep drilling and tapping does as the hot chips cant easily fall away from the action point.
Remember, it's not the point between the cutter and work that needs it, it's the tool. If the tool is happy then the job will be good...:biggrin:

Ok, sorry for the lecture...:biggrin:

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks Skip. I get the drilling and tapping and lubricant and all because that is essential for all metals. I get the sharpness factor and again that is a no brainer. What I was concerned with if I wanted to shape the outer portions because frankly I do not like the straight here is a tube look.

I will eventually get to playing around with metals and making custom no kit pens. The one thing I will take away from your explanation is safety from heated slag. This means no dust collector on, and work area clean of all wood dust and shavings. Protect electrical controllers and motors on a wood lathe. Thanks and keep up the good work. For now I will just watch you create these nice pens.

 

[Skie_M]

You could do it on a wood lathe, John.

I had few problems turning brass washers into a pen ... eventually even turned back from carbide and went to a very sharp small bowl gouge! The trick, for me, was very high speed and a shearing cut for a smooth surface behind the cutting edge. I couldn't do that with the carbide, and due to how far back I needed to keep my tool rest to effectively use the carbide tool, I was getting a lot of chatter and vibration that was loosening the bit and bit holder.


I did get somewhere turning to files, but the brass would clog the file pretty quick, and it was very slow going every time I had to stop and clean the files.

After I got the basic shape I was after with the small bowl gouge, I went to sandpaper. I wet-sanded at medium speed ... around 1200 RPMs, starting with 220 grit. I suppose you could vary the sanding speed to get the grind and surface quality you are looking for, till the shape you have is one that pleases you best. Work up from there in sandpaper grit and there you have it.


I don't plan to be ordering any stainless steel or titanium stock anytime soon, I'll leave these projects in the capable hands of those who have the tools and means to do them. By all means, please, continue to explore and forge new paths for the rest of us to one day follow behind!

I may know what I'm talking about, here and there ... doesn't mean I can do it with what I've got.

 

[jttheclockman]

I have worked plenty of brass and aluminum on a wood lathe but no stainless or now titanium because the hardness level is above those 2 metals. I have some copper (and also have some bronze I picked up)I am going to play with also but heard that gets gummy but have drilled my share of copper over the years for sure. Micro finish is my go to lubricant and works wonders on all metals especially stainless. Again drilled my share of heavy stainless in my profession.

 

[bpgoldo]

Steven, see below.

 

[bpgoldo]

Steven, you are an inspiration to that nagging voice in my head that whispers, "Aww cummon dude, this is getting too easy, lets try something harder! Maybe something ridiculous...yeah!" You are the KING of something harder brother. Long live the KING !!!