Silver slim line

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mredburn

IAP Activities Manager
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Jul 5, 2009
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Fort Myers FL
I had made the family members pens for last years Christmas but My youngest daughter and my nieces pens blew apart at the last minute. I Made my Nieces pen and gave it to her earlier this year but never got on emade for my daughter.

I finally made her a pen and gave it to her today.

This pen fought me all the way also. I forgot to check clearances between the refill top and the cap on the upper tube. The part of the cap that fits in the tube was to long and the pen wouldnt close all the way. If I hadnt made the center band so thin it would not have been a problem but I had already epoxied the cap in place when I discovered my mistake. SInce silver is one of the fastest metals for transfering heat I used a hot plate to heat the cap and soften the epoxie and eventually removed the cap and fix the problem. Fo course the small silver band also came loose and had to be remounted. then resanded and refinished again.
Its done and she liked it she had chosen the blank a metalic purple from Exotics and wanted the slim line style.


The first picture shows the center band area. I tuned a tenon on the upper blank and glued it on, Then I cut a small lip on the lower blank and a matching recess in the silver band, This allows the silver band to cover the joint. I dont like the slim line transmissions because they wobble so badly when you turn them making it hard to keep the pen body aligned in use.
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After I press the tranny in place, I epoxie the nose cone in and then sand the entire pen to final dimensions. This eliminates any gap or lip at the parts.
I chuck the pen up using the tranny and stick a live center gently into the nose cone.
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the clip is a little heavier than I anticipated but over all Im pleased with the pen. The next one I will make the clip thinner to match the design
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Coments and questions are welcome
 
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bluwolf

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Oct 2, 2008
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995
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SW Florida
It looks great Mike. I agree with you on the clip. But I know you'll get the right look on the next one. Nice detail with the lip and the tenon at the centerband. It fixes probably the weakest point of a slimline. Another one of the great benefits of making your own parts.

Mike
 

Robert111

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Apr 12, 2011
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Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Great work! Very clever design and execution. I agree with you about the clip. I'd like to see the finial up close. One suggestion I'd have is to experiment a little with the shape of the nose cone. You have some noses that I think would ease the transition from the straight line of the body into the nose with a curve.
 

mredburn

IAP Activities Manager
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Jul 5, 2009
Messages
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Location
Fort Myers FL
Robert I think your right, a bullet shaped nosecone would have been a better choice with the rounded finial. The finial was originaly tapered and flat on top with a step for the clip. However my daughter didnt like that shape so I rounded it more towards a ball with a small hand file. Small design flaws like this come from doing "as built' under deadlines and bieng tired. Some of this I chalk up to " it seemed like a good idea at the time" I did come away from this pen with a good fix for the centerband on the slims. I had made them where the barrels were less than .001 out of round and yet when you twisted them to extend the refill there was a a terrible lip to one side. I finally figured out that the tranny was the culprit. Might have to do an all wood one just for the Heck of it.
 
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