RodNeep
Member
A very special pen....
Starting with some of my favourite soapstone from Kenya, mounted into a pen blank chuck from Jim at Pencrafts. These chucks are really excellent, and this particular job couldn't have been done without one.
First we drill the "small" hole... 15/32" in the long tube.
Next onto the short blank, and the big hole. First a 7mm pilot hole
and then the big drill mounted and ready to go...
Done.... and not a lot of wall thickness remaining after drilling out with the 37/64" drill.
This is the other end of the hole. No break out thankfully!
The drilling job would not have been possible without that pen blank chuck.
Next... those big tubes glued in with thick CA.
Mounted on a mandrel, and sitting on part open vice cheeks, while I use a big coarse rasp to remove the corners.
There's no sense in slowly turning the blanks round, when you can take off bulk stone with the rasp, getting them roughly round. And here they are mounted on the lathe before turning.
Turning the soapstone (I use a gouge) is now pretty easy. Sand, and then micromesh, and a final polish on the lathe, and soon assembly is under way....
And all done...
Detail of the ends
Alas, I no longer have this pen to hold. It is already in London, along with three other pens.
The recipient is a young man who, like me, has spent quite a lot of time in Kenya. It was there that he became engaged. So I thought that pens made of Kenyan stone would be appropriate. There's an every day use ballpoint pen for him and his bride to be, a desk fountain pen in the same stone, and lastly, an identical fountain pen made of ivory polyester. A wedding pen.
His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton will be married on Friday 29th April this year.
This is the wedding pen in more detail...
Actually, I made two of these...
It is a really big pen!
Seen here against a normal fountain pen for comparison.
I had a lovely letter of thanks back from the palace too.
Rod
Starting with some of my favourite soapstone from Kenya, mounted into a pen blank chuck from Jim at Pencrafts. These chucks are really excellent, and this particular job couldn't have been done without one.
First we drill the "small" hole... 15/32" in the long tube.
Next onto the short blank, and the big hole. First a 7mm pilot hole
and then the big drill mounted and ready to go...
Done.... and not a lot of wall thickness remaining after drilling out with the 37/64" drill.
This is the other end of the hole. No break out thankfully!
The drilling job would not have been possible without that pen blank chuck.
Next... those big tubes glued in with thick CA.
Mounted on a mandrel, and sitting on part open vice cheeks, while I use a big coarse rasp to remove the corners.
There's no sense in slowly turning the blanks round, when you can take off bulk stone with the rasp, getting them roughly round. And here they are mounted on the lathe before turning.
Turning the soapstone (I use a gouge) is now pretty easy. Sand, and then micromesh, and a final polish on the lathe, and soon assembly is under way....
And all done...
Detail of the ends
Alas, I no longer have this pen to hold. It is already in London, along with three other pens.
The recipient is a young man who, like me, has spent quite a lot of time in Kenya. It was there that he became engaged. So I thought that pens made of Kenyan stone would be appropriate. There's an every day use ballpoint pen for him and his bride to be, a desk fountain pen in the same stone, and lastly, an identical fountain pen made of ivory polyester. A wedding pen.
His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton will be married on Friday 29th April this year.
This is the wedding pen in more detail...
Actually, I made two of these...
It is a really big pen!
Seen here against a normal fountain pen for comparison.
I had a lovely letter of thanks back from the palace too.
Rod
