Casing pen with parker refill

[pmpartain]

I have seen some posts on this. Which kit do you use for this, and what is the advantage?

Thanks

 

[Fangar]

I use a Perfect Fit kit...

with a 7mm nib bored out to fit the refill (matches the .30 cal end of the casing)

Problem being the PF is an 8mm kit. So how do you make the 7mm slimline tip press into an 8mm tube> DOH!

This mod is a little tricky. I don't recommend getting into it right away unless you have worked with the slimline version a bit. It requires a lot of work to make right. It's not that I don't want to write a 3 page post on it (ok I don't). I will tell you that it reuires some risky drilling, turning a wooden core for the casing, a 7mm tube, an 8mm tube (Just the lower barell) modification to the transmission receiver, etc. But when you are done the pen is sweet and smooth. Take some stabs at it, and I would be happy to guide you along. Some times though things can't be laid out without a little trial and error on the learner's part.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[pmpartain]

Thanks! I have made half a dozen or so of these pens. Used 30.06 300 Win Mag, 300 Short Mag. I recently bought some 150 grain bullets to attempt to make a nib. I'm not sure how I will press in the lead, and still have something to line up the tube with. It's fixed on the primer end with the hole you drill and the neck on the other end, but if you fill the neck up with lead? I'll check out the perfect fit kit. I've seen it somewhere on the web I know. Does it's transmission press into the tube, or do you have the threaded coupler like the cigar has?

I appreciate the help!

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by pmpartain
<br />Thanks! I have made half a dozen or so of these pens. Used 30.06 300 Win Mag, 300 Short Mag. I recently bought some 150 grain bullets to attempt to make a nib. I'm not sure how I will press in the lead, and still have something to line up the tube with. It's fixed on the primer end with the hole you drill and the neck on the other end, but if you fill the neck up with lead? I'll check out the perfect fit kit. I've seen it somewhere on the web I know. Does it's transmission press into the tube, or do you have the threaded coupler like the cigar has?

I appreciate the help!

The perfect fit has a threaded coupler at the transmission just like the cigar, only a little smaller. The 300 winchester magnum is what I use. It works well. But as you will find, the length of the parker refill is very precise. You will need to account for this when laying out the design of your casing barrel.

Good luck,

Fangar

 

[JimQ]

Originally posted by pmpartain
<br />I'm not sure how I will press in the lead, and still have something to line up the tube with. It's fixed on the primer end with the hole you drill and the neck on the other end, but if you fill the neck up with lead?

[xx(]
Lead is considered a hazardous material when things like pens are concerned due to the risk of someone chewing on it. If you are using lead be sure to clearly indicate it so that you mitigate some of the liability.

JimQ

 

[pmpartain]

That's a good point about the lead. The bullets that I have bought are hollow point. The brass outer shell covers any exposed lead, but you never know what some people will try. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Fangar]

I would likely look into removing the lead via heat and using the outer shell with a resin inside. I use lead for things such as melted weights in the bottoms of candlesticks, etc. But jim is correct when it comes to on pens.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[ed4copies]

Use a 338 magnum, adapt "bullet" end to fit perfect fit nib.

Just a thought, but I have proof it works.[]

 

[ed4copies]

The two ends are done this way. Now, I am using a copper kit, making the nib appear similar to the normal copper color bullet.



OK, I GOOFED!!!! BIG TIME!!!!
The only way I know to "make it right" is to post the pic below and an explanation. The pens above were NOT made by me, however, I had them in my possession last year and made a poster about them for a friend. Some of you may know that friend as "Eagle". Hopefully, he is still a friend.

I have several pics of "bullet pens" and when I posted these, I grabbed what I thought was one of mine-it was NOT. The pens below ARE mine and they ARE the perfect fit from top to bottom.

Being the gentleman that he is, Eagle e-mailed me privately ASKING if the above pens were indeed mine. I appreciate his bringing it to my attention and I hope MOST of you will believe I was NOT trying to take credit for his work. Again, I AM sorry for misleading you (although unintentionally).

If there are questions, or you want a more thorough answer, I would be happy to respond in a separate thread (particularly if any moderators question my motives-I will be glad to respond)

Lastly, I thank Eagle for the way he brought this to my attention-in my opinion he is always a gentleman (sometimes fiery, but a gentleman)

 

[KenV]

You can get Barnes bullets and drill them out. These bullets are solid brass in the smaller sizes and solid copper in the larger sizes. If you can find a reloader who uses these in the neighborhood, you probably can work a swap. I paid about $27 per box of 50 for these bullets.

Some drill out the lead bullets. There is a set of instructions for drilling out bullets to the cross refill in a bullet pen article in the Yahoo penturners group files section by Don Ward (Its_virgil). To drill out for the parker refill, I use a #37 bit from the tip all the way through and back drill from the back with a #24 to fit the spring. Leave about a tenth of an inch or so at the tip at the #37 size.

To use the 7mm slim line tip in a parker tube, you need to fit a short segment of 7mm tube into the 8 mm tube. Techniques are as many as there are turners. Think about wraping a thin strip of paper around the 7mm segment to fit snugly into the 8 mm tube and apply thin ca. The remote control airplane folks use a lot of baking soda and CA to fill spaces. you need a scheme to hold the baking soda in place until your CA sets. I have heard of teflon tape, gorilla tape and other combinations.

Those making casing pens on a regular basis use a thermo setting clearcoat paint (powder coat) to coat the casing and bullet tip. There are a couple of articles on this topic available. James Mann (Fangar) has an excellent one. There is another one in the Yahoo Penturners files. Don Ward describes the powder coat pain as "tougher than woodpecker lips".

It is all a matter of how deep you want to dive down this slippery slope

 

[KenV]

An extra thought (happens occasionally). Cetyl Alcohol is a solid lubricant for cutting/milling. It is a lot less mess than using cutting oils or misting fluids, especially if you are not set up to contain the stuff.

Chapstick is mostly cetyl Alcohol - cheap and easy way to lubricate the bits and make the cutting easier. I still put paper towling on the ways to catch the chips.

 

[pmpartain]

Thanks a lot! I have mode one pen like ones I have seen Fangar make. I used a whole casing for the lower end and cut off two primer ends and made a sandwich for the clip end. Used a parting tool to cut the casing. Held the casing in a drill chuck and put the live center in the primer hole to stabilized the whole thing. It went ok until the brass got then enough for the parting tool to punch a hole. From then on the revolving hole kept catching the parting tool, so I had to saw it the rest of the way off. The lubricant will help a lot. Lastly, I got a tip from my local Woodcraft store. The gentleman there said he likes the black titanium finish with the shells. I bought a couple to try. Anyone else? I also bought some ElGrande and Churchill kits to try since they use the same buchings, etc.

Ed4copies, those pens look great. You are way better at photography than I am.

Thanks to everyone for all of the advice!

 

[johncrane]

S/line kit works perfect with 7m.o8 shell. JC down under

 

[KenV]

YOu might try drilling a hole in a piece of waste wood (end grain on a hem fir 2 by 2 about 4-6 inches long) the size of the base of the case. Cut through one side into the center along the long axis and use a couple of screws to make a friction clamp on the casing. Now just cut the wood and casing on a saw (most any saw). File the ends smooth and Bob is your uncle.

Note that there are alot more casing than there are base sizes -- most all the magnums are on the same belted base. The 30=06 has the same base as the 308 and all the XX-06 XX-308, 243 Winchester. The case taper and lengths are different, as is the neck and shoulder angle, but the pen does not care.

I have only used 7mm and 8mm tubes and am looking for some 2018 arrow shafts as they are reported to make a solid fill after drilling the primer pocket out to 5/16.

I will have dig out an el-grande ball point and she how it measures up.

 

[pmpartain]

I use the 2018 arrow shaft trick and it works perfectly. I bought the 10 inch 7mm tubes from PSI and trim to length.

I think I was a little confusing with the ElGrande/Churchill thing. I'm just trying those kits as is. Maybe I could try one in a casing though. If the length works out like you said. That's a good idean about cutting the casing. Another gentleman here cut the casings on a 45 degree angle and made a really interesting pen that way.

 

[ed4copies]

Originally posted by pmpartain


Ed4copies, those pens look great. You are way better at photography than I am.

Thanks to everyone for all of the advice!

Mark,

You have no idea how nice it is to hear that!!! I have produced thousands (over 6000 in my computer, probably a third of which I have taken) of pictures and still have about a 70% "failure rate". This weekend, I decided to learn how to make better pics-the bottom one is one of the results. Amazing what a difference it can make to read the manual for my camera?????!!!!