Elegant American

[rjwolfe3]

(Disclaimer: Did a search for elegant american and b mandrel and couldn't come up with anything, so I'm asking this hoping to get an easy answer.)

I noticed that the Elegant American requires a B-Mandrel. Someone sent one of these kits to me for free. I also noticed that it uses 15A OR 17B bushing set. My question is: is the B-Mandrel the only one you can use or can you use an A-Mandrel since they list both bushing sets?[?] Or am I totally wrong on the A and B bushing thing?[?]

Please note: I know the easy answer is to do away with the mandrels and turn between centers but at the present time I do not own the live and dead centers.[xx(] But eventually I will be switching, just wanted to do something different now.

Thanks for all the help. I am trying to wean myself off of slimline kits and do something diffrent in the hopes of actually selling some pens.[]

 

[DCBluesman]

Use the 15A's on the A mandrel OR the 17B's on the B mandrel.

 

[jthompson1995]

Theelegant american can use either the a or b mandrel, depending on which bushings you have. Since it is an 8mm kit, the b mandrel fits directly in the tube and the bushings don't have a step. The a mandrel bushings do have a step and you would need to get these for turning between centers. Now the rub, I've only ever seen the a mandrel bushings at woodcraft (called the Hart Double Twist) and are available here http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=4960 . I have a set of each, but have not used the b mandrel bushings since I have never purchased the b mandrel and now turn everything I can between centers.

You will also find that a lot of people do not like this pen due to the centerband. The groove in the centerband will rub on some peoples hand when the write and can be annoying. That being said, I have one as my daily driver and have no problem with the centerband rubbing because my hands are on the large size and I hold it a little farther from the nib.

Let me know if you would like the b mandrel bushings and I'll send them to you, I don't need them laying around.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Ah, thank you for the quick replies. I was hoping not to have to purchase a B-mandrel. So am I safe to assume that the A on bushing sets means A-mandrel and the B means B-Mandrel?

 

[Dan_F]

Originally posted by rjwolfe3

Ah, thank you for the quick replies. I was hoping not to have to purchase a B-mandrel. So am I safe to assume that the A on bushing sets means A-mandrel and the B means B-Mandrel?

Yup. For future reference, if you go to the Arizona Silhouette site, they have a chart for each of their kits which tells you which bushings (for either mandrel), and which drill bit you need for that pen. They are a reseller of the Berea line.


Dan

 

[rjwolfe3]

Quick follow up question. Does the Elegant American and the Americana Bullet use the same bushing set and drill bit? For some reason it will not let me on AS to look even though I was there earlier. Thanks again.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Well now that I can get on AS website, I think I can answer my own question, lol. Looks like they take different bushings but same "O" drill bit. Guess I'll order the Elegant bushings from AS and the Bullet bushings from CSUSA for now. I hope I can do these kits justice. I just wanted to try something other than a Slimline.[xx(]

 

[Rmartin]

The elegant American is a very persnickty pen. Let's just say it has issues. The center band issue already mentioned is one, and another has to do with the point the upper barrel meets the center band. If not perfectly set and squared, the pen will not twist.