First attempt at custom finial for a trim line

[TonyL]

Thanks to the selfless advice of sever IAP members, U have gotten this far (and finally used my collett set!).

Despite the clear instructions they provided me (over and over again, given my "head of stone", now what?

1. Do I just snap this off and insert into cap hole?
2. It looks like I need to flatten the bottom more (I know I do).
3. The cap hole is much larger than the tendon that I made and the pen clip placed upward pressure on the custom finial. How do I secure, fasten, etc.

Thanks for reading and advising.

Best,

Tony


PS. Either I picked the wrong kit to try this with or it's a PITN and will never frown upon those stock finials again. It took me 45 minutes just to get this far

 

[BayouPenturner]

very good for your first job.

 

[truckfixr]

Sorry to say Tony, but if you turned the tenon much smaller than the hole it goes into, you should probably start again from scratch. You might consider making the tenon a tad longer too, so you can part it off and still have enough to press into the cap. Looks pretty good for a first attempt. Keep at it. You're doing great.

 

[TonyL]

Thank you both..... and absolutely nothing to be sorry about. Experience and the advice of the the more-practiced is my best teacher. I really have a better idea as to I to approach this now.

Kind regards,

Tony

 

[mredburn]

You can cut it off with a hack saw, You could take a thinner blade like an old knife ground down to square off thebottom shoulder before you do. You can drill a hole in extra material and glue the finial in it and re turn the tenon to the right size. Thats if you dont want to start over. Either way of fixing it will give you more experiance.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Do you have calipers to measure as you go?

I'm going to eventually try the csusa euro cap / stud setup they sell, but I think it will work better with wood or opaque resins as there is a screw in the finial.

I have more experience doing them with the jr series.

 

[TonyL]

Thank you Mike and Dan. Yes, I have calibers and used them, BUT didn't pay attention to the tendon (don't know why, but I was more concerned with the dims of the finial....my mistake).

Excellent ideas.

Thank you!

 

[BSea]

As truckfixr said, the tenon is probably to short. So if you start over, be sure to leave enough of a tenon for a good secure hold. If you assemble the lower part of the pen 1st, you can see how far the refill goes up into the tube. Then you'll know just how long the tenon can be. The longer the better.

Here's my method for the custom finials.

I'm guessing that the finial is from the same material as the pen body. If so, I find it easier to cut the blank for the lower barrel and set aside, and then glue a sacrificial piece on the end of the blank. Then I turn it round so it will fit in my collet. I'm guessing you have at least a 3/4 collet. That would be ideal.

Once rounded, mark the length of the next tube, but don't cut it. This will leave you a long piece of the pen material that will fit in your collet with a reference mark. Then you can either cut off the sacrificial piece, or part it off. This should leave a piece long enough for the upper barrel + at least 1/2" for the finial. This was based on a 5" blank. This is one reason I rarely buy blanks less than 5.25"

Be sure you can see the reference mark for the length of the upper tube when the blank is spinning. It goes without saying that you can't go below that mark when turning the finial. Turn your finial, and use whatever is left for the tenon. Once parted off, you should have a piece left that's long enough for the upper barrel.

An easier way, is to make the finial out of a complimentary material. Then you won't have to worry about the length when you're turning the finial.

I hope this made sense without pictures. If not, let me know, and I'll make some to show you.

 

[Band Saw Box]

Looks really good Tony, you'll only get better with time.

 

[TonyL]

Thank you Bob...awesome step by step...your assumptions are correct.
Thanks Dan..I am hoping that it will take less time over time LOL. Plano Harry and Dan from PA, gave me a great head start. The mess-ups were my own - not from their advice.

I was actually looking for your number Dan.

Best and thanks to all!

PS. I received a large order of Patriots from my church....so I can't play around with the finial work for a while.

Oh yeah...then I have the work that actually pays my bills LOL.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Tony - one idea with the one you have there is turn the tenon (no d on the word by the way) tiny and use one of the euro top inserts that his the finial thread in. So press the euro insert in and then glue the finial in place.

Just an idea.