First time use for a fountain pen

[samuel07]

I am in the process of making a Go Board for my son's christmas present and I'm at the point where I need to Ink the lines.

http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~rozan/memori.htm

I read on another web site where someone suggested using a fountain pen and since I just finished mine I figured this might be as good a way as any to try it out.
My questions are this:
1. How wide is the line from a medium nib that comes with a Baron. (Ideally I need a 1mm line)
2. I purchased some waterproof drawing ink (India Ink)from Micheal's and wanted to know how to clean the pen when I'm done. I can only assume I can't clean waterproof ink with water.
3. I want to clamp a metal straight edge to assist in drawing the lines, Is this possible or will the ink be drawn to the metal straight edge?

I will practice on a scrap piece first but wanted to get input on the ink before I tried it out.

Thanks,

 

[jtate]

STOP!!! Do not use your fountain pen for this!!!!
A) India ink will ruin your pen and you'll have to through out the nib assembly
B) Fountain pens are for writing on PAPER not wood. The variable porisity of the wood in different spaces will result in wider and thinner lines at various points.
C) the ink will be pulled, by capillary action, under the metal straight edge that you are planning to use. This will yield blobs and smears.

Most importantly, this ink your proposing to use is NOT made for fountain pens. It's made for specialized pens used by artists and it even clogs those up.

Do yourself a favor and just by a fine point, permanent Sharpie and have at it.

Julia

 

[wdcav1952]

Excellent post, Julia. You are dead on with your advice.

 

[gerryr]

Oh boy, I could feel my heart racing when I was reading that. Julia is absolutely correct. If you want to use india ink, see if you can find a Rapidograph pen with the proper size tip. I don't know if they're still made, but they used to be common for drafting before CAD came along.

 

[bob393]

Ditto:
please please don't use India ink! It will ruin a good pen.
The rapidogaph advise is right on, they are made for waterproof drawing ink.
They do make steel rules that sit up on a cork strip to keep the ink from smudging and running under it but I dont think they were designed for a fountain pen nib either.
I use a dip pen with india ink but for writing and drawing not drafting.

 

[Geo in Winnipeg]

Echo what has been said above.
I manually drafted for years with ink (I know - neanderthal) before Autocad. You can use any straightedge but make sure you put something under it to provide an air space between its edge and the surface to be drawn on. If you don't ink will wick in between the ruler and paper (or wood) and create a horrible mess DAMHIKT.

 

[jeffj13]

Originally posted by jtate
<br />STOP!!! Do not use your fountain pen for this!!!!
A) India ink will ruin your pen and you'll have to through out the nib assembly
B) Fountain pens are for writing on PAPER not wood. The variable porisity of the wood in different spaces will result in wider and thinner lines at various points.
C) the ink will be pulled, by capillary action, under the metal straight edge that you are planning to use. This will yield blobs and smears.

Most importantly, this ink your proposing to use is NOT made for fountain pens. It's made for specialized pens used by artists and it even clogs those up.

Do yourself a favor and just by a fine point, permanent Sharpie and have at it.

Julia

Quoted for Truth

 

[samuel07]

Thanks for all the input.

I will probably end up using a sharpie it's just that the lines don't end up as dark as I like. I'll save the fountain pen for paper[][][]

 

[bon_sai]

Before you use the Sharpie on your finished product, test on another similiar piece of wood. If the sharpie bleeds on your test piece, the sharpie will bleed on your finished piece.

There is another way using black spray paint.

If the cuts are deep enough, spray the entire surface with black paint. Using a planer, plane a very small amount off the surface to remove the paint. The grooves will still be painted black.

Or after the paint is dried, use an orbital sander to remove the surface paint. With this method I believe the paint dust may stain the surface though.

Let us know which way you go.

I do want to see a picture of the final product.

 

[cozee]

A Sharpie will not lay out a consistant flow of ink throughout the grid. Repeated passes may be necessary to obtain evenly colored lines. Perhaps the easiest way for you is to seal the surface, lay out the grid with a mask and just rattle can it. Remove the masking and clear coat.

If you plan on doing more, look into a Beugler Striping Tool. http://www.beugler.com/ If I could get my lathe to turn around 45 rpm . . . .