Metal pens

[lrawlins]

Hi,

I had my learning experience on an aluminum cigar pen recently and wonder what other soft metals are being used.

Does anyone have a listing of what drill sizes to use on the solid metal blanks. It took a few tries to get the right size hole before things worked.

Bye for now,

 

[mredburn]

Brass is one of the other common metals used but it is not as common as aluminum. Several make pens from stainless steel and a paltry few from titanium. The drills sizes for the inside are hard to standardize as different manufacturers of like kits use different Inside diameters for the parts.

 

[RMayoIII]

Thats a nice looking pen. Was that done on a wood lathe?

 

[jttheclockman]

Hi,

I had my learning experience on an aluminum cigar pen recently and wonder what other soft metals are being used.

Does anyone have a listing of what drill sizes to use on the solid metal blanks. It took a few tries to get the right size hole before things worked.

Bye for now,

I am sorry but this is going to sound crass and people just don't like that but try anything you want. Who cares what other people are doing??? You are in the experimenting stage. As far as bits no one can tell you that. Each kit and each component can be a few thousands different. Buy a digital calipers or micrometer to measure kit parts if that is what you are using. Brass, bronze, copper, alloys, stainless steel have all been used to make pens.

Stand out on your own. Don't do what others have done. You did a fine job with the aluminum pen so it shows you have the knowledge. Be a pioneer. We desperately need some more of that here. So please forgive me when I see questions like this it drives me nuts. I do not care if I get letters.

 

[lrawlins]

Yes the pen was on my Delta 46-460.

 

[Sataro]

Nice looking aluminum pen! That black contrasts well with the aluminum.

 

[r1237h]

Hi,

I had my learning experience on an aluminum cigar pen recently and wonder what other soft metals are being used.

Does anyone have a listing of what drill sizes to use on the solid metal blanks. It took a few tries to get the right size hole before things worked.

Bye for now,

Well, you can start, I suppose. What drill bit did you use, and what is the source of the pen kit? :biggrin:

 

[BradG]

Drill bits will not give you an accurate diameter due to wear and tear and the rough finish a drilled hole will have internally . This is what reamers are for. The hole is drilled slightly smaller than needed then reamed to diameter which gives accurate results.

I am presuming you are asking as you want to push fit the components into the aluminium. As mentioned extra tooling would be needed, but personally I would recommend measuring the outside diameter of a brass tube and drilling your blank to suit. Glue the brass tube in like you would with wood.