Octagonal Pen

[mocktrial]

Hi there,

I'm new to pen turning. I'm an attorney by trade so i like to read absolutely everything I can before I dive in. This Site and the people on it are invaluable and extremely generous with their time and talents.

One thing I haven't been able to find on the site though is how pens with flat sides are turned.

My favorite pen is my Montegrappa Emblema. Its made from celluloid and has an octagonal shape with sterling silver section and inlays.

Lathes obviously are designed to do things round. What's the secret to going back and flattening things out?

As an aside i really love sterling silver sections. Anyone found a place to by pen sized silver rods?

 

[PenMan1]

For the most part, hexagontal, octagonal and other "sided" pens are only turned at the contact points (where the wood or pen barrel material meets the hardware).

These "sided" pens may be prepared by hand sanding, after cutting the flats sides with some kind of saw, router or grinding machine. One tool that immediately comes to mind for this application is the Beall Pen Wizard. It does a very good job of making sided pens.

A member here, Scubaman (Rich Kleinhenz) has written a book called "The Pen Turner's Bible". He devotes an entire chapter to making "sided" pens using various methods. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, regardless of your current pen making abilities.

I hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[76winger]

Also, check out Silver Pen Parts, run by an IAP member. He's got sterling components he makes and sells.

 

[azamiryou]

Rio Grande has sterling rod in 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2". At today's price, a 12" long rod of 3/8" sterling is $272.51. 1/2" rod is $472.53 for a 12" piece. Actual prices vary daily with metal markets.

 

[mocktrial]

Wow that's awesome but really expensive! Hehe especially since half of it will be wasted when i core it out.

Good resource though perhaps when im able to make pens people will actually want to buy i can spring for the silver.

In the meantime anyone had success turning stainless steel on a metal lathe?

 

[creativewriting]

Wow that's awesome but really expensive! Hehe especially since half of it will be wasted when i core it out.

Good resource though perhaps when im able to make pens people will actually want to buy i can spring for the silver.

In the meantime anyone had success turning stainless steel on a metal lathe?

I have turned several pieces of stainless on my metal lathe. There are several different types of stainless when you go to buy it and I always look for one that has better machining properties.

If you have a metal lathe you can achieve the "hex" look using a mill or milling attachment for your lathe.

 

[azamiryou]

Wow that's awesome but really expensive! Hehe especially since half of it will be wasted when i core it out.

It's a big upfront cost, but the "waste" is reduced because it can be recycled. Rio and other metal suppliers will buy back scrap for a percentage of the market price. Good clean scrap can fetch 85% of the market price. With the right equipment, you can recycle scrap at home to get back 100% of the value.

 

[BRobbins629]

If you really want to make your own silver parts, even with processing costs it's much less expensive to turn them in wax and have them cast. Many places will do this for you. I use Cranston Casting in Rhode Island. Else for parts already made Mike Redburn at Silver pen parts is your best alternative like others have said.

 

[gwilki]

Skiprat on this forum turns stainless into some incredible looking pens. Look him up in the members list, then look at his posts.

 

[frank123]

Wow that's awesome but really expensive! Hehe especially since half of it will be wasted when i core it out.

Good resource though perhaps when im able to make pens people will actually want to buy i can spring for the silver.

In the meantime anyone had success turning stainless steel on a metal lathe?

Some stainless is easy to machine, some not so much.

Speedy Metals has a guide to various material properties that can answer some of your questions about metals in general Speedy Metals Material Information

 

[mocktrial]

Wow i had no idea stainless steel was such an umbrella term. Talk about not knowing what you don't know....

 

[mocktrial]

Ps what I gathered from all that data is that 303 and 416 stainless are the best two options.