Please do, show and tell, for some food for thought

[JP61]

Lately I have been entertaining the idea of owning a bench top metal lathe and mill. Even though I have zero operating experience, I'm pretty sure I could get the basics down in a reasonable amount of time.

With experience, what are the possibilities as far as pen making goes?

What about plating.... do it yourself, farm it out or don't bother?
What about pen clips.... make your own?
What about...?
What about...?
What about...?

:redface: Anyone regret spending your hard earned cash on these machines + tooling, for pen making?

 

[Dalecamino]

I'll answer your last question first. Never, ever have I regretted spending the money on my lathe and, tools. I was fortunate to have the benefit of two teachers (of sorts) here in Fl. who were a great help in getting me familiar with operating a metal lathe, as well as keeping it maintained. If you have no similar means of learning, there are videos on youtube that can help and, books available too.

 

[mredburn]

By teachers he means a couple of clowns!
Part of what you decide to do depends on the money you can throw at it and the amount of free time you have to dedicate to it. A metal lathe will give you a greater horizen for making custom parts,and pens, bushings and mandrels. It has a learning curve and like everything else the cost of the lathe is only the beginning. Most people use commercially available clips from our great vendors. You can make them and have them plated or plate them yourself but where do you want to spend your time and money? I dont mind having 10 days into making one pen. Plating has its own start up costs and isnt really cost effective for just a few parts. Now if your making a lot of parts and plating other things it may be a different story or if you already have a rectifier.

I find a mill rather limited for simple parts making but it does have its uses.

 

[Dalecamino]

Very knowledgeable clowns!:biggrin:

 

[randyrls]

Plating requires many dangerous chemicals and processes. I would not try that. Kitless pens on the other hand can be done. Threading custom parts and even multi-start threads can be done.

 

[JP61]

Plating requires many dangerous chemicals and processes. I would not try that. Kitless pens on the other hand can be done. Threading custom parts and even multi-start threads can be done.

I hear what your saying and it is a concern.

:biggrin: I think one of my problems is that I have watched too many youtube videos. Next I'll probably want to make some knives, guns, steam engines, do my own casting, etc....... you know.

I like quality, so in my mind, IF, I were to make my own pen parts from metals, other than stainless steel, they would require some type of plating. So far, I haven't seen any home plated parts in person, so it's hard for me to judge quality. Where does home plating rank vs commercial?

 

[JP61]

If there are others here thinking of heading in the metal works direction with pen making, using metal-working tools, please jump in and ask questions. My gray matter capacity is limited... can't think of everything :biggrin:

 

[CabinetMaker]

I too have begun to ponder the purchase of a milling machine/metal lathe. I would like to be able make parts and thread parts and pieces. So, what does one need to purchase to get a set up that will get me started?

 

[Deadhead]

Have you thought about taking a class at a local tech collage in your area? Just a thought.

 

[JP61]

If you don't mind, let's see some pictures of pen parts/sections you've made. I'm more interested in metal parts/sections but, all materials are of interest.

 

[Dalecamino]

I too have begun to ponder the purchase of a milling machine/metal lathe. I would like to be able make parts and thread parts and pieces. So, what does one need to purchase to get a set up that will get me started?

Here is one thread we had. http://www.penturners.org/forum/f166/buy-metal-lathe-what-else-99553/

If you go back thru the Metal Forum threads, you'll find others that discuss this topic.

 

[JP61]

Have you thought about taking a class at a local tech collage in your area? Just a thought.

I have and may end up doing just that. However, I am fairly confident in myself that, with some more time, studying and practice, I can do it.

The plating of parts/sections, that, I'm not so sure of. And if I cant get that part done or it's too expensive, then, to me it's almost not worth the investment of machines and tooling to make pens that I'm not 100% happy with.

 

[Dalecamino]

If you don't mind, let's see some pictures of pen parts/sections you've made. I'm more interested in metal parts/sections but, all materials are of interest.

I never focused much on the individual parts, other than just the group together. But here's a couple of those. Can't take more right now. Everything is packed up for the move.

 

[JP61]

Wow..... how did I miss this thread?
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f56/custom-fountain-pen-scratch-tooling-all-111509/ Thank you Chris! This is one of, if not the best thread I've seen so far. Too bad you disappeared from IAP.


"God rest his soul"..... I should have listened closer to my father's wisdom and guidance about life in general, the importance of education, etc. It's not too late for me in some respects, but I do think the fourth quarter has begun. So, I'm taking the ball from the kickoff (yes, the 3rd ended with a field goal.... pay attention! lol) and making a run for it. Hopefully I'll be able to get at least three points before time runs out. I know... football is a team sport, but I feel I'm on a pretty good team here at IAP smile: though sometimes a bit too quiet)

:biggrin: So, basically what I'm trying to say here is, is that I've decided to buy a lathe and milling machine no matter how dumb I am and will go from there :biggrin:

Thanks guys for your comments and advice!

 

[JP61]

OK, lets try this question...

Anyone here at IAP own a PM1236 lathe? That's the one I'm thinking of buying and would appreciate some feedback on it.

 

[mredburn]

Mike Roux (bluwolf) has one. Both CHuck and I have used it. Its a beast and a great lathe. When I have a large project I borrow some time on it from Mike. Make sure you get the dro package. It has 1.5 through the spindle which is a huge advantage over the older Atlases I have.

 

[mredburn]

I was considering buying one and it is one of the top contenders if I do. The other would be the pm1127 LB . But since I use my lathes to make pen parts I dont need that large a lathe everyday. If I do need to cut something that large it gives me a great excuse to visit Mike.

 

[JP61]

Mike, it's good to hear you guys like it. Reviews I've seen so far were mostly positive. The DRO will probably have to wait, that's another 1K. Will see how things look though when time comes to purchase. It won't be any time soon But then again, I have been pretty good this year. As far as the size of the lathe..... I was a Tool Time fan :biggrin:

 

[bluwolf]

If you don't mind, let's see some pictures of pen parts/sections you've made. I'm more interested in metal parts/sections but, all materials are of interest.

I made all these parts (except for the clips of course) on my PM1236 that Mike Redburn was talking about. They're just 6061 aluminum with no plating. I like the natural metal look.

 

[bluwolf]

OK, lets try this question...

Anyone here at IAP own a PM1236 lathe? That's the one I'm thinking of buying and would appreciate some feedback on it.

I've had mine for 3 years now. I really love it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The PM1127 Mike was talking about is also a great choice. It depends on what you think you would use it for or what you think you might use it for. I started with a 7x14 but Pens aren't the only things I make, and it seemed that more and more I was running into projects that were too big for it.

Here's a thread on another site about the PM1236. This guy documented everything about it and what he did to it. Lots of pictures:biggrin:

CandlePowerForums

Mike

 

[JP61]

Appreciate you guys taking the time to respond. Both of you did a fantastic job making those pens, they all look great!

Thanks for the CPF link. I'll have to go back and see if I can find that thread. The link goes to a sign in page and the search only works if you're signed in.

 

[bluwolf]

Appreciate you guys taking the time to respond. Both of you did a fantastic job making those pens, they all look great!

Thanks for the CPF link. I'll have to go back and see if I can find that thread. The link goes to a sign in page and the search only works if you're signed in.

Sorry about that. I pulled the link directly from the thread page. I thought I had read a lot of that thread before I joined. Anyway, if you're interested, it's worth signing up just for that thread:biggrin: It's heavily documented with pictures and he's a pretty good photographer. The thread is 22 pages long It's in the sub forum called "Flashlight Related-Materials/Mechanical/Machining Discussion"

Mike

 

[BKelley]

As a 15 year old boy, for reasons I won't go into I was allowed to take a machine shop course under the VA with WWII vets. Since then, I have never regretted any monies spent on equipment. I have had regrets about equipment I did not buy!!

Ben