Closed-end component pen

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corgicoupe

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Not "kitless", but modified to be a closed-end pen - both barrel and cap. I used the center section and the nib from a Jr Gents II fountain pen, and some straight grained walnut from my scrap bin. The walnut has been following me around for about 40 years.
 

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corgicoupe

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Oops! The cap was not quite aligned to the axis of the lathe and when I was sanding, the brass tube made an unwanted appearance.

However, I think the concept is good, but the execution was flawed. I think I know how to avoid this on the next attempt.

My wife says, "Gestalt calls for the presence of a clip." On this one I may attach a piece of maple to look like a clip and to cover the brass. That will also stop it from rolling around on the desk. On another, I will try to use a clip from a kit, and attach it to the cap with a tenoned tassie using a contrasting wood. Or maybe the same wood. The tenon will require the cap to be a bit longer.
 

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duncsuss

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Good effort.

Some kits make it easier than others to add a cap finial in the material you use to make the pen -- for example, the Churchill kit has a domed finial that screws into a threaded insert (which you press-fit into the cap barrel).

It's not too hard to either turn away the brass that dome is made from, or find some matching threaded rod, which you can glue into a piece of wood and turn a replacement finial.

Here's an example I did a while ago ... Churchill pen kit, wrapped in cocobolo burl.

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cocoburlch.jpg



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magpens

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Bob, too bad about the flaw. . That pen looks otherwise pretty darn good to me !!!

And Duncan yours is lovely also also !!!

Thanks for posting, both of you !!!
 

bmachin

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By the way, the Churchill section is available by itself from Berea-- threaded M10-1, so it works nicely for kitless.

You might not need to lengthen the cap to accommodate the tassie tenon. If the ID of the clip ring is large enough, you can drill a hole in the tenon to accommodate the tip of the nib. Just takes same careful measurement.

Bill
 

corgicoupe

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By the way, the Churchill section is available by itself from Berea-- threaded M10-1, so it works nicely for kitless.

You might not need to lengthen the cap to accommodate the tassie tenon. If the ID of the clip ring is large enough, you can drill a hole in the tenon to accommodate the tip of the nib. Just takes same careful measurement.

Bill

But putting threads in wood isn't trivial. I wish it were possible to buy select pieces of the kits.
 

duncsuss

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You also discarded the tassie on the barrel. Did you simply drill a blind hole?

Sorry, I didn't realize you were asking me ... the lower barrel (as opposed to the cap) is drilled in two steps -- one for the brass tube, the length of the brass tube, and one 7mm to extend the internal cavity enough that a cartridge converter fits. (Because in the off-the-shelf Churchill design, the converter piston extends into what I call the barrel finial -- I think that's what you called "the tassie".)

I hope that answers your question :)
 

corgicoupe

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Exactly. That's what it's called on the fountain pen network forum. I forgot that it was called the finial in component kits.

I have another question. The Churchill is much less expensive than the Jr Gents or the Kojent that I have been using. What is the quality of the nib on the Churchill? Who is it sourced from?
 

corgicoupe

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Exactly. That's what it's called on the fountain pen network forum. I forgot that it was called the finial in component kits.

I have another question. The Churchill is much less expensive than the Jr Gents or the Kojent that I have been using. What is the quality of the nib on the Churchill? Who is it sourced from?

Double post. Sorry.
 
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corgicoupe

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You also discarded the tassie on the barrel. Did you simply drill a blind hole?

Sorry, I didn't realize you were asking me ... the lower barrel (as opposed to the cap) is drilled in two steps -- one for the brass tube, the length of the brass tube, and one 7mm to extend the internal cavity enough that a cartridge converter fits. (Because in the off-the-shelf Churchill design, the converter piston extends into what I call the barrel finial -- I think that's what you called "the tassie".)

I hope that answers your question :)

Exactly. That's what it's called on the fountain pen network forum. I forgot that it was called the finial in component kits.

I have another question. The Churchill is much less expensive than the Jr Gents or the Kojent that I have been using. What is the quality of the nib on the Churchill? Who is it sourced from?
 

duncsuss

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You also discarded the tassie on the barrel. Did you simply drill a blind hole?

Sorry, I didn't realize you were asking me ... the lower barrel (as opposed to the cap) is drilled in two steps -- one for the brass tube, the length of the brass tube, and one 7mm to extend the internal cavity enough that a cartridge converter fits. (Because in the off-the-shelf Churchill design, the converter piston extends into what I call the barrel finial -- I think that's what you called "the tassie".)

I hope that answers your question :)

Exactly. That's what it's called on the fountain pen network forum. I forgot that it was called the finial in component kits.

I have another question. The Churchill is much less expensive than the Jr Gents or the Kojent that I have been using. What is the quality of the nib on the Churchill? Who is it sourced from?

I bought the kit from Exotic Blanks and elected to get the Heritance "upgrade nib", which I believe was made by JoWo, for a couple of dollars extra.
 

corgicoupe

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Bob, too bad about the flaw. . That pen looks otherwise pretty darn good to me !!!

And Duncan yours is lovely also also !!!

Thanks for posting, both of you !!!

Here's the attempted fix. I used a piece of another cap tube.
 

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