Penmakers Challenge stage 3

[ldb2000]

The cigar kit is very forgiving about length variation in the UPPER barrel. Even if you leave off the centerband entirely, some brands will still go together. Others might require you to shorten the brass tube that contacts the transmission (a disk sander works great for this). Basically, as long as that tube firmly contacts the transmission, but doesn't bind it up, the pen will work. The length limit is when the transmission bottoms out against the finial (or coupler).

The LOWER barrel length, on the other hand, is a critical dimension.

I hope that helps,
Eric

Well ..... Yes and No . Yes there is some wiggle room in a stock kit , when you start modifying it that wiggle room is lessened by things like the CB and the finial . You have to make sure that the end of transmission don't hit the bottom of the finial . I have had this happen several times because I had modified the CB or length of the upper barrel . The finial mounting bushing does eat up over a 1/4" inside the upper tube and the end of the transmission is only about 3/8" from the end of the barrel to begin with so there is less then 1/8" to play with and if you are making your own finial you want the tenon to be long enough to give strength to the activator tube so you can very easily run out of room fast .

 

[mbroberg]

Made some significant progress last night but..................may have not made my tenon wide enough. I'll find out in a little while:neutral:

 

[soligen]

On these cigar kits, do you guys use a 10mm or 25/64 bit?

According to the calipers 25/64 is a closer fit for the tubes in my kit.

 

[ldb2000]

25/64" is a tight fit and keeping enough glue on the tube might be a problem . I think 10mm would be better . Or drill at 25/64" and sand the hole to get the right fit .

 

[mbroberg]

Stage 3, Take 1

This one taught me a lot. I think it looks pretty good, and it works fine. More went right with it than went wrong. However, there are some things wrong, which is OK since this is a learning experience.

I made the tenon too narrow (27/64) then attempted to drill 25/64 so it would fit over the lower tube. 1/32 is not enough wiggle room.:embarrassed: The segments are not supported by a tenon but they were epoxied and seem to be as secure as they can be. i will keep this pen for daily use and see how it goes.

I ended up drilling slightly off center while doing the upper portion. Not real noticeable, but off center none the less.:frown:

I didn't have to glue the finial in. I got a real good, snug fit.

This is my first successful recessed clip. :biggrin:

I'll probably be giving this build another go in the next couple of weeks to see if I can work the kinks out.:wink: I might try the next one closed end with a hidden clip.

Comments, criticism and suggestions appreciated.

 

[David Keller]

That looks good, Mike. I'm still in the mental stage of this challenge.

 

[DurocShark]

I haven't even been in my garage except to work on my Saab since this was posted. Grrr...

Maybe this will be the kickoff project for my new lathe.

 

[Stevej72]

Mike, that is a good looking pen!

 

[ldb2000]

I just got in from picking the LOML up from the hospitial to find I missed the first posted pen :frown: should have let her sit there for another hour :devil::biggrin::beat-up:

The pen looks great Mike . I love the color , great blank .

 

[Mr Vic]

Butch, who's cigar kit are you using? I've got a Premium Cigar from Woodcraft with a screw on finial and a Bow Tie which is smilar that has a long press in? i Iknow who's brand I can look up the directions and compare...

Thanks!

 

[ldb2000]

I've had these sooo long I'm not sure any more (I don't use many kits anymore) . I think they are from Wood-n-Whimsies IIRC

 

[Mr Vic]

Found the directions...looks like a screw on finial instead of a press in....I'll go get to work now...

 

[ldb2000]

Vic , I think all the cigar pens have a screw on finial with a press fit bushing that also attaches the activator tube to the cap of the pen . I didn't use any of those parts but made my own finial that has the activator tube attached and the whole finial press fits (I glued mine in for added strength) into the cap barrel .

 

[soligen]

Vic , I think all the cigar pens have a screw on finial with a press fit bushing that also attaches the activator tube to the cap of the pen . I didn't use any of those parts but made my own finial that has the activator tube attached and the whole finial press fits (I glued mine in for added strength) into the cap barrel .

So, you made a step tenon on the finial then?

I have the PSI kit. My plan is to just grind off the threads that the finial screws into.

 

[ldb2000]

No , it's a straight tenon drilled to accept the activator tube . If you grind off the threads then you will have to make the tenon thinner to fit the hole in the bushing which won't leave much meat left on the tenon . I'm not sure if that will be strong enough to hold up to normal use , the clip can put allot of stress on that tenon . If you are going to use the stock activator tube/bushing I would suggest that you try to turn down the stock finial and glue the new finial to it . The stock finial is brass I think so it can be turned with regular woodturning tools or a file would work , it would be slower but it would work .

 

[Stevej72]

I finished the pen that I had cut too short, by adding about .350 more of the green acrylic to the lower tube. Unfortunately you can see the joint. Also, this stuff was really brittle and chipped out pretty easily. I did it all on the lathe. I ground off the threads where the stock finial attaches and press fit the new finial in that part. My next attempt I'll eliminate the threaded finial adapter thing.

 

[rdunn12]

Well I missed out on stage 1 and 2 and decided to jump in on stage 3.Took a little while to figure it out,works better than i thought it would.Tubes painted white.Blank is Ecru from Woodcraft.Comments welcome.

 

[ldb2000]

Great looking pens Steve and Ronald .
Steve , A way to fix the lower blank would have been to add more black lines and create a CB on the lower barrel . I think it would have looked good with this design because the black bands are so thin . They would have blended in nicely . A thought for the next time .
Ronald , That is a fantastic blank and it matches the kit wonderfully . Is that the silver band from the original kit ? it looks great in there , I was thinking about using a few of them (I have a good supply now :biggrin but didn't want to take the time to dremel the holes big enough to use them (I'm just lazy).

 

[mbroberg]

Steve & Ron, both nice pens!!:good::good:

There are a lot of opinions / discussions / questions about how to do the finial. FWIW, I just turned a tenon on my finial to fit inside of the activator tube. I then removed the threaded coupler from the tube. I glued the tube into the upper barrel after I made sure that the lower portion of the tube would reach and engage the transmission. Then I simply pressed the finial in place to hold the recessed clip.

Butch, If I understand you correctly, you turned your tenon then drilled it so that it would slip over the activator tube rather than press into the activator tube. Correct?

Hey, Got Stage 4 ready yet??:devil::biggrin:

 

[Stevej72]

Thanks Butch and Mike. Good question, Mike, I didn't understand exactly how Butch did that.

 

[ldb2000]

Yep that's what I did ... almost . I drilled the finial blank for the activator tube then placed the tube in (not glued) and held it in place with the tailstock and turned the tenon to size and turned the finial to size and partial shape then parted it off and finished the finial on a jam chuck . then I measured and cut the activator tube for length and glued it into the finial .
Nope stage 4 is not built yet but it is all planed out .

 

[mbroberg]

Got it. The way you did it sounds like it would be stronger.

 

[rdunn12]

yes Butch that is the band from the original kit I was too lazy to turn one lol . Oh and by the way i went about this in a totally different way but achieved the same results.Hope that was ok.

 

[Rick_G]

Another piece of white Ash. Used 2 pieces of pickguard for the CB and Ebony for the finial. What I picked up on this one will get put to use on my cartridge pens that use the Parker refill.

 

[DurocShark]

That looks great Rick!

 

[Stevej72]

Rick, very nice looking pen!

 

[RAdams]

Well, I am officially skipping this pen.

I had a nice Amboyna burl blank picked out from a recent trade. Got a handfull of CB sections cut from two different colors of PR. I decided to get fancy, and was going to do a glueless tenon, where the CB pieces are glued to the short piece of the main blank, and then drilled to accept the tenon from the larger section of blank.

I started with drilling the longer section of blank. My plan was to glue this section, and turn the tenon, so i would have an OD for drilling the CB. Well everything was going fine, but like a big lazy super stupid idiot, I neglected to reset the belt on the lathe to the slow setting. So I am drilling the blank and I do super stupid mistake number two, which when done alone, is no big deal, but coupled with the lazy stupid mistake above makes for a very exciting milisecond!

I went to pull the drill bit out of the blank with the lathe running. I am very lucky that i don't have a 7MM bit and drill chuck hanging out the side of my head. The bit, chuck, and half of my sweet Amboyna blank went wizzing past my nugget.

So, even though i was not injured, I simply am not comfortable trying to drill such a long blank section, so I will see about the next level, but I am officially done with this one... Good luck all, and BE CAREFUL!

 

[ldb2000]

Wow , I take a short break from the forums and all hell breaks loose .
First , Rick that is another beautiful piece of timber you have , and you did a fantastic job with it . Beautiful pen .
Second , Rodney that is fine . I was thinking of using several of the left over CB parts myself , I was just too lazy to enlarge the holes in them for my idea .

Last , Ron .
Glad to hear you are alright . I bet that one left a skid mark somewhere . I understand your not wanting to continue and can't blame you . You actually made three mistakes , one was not slowing the lathe down for drilling the second is related to the third , you tried to pull the bit out of the work with the lathe running but in fact shutting down the lathe could have had the same results because of mistake number three which is the biggie , You were not holding on to the drill chuck with one hand ! . Just as in the headstock the MT on the tailstock is not a guarantee that the the tool placed in there will stay without a draw bar . When you are drilling on the lathe you can't use a draw bar so you MUST ALWAYS have one hand on the drill chuck . I had that happen to me one time when I first started drilling on the lathe , I did the same thing as Ron and as I went to pull the tailstock back to clear the drill bit the chuck came out of the MT , the bit and blank broke and the chuck went flying across the shop , missing my head by inches . To show the forces involved , I was drilling a Sierra blank with a 27/64" bit at the time , that is a thick bit and it just broke .
NEVER , NEVER , NEVER use a drill chuck in the tailstock without keeping on hand on the chuck body . Also never use any MT tool in the headstock without a draw bar or the tailstock tight against the work piece . Even though you got a tight fit in the MT the forces involved can very easily cause it to loosen and be ejected at very high speed .
Remember everyone "Safety is job ONE" !!!!!!!!!

 

[RAdams]

Yes Sir!

I am going to go ahead and continue, only with a different blank, and more caution. I have learned from the mistake, and will not make it again I assure you! I have also changed a little design element to make it easier (I hope). I got up to the point where it was time to drill again and decided maybe I will try later or tomorrow. I am still a bit apprehensive right now. I have come up with what i think will be a fairly unique pen!! If i can just keep from launching my drill chuck again.

 

[ldb2000]

Glad to see you get back on the horse . As I said "NEVER" take your hand off the drill chuck when the bit is in the work and the lathe is spinning . My skid mark happened when I was drilling a shorter blank , a Sierra , so it's not the length of the blank .
We all get complacent when we do repetitive tasks and that's when accidents happen . I now hang on to that chuck religiously until the bit is out of the blank . I also wear my face shield any time my lathe is turned on . Overkill ? maybe but it sure beats a trip to the ER .

 

[David Keller]

Ron, glad you're alright. I'll throw another one into the scrap box when I send it. It's not full yet, so I don't know when that will be.

 

[DurocShark]

I'm a little peeved. I went to Woodcraft because I surprisingly don't have a 10mm bit. I wanted a Colt 5 Star. But they stopped carrying the 5 Stars in metric sizes. Wha? Only the standard double-twist bits. Not nearly as nice.

Grrr.... I coulda gone to Rockler and used my 15% coupon instead.

 

[soligen]

I'm a little peeved. I went to Woodcraft because I surprisingly don't have a 10mm bit. I wanted a Colt 5 Star. But they stopped carrying the 5 Stars in metric sizes. Wha? Only the standard double-twist bits. Not nearly as nice.

Grrr.... I coulda gone to Rockler and used my 15% coupon instead.

That's odd. The woodcraft by me has the 10mm

 

[Rick_G]

Glad you didn't get hurt Ron. My lathe tailstock has just enough play in it I don't even attempt to drill with it unless I'm using a brad point bit. It is the only way I can be positive the bit is centered. I get better results with my drill press so that's what I go with 90% of the time.

 

[ldb2000]

I just went to the woodcraft website and it looks like they are getting rid of the Colt line . No 10mm and all the other sizes they have are on clearance .

 

[DurocShark]

The guy at WC said that corporate has decided there wasn't enough profit in the high end Colt 5 Stars. Sigh.

 

[RAdams]

Ron, glad you're alright. I'll throw another one into the scrap box when I send it. It's not full yet, so I don't know when that will be.

Cool, and no hurry at all... I don't even have any resin right now so i couldnt make any blanks to trade until i get more resin.

 

[Stevej72]

I ran out of allotted shop time before I finished the finial. This pen is made with a Slimline kit. It has a tenon that the CB pieces are attached to. Tried a different shape just for something different for me. I will remove the stock finial and make a custom one when I am allowed more time in the shop.

 

[ldb2000]

Great looking pen Steve . I love that blank and the kit is a perfect match for it . Isn't it funny how just moving the CB down 1 inch can make such a big difference in the overall look of the pen .

 

[Stevej72]

Thanks Butch, it is amazing how much difference moving the CB makes.