Rangertrek
Member
I saw this pen kit at one of our supplier's sites and also on this forum. I liked the look of the finished kit, the fact that it was a smaller pen, so I decided to give it a try.
The kit is the Pocket Pen Ballpoint made by Dayacom, and is sold by Lau Lua Woodworks. The kits cost $5.00 at the time of this post, and are only available in Chrome plating. The clip has a clear crystal on the top. LauLau processed and delivered the order quickly. I have no business associations with either Dayacom or LauLau, just a novice pen maker.
The kit came with no instruction sheet and I did not find one on the Dayacom site or at LLW. Many helpful hints were contributed by several others on IAP who had some experience with this kit.
At this time I have completed three (3) of these kits. One was simple and straight forward (pictures below), the others a little more complicated and did not work out as planned (segmented).
This pen has an upper and lower barrel and is postable. It uses a "snap cap" sleeve to post the barrels. The plastic sleeve has to be "adjusted" to have the parts fit together with no gaps. The adjustment is made with a small screwdriver. The plastic sleeve screws onto the stud mounted on the clip. It is not difficult, just be careful during the adjustment not to strip the threads. I inserted the sleeve during final assembly. All of the parts are well made, plating is good.
The details:
bushings - 3 pieces
drill bit - I used a 3/8" (a 9.5mm would probably work better)
overall length closed - 4-3/8"
upper barrel - 1-3/4"
lower barrel - 3-5/8"
posted length - 5"
refill - mini size
Turning the barrels is straight forward, no tenons, etc. The finished material on this kit is THIN. In fact, it is incredibly thin, the thinnest I have made. I would recommend painting the tubes for this kit, no matter if wood or acrylic. I experienced a few small chip outs near the bushings on the first pen (its thin). The pen is lightweight and feels comfortable in the hand. I made the first one with the crystal in the cap. The crystal came off during assembly, had to glue it back on. Did not really like it after it was finished. I will probably remove the crystal on future pens and replace with a turned piece to match the barrels.
My Opinion ----
Pros: It is quick to turn (short barrels) and assemble with only seven (7) parts. The kit is inexpensive. Nice looks if you like a shorter, narrow pen.
Cons: THIN, no instructions, plastic sleeve for posting, only chrome plating, crystal on the cap.
Summary:
For me, after I get the ones I ordered completed, it may be a while before I order any more. I would like to see a version of this kit without the snap cap (magnetic?) and with a little thicker barrel.
[Update after initial review] - I have shown this pen to several people and they generally like it (more than I do). So, give it a try and let me know what you think about the kit.
Pictures below:
1 - bushings and barrels
2 - turned barrels and all the parts
3 - completed pen - closed
4 - pen open
5 - posted cap
The kit is the Pocket Pen Ballpoint made by Dayacom, and is sold by Lau Lua Woodworks. The kits cost $5.00 at the time of this post, and are only available in Chrome plating. The clip has a clear crystal on the top. LauLau processed and delivered the order quickly. I have no business associations with either Dayacom or LauLau, just a novice pen maker.
The kit came with no instruction sheet and I did not find one on the Dayacom site or at LLW. Many helpful hints were contributed by several others on IAP who had some experience with this kit.
At this time I have completed three (3) of these kits. One was simple and straight forward (pictures below), the others a little more complicated and did not work out as planned (segmented).
This pen has an upper and lower barrel and is postable. It uses a "snap cap" sleeve to post the barrels. The plastic sleeve has to be "adjusted" to have the parts fit together with no gaps. The adjustment is made with a small screwdriver. The plastic sleeve screws onto the stud mounted on the clip. It is not difficult, just be careful during the adjustment not to strip the threads. I inserted the sleeve during final assembly. All of the parts are well made, plating is good.
The details:
bushings - 3 pieces
drill bit - I used a 3/8" (a 9.5mm would probably work better)
overall length closed - 4-3/8"
upper barrel - 1-3/4"
lower barrel - 3-5/8"
posted length - 5"
refill - mini size
Turning the barrels is straight forward, no tenons, etc. The finished material on this kit is THIN. In fact, it is incredibly thin, the thinnest I have made. I would recommend painting the tubes for this kit, no matter if wood or acrylic. I experienced a few small chip outs near the bushings on the first pen (its thin). The pen is lightweight and feels comfortable in the hand. I made the first one with the crystal in the cap. The crystal came off during assembly, had to glue it back on. Did not really like it after it was finished. I will probably remove the crystal on future pens and replace with a turned piece to match the barrels.
My Opinion ----
Pros: It is quick to turn (short barrels) and assemble with only seven (7) parts. The kit is inexpensive. Nice looks if you like a shorter, narrow pen.
Cons: THIN, no instructions, plastic sleeve for posting, only chrome plating, crystal on the cap.
Summary:
For me, after I get the ones I ordered completed, it may be a while before I order any more. I would like to see a version of this kit without the snap cap (magnetic?) and with a little thicker barrel.
[Update after initial review] - I have shown this pen to several people and they generally like it (more than I do). So, give it a try and let me know what you think about the kit.
Pictures below:
1 - bushings and barrels
2 - turned barrels and all the parts
3 - completed pen - closed
4 - pen open
5 - posted cap
Attachments
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