glycerine
Member
Ok, that didn't come out right. And it's not just Justin, there are a ton of "you people" now. It's all of you. I'm tired of seeing your kitless pens... no that's not right either. Ok, it's not YOU, it's ME! I'm NOT tired of seeing YOU'RE pens, I'm tired of NOT seeing MY OWN kitless pens! I LOVE seeing your kitless pens, it's inspiring!!
Why don't I post one of my own you ask? Because I have yet to actually make one, that's why!! BUT, that's the point of my post. It's time for me and my pens to take the next step in our relationship. I've been turning pens for about 2 years now, but not as hard core as alot of you guys. So, I think it's time for some progression.
I've take the first few steps. I bought some clear acrylic rod from US Plastics as recommended in a post by George (texatdurango), then I made a die holder for my lathe (like the little machine shop one).
I took a few shots at tapping on the lathe the other night, then last night I did some "die'ing". Wasn't as bad as I thought. The tough part is putting the two together, as in drilling a hole and tapping inside of where I just cut my external threads. That's where I need work because I cracked my acrylic. But that was my first try and I think it's just because my hole wasn't quite large enough.
Anyway, here are some pics of my homemade die holder and my very first external threads!!
And now a few questions:
1) Do you guys use a cutting fluid when drilling, or something else as a coolant? Maybe it's just the clear acrylic that I got, but when drilling the hole inside after threading the outside, the material started to warp because of the heat. I had my lathe on the lowest speed (I think 500 RPM)...
2) Is anyone willing to share exactly what size taps and dies they are using for each piece of the pen? I've seen a few threads with several different answers of what sizes are used in general, but I'd like to know some specifics. I'd like to just buy a handful of taps, dies and drill bits and not have to keep guessing at what will work best...
My first goal is to make a rollerball, mainly because I don't have a tap for a feed holder and they seem to be are more expensive than "regular" taps... I THINK I can get by for now on the taps and dies that I do have, maybe just needing an additional drill bit or two...
Why don't I post one of my own you ask? Because I have yet to actually make one, that's why!! BUT, that's the point of my post. It's time for me and my pens to take the next step in our relationship. I've been turning pens for about 2 years now, but not as hard core as alot of you guys. So, I think it's time for some progression.
I've take the first few steps. I bought some clear acrylic rod from US Plastics as recommended in a post by George (texatdurango), then I made a die holder for my lathe (like the little machine shop one).
I took a few shots at tapping on the lathe the other night, then last night I did some "die'ing". Wasn't as bad as I thought. The tough part is putting the two together, as in drilling a hole and tapping inside of where I just cut my external threads. That's where I need work because I cracked my acrylic. But that was my first try and I think it's just because my hole wasn't quite large enough.
Anyway, here are some pics of my homemade die holder and my very first external threads!!
And now a few questions:
1) Do you guys use a cutting fluid when drilling, or something else as a coolant? Maybe it's just the clear acrylic that I got, but when drilling the hole inside after threading the outside, the material started to warp because of the heat. I had my lathe on the lowest speed (I think 500 RPM)...
2) Is anyone willing to share exactly what size taps and dies they are using for each piece of the pen? I've seen a few threads with several different answers of what sizes are used in general, but I'd like to know some specifics. I'd like to just buy a handful of taps, dies and drill bits and not have to keep guessing at what will work best...
My first goal is to make a rollerball, mainly because I don't have a tap for a feed holder and they seem to be are more expensive than "regular" taps... I THINK I can get by for now on the taps and dies that I do have, maybe just needing an additional drill bit or two...