After 50 or so of kit pens from Slimline to Majestic (mostly slim though), I finally got into the kitless. This is my first practice piece. As members suggestion, I got clear acrylic rod from local store and ordered nibs, taps and dies form members. First and most challenging problem was the clear acrylic I got. It was so brittle, blowup easily (5 sections, 2 bodes and 2 caps). It seemed much brittle than PR or alumilite. It didn't produce ribbons like PR or Alumilite. Second, I couldn't find right size drill bits at local stores. I had to order them online so delays in project. Third, cleaning and polishing inside is not easy. (I found nice polishing video from Edison Pen Co.) There were lots of scratches and bubbles produced by drilling. I also struggled to find the way to hold the parts for the end finishing. I made a kind of wooden jam chuck from scrap wood to somehow managed it. After so many hours and struggle, I completed my first kitless pen. Unfortunately however, the cap and body cracked at the threaded area within few days. The first pen was less than perfect but I've learned a lot from this practice project. Now, I am working with black alumilite I casted. It is a lot easier than the clear acrylic I used. I will post next one soon. Thank you for the amazing members generous informations and inspirations, I couldn't even dream about making kitless few month ago. Thanks for looking and as always, comments and critics are welcome.
First practice kitless
- Thread starter 18111
- Start date
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Curly
Member
Way to go and a demonstrator too!
Jjartwood
Member
The first thing that I'm learning about kitless is what not to do.
Just getting into them myself and it seems like I spend more time thinking about how I'm going to do something than doing it.
I often wonder if my time would be better spent studying nuclear physics, it would probably be less frustrating!
Great first effort,glad I'm not alone and...I feel your pain
Mark
Just getting into them myself and it seems like I spend more time thinking about how I'm going to do something than doing it.
I often wonder if my time would be better spent studying nuclear physics, it would probably be less frustrating!
Great first effort,glad I'm not alone and...I feel your pain
Mark
anthonyd
Member
Great first effort.
Tony
Tony
Robert111
Member
Nice to see that you jumped right in and stuck with it. That's what it takes. Good luck with #2. We're looking forward to it.
Thank you all for encouraging comments. Yeah... at one point, I was almost giving up but I hanged in there because after spending quite a bit of money on tools just to make kitless, you can't quit without producing any. You will have great satisfaction when you completed one even though it isn't perfect however. So newbies out there, go and buy all tools you need and spend tons of money so you won't quit easily.:biggrin:
Yoshi
Robert111, I admire your works. How do you achieve finishing so slick? I'm working on black alumilite but I can't make it slick like yours. I'll be posting it soon.
Yoshi
BSea
Member
Well, at least I've done that part right.
I agree with you that there is a lot of thinking and planning that goes into a kitless pen. I have yet to make a kitless pen that I didn't have to remake a least 1 part. But they are fun.
KDM
Member
Oooohhhhh. Nice! Are there multi-start taps and dies available? C'mon, who sells 'em? thanks!
BSea
Member
mikespenturningz
Member
I like that clear material it really lets you see what is happening with the pen. Great idea to learn on.