Not a pen, but kitless . . . . . sort of.

[BSea]

Ok, I was wanting to play with a kitless idea, and I had a few blanks that I didn't really like all that much. And this is what I came up with.

I know it kind of resembles a pen, but it's not. The next picture shows what it really is.

This is going in my desk. I've got plans for another. The changes I plan to make are to make the cap shorter by putting the cap threads closer to the blade. This one I wanted to be sure the threads weren't part of the grip. But next time, I think I'll just make them right after the collet.

 

[GoodTurns]

nicely done, creative, useful and very nice looking!

 

[TomW]

Wooooaaaahhhh.. .far out!

Good job
Tom

 

[boxerman]

Now that's very cool. Nice job.

 

[Dalecamino]

Very nice work! I'm sure you will be happier with the next one. I'm curious how you managed to cut the slot for the blade? This is cool.

 

[MarkD]

Nice work!

 

[BSea]

Very nice work! I'm sure you will be happier with the next one. I'm curious how you managed to cut the slot for the blade? This is cool.

Well, that's why I said "Sort of":redface:

All I did was take an X-acto knife & use the collet that holds the blade & the piece that goes through the tube of the knife. I didn't turn any of the aluminum. This picture should give you a better idea.

The tube for an X-acto is just plastic, so you just take out the aluminum end piece. I bought a tube from a hobby store that the piece fit into, and then turned a blank to fit the tube. I used a piece of the blank to go over the knurled end cap. Then just epoxied the pr piece I turned over the the knurled piece.

Anyone with a set of collets and a collet chuck should have no problem recreating this as long as you can find a compatible brass tube. I'll see if I can find exactly what I bought if anyone wants to do one of these.

 

[seamus7227]

WOW!!!!!! great job Bob!!!!

 

[Woodlvr]

+1 WOW!!!!. I like that blank a lot.

 

[Dalecamino]

Thanks for the explanation. I should have figured that out but, thought there might be a possibility you made that part.

 

[Brooks803]

So that's what you were talking about the other day. I think it came out great Bob!

 

[BSea]

So that's what you were talking about the other day. I think it came out great Bob!

Yeah, a picture is worth a 1,000 words. It also occurred to me that this is a simple thing for someone to try that's wanting to get into kitless, just to see if they like it. It only takes 1 tap & 1 die. I'd recommend a 12mm X .75. I used my 12mm triple start, and that worked fine. A 10mm is just a hair too small, and I didn't have an 11mm.

 

[ryvnd2001]

Looks great! You didn't mention that the blank was your own creation. Getting mighty good at this casting stuff!