Posting the first in a series of video series focused on custom pen making

[Carl Fisher]

These won't necessarily be full how-to videos (no talking, just music and pop-up tips) but for pen makers that want to watch various pen components being made on both a wood and metal lathe, you may find these interesting.

Part 1 is done and shows making a fountain pen section for a Jowo nib on a wood lathe with basic tooling. Part 2 will be the same on the metal lathe with more advanced tooling. I have to re-film part 2 as there was a focus and exposure issue after I moved the camera. Pffft. Look for that probably between Christmas and New Years.

After that I'll move on to bodies and then caps in the same format. One for wood and one for metal lathe users. Beyond that maybe I'll do some advanced techniques like combining materials, sleeving, finishing techniques, tooling talk or whatever. I'm open to suggestions.

Enjoy.

 

[hewunch]

Thank you Carl, I am certain these will be helpful.

 

[mark james]

I watched the first - very well done.

 

[Hippie3180]

Well done, great to see some helpful videos going out there. Sections are sometimes tricky too.

 

[d_bondi]

Agreed, very nicely done.
I am looking forward to the parts with sleeving and maybe clips if you do that.

 

[RKB]

Fantastic...Thank you, Carl.

 

[darrin1200]

Excellent video Carl.
I wasn't sure why you were tapping from both ends, until I realized you are using K6 converters.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Excellent video Carl.
I wasn't sure why you were tapping from both ends, until I realized you are using K6 converters.

Thanks. I've been using the K6 for close to 10 years now and constantly get good feedback from customers on having a threaded converter. Just takes one extra step so I'm happy to do it. Only downside is it costs me a little extra per converter but not enough to worry about.

 

[bsshog40]

Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Carl Fisher]

Part 2 is posted - Same piece but on a metal lathe.

 

[johncrane]

Well done Carl

 

[darrin1200]

Nice job Carl. I love your shop.

Quick question. What are you using for a cutting fluid?

 

[Carl Fisher]

Nice job Carl. I love your shop.

Quick question. What are you using for a cutting fluid?

Thanks.

Well, at the moment it's a mix of Tap Magic and whatever was in the can to begin with. I had tried something else but can't for the life of me remember what it was. I always seem to gravitate back to Tap Magic though.

As far as the shop, I've hugely scaled down from what it used to be. I started with a full blown dedicated workshop but over the years realized 70% of those tools and space never was really used in pen making and I sort of stepped away from big format woodworking. I still have a table saw and chop saw but those are portable now and live in the main garage folded up.

About the only big tool I wish I had was a drum thickness sander to run material through for segmenting. I've also started to embrace layering with portable tools in front of lesser used stationary tools. The drill press and sander only get used on occasion so I just move the bandsaw out of the way when I need them. Otherwise everything just sits idle in that corner.

 

[walshjp17]

Glad to see you making videos. Always admired your pens. Now that I've started back making custom pens once again, your videos will be most helpful.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Part 3 posted - Pen body on the wood lathe

I'll have to reshoot Part 4. Major camera focus issues when I'm using my dust collection as it focuses on my dust hose and not my workpiece

 

[InkyMike]

@Carl Fisher - thanks for putting these together! I just watched the first one and I have a question about threading for the K6. How accurate are your depths for both the nib and the converter? Do you drill/tap one side and then drill/tap to meet the first set of threads from the second to ensure a complete mate up of the nib and converter within the section? Or can there be a bit of a gap between the two on the inside? (hopefully this question makes sense)

 

[Carl Fisher]

@Carl Fisher - thanks for putting these together! I just watched the first one and I have a question about threading for the K6. How accurate are your depths for both the nib and the converter? Do you drill/tap one side and then drill/tap to meet the first set of threads from the second to ensure a complete mate up of the nib and converter within the section? Or can there be a bit of a gap between the two on the inside? (hopefully this question makes sense)

There is a decent gap between where the converter threads stop and where the nib threads begin. No need to be exact, just run it in "about that far".

If you put the converter and nib housing together outside of the section you'll see what I'm talking about. I don't have one handy but there is probably a good 4-5mm gap between where the threads are on both.