Fountain Pen using McKenzie Thermoset

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duncsuss

duncsuss

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Finally I managed to get time to make a pen from the block of @McKenzie Penworks Thermoset resin I cast a few weeks ago. I feel I overloaded the dyes, so it's kind of dark until you get it into direct sunlight - when "pow!" Here it is before I buff it and give it a dip in the ultrasonic cleaner.

Special mention to the JoWo#6 section mandrel and the threaded pen barrel mandrel from @rherrell (without them it would have been slower and more likely to be out of alignment, they are great!)

Fountain Pen 1-1.jpg
 
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That is a stunning pour - looks like outer space to me and that is way beautiful. Superb turning and finished (almost) pen. On a personal note Duncan... our Christmas Tree had a very special ornament this year and my adult children have all drawn lots for it at my demise! To bad for them as I'm a fan of Monty Python and "I'm not dead yet." 🤣 🤣
 
mark james said:
That is a stunning pour - looks like outer space to me and that is way beautiful. Superb turning and finished (almost) pen. On a personal note Duncan... our Christmas Tree had a very special ornament this year and my adult children have all drawn lots for it at my demise! To bad for them as I'm a fan of Monty Python and "I'm not dead yet." 🤣 🤣
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Thanks!

I advise against asking your family for declarations of fealty to see who is deserving of the ornament - when King Lear tried it, things didn't work out well for any of his family :eek: Glad it was enjoyed :)
 
duncsuss said:
Thanks!

I advise against asking your family for declarations of fealty to see who is deserving of the ornament - when King Lear tried it, things didn't work out well for any of his family :eek: Glad it was enjoyed :)
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I didn't ask... they declared. But I love your suggestion for a more 'equitable' decision. Alas, the best arbiter, was deemed ...'unsuitable' and is the black sheep of the clan.

They still got to wait for my demise, (unless they are impatient) - they have enough pens. 🤣
 
duncsuss said:
Finally I managed to get time to make a pen from the block of @McKenzie Penworks Thermoset resin I cast a few weeks ago. I feel I overloaded the dyes, so it's kind of dark until you get it into direct sunlight - when "pow!" Here it is before I buff it and give it a dip in the ultrasonic cleaner.

Special mention to the JoWo#6 section mandrel and the threaded pen barrel mandrel from @rherrell (without them it would have been slower and more likely to be out of alignment, they are great!)

View attachment 380298
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Dazzling creation!
 
Can't take much credit for the resin other than asking the nice folks at Thermoset to make it for us 😂 Pen and blank look great! It's not the easiest resin to work with but I think it's worth it!
 
McKenzie Penworks said:
Can't take much credit for the resin other than asking the nice folks at Thermoset to make it for us 😂 Pen and blank look great! It's not the easiest resin to work with but I think it's worth it!
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Thanks!

If by "not the easiest" you're referring to the casting process, I didn't find it difficult in any way. I'd only ever used epoxy resin (and then only one pour, the multi-day cure time taught me all I needed to know about how impatient I am.) My only concern was to make sure I didn't use incompatible pigments, and you set me on the right track so that was easy too.

Turning and threading has been a breeze - perhaps because I'm used to working with vintage materials like galalith and Cebloplast I don't approach it aggressively.
 
This is an old post, so I'm hoping you'll see this, but how did you punch a hole in the resin to put the clip in? And why did you buff the pen after putting the clip on, rather than before?
 
cjenkins said:
This is an old post, so I'm hoping you'll see this, but how did you punch a hole in the resin to put the clip in? And why did you buff the pen after putting the clip on, rather than before?
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Darrin is 100% correct. You might be able to see there's a thin line around the cap level with the top edge of the clip where it unscrews.

You can see there is a rebate (groove) around the hole in the cap, and a slot the width of the clip. Both are sized to the thickness of the metal so that when the finial is screwed in tight there's no wiggle room.

The trickiest part is getting the finial unscrewed from the cap after it's been in there tight, there isn't much to grip. For this I use a pair of spark plug lead pliers, which have rubber coated jaws so they don't mark the parts.

pen cap and clip.jpg
 
Ohhhh! I see! Very clever. That is so interesting how the metal clip is secured too, I was wondering how it didn't wobble or fall out. Thanks so much for taking the time to pull out the pen and take a picture as well. How did you cut the slot for the clip? And how did you get the slot to be so precise? The clip attaches really close to where the nib would be, I'd imagine if the hole was just slightly too big the ink would dry out?
 
cjenkins said:
Ohhhh! I see! Very clever. That is so interesting how the metal clip is secured too, I was wondering how it didn't wobble or fall out. Thanks so much for taking the time to pull out the pen and take a picture as well. How did you cut the slot for the clip? And how did you get the slot to be so precise? The clip attaches really close to where the nib would be, I'd imagine if the hole was just slightly too big the ink would dry out?
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The slot - I use needle files and sneak up on the size testing for fit often.

I hadn't thought about the nib drying out if it was too large, it's possible but the finial screws into the cap quite a few turns deeper than the slot so there's a pretty good seal there.

You might also notice I have drilled out the middle of the threaded tenon. The finial is the last part I make before cutting the slots for the clip. I can see exactly how close to the top of the cap the tip of the nib will come when the cap is screwed onto the pen body. That tells me how much of the tenon I must drill away to avoid destroying the nib, always good to know ;) (I'd rather do that than make the cap longer than it needs to be.)
 
Ah, I see, once I get good enough at making kitless pens I'll have to get a needle file. And I see, the screw seals any potentially problematic hole up.

Ohhh that never occurred to me! The cap would be unnecessarily long if the finial was solid, so the length of the finial must also be considered when making the cap!

Thank you so much for answering my questions, it's really amazing that so much help is given to beginners in this community.
 
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