Centre bands

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Tom.1946

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I am new but live in the UK.
I have afew books on pen making and was wanting some information. I usually so Slimline/Streamline pens. However the bands that come in the kits are always the same although if you have different colours I.e. chrome and gold you can add a different colour band. However in the books that I have there are some very decorative bands but can't seem to find any in the uk. I was wondering where I could obtain some that are made by American companies but might be available in the UK
Regards
Tom
 
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Alan Morrison

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Hello again, Tom.

You can make your own centre bands and use up a lot of your off-cuts at the same time.
I find that drilled with a 6.5mm bit they fit onto the mandrel.
The inside diameter is similar to that of the kit centreband.

Alan
 

Bats

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However in the books that I have there are some very decorative bands
It might help to start by defining just what "very decorative" means. Is it "custom made from wood?", which is what Alan answered (I prefer to make mine in longer lengths on 7mm tubes and then part them off as needed). It is "Has an extra line or a couple beads on it?", which is what Dalecamino answered. Would a Greek key design count? Beartooth also has slimline kits with those - although I don't know if any of the UK vendors do. If you have something specific in mind, it might help to post some pictures from the book (if it's something unusual, I'd be curious to see them anyhow).
 

Bats

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However in the books that I have there are some very decorative bands
It might help to start by defining just what "very decorative" means. Is it "custom made from wood?", which is what Alan answered (I prefer to make mine in longer lengths on 7mm tubes and then part them off as needed). It is "Has an extra line or a couple beads on it?", which is what Dalecamino answered. Would a Greek key design count? Beartooth also has slimline kits with those - although I don't know if any of the UK vendors do. If you have something specific in mind, it might help to post some pictures from the book.

edit:
I was wondering where I could obtain some that are made by American companies but might be available in the UK
It may just be a technicality here, but there are really only two American companies that I know of making pen hardware - Silver Pen Parts (who, as the name implies, sells individual parts, all made from Argentium silver - although the prices aren't for the faint of heart) and McKenzie Penworks (who has taken over the old LazerLinez line of stainless steel kits). Otherwise pretty much everything is made in Taiwan (Dayacom) or China (everything else), although different vendors may select different kits to import or have various aspects customized (and they'll often slap their own names on the same kit everyone else is selling).
 

magpens

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@Tom.1946

Check out the threads by one of the IAP members . . . . username is . . . . "Wmcullen"

He has done some very creative work, some of which involves custom-made centre bands made from left-over woods, etc.

Other members have also done similar, but start with this person to get some ideas and inspiration.
You could even send him a private message ( which, on this website, is called a "Conversation" ).

This link might help you get started, but it is not specifically about centre-bands :

 
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its_virgil

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I stopped using centerbands long ago or i make them.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
pg 3 addtion.JPG
 
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Tom.1946

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It might help to start by defining just what "very decorative" means. Is it "custom made from wood?", which is what Alan answered (I prefer to make mine in longer lengths on 7mm tubes and then part them off as needed). It is "Has an extra line or a couple beads on it?", which is what Dalecamino answered. Would a Greek key design count? Beartooth also has slimline kits with those - although I don't know if any of the UK vendors do. If you have something specific in mind, it might help to post some pictures from the book.

edit:

It may just be a technicality here, but there are really only two American companies that I know of making pen hardware - Silver Pen Parts (who, as the name implies, sells individual parts, all made from Argentium silver - although the prices aren't for the faint of heart) and McKenzie Penworks (who has taken over the old LazerLinez line of stainless steel kits). Otherwise pretty much everything is made in Taiwan (Dayacom) or China (everything else), although different vendors may select different kits to import or have various aspects customized (and they'll often slap their own names on the same kit everyone else is selling).
I have found for some reason that any
It might help to start by defining just what "very decorative" means. Is it "custom made from wood?", which is what Alan answered (I prefer to make mine in longer lengths on 7mm tubes and then part them off as needed). It is "Has an extra line or a couple beads on it?", which is what Dalecamino answered. Would a Greek key design count? Beartooth also has slimline kits with those - although I don't know if any of the UK vendors do. If you have something specific in mind, it might help to post some pictures from the book (if it's something unusual, I'd be curious to see them anyhow).
There was really nothing unusual about them some where chrome with designs on them. So I assume where premade. To date I have only managed three pens but in two cases the work was done mostly by them. I can get use off a machine on a first come first served basis and I haven't got near it for the past 2 weeks. Also I have tried to upload photos but so far I can't seem to get them uploaded.
 

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Bats

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I have found for some reason that any
I think something got hungry and ate part of your post.

Also I have tried to upload photos but so far I can't seem to get them uploaded.
Looks like you got it worked out.

The pictures you're showing aren't substituted bands - they're actually different kits. The one pictured on the left is a kit generally sold as a "Streamline", and the one on the right looks like the the "Fancy Slimline" (as opposed to the original slimline with a square clip and smooth band). [note: I linked to creativepenkits.com because they were a UK seller that had both available - I know absolutely nothing about them] If you're looking at entire kits rather than searching for just the bands, you also have fancier options like Prokraft's "Chaucer", which looks like it's basically a slimline at heart, too.

It may also be worth mentioning that, unless I'm mistaken (I've never made one myself) the Streamline, like the Comfort, uses a larger diameter band than the slimlines, so it has to be turned differently/with different bushings - it's not a simple part substitution.
 

Tom.1946

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I have noticed that some pens are different names in USA and UK. I found some bands that I would like but can't find a supplier in the UK I will try to attach..
 

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Tom.1946

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Hello again, Tom.

You can make your own centre bands and use up a lot of your off-cuts at the same time.
I find that drilled with a 6.5mm bit they fit onto the mandrel.
The inside diameter is similar to that of the kit centreband.

Alan
These are some of the bands I was looking for?
 

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Bats

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These are some of the bands I was looking for?
The first looks like the Greek Key kit I'd posted earlier (I also found it at Turner's Retreat by searching for "greek key pen kit uk" - it may be available elsewhere too, but I'm not really familiar with the UK vendors), which appears to be basically a Fancy Slimline with a different band. The second and third are a little hard to tell without seeing the entire pen, but it looks like they're some variety of Cigar and Sierra, respectively (there are a few different Cigar variants and lots of Sierra derivatives) - both entirely different families of kits, although some versions of each should be widely available on both sides of the pond.

If you're looking at branching out, the Sierra family is often recommended as a being a fantastic starting point for beginners (being easier to turn than slimlines, if not as cheap), with the cigar being a good next step up.
 

Alan Morrison

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These are some of the bands I was looking for?
I'm sure that I've seen the first example before or maybe I'm thinking of the Art Deco Slimline.
The second looks like a Cigar which won't translate to a 7mm.
The third one looks like the Artisan European which is a 7mm.

If you post your question on the UK forum you may get more accurate answers there, as I assume they are from uk available kits.
Hope that helps.
Alan
 

Bats

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The third one looks like the Artisan European which is a 7mm.
Are we looking at the same picture? Or are we thinking of different Artisan Europeans?

This one, which is all I can find anywhere under that name, looks entirely different:
 

Alan Morrison

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Are we looking at the same picture? Or are we thinking of different Artisan Europeans?

This one, which is all I can find anywhere under that name, looks entirely different:
This is the one that I was thinking about. It is stocked by Axminster Tools
310404_xl.jpg
 

Bats

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This is the one that I was thinking about. It is stocked by Axminster Tools
Yeah, that looks the same as the CSUSA version (or at least one of the options for it). The pattern on the band is definitely reminiscent of it, but the band in Tom's picture has more of a knurled or crosshatched pattern along the center strip (while the Artisan Euro seems to use a flip-flopping version of that Artisan "A" or lambda, or whatever that is), and the pen body makes a smooth transition from one side to the other. More than that, the black portion to the right is, in my mind, a dead giveaway that it's something in the Sierra family - it may even be a true gen-u-wine Berea Sierra, like this one:


1632073798083.png
 

Alan Morrison

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the black portion to the right is, in my mind, a dead giveaway that it's something in the Sierra family - it may even be a true gen-u-wine Berea Sierra,
Now that I see it, I think that you are right.
If Tom wants these as centre bands for 7mm kits then the one in his first picture is the only one that will be of any use, I assume.
Alan
 

Bats

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If Tom wants these as centre bands for 7mm kits then the one in his first picture is the only one that will be of any use, I assume.
Agreed. Although your suggestion of the Artisan Euro does offer him another "decorative band" option for something that's sort of like a slimline - although using the Euro band will require different bushings (or TBC) and involves turning a fairly precise tenon, which may not be something he wants to get into.

I guess the big question is whether he's looking for something he can more or less drop into an existing slimline (the Greek Key and Fancy Slimline fit that criteria), a different kit in the 7mm/slimline family (the Euro), or if he's open to entirely different kits, as long as they look like the examples he posted (this opens up the Cigars, Sierras, and, indeed, just about everything else out there, too).

Back to you, Tom.
 
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