faceted sides on a pen

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watch_art

watch_art

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Somebody emailed me asking to make a cap for a pen of theirs with faceted sides. I can do one side but not multiple, at least not if you want it to look good. :)

Does anybody here do this type of thing? 5 or 6 sides? I guess you'd need a milling machine or some kind of set up to be able to do this nicely.

If you can do it, send me a note and I'd like to pass your contact info to this guy. Seems nice - easy to work for I'd reckon. Really wants a faceted cap for his pen.

Thanks.
 
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I tried to explain this process to a guy in Singapore. Got confusing details from him. He HAS a pen that looks like this. First he says he wants a cap for his section. Then says he doesn't need the cap and barrel. Wants a section because it's boring. Then asked how much to make a pen like the faceted one you've mentioned. 40 FB messages later, still don't know for sure what he wants. When I looked at the pen, in his photo, there is nothing wrong with it. AT ALL. I asked why he wanted another cap? He said it was boring. It's aluminum, textured. May not be the same guy. But, sure made me think of him. Could be the language barrier. FWIW
 
Curly said:
Mount a small router on the carriage of your lathe. Look up some of Skiprat's postings to see some of the possibilities.
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Pete, The guy I talked to on FB has already tried to contact Steve. This guy is a member on FPN and, said he got rejected on IAP for spamming. Again, I'm not sure it's the same guy. But, I can't imagine two guys looking for this ki9nd of cap, at the same time. But, it COULD happen. My $.02
 
I've been talking to him too. In the end, I'm just going to keep working on my own thing until I've got some more skills (tools). I think I NEED a 4 axis cnc mill...
 
I didn't know anything about the origins of the request. I was only suggesting a way for Shawn to facet on his lath. With the red flags you raise it would be prudent for Shawn and others to be cautious.
 
That's probably him.

As for being blocked from IAP for spamming - it's something we run into on FPN a LOT. Singapore only has a few IP address blocks (or something) so that everybody shares the same ones the spammers use. So lots of honest people are banned from joining forums b/c of all the spamming that comes out of there.

As for the customer and what he wants - yeah - I don't really know either.
 
I got an email yesterday and pm from an IAP member in Singapore today. Not sure if they are related. I didn't find anything suspicious, but I wasn't able to assist him in his request.
 
If your lathe does not have indexing feature or spindle lock might look into getting one of these, or make your own.

My lathe has indexing feature, but push button spindle lock only good for mounting/un-mounting accessories.

Universal Index attachment.
Universal Index Attachment at Penn State Industries

Tried linking PSI lathe mounted fluting guide but cannot find it on line at their site. When go to mini lathes drop down menu show it listed but does not show up. It is listed on page 140 of current catalog.

Of course can make your own, with jig, trim router & correct bit and indexing would be a snap to apply facets to any blank.

Not sure would want to go through all time, money and effort to satisfy an email from someone not living in North America.
 
watch_art said:
If I could easily do this on my lathe I would - I've gotten lots of requests for faceted pens.
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You can come by and use my lathe, it has the stops needed. I even have a router here, and could probably whip up a jig for it....





Scott (might even have some food around here) B
 
Yes guys. It's me >_<

I saw in the forums that you guys might make them and asked around (I'm a little kind of indecisive, sorry for that)

Sorry if I caused any trouble. >_<
 
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Yes a 4 axis mill, cnc or otherwise. I also think the Pen Wizard would also do it. As well as indexing it on a lathe with a router bolted to an adapter that fit on your tool post.
 
watch_art said:
Oh no trouble - maybe a bit of confusion. ;)
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I think I should voice out my concerns (which was the reason I think it confuses me and others as well). Perhaps it would be easier.

  • I do not know what is the market rate for jobs taken (nor how much to expect). I just know stuff like aluminium is cheaper than titanium in terms of materials costs. So I thought well, I'll just get an aluminium body with the shape. Probably much cheaper than steel or titanium. I read that Steel and Titanium are also hard to work with. So aluminium would be probably easier to find a guy doing it. Just didn't realise that the faceted sizes would cause so much issues.
  • I don't really know what you guys can do, most of the messages I sent were from the snapshots/stuff I could google before I managed to join IAP and FPN. Sorry about that.
  • I just saw you guys making amazing stuff and was :eek:
  • My imagination was that most of you guys have amazing workshops (in your garage, which aren't present in many homes in my country unless you're filthy rich. Yes to own a small garage over here takes tons of cash) to make amazing artistic pieces.
  • I am working to pay off my school fees and my research grant would be ending soon. So I kinda have a budget limitation (you know once the grant is gone/contract term ends, you're kinda jobless unless you get another contract) and was wondering what I could get with it. And I am not too sure how to quote or ask without knowing the rates. It is kinda awkward when my budget is no where near the quoted price. Sorry again.
  • The reason I wanted to get some new parts was also on a budget, as I can't exactly get the top tier fountain pens of the Platinum brand. At the same time I just wanted to have a metal body (and for that brand the only ones with metal body are the real low end or the real high end models). So I looked at the pens I had and thought. This 3776 Maestro went thru University with me, I like the nib, why not just change the barrel and cap? And maybe in the future, I get some cash to get a gold nib, I could swap the barrel onto the new section (the threads are supposedly the same).

I was also actually undecided on how my ideal design would look like when I first contacted few of you. Thus confusing you. Sorry.

And lastly, sorry for the long post.

Hope it clarifies. >__<
 
Totally makes sense.

I think we all have different rates and would charge a bit differently based on how difficult we would each perceive the job to be. Some guys with more equipment would find it easy to do and would possibly charge a lot less than somebody without those tools, who would try to add the facets by hand with a file or something.
 
watch_art said:
Totally makes sense.

I think we all have different rates and would charge a bit differently based on how difficult we would each perceive the job to be. Some guys with more equipment would find it easy to do and would possibly charge a lot less than somebody without those tools, who would try to add the facets by hand with a file or something.
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I tried to look up for what would be the market rate but I couldn't find anything =(

Underquoting would be rude as well (at least that's what I think).
 
Actually, thank you for the explanation. Understand that we like to help and explaining it as you have lets us make better decisions on how to help you. There have been more than a couple instants where others have tried to use IAP and FPN to take advantage of the members. You may or may not be able to have the work done if you dont have adequate funds and maybe the project just needs to be stowed away to a later date when you can better afford it. Good Luck with everything.
 
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If I would be bold to ask, to make an aluminium pen body for an existing 3776 section with nib like the one in the picture, would $100-150 be sufficient?

I think this will resolve my issue whether I could get it done or I have to postpone it.
 

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mredburn said:
Do you happen to know the thread size and Pitch on the front section or how its attached?
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You mean the cap? or do you mean the barrel?

If it's the barrel, I am told that it is a 10 x .75 thread.

I attached some pictures. Not sure if it helps.
 

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Now I'm a little curious. That is a really nice pen, and I'm starting to think of ways to make a jig. Maybe using a dremmel or a trim router. If someone does this, I'd like to see some pics of the process.
 
BSea said:
Now I'm a little curious. That is a really nice pen, and I'm starting to think of ways to make a jig. Maybe using a dremmel or a trim router. If someone does this, I'd like to see some pics of the process.
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If you have a Dremmel or other rotory tool with straight sides you mount it to a tool bar (you could use hose clamps) which fits into your tool holder on your tool post. Assuming you have a metal lathe. The carriage then travels as usual. You should also have an indexing wheel with a means of locking the head stock in place. I've been too lazy or, busy to make it myself but, someday when I get the new shop set up, I will.
 
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