NGLJ
Member
I have been gradually working my way along, having started with ballpoint kitless pens. I have no ambition to get heavily into fountain pens, but I had to satisfy my curiosity to some degree. In keeping with baby steps, I purchased a cheap section with nib to make it relatively easy to make a complete a pen. I did run into a sizing issue where the section to barrel thread happened to be M12 x 0.8. I know that you can get triple thread M12 x 0.8, but that is hardly for beginners. Finding single thread M12 x 0.8 isn't quite so easy. I found a tap but no die. My solution was to use M12 x 0.75, which is readily available, and re-thread the section to barrel connection. Then it was suggested to me that 15/32-32 might be a workable close sub for M12 x 0.8. So, far I haven't pursued that because the re-threading appears to have worked OK. The material for the cap and barrel is black Ebonite. Thus far I have only used it to make sections for ballpoint. Not sure when, or if, I will graduate to making my own sections, since ready-made sections with and without a nib are readily available. Besides, the people to whom I might give a fountain pen won't be any the wiser
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