Kaspar
Member
I realize is might not be technically kitless because I used leftover parts from a PSI Apollo kit. While I don't think much of PSI, they did a real good job getting the Gold Ti to look, well, gold. I used the innards a while back for something else, and it seemed a shame to waste the rings and the clip. Of course I could have done it without all that (except the clip) so I would say its my first kitless.
It has few flaws, but I now know how to fix them, and my next should be perfect.
I wanted my first kitless pen to be from one of Dawn "PR Princess's" Polyresins. She was one of the first to really "get" how to do these homemade blanks. As anyone who has done kitless with PR knows, it has many pitfalls, all of which I found. I actually have not yet finished the nib. But I'm almost there. If I hadn't discovered a freebie of the Burnt Copper in my FIB (Forgot I Bought) box, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. The main problem with PR is how hard and brittle it is. Further compounding this is how the brittleness varies within even a single blank.
You can tap thread it, as long as you leave enough supporting material around it. You will have to "face" the first part of the hole because it will likely have chipping, but it works well. However, die thread it at your peril. (If you can do internal and external threading with a lathe, that would probably work.) Thus to use PR with taps and dies, I recommend tap holes only, and anywhere the parts need to be joined do a screw made of Lucite. (Lucite does not have this problem. It is a dream to turn and thread.)
Along with using centerband threads on the nib, instead of the lower barrel, I wanted to do a postable finial. That meant die threading, so I had to make Lucite triple start thread sleeves, slipped over a Burnt Copper tenon. That meant that both required five different parts. It took three tries to do the finial. (I started hearing cracking sounds in my dreams.)
Kitless can be done with PR, if you're willing to work through the complications. Or perhaps some of the more expert kitless folks have found a better way, which I'd love to hear about. I plan on doing Cetacean Seas, Golden Dawn, Verdigris, and Ancient Mars PRs at some point, but my next will be Lucite.
It has few flaws, but I now know how to fix them, and my next should be perfect.
I wanted my first kitless pen to be from one of Dawn "PR Princess's" Polyresins. She was one of the first to really "get" how to do these homemade blanks. As anyone who has done kitless with PR knows, it has many pitfalls, all of which I found. I actually have not yet finished the nib. But I'm almost there. If I hadn't discovered a freebie of the Burnt Copper in my FIB (Forgot I Bought) box, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. The main problem with PR is how hard and brittle it is. Further compounding this is how the brittleness varies within even a single blank.
You can tap thread it, as long as you leave enough supporting material around it. You will have to "face" the first part of the hole because it will likely have chipping, but it works well. However, die thread it at your peril. (If you can do internal and external threading with a lathe, that would probably work.) Thus to use PR with taps and dies, I recommend tap holes only, and anywhere the parts need to be joined do a screw made of Lucite. (Lucite does not have this problem. It is a dream to turn and thread.)
Along with using centerband threads on the nib, instead of the lower barrel, I wanted to do a postable finial. That meant die threading, so I had to make Lucite triple start thread sleeves, slipped over a Burnt Copper tenon. That meant that both required five different parts. It took three tries to do the finial. (I started hearing cracking sounds in my dreams.)
Kitless can be done with PR, if you're willing to work through the complications. Or perhaps some of the more expert kitless folks have found a better way, which I'd love to hear about. I plan on doing Cetacean Seas, Golden Dawn, Verdigris, and Ancient Mars PRs at some point, but my next will be Lucite.
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