First kitless wooden fountain pen

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its_virgil

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Casey's recent post of his crosscut cocobolo kitless pen pushed me off high center to get one made.. I've had the material on my bench fir months. Thanks Casey. Wood is mesquite. The inserts are made from acrylic acetate. Not perfect. I learned a lot making this. Drilling and threading the AA inserts will be done prior to gluing them into the wooden pieces. Enjoy. Comments welcome, especially more suggestions. I'm happy with this first one even though it has several flaws.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

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Ironwood

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Looks good Don. I am taking a guess at 12mm cap threads, looks to be about that size.

I made my latest pen, the Budgeroo Rollerball I posted a few days ago, by machining the barrel insert to size before glueing into the wood, I usually glue the rod into the timber first then drill out to take the refill or converter.
I think I prefer doing it the way I usually do it.
 

its_virgil

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Looks good Don. I am taking a guess at 12mm cap threads, looks to be about that size.

I made my latest pen, the Budgeroo Rollerball I posted a few days ago, by machining the barrel insert to size before glueing into the wood, I usually glue the rod into the timber first then drill out to take the refill or converter.
I think I prefer doing it the way I usually do it.
Cap threads are M13. I will be trying both. I drilled and threaded the barrel sleeve first then glued it in place. On the cap I glued in the sleeve then drilled and threaded. The heat caused the glue (epoxy) to let go. I will keep experimenting.
 

TDahl

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Looks great Don. I am planning on making a few kitless wood pens in the near future. You're comments on the steps you took and what you would do differently are very helpful. Thank you for sharing.
 

PenPal

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Everything you do mate is ok by me Don ,you will overcome these early challenges,me personally I will stay with mainly kits. Even now it is so perishing cold its a struggle. Kind regards to you and yes Casey sets a high standard, Kind regards to you and Brad is a perfectionista from way back as well. Kindest regards you three Peter.
 

its_virgil

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Looks good Don. I am taking a guess at 12mm cap threads, looks to be about that size.

I made my latest pen, the Budgeroo Rollerball I posted a few days ago, by machining the barrel insert to size before glueing into the wood, I usually glue the rod into the timber first then drill out to take the refill or converter.
I think I prefer doing it the way I usually do it.
Here are some specs for the pen:
Cap threads: M13 x .8 Triple Lead
section threads: M10 x 1 single lead
JoWo #6 nib unit threads: M7.4 x .5 single lead
Cap length: ~2.4"
Barrel length: ~ 3.375 " (not including the threaded tenon); Barrel and threaded tenon: ~ 3.75"
Section length: ~1.06'
Cap Dia: ~.7"
barrel dia: ~.6"
 
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its_virgil

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Joe,
Thanks.
You can start and learn with single lead threads. Those taps and dies are not expensive. I purchased a set with both SAE and Metric.

Once the concept was down and I decided to continue then I started acquiring the more expensive taps and dies. Replies in this thread have suggested making mandrels from materials such as acrylic acetate or similar plastics.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

Bats

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Once the concept was down and I decided to continue then I started acquiring the more expensive taps and dies. Replies in this thread have suggested making mandrels from materials such as acrylic acetate or similar plastics.
What sort of mandrels are needed? Is it basically just a matter of jam chucks/pin chucks like for general closed-end pen turning, or are there other mandrelish considerations unique to kitless work?

(I'm still not sure I'm in the right headspace for the engineering involved, but every time I see one of these threads I creep a little closer)
 

its_virgil

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What sort of mandrels are needed? Is it basically just a matter of jam chucks/pin chucks like for general closed-end pen turning, or are there other mandrelish considerations unique to kitless work?

(I'm still not sure I'm in the right headspace for the engineering involved, but every time I see one of these threads I creep a little closer)
Go to turners warehouse and look at the bespoke pen making tooling. Lots of youtube videos showing the process. Search bespoke or kitless pen making.I purchased a tap and die set from Harbor Freight (sae and metric) to get started learning the process.

There are special mandrels but some use closed in pen mandrels or pin chucks.

There are a couple of articles in the library outlining the process. .
Do a good turn daily!!
Don
 
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