First Stars & Stripes Pen

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jimbob91577

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Aug 18, 2008
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I'm getting ready to turn my first Stars & Stripes pen, one of Constant's Sierra kits, and aside from his well written instructions, are there any other pointers the group can give me?

Thanks!
 
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Easy does it. Take your time. Don't rush things. Now that I have you working in slow motion, simply give yourself extra time for any laser kit. First and foremost follow Constants (Laserlinz) instructions. He knows best. For this kit, the only part that might be tricky are the stars. One simple trick would be to dip the stars in soapy water before inserting them into the blank. This makes insertion easier. The stripes are a simple snap in. A couple things to remember: NEVER us a pen mill to trim the ends. Use medium/thick CA or epoxy to glue tubes (this will give you time to insert tubes before seizing up). I'm sure you will get many more tips form other members so pick your favorites and have fun. Don't forget to post a pic once you finish…
 
PSI Video

Go to PSI site and watch the video that Constant made for them. It Helps alot. The stars are the hardest part. The stars are the hardest part. Make sure they sit right. As stated before take your time.
 
I use the back end of a xacto knife to tap the stars in once they are in place. Use the tip of the knife to place them, just don't push too hard into the tiny piece.
 
Do you already have it glued up? I turned my first just last weekend. All I did when turning was scrape, scrape, scrape... with my skew and a round nose scraper. Then sanded of course, but the blanks are thin enough that I don't think you need to pull out anything but the scraper and or skew... I did coat the blanks well with CA before I started turning.
 
I have a couple more questions for those who have already done this pen kit. I've put all the pieces into the two tubes (red & blue tubes) - the stars stand proud of the blue tube. Is this normal? I'm afraid of trying to push them in further for fear that I'll cause the blue tube to split.

Also, the white stripes fit in better, but on a couple of them, I can see through the joint to the brass tube below. Will this fill in once I CA glue and/or turn and sand?

Thx!
 
I used the eraser end of a pencil to push part in after setting them in place. After I got all in place, I rolled the blank (with the tube still in it) back and forth (gently, but some pressure) on my table top. This seemed to work them into the right deepth.
 
My advice is to use sandpaper before using any other tools once you start turning. I always use a strip of 220 sandpaper and get everything smooth before I turn to final dimensions with my skew.

In my experience the stars do end up being proud of the blue tube before turning and the sanding mentioned above insures nothing will catch and tear in the turning procedure.

John
 
I recently diud my first stars and stripes kit as well. Saldy, I went through the stripes ar the receiver end of the pen body :frown:.

To save it, I'll probably add a ring of either red or black material and have something laser engraved on it to make it look intentional... Luckily, I had PLENTY of CA between the blank and the tube, so it didn't cause a catastrophic blowout.

Everyone who's seen the pen has loved it, BTW. Definitely a show-stopper.
 
jimbob91577 said:
I have a couple more questions for those who have already done this pen kit. I've put all the pieces into the two tubes (red & blue tubes) - the stars stand proud of the blue tube. Is this normal? I'm afraid of trying to push them in further for fear that I'll cause the blue tube to split.

Also, the white stripes fit in better, but on a couple of them, I can see through the joint to the brass tube below. Will this fill in once I CA glue and/or turn and sand?

Thx!
Click to expand...

Yes, the will definitely stick out. They might stick out on the inside too, so you'll want to sand the inside of both sections so the tubes fit in nicely.
As others have mentioned, I sanded the stars down before touching it with a lathe tool. And even then, all I used was a scraper...
 
onewaywood said:
There a fantastic downloadable video in the Lib. #10 by Ed D.
It doesn't get any better than his video's.........
Click to expand...


For those that aren't into abreviations like I am not. That is Ed Davidson AKA YoYoSpin. It is Video #10 of his and in 3 parts and yes it is excellent for this. It can be found right here in the library. Good call on that one.
 
For what it's worth. I followed Ed's instructions (to the letter) and both of the SS pens that I have made turned out great. He's made A LOT of them.
 
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