Kitless Pens 5, 6 and 7

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PenHog

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
255
Location
Mississippi
Hi All,

Some new pens I made when I had time over the past few months.

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Pen 5: "Ancient bronze" alumilite, purchased from Ernie at BearToothWoods, which is an awesome source of alumilite and other acrylics!

This is going to my brother, who works a stressful job; perhaps this will brighten his day a little.

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Pens 6 and 7: Conway Stewart "Red Stardust", purchased from Vince at The Turners Workshop; I love the selection that Vince offers!

Pen 6 was made for my wife. Then, her mom (my mother-in-law) saw it and liked it, so Pen 7 was made for her.

Special thanks to IAP members: budnder, elyk864, jttheclockman, nava1uni, and Pawel.J for their help in fixing an epoxy problem with the section on Pen 7.

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Nose cones purchased from Richard Greenwald, as always, I really like these. Although, maybe this means my pens are not totally kitless (?), I don't know.

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I'm experimenting with different-sized pen designs and I'm generally happy with the outcomes.

However, a recurring irritant is my inability to perform consistent, accurate cuts. The shape of these pens is reasonable, and I doubt the recipients will notice the deviations from perfect symmetry, but it bothers me. Got to improve my technique and perhaps, at some point, I'll move to a metal-working lathe and see if that allows for increased accuracy.

But before that, lots to do: I want to try including bands, and then learn how to create fountain pens. Of course, all of this once my wife lifts the purchasing ban she's imposed...all things to work on in the new year.

Thanks for looking and, of course, any criticism is welcome (seriously, I would appreciate it, otherwise I'll just keep making the same errors).
 

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FGarbrecht

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2019
Messages
618
Location
NY
Nice pens.
As far as the transition to fountain pens goes, you just need to modify your design a little bit to accommodate a FP section. There is a nice tutorial here about turning the section. There is a bit of fiddliness involved - measurements and turning need to be precise for the housing to fit and seat properly, but give it a try! Oh, and there is that part about drilling out the cap and barrel to fit the converter and nib sections, but that is just details.
Post your success with rings when you get around to trying that. I just got a shipment of some brass, aluminum and nickel silver rod and some argentium silver to teach myself a little ring-making as well.
Good luck and nice job :)
 

Fred Bruche

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2018
Messages
972
Location
Philadelphia 19146
All pretty nice and without holding them I can't tell what your concern is about some asymmetry.
Nit pickings (since you kinda ask for it). The junction between the section and the body looks a bit loose in #5 and #7 (I see small gaps in your pictures). Nose cones aren't that difficult to make, what stopping you!? :p
 

PenHog

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
255
Location
Mississippi
Thanks, Mark and Dieseldoc!

FGarbrecht: Thanks for the info! I anticipate lots of screaming/frustration when it comes to making the first couple fountain pens, but that's normal (for me). As for the rings, I'll be purchasing some from R. Greenwald's site most likely; I don't have the tools (or the skillset) to make them myself.

Fred Bruche: Thanks for catching that, you're totally right. I had noticed it on Pen 5, but you're correct that Pen 7 suffers too. I've found it tough to correct this issue.

My threaded mandrel doesn't leave room to re-chisel that section since the section screws (mostly) flush into the mandrel. If I unscrew the section to try to insert the parting tool at that location, upon spinning the section will immediately re-screw into the mandrel.

Perhaps I should use a pincer attachment? I thought about using sandpaper by hand to make a tighter fit, but I worry I could make things worse since it's tough to tell if I'm sanding evenly around such a small, circular surface. Not sure how to remedy this, but I should spend time thinking about it.
 

PenHog

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
255
Location
Mississippi
Oh, and regarding nose cones: the poor but honest answer is that I just don't have the patience. I've tried, and what I've created always looked ugly. I figure with the effort that goes into making the rest of the pen, I don't mind "cheating" a bit by using those nose cones :)
 
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