Latest modified El Grande

[gwilki]

I didn't cut my own threads on this one. I used the threaded part of the centre band only and got rid of the rest. I turned a grip in the blank material and did the same for the finial.

Comments and critiques are always welcomed.

 

[ldb2000]

Hey Grant , I don't know how to tell you this .... eerrrr.....That pen is so modified that you really can't call it an ElGrande anymore .
Fantastic job on this one , beautiful pen you have there .

 

[gwilki]

Thanks much, Butch. I know that it doesn't look much like an El Grande any more, which as I'm sure you've guessed, is the whole idea. I put that in the description so that people know that it's not a kitless pen.

 

[VisExp]

That looks very nice Grant. I like the finial and the recessed clip.

 

[arjudy]

Very nice!!! How did you like turning that material? I've done a couple and found the material a lot different than other plastics. I resorted to drilling it on the lathe in order to keep it cool. The first time I drilled the material it melted on me. It would not stand up to the heat generated on the drill press even though the rpm's were the same that I use for every other plastic material.

 

[toolcrazy]

Very nice pen. Nice work.

 

[Ligget]

Awesome pen, fantastic blank too!

 

[Dalecamino]

Very nice work .

 

[gwilki]

Thank you all for your kind words.

Alan: I drill on a drill press, but I keep the bore wet with a mix of alcohol, water and dish soap. My experience was the opposite of yours. I couldn't keep the bore wet when the blank was horizontal on the lathe, and I got some melting. The Cebloplast blanks are even worse than these, and my wet mix on the drill press does a good job on them, too.

 

[doddman70]

Very Nice!!!

 

[arjudy]

Thanks for the info, Grant.

 

[Texatdurango]

I dunno, it just looks like your typical everyday run of the mill Grant Wilkinson pen to me!

Nicely done as usual! :tongue:

 

[sbutler]

Yours is my dream pen

Grant, would you mind sharing some tips about the construction and finishing of the cap with recessed clip?

With best regards,
Scott Butler

 

[gwilki]

I loved your comment, George. Tks.

Scott: The cap/finial part is likely the easiest part of this thing. The clip on an El Grande is usually sandwiched between the finial and a plated "washer" with a groove in the washer for the clip tang to sit in. I just toss the washer, push the part that the finial screws onto down into the tube the same distance as the thickness of the clip ring, then file a groove in the tube and blank to replace the one that was in the washer. That way, the clip now sits flush with the top of the tube/blank and the tang uses the filed groove. When you screw on the finial, the joint darn near disappears. The clip is now sandwiched between the bottom of the finial and the top of the tube/blank.

To back up a bit, to do the finial itself, I just turn the plastic off the brass part, then screw it onto the cap "naked". Drill a small piece of the blank and glue it onto the brass finial so that the pattern matches up. Then just turn the cap and the finial at the same time to get a perfect alignment in diameters.

I hope this is clear. It's really not a difficult process. It was harder to explain it than to do it.