Le Roi Elegant V2 - Matched Pair

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magpens

magpens

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Made these as gifts for a friend and his wife.

Kit is Exotic Blanks (prev. sold by Smitty's Pen Works) Le Roi Elegant V2 D37 with Plating TnGold/GunMetal
Dressed in Curly Camphor wood from Joe Schneider (wood128).
Finished with thin CA - 6 coats carefully sanded (240 grit up to 2000) then polished with Meguiars Oxidation Remover, then Novus 3, then Novus 2, and finally Meguiars Plastix.

Just a plug for the kit. . This is my first usage of this kit and I am very impressed. . It is a twist action similar to the Sierra twist, but the differences are a smaller diameter brass tube (0.372" diameter instead of 0.408" diameter) and a shorter brass tube (2.17" long instead of 2.21" long).

The smaller diameter brass tube leaves more wall thickness on the blank after turning which is a nice feature compared to the Sierra and similar kits that use the bigger, so-called 27/64", brass tubes.

I also like the finial twist on this Le Roi kit better than the body twist of the Sierra. . This may not seem like much but it results in a more solid feel to the pen because both ends of the blank firmly press into permanent metal ends.

The refill is replaced by unscrewing the complete nib section (TnGold and GunMetal). . You can also replace the refill by unscrewing the top friction-fit finial plus twist mechanism.

So I highly recommend this kit. . Not everyone likes my bulged style of turning but I actually prefer a little bulge to a straight-sided design.

I show all sides of the pen pair in the following 4 pictures. . Not the best of photography but ....

Thanks to Exotic Blanks for putting these kits on sale in early August at a very good price. . I am very happy with the resulting pens and I'll certainly be making lots more of them.


 
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Thank you Mal!! For those who may not know, I bought Smitty's Pen Works in January, 2017. Easter of 2018 Smitty passed away. My agreement with him is to pay a large portion of the profit from sales to him, now to his family, through 2019. So, I am motivated to improve the selection and therefore increase his contribution to his family, in his absence.



I sincerely appreciate your honest feedback so I know which styles to further develop.


Thanks again, Mal!!
Ed
 
I've done several of Le Roi Elegant v2 pens, very classy looking, and a good value even when not on sale. That pair is great looking Mal!!
earl
 
Thanks for your kind words, folks.


Tony, you asked what size drill I use for this case ....

TonyL said:
Very nice work Mal. May I ask what size drill bit you used? Thank you.
Click to expand...

I used a 3/8" Jobber drill bit (HSS). The measured size of the tube is 0.372", and this drill bit is (nominally) 0.375", so that should theoretically do it ! . But as we all know, the act of drilling tends to expand the material you drill into, so that when you remove the drill the size of the hole is a little bit smaller than you expected. . This is especially so when drilling wood and it is not surprising that the hole is a tad too small in this particular case. . The type of wood is a factor also in the misfit.

(It might be better to use a V-size drill for this Le Roi kit. This drill is stated as 0.377" in diameter.)

Drill sizes recommended by kit manufacturers are usually larger than absolutely necessary to take these facts of life into account, as well as the fact that drills sold by different companies (countries?) may have very slight tolerances/variations in size.

My preference is to use the smallest drill that gives me a nice sliding fit for the tube, but there are only a limited number of choices for drill size.

Very early in my pen-making career I realized the nature of this problem and so I bought - what I have found to be - a very useful set of adjustable reamers. I got them from Busy Bee Tools in Canada, but other companies have them, including, I believe, Grizzly. There are 7 reamers in the set and they cover the sizes from 1/4" at the smallest up to 15/32". . (You can buy, from other companies, larger reamers and you can buy individual reamers also if you know the size you need but I find it handy to have the set because most pen kits we deal with are in that size range.)

My procedure is to choose a drill bit that is just a tiny bit bigger than the brass tube size (measured with calipers). . There are drill size tables on the internet which list the decimal sizes of many drill types (fractional size, metric size, letter size, number size). . You need these tables to select an appropriate drill.

After drilling I expect to have to enlarge the hole just a smidgen using a reamer chosen from the set and adjusted to just fit the drilled hole. . I enlarge the hole with the reamer, just a tiny amount at a time and test fitting the tube to the hole frequently. . I aim for a smooth sliding fit of the tube in the hole and I avoid an over-large sloppy fit.

You can use your discretion on what "fit" you like. . I know you are going to glue the tube, and the glue takes up the slack, but I like to start with a smooth sliding fit (a kind of qualitative term, I know).

.... long answer to your short question !
 
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