My bash kitless entry

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Penultimate

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Greetings
Here is my Birthday Bash entry. I started designing in November and barely made the Feb. cutoff. Counting my previous Bash entry I made four pens in a year. Three kitless and a one kit. I gotta get faster at making pens!

The pen is a syringe piston filler. I used two o-rings as the seal, and piece of brass for the plunger rod. The white thumb pad and white o-ring holding part are acetal. The threaded part that holds the plunger is Acetal also. I milled a small slot in it so I could install and remove it with snap ring plier for cleaning.

The pen body is a Tim McKenzie Diamond Cast special color. I like the semi-transparency to show the ink level. The cap is a black Alumilite, not sure where I got it. Both materials machined and polished up well. When the light hits the body just right the diamonds sparkle. I really like these blanks. The Nib is a #5 Schmidt fine point.

I made the clip from a piece of 1/8 inch thick aluminum. I blued up the aluminum, sketched the shape and cut it out with a coping saw and a jewelers saw then finished
with files and wet sanding.

FP18A capped.jpg
FP18A piston.jpg
FP18A uncapped.jpg
. The clip hooks into a slot milled in the cap body and is secured with a slot milled in the cap finial.

The competition was fantastic this year and every pen submitted was artistic and beautifully made. Thanks to the IAP team for running the competition.
Thanks for looking and commenting.
Mike
 
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magpens

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@Penultimate

Very well done !!!

Thanks for showing your pen, and giving some details of construction ..... very interesting !!

I like how you have made the clip .... is it sprung or stiff ? . I would not have thought of aluminum so it is good to know about this.

And I like how you have made the piston filler. . Do you know if the ink leaves an internal stain on the blue resin body ?

Very nice indeed !! . Congratulations !!
 
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Ironwood

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May 31, 2010
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Mackay. Australia
Thanks for showing us this pen again Mike. I was intrigued when I first saw it, and think it deserved to place higher than it did. The constitution with the piston filler, and Visconti style clip, is definitely a step up from what we normally see.

I realise you haven't asked for CC, but I feel if the end of the pen was tapered slightly , it would improve the overall looks. This is of course just my opinion.
 

Penultimate

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Mal
Thanks for the comments. The clip is stiff so I either have to put a little gap beneath the or spring it. I've been thinking about a way to mount it on a pivot with a spring. That would be fun to execute. The ink doesn't leave a stain. The o-rings do a nice job cleaning the sides when you evacuate the chamber.
Brad
Thanks, CC are always welcomed. THat's how we learn and improve. I agree that there should be a taper on the end, possible the cap too. It would give it a sleeker look.

Max
Thanks, the mechanism isn't as hard as it looks, the o-rings are forgiving on sizing and Apple Rubber has a nice online design guide. I'm still working on the interior polishing. That's a challenge for me.

Can't wait to see what everyone submits for the Summer Extravaganza.
 
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