My First Closed End

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glycerine

glycerine

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Aug 7, 2009
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Fayetteville, NC
I finished my first closed end pen tonight. I think the colors are great, but something doesn't look right about it. I think I made the body too fat and the cap to skinny. It turned out nice, but not quite what I was looking for.
 

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Good workmanship -- I sense the black end on the body is overly long and out of balance with the black end of the cap. The ripple brown/gold body and the black ends are quite attractive - but the proportion is wrong with the length of black --

The general shpe is quite good to my eye -- near perfect
 
I agree with Ken, the only thing i see is the black end. The pen is outstanding! I'd be happy if my first one turned out that good.

James
 
I do agree that the body is a little to fat and the cap end could use a little more meat at the finial end . All the other proportions look good .
Overall , a great looking pen and a fantastic first try at a closed end pen .
 
the pen looks terrific...when it is in 2 pieces it looks fine proportionally...when together one does see the long black end vs. the shorter etc...it does make it look a tad out of "balance" ..but gosh by golly for a first it is grand
 
I like the pen, great color combo. I too struggle with proportion, but I think what could be throwing it is the black end segments. For your first closed end it is outstanding. I have gone so far as to measure and copy the finial dimensions when doing this type of pen. It is really trial and error and what works for you, does Fibonacci's rule work for pens, who knows. Awesome job, so where is the next one?
 
Thanks for the comliments and constructive criticism. I think you guys are correct about the proportions and the finial size. I think what I may do is create a new cap for it that's all black and a little fatter. And if anything, the finial should probably be a bit larger than the rest and not taper in, huh?
For those of you that make caps without the "center band", do you grind down the band so that it will press all the way into the cap? I don't really have a way to cut threads right now, so using the kit threads is my only option. But for the sedona/navigator/baron, the threads press into the metal center band and then press into the cap. So if I were to just press the threads in, there would be a small gap all the way around between the threads and the wall of the cap, if that makes sense. What's the best way to deal with this?
Something else that I don't like is that the orange/red is not as "rich" on the cap because the brass tube is larger and thus the acrylic is thinner. Maybe making a fatter cap would help with that issue.
 
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cnirenberg said:
I like the pen, great color combo. I too struggle with proportion, but I think what could be throwing it is the black end segments. For your first closed end it is outstanding. I have gone so far as to measure and copy the finial dimensions when doing this type of pen. It is really trial and error and what works for you, does Fibonacci's rule work for pens, who knows. Awesome job, so where is the next one?
Click to expand...

P.S. - I'm thinking about the next one. I think I may try a solid body instead of segmented. I did this one segmented so I could cheat a little. I turned the cap and body on a regualr mandrel without the "ends", then I glued on the ends and finished on my homemade pin chucks. I can't use the bushings on my pin chucks, so this way I could get the size close enough before adding the ends.
 
Been there. I run out of like material all th time and have to "improvise" here and there. As far as sizing things up, get a digital caliper if you don't have one, great investment. Also check out Arizona Silhouette's closed end mandrels, they are worth it, but they are sized to fit individual kits, unless you modify the 7mm one. There is a post somewhere in the site on how to.
 
Very very very nice. I agree with the previous posters on the long black end. I can see what you were shooting for, but I think to keep it that long you would have to taper it some.
 
I think you have made some great "homemade fixes" first you made your pin chucks..then devised a way around having no bushings...then used your material wisely to accomplish the closed end..good to see people reason stuff out and then show the rest of us what they did...grand job..very grand
 
mickr said:
I think you have made some great "homemade fixes" first you made your pin chucks..then devised a way around having no bushings...then used your material wisely to accomplish the closed end..good to see people reason stuff out and then show the rest of us what they did...grand job..very grand
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
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