My first fountain pen

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mecompco

mecompco

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Apr 24, 2015
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Fairfield, Maine
I know Sprung already posted a pic in the PITH photo thread, but here are a couple more. Blank was cast by myself using Maine Hemlock cones from my back yard and PR with white mica powder. It was a challenge drilling a less than 3/4" cone blank out to 12.5mm. This pen was take-two as I blew a big chunk out the cap on that "last pass" before switching to paper (dammit!). Kit is a chrome Atrax.

I'm still trying to perfect the finish on these cone blanks--just can't seem to totally eliminate all the "feel" of the cones no matter how much sanding or CA I use. If anyone has hints to share, they would be much appreciated.







Thanks for looking.

Regards,
Michael
 
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Nice looking pen, Michael. It is a pain when you're almost there and something like that happens. Sorry, I don't have any advice to offer on your "feel" question.
 
I would say ... stabilize the cones before casting them?

Looks awesome ... I'll swap pens with ya any day! :)
 
A really nice looking pen. I don't know how much meat is on that pen tube. If there is more room to turn/sand below the outside diameter needed and then build back up with CA over required OD, then sand and polish down to the exact OD needed for the pen, you might be able to fix the feel. I think the pen looks very nice.
 
Echo to what Skie said, stabilize the cones. they are nearly resin themselves then and should blend well with the resin material of the blank. I try to stabilize everything such that the cat wont even come in my shop any more. Teach him to come snooping around.
 
Thanks for the kind comments! Not sure about getting into stabilizing, will have to read up on it. I filled, sanded and finished the pen three times--I've way lost count of how many layers of CA/BLO are on it. I would have done it a forth time but it wasn't bad and I wanted to make sure I didn't end up having the hardware proud. I'm sure stabilized cones would do the trick.

Regards,
Michael
 
Having this pen on my desk and having checked it over, I can say that Michael did an excellent job on this pen! It's a pen I'm proud to own, add to my collection, and put to use. I haven't inked it up yet, but that's only because I have given myself a rule to only have three fountain pens inked up at any given time. So, when the next one runs out of ink, I'll ink this one up and put it to work!

campzeke said:
Very nice ... you can mail it to ...... :smile:
Click to expand...

Sorry, he already did that! This pen has a very welcome home on my desk right now! :biggrin:
 
TurtleTom said:
Do like I do, tell 'em you did that on purpose. It's hard getting just the right friction on a pen.
Click to expand...

Ha ha, I like that, Tom. A little tactile feedback proves there are real cones in the PR!

As in software, it isn't a bug, it is a feature. :wink:

Regards,
Michael
 
Well, you have to watch it with things like that, Michael.

Pretty soon, people will start asking for more and better features, which is called Feature Creep, in the software world ...

Of course, in the gaming world, they call it Feeping Creature or Creature Feep, depending where you look. It's even a card in Magic: The Gathering.
 
I have had pretty good results with building a fairly thick CA layer then level sanding without getting down to the cones. At least take it up through the first 3 MM pads. Then reapply several layers of new CA finish and go through the sanding process again, starting with 600 wet abranet, assuming you put down a fairly smooth new CA layer.

Use a backup pad on the 600 to distribute the pressure better. If you are not stopping the lathe and sanding longways between each grit, that is another step in assuring a level finish. Hope that makes a difference.
 
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