New kitless fountain pen

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Dan_F

Dan_F

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
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Location
Spokane, WA, USA.
I finally got a chance to turn another pen. This turned out to be quite a challenge to bring to completion, as the center band gave me fits.

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The CB is a lam of acrylic blank, but without a tube to hold it together, it proved quite problematic, coming apart several times while drilling, tapping, and turning. Think I'll keep it at home, as I don't know how well it will hold together. Epoxy and CA both failed, hence my post in pen turning about a glue that will melt acrylic. In that thread, Weld-on 3 was suggested, so I'll try that next time. If that doesn't work, I'll have to rethink the whole CB idea.

If I had it to do over, I'd like to leave it a little more stout at the band, both on the cap and barrel, which would make it appear more tapered at the ends, as well as leaving a little more glue surface for the center band. I was going for more of a Wahl-Eversharp Equipoised look. Next one I will turn the barrel first, then the cap to match. There is a nice green blank calling my name down in the shop...

Dan
 
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Blind_Squirrel said:
It looks like it was worth all the trouble! That is one NICE pen!

How did the acrylic take to being threaded?
Click to expand...

This one took th threading quite well. I got one of the multi start tap and die sets for the cap from the first group buy . The section was a little tight until I ran the 10m die on it; after that the section fit fine.

Dan
 
What a beautiful work of art. What kind of time, start to finish, on the lathe did it take? It must be nice to have that kind of talent. One day I hope to get there, one day........
 
I like the finial rings. The clip fits over the tenon and the ring holds it in place?
 
Very nice Dan! I like the shape and the purple end pieces make it pop! Not really wild about the center band but that's just me. Have you thought of a metal centerband, perhaps sterling silver?
 
That is one beautiful pen! Have you had a lot of experience with tapping the acrylic? It came out great.

Dale
 
Thanks to all for your responses!

Altaciii--- I can't really give a good estimate of straight time, as there were lots of diversions and experimentation involved. There is nothing that technically difficult about this pen, everything was done on my wood lathe. A Beall collet chuck comes in very handy for some operations, holding the work for drilling and tapping. Patience is the key to precision. As a guess, I'd say 4 to 6 hours of lathe time, but some of that could be shortened by making the critical tolerance pieces in batches ahead of time. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to remember where you put stuff, so you don't spend half your time scratching your head and wondering where you set the next tool you need. :biggrin:

The main hurdle to get over is the multi-start threads, which requires either a custom tap and die, or a metal lathe. As for design, look around at vintage and modern commercially made fountain pens, see what attracts your eye, and go from there.

Rexl---the black finial on the cap has a tenon which is threaded into the cap. There is a recess turned into the cap material for the ring of the clip to set into, and a slot filed into the cap to allow the clip to settle into the cap. The purple "jewel" is glued into a 3/8" hole drilled into the finial. There is an article in the 2008 section of the library which shows how to turn the jewels.

George --- I was trying to come up with an alternative to silver, but I'm not convinced that this will ever be durable enough to survive in the wild.

Dale---Not a lot of experience, but it does take a little practice. Main thing is to take small bites, no more than a half turn before backing out to eject the debris. I used the Pam cooking spray that others have recommended as a cutting lubricant. I used taps and dies, as I don't have a metal lathe.

Dan
 
Man that is an outstanding pen!!

Dan_F said:
Epoxy and CA both failed, hence my post in pen turning about a glue that will melt acrylic. In that thread, Weld-on 3 was suggested, so I'll try that next time.
Click to expand...

I do a lot with acrylic fish tanks and use Weld-on glues quite a bit.

Weld-on 3 is a alcohol-thin liquid that you are supposed to have your items close but not touching (we separate the parts of the tank with straight pins) and then use capillary action to pull the glue into the crack before letting them settle. You have VERY little time to work but it does truly turn two pieces of acrylic into a single piece.

Weld-on 16 is a gel like version of the same stuff. It still "runs" if put on a vertical surface but is designed to be placed "where you want it" and then press the pieces together. It will also do a 1 + 1 = 1 action for you.

Despite the nasty colors/background this site seems to describe the different Weld-on products the best.

http://www.sdplastics.com/weldon.html

Good luck!
GK
 
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