RAF Roundel Pen Set

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KDM

KDM

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Joined
Nov 12, 2009
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Redditch, England
I was asked to make a "airplane themed fountain and rollerball set."

"OKay, couple of airplane clips..." Nope. Anyone know where I can get airplane clips for future reference?

So, I looked up the types of of camo certain aircraft might have had, tried to copy the colour in PR, BING! Airplane camo.

The RAF roundels aren't decals: they're cast in. I drilled holes, filled 'em with blue, drilled, filled with white then drilled and filled with red.



Someone once told me "pens don't have to be glossy." I sort of brushed that off. This is the first time I've made pens and felt the urge for them not to be glosssy!



Yes, I made three blanks in case I fluffed one.



As it happens, I DID fluff one. I'd turned it almost to completion when I dug the tool in and chipped it. I preferred to fill it than start again. See the green and beige blobs? That's the filler. End result looks smart. You'd think it was part of the camo.


Did anyone notice the marks made when the tool was chattering??
 
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That dull finish would be correct for a plane that sees combat. You don't want the sun reflecting off the plane body. I wouldn't have noticed the chatter marks if they didn't run over the RAF roundels and you hadn't pionted it out. Very nice job on the drilling amd filling. Great work. 2 out of 3 is good in any league. Jim S
 
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The pens look awesome. If you are turning using a mandrel might i suggest switching to turning between centers. I recently switched and noticed much less chatter as well as more concentric results
 
firewhatfire said:
That is just cool looking. How did you drill in the center that many times?
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Luck. Actually the blanks were originally square. Drilled, filled, then (critically) sanded flat again. Poked a little hole with a centre punch and used that to guide the drill.

Honestly, the most critical and awkward part was lining the roundel up while drilling out for the pen tubes. If I'd got that wrong, there was a good chance the roundels could have been off centre. The trick here was to mark the centres, drill a hole for the dead centre, mount the other end in a 3-jaw chuck, rough round the centred end, reverse the blank in the lathe... and repeat until the blank was round, then mount the round blank in the chuck to centre drill for the tubes.

It was by luck that I didn't need the thrid blank.


plantman said:
That dull finish would be correct for a plane that sees combat. You don't want the sun reflecting off the plane body.
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Indeed.

plantman said:
I wouldn't have noticed the chatter marks if they didn't run over the RAF roundels and you hadn't pionted it out.
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If you'd had it in your hand, you'd have noticed it. It was more obvious IRL than in the photos. Once I realised it was happeneing, I left it oversize and did a load of sanding to hide it!
 
jrap said:
The pens look awesome. If you are turning using a mandrel might i suggest switching to turning between centers. I recently switched and noticed much less chatter as well as more concentric results
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Not sure what the process would be for that. I almost always rough my blanks round between centres and drill in the lathe chuck. How would one hold the drilled pen between centres?
 
There is another thread in the penturners area detailing it better but for a start you will need a 60degree live center and 60 degree dead center. You can use normal bushings or the ones drilled to have a 60degree flat in them. Or do what i do, no bushings and use digital calipers
 
jrap said:
The pens look awesome. If you are turning using a mandrel might i suggest switching to turning between centers. I recently switched and noticed much less chatter as well as more concentric results
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that. I am close to mounting my blanks afterv a VERY long process, and this would be a much better approach for me than going for that rickerty mandrel.
 
KDM they look fantastic and the matte was a great finish for them too, good call.

I think i may have been tempted to knock the finial out and replace it with a RAF logo. food for thought for your future projects.
 
Had a quick search. Don't see anything. I have all the kits described: I use it for roughing, but the blanks must have some kind of mandrel: the pressure between 60 degree centres would crack the PR casts.
 
KDM said:
Had a quick search. Don't see anything. I have all the kits described: I use it for roughing, but the blanks must have some kind of mandrel: the pressure between 60 degree centres would crack the PR casts.
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:confused::confused: I might be missing something here about turning between centers and it cracking the PR casts. If you have tubes in your blanks, the full pressure will be on the tubes because of the angle of the 60* centers. If you are using bushings, and turning between centers, the pressure will be on the whole end of the blank and the center of the bushings. You only need just enough pressure on your tail stock to turn the blank. It's the same idea as turning with a mandrel, you only need enough pressure on the brass nut to turn the blank. Over tightening may bow a mandrel, The big difference in turning between centers, more concentric blanks, shorter distance from head to tail stock, no chatter while turning because there is no flex between solid centers, and little or no glue buildup on the ends of your blanks when finishing. Try it, you will like it. The pressure is less than the pressure you are exerting when putting the fittings into your finished blanks. Jim S
 
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KDM said:
BradG said:
I think i may have been tempted to knock the finial out and replace it with a RAF logo. food for thought for your future projects.
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Dammit, you're right. I never thought of that, although I have done it here and here. Irritating that I didn't think of it.
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Heres a couple of my finials of a similar concept :smile:
 

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Lovely pens really nice appearance. Only caution is that the RAF roundel is a registered trade mark of the RAF/Ministry of Defence
 
Wood Pen Pro.com has military and propeller clips. The "Guy" that runs the place has a regular job plus he's in Hawaii so he's sometimes hard to get a hold of. He's good about returning phone calls and emails but it does take him awhile.
 
trapper said:
Lovely pens really nice appearance. Only caution is that the RAF roundel is a registered trade mark of the RAF/Ministry of Defence
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Good point. Hadn't thought of that when I made these pens with a Blue White and Red concentric ringed target on them which has nothing to do with defence whatsoever and looks nothing like what you might find on a plane. The colours are all wrong for a start. And they bleed into one another. They're not even circular. Thank heaven's they're not for sale!
 
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