Skinny pen

[KLJ]

Hank mentioned making a skinny pen in the philosophical question thread. And that got me wanting to try one.
So here is the center of a tiger stripe maple blank.
I put the pen and refills as reference to size. The small refill is the one in the pen. It is finished with several coats of garnet shellac and then waxed.
I want to try and make on that will retract the refill next time.

 

[leehljp]

While I was thinking of a skinny pen, that is thinner than I could have imagined. Well Done. NICE WORK! Tiger stripe maple looks Great!

My old high school Physics teacher knows that I make pens and while I haven't made him one yet, he did mention that he likes skinny pens. I'll keep this concept in mind when I make him one.

 

[mark james]

OK... That is one skinny pen! .

The Tiger Maple is excellent, and I hope whomever will need to replace the refill in the future has a steady hand.

Very cool thread.

 

[Mr Vic]

Inquiring minds want to know! Click or twist?

 

[KLJ]

Inquiring minds want to know! Click or twist?

Neither it is just the smallest of the refills in the picture stuck in the wood with no brass tubes its just wood and a refill. It is friction fit so it doesn't fall out and would be removable.
I would like to try and make one that can be retractable. I have an idea but you know those things don't always work out .

Very cool thread.

Thank you for the kind words.

 

[johncrane]

Great job! different is a good thing

 

[leehljp]

Neither it is just the smallest of the refills in the picture stuck in the wood with no brass tubes its just wood and a refill. It is friction fit so it doesn't fall out and would be removable.
I would like to try and make one that can be retractable. I have an idea but you know those things don't always work out .

Thank you for the kind words.

I have a complete set of thin brass tubes (somewhere) that are metric and they slide into each other. I used to have a set of imperial tubes also. With these, finding one that is a close fit for the refill, use that for rigidity - Then work out the details. That is what is what my mind is seeing, Maybe this weekend I can give it a try.

 

[pshrynk]

This is what I was talking about! Cool concept and great execution!

 

[KLJ]

This is what I was talking about! Cool concept and great execution!

Thank you.

Maybe this weekend I can give it a try.

I will be looking forward to see what you come up with.

 

[leehljp]

I'm wondering if one made a blank large enough to hold the spring, insert the refill; on the back end - a screw with nice head on it to turn and push the refill down. If ANYONE wants to try this for concept sake, go try it. There are still some kinks I am trying to work out in my mind, and maybe you can figure them out way before I do.

BTW, this concept with the spring will not be as skinny as Keith's above, but it will be skinnier than a slimline.

 

[KLJ]

Hank your idea may have helped me with some of the kinks I am thinking about. One thing that was a problem with the above pen is that the smaller the drill bit gets the shorter they get. I think a full length pen with hollow completely through will need to be at least 2 or three sections. If enough people get to working on this we just might figure it out or ruin some wood

 

[leehljp]

One thing that was a problem with the above pen is that the smaller the drill bit gets the shorter they get.

Keith,
Have you done a search for "aircraft" length drill bits?

Amazon.com : aircraft length drill bit set

In that link, there is one set of 6 inch long of 1/16 to 1/4 inch but 64ths. And there are some metric ones also. If you are looking for specific sizes, there are some, and that is on Amazon. Some drill bit companies will have even more options.

 

[Curly]

Hank Aircraft Spruce and Specialties have the 6" and 12" extension bits in HSS and Cobalt.

 

[leehljp]

Hank Aircraft Spruce and Specialties have the 6" and 12" extension bits in HSS and Cobalt.

Hss Extension Drill Bits - 6 Inch | Aircraft Spruce

Hss Extension Drill Bits - 6 Inch High Speed Steel drills are for drilling general to medium duty, low tensile strength materials in confined areas.

www.aircraftspruce.com

That is a great link. There are variable sizes from 1/16 on up to 1/4 with increments in the numbered sizes by approximately .001 to .005, or so.

We just need to figure out which refills we want to use and order bits for those. That would be cheaper than ordering a whole set.

 

[KLJ]

Hank Aircraft Spruce and Specialties have the 6" and 12" extension bits in HSS and Cobalt

Have you done a search for "aircraft" length drill bits?

Thanks for the information I had not searched for the longer bits.
The bit I used for the above pen was a Norsemen jobber length 3/32 .094 according to what they listed it as on their box I didn't put the calipers to it.
I used the smallest of the refills in the picture and it is a friction fit that you can remove the refill but tight enough it will not fall out.