Pen blanks

[tinkerer]

I turned two pen blanks. I should have taken a picture while I was turning, Nice long curls and really smooth. Finally getting a hang for it. I still have to part them. I will post pictures as I progress with making the pen.

[raynerd]

I made a pen on one of my first lathe projects just before I joined on here: http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1066.msg8452#msg8452

I`m hughely into fountain pens and as a collector, I have a lot of totally destroyed barrels but fully working feed and nib. It is great trying to get them to fit!

My issue was the cap - how are you planning on fitting the cap to the barrel? I know most are a multiple start/lead thread and I never really got my head around it and then stupidly I embarked on all this metal turning and engine building and sadly the pens have been left behind! Maybe this post will re-spark my enthusiasm!

[bogstandard]

Tink,

I see you are using a rather old lathe there, and might have limited bits to go with it.

If you do have a set of normal chuck jaws rather than external ones, you will find turning normal things a lot easier and safer to do.

If you do have another set of jaws, and are experiencing trouble fitting them, just shout out and we will dive in to explain how to do it.


Bogs

[tinkerer]

Craynerd,
I looked at your pen thread. Great work. I have turned a lot of acrylic pens and had them engraved. I have a friend that owns a trophy shop and he has a laser that will burn anything you can put in microsoft word.  He has lasered the high school logo on some pens and my grandkids pictures on the lids of jewelry boxes I made. The school colors are Red & White. I finished the pens from a red acrylic and after lasering wiped in white fabric paint. Worked great.

I just remembered, over on www.penturners.org there is a guy that engraves. You ship to him and he does the work and returns it. He should be easy to find.

Have you made any other pens?

[tinkerer]

Bogs,

I have the chuck you see on the lathe with no extra jaws and a four jaw chuck with less prominate jaws. I also have this keyless chuck, but I think it is for use in the tail stock. Can it be used as the driving chuck?

[tinkerer]

Craynerd,
I am going to make a twist ball point pen from a comfort pen kit. My daughter is in the medical field and this is the kit I will use. I will use one of the acrylics or wood blanks to make accent bands. I am also looking into the availability and expense of powder coating in colors.


After this pen, I will be planning on a roller ball screw on cap pen. I am looking forward to learning threading, but I only have the 40, 50, &60 change gears, so I will have to purchase a set of ten gears. $180.00 at Blue Ridge Machines. I am finding the bits will quickly add up to multiples of the cost of the lathe.

[tinkerer]

I parted the first piece and found I was just a tad low . Added a feeler guage and am very close to dead center. The second part off was uneventful.

[raynerd]

Over on FountainPenNetwork some one mentioned owning a multiple start tap and die set in about 4 sizes. He said that every style of pen he had made could be adapted to suit being threaded by one of these taps and dies. I searched for multi-start taps and dies and couldn`t find anything suitable.

The other route I tried to go down was chasers but again struggled to get an understanding and any information.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38586&view=&hl=chaser&fromsearch=1

[bogstandard]

Chris,

I had a look at that site, and in two pages of posts, not one bit of useable explained information could be found. What is wrong with those people, are they scared of giving top secret information away? Maybe scared of other people doing a better job than they do.

We tried to sort this out for you when you first joined, and you seemed to give up just as progress was being made. Maybe you should resurrect that old post.


Bogs

[Darren]

Yes, I would like to see you succed in this as well Chris....doesn't everyone like a good pen....

[raynerd]

John, Darren - one of the reasons I joined madmodders back in April was because I was trying to find some where that would share information specifically about multiple start threads on the lathe. The pen makers on all the pen turning forums and on Fountainpennetwork just would not give any information away!  I know we started to look at it and I actually was getting somewhere and then I think you said it yourself, I was trying to cut threads without actually knowing my way around a lathe.....and then I got into turning metal, then got my boxford model A, then the shaper, then the mill and the pens haven`t been touched since. I think I will resurrect the original thread at some point in the coming months. I`ve not posted anything in the project forum for a while as I currently moving my workshop and setting it all up in the basement. It is all nearly in but my next/current job is setting everything up correctly. I rushed into it all and thinks like tramming in the mill, setting up the vice had been ignored ! I`ve been doing some test pieces and getting sorted out and I`m slowly getting somewhere. Then onto another engine and then perhaps to the pens.

Anyway, sorry for hijacking the thread tinkerer....I`m watching your pen build with interest.

Just out of interest, ever come across Danitrio pens? They are some of my favourate, - clipless mikado especially! I owned one once when I was trading them. Literrally got rid of my entire collection of vintage Conway Stewarts, Parkers and Pelikans just to own one. Only had it for about 3 weeks and then had to sell it, mind you I did make £60 profit which wasn`t bad! http://www.internetpens.net/i//tn_DSC05362.JPG

Another few Danitrio`s -- http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh130/DougDorann/P9160029.jpg

[tinkerer]

Craynerd,
Don't worry about hi-jackin, I learn when you guys converse. Try this thread at penturners.org http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44066
A book was mentioned and this is the ISBN-13:978-0-85242-838-2 given.
Here is a conversation about multi threading. Seems straight forward to me.http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/archive/index.php/t-15951.html
If those pens write as good as they look, I want one. My only ink pens are an old Parker 51 and a Sheaffer White dot in Imperial Brass with a 585 tip. Cleaned out the ink and put them up.

[Darren]

Yes Chris, you are correct, but I would be happy to say that you have come a long way since then and in short order too I might add...

But those pens sure did interest me.....I would like to make one myself.....a nice special one just for me.....

[Bernd]

I did a bit of searching. Found e-tap.com was mentioned in the penturners.org forum. I searched there but didn't find anything that looked like a triple start tap or die although they mention they have them.

I also discovered that Skiprat is a member of Penturners.org. Said he found a book in the UK on making muliple thread taps and dies. As a matter of fact here's the direct link: http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44066&highlight=threading

Bernd

[raynerd]

Don`t know if this is any use but this is all about hand chasing - apparently takes a bit of practice:

http://www.raynerd.co.uk/wp-content/upLoads/chasing.pdf

The advice I got when the guy sent me this pdf was "FWIW, if you haven't tried hand chasing before I'd suggest something around 20tpi or finer to get the hang of it. Keep the speed low - although I have cut 8tpi at around 450rpm - but it was hairy!!" I believe you can also practice on candle sticks.

[tinkerer]

Ok, now I am confused No way you would use a chaser on metal, we are talking about chasing on plastic and wood, right?

[raynerd]

Sorry - yes acrylic pen blanks!

But - I have no idea if a chaser can be used on metal?

[bogstandard]

Chasers can be used on metal, but a slightly different type.

Just searching for 'Thread chasers' should automatically bring up both types, hand and machine.

http://www.engineerstoolroom.co.uk/thread_chasers.htm

What you would tend to do for metal is just hold one of the dies in your toolpost and use that.

Bogs

[tinkerer]

I was able to get in the shop again today. After parting the blanks I center drilled with 7mm and superglued the sleeves in. I didn't take a picture of the drilling.
 
I then mounted one blank at a time and shaped them. My only problem was the taper from the nib. I have to hand turn the compound and couldn't get the same finish the auto feed affords. I guess that takes practice. If there is a better way to get the taper done, please let me know.
I still have to put the accent ring in. I did one in yellow acrylic, but decided to change that to red. That should not be a challenge.
For the taper, I set the compound at about 4 deg.

The gap between the barrels is where the acrylic ring will go.

When I am satisfied with it, I will disassemble and polish. I checked into powder coating today and the guy was in meetings all day. Hopefully he will call tomorrow and I will find out if it is cost prohibitive.

[raynerd]

Smart job mate!

[Bernd]

Tinkerer,

How about a form tool made from tool steel with a 4 deg. angle on it? You probably won't even need to harden it.

Bernd

[tinkerer]

Craynerd,
Thanks. It is just a generic mixed kit pen to prove the process. My goal is to design and make my own concept and I have a long way to go.

Bernd,
I did a search on form tool on the site and nothing came up. I googled it and mostly software and companies came up. I would need to know what a form tool is and how to use it.

I got to thinking and figured, if I am going to powder coat it red, I will need a different color for the accent. I came up with a blue cutoff. I might have a white cap from a European kit I can use. It would be a patriotic pen then. I have to figure out resizing on photobucket. I know this is too big.

[Bernd]

Tinkerer,

I found one. DICKEYBIRD just wrote it up recently. Hope this helps?

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1883.msg19245;topicseen#msg19245

Bernd

[tinkerer]

Thanks bernd. I figured out when I did a search, I did it from the top of this thread and should have gone to the home page. That definitly clears it up for me. I happen to have the exact same lathe he does, just by a different name, so if his will do that mine should. The only difference is, he was the tool grinder and lathe operator, that could make a huge difference.