# Blank sizes for kitless?



## yaroslaw (Apr 17, 2013)

I started going kitless way, and my first tries are ebonite (I just have almost-free black rods). So far so good, but I want to use some colors and I have some freebies from Exoticblanks and Beartoothwoods, few bought acrylics, some blanks from Jonathan Brooks won during BASH.
Problem is - all of them 5", and most of them - 1 piece.

So, any tricks on using 5" acrylic blanks (some are actually a little bigger) in kitless pens?


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## Displaced Canadian (Apr 17, 2013)

:biggrin:Buy 2 blanks.  When I cast my own I like to start with about 8 inches. If you have shorter blanks you may try to drill and thread then make a mandrel to hold them to turn to shape so you wouldn't need the extra to hold in the chuck.


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## cnirenberg (Apr 17, 2013)

Yaroslaw,
I'm not sure if I understand the question.  I take the material I want to use and cut it to size lengthwise with a little extra for good measure.  I then drill, tap and thread the necessaries and turn down from there.  Basically you will have 3 (or more if you like to do special finials) pieces.  Cap, Body and nib.  You only limitation is the sizing of the threads you want to use.


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## Brooks803 (Apr 17, 2013)

Cris...I think he's asking if there's a trick to squeeze in a full length pen in a single 5" blank.

Yaroslaw what I do is use an accent material for finials and front section.





Then you'd just use the 5" blank for the cap and body. If you have black ebonite that'd work with just about any blank out there.


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## glycerine (Apr 17, 2013)

I would use your blanks for the body and (front section if there is enough) and make a solid black cap out of your ebonite.  Otherwise, start picking up two matching blanks...


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## yaroslaw (Apr 17, 2013)

Chris, Jonathon is right - I want to use single 5" blank to make one kitless pen.
I already imagined few designs that do the trick (say small pocket pens, as one seen in SOYP now). Another trick I imagine, is to "shorten" needed material for body, making section from ebonite AND making male threads for a cap on a section not on a body. But I'm still waiting for custom taps so for now using el grande sections.


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## Texatdurango (Apr 17, 2013)

yaroslaw said:


> I started going kitless way, and my first tries are ebonite (I just have almost-free black rods). So far so good, but I want to use some colors and I have some freebies from Exoticblanks and Beartoothwoods, few bought acrylics, some blanks from Jonathan Brooks won during BASH.
> Problem is - all of them 5", and most of them - 1 piece.
> 
> So, any tricks on using 5" acrylic blanks (some are actually a little bigger) in kitless pens?


The smallest pen I make that is capable of using a "standard" ink converter has a lower body of 2.8" and a cap body of 1.9" and I use .250" black upper and lower finials with a black grip section so making a pen from one 5" blank is easily doable with a thin kerf saw.  I have made quite a few pens this size so the above numbers are fact and not theory.

The lower pen in the photo is such a pen, it uses a standard ink converter and uses a Bock #5 nib and weighs 12 grams .....


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