# couple of Retros



## dow (Mar 27, 2012)

I've been getting ready for a show, and here are a couple that I am particularly pleased with.  I've been having a lot of fun doing custom finials on these.  I think that they look a lot better than the metal domes the component sets come with.


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## D.Oliver (Mar 27, 2012)

Those are two sharp looking pens.  The plating you picked is a perfect match in both cases.


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## D.Oliver (Mar 27, 2012)

Are those blanks something you made or did you buy them.  They look great.


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## dow (Mar 27, 2012)

Derek, the first one is Italian serpentine ceboplast.  Hasn't been made since the 30's, I believe, and it's one of my favorite materials to work with.  I wish I could find some more of it, as my stash isn't as big as it once was.  The second is alumalite made by el mostro, who I'm using more and more for my blanks.  He does very nice work.

Funny thing about those pictures.  They look way different on IAP than they do on my computer.  I uploaded the same ones that I formatted last night, but they look way darker online.  I think it may be the white background on the iap... That, and they don't display the same size online as they do on my computer.   I've got a darker tile that I could have shot them on, but I was afraid that the ceboplast one would kind of vanish into it in a picture.

Yep.  I just resized my browser window so that all I could see was the first picture, and I've got a black background on my desktop.  That helped the picture a bunch.  I wish I knew how to do the click-able thumbnail pictures that the guys here use. That would be better, I think.

Does anybody feel like teaching me how to do that "click on the little picture and get the big picture" thing?  I'd sure appreciate it.


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## Carl Fisher (Mar 28, 2012)

Love the retro and your finial swap.

Very nice pens.


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## keithbyrd (Mar 28, 2012)

Very nice!!  I like these.  What pen kit is that.  It looks a lot like the Jr Victor from Timberbits?


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## G1Pens (Mar 28, 2012)

Great looking pens. Finials look great. I really like the retro. I can never find them available. Where did you get yours?


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## johncrane (Mar 28, 2012)

Both look good, but i like the blue more.


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## BSea (Mar 28, 2012)

Absolutely my favorite kit.  And it just doesn't look right unless it's made a custom finial.  Great job!!


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## dow (Mar 28, 2012)

Thanks guys.  Keith and Gary, Aaron Lau handles them.  Lau Lau Penkits

Bob, you're right, the finial that comes on them reminds me of a ball bearing sticking out of the top.


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## SDB777 (Mar 28, 2012)

Looks like you nailed this one!







Scott (she's a beaut) B


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## StephenM (Mar 28, 2012)

dow said:


> Does anybody feel like teaching me how to do that "click on the little picture and get the big picture" thing?  I'd sure appreciate it.




When you want to attach thumbnails, scroll down to "Additional Options"  and then click on "Manage Attachments".  From there you can upload your photos directly from your computer.  That will include a thumbnail in your message and then people can click on the thumbnail for a bigger view.


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## dow (Mar 28, 2012)

StephenM said:


> dow said:
> 
> 
> > Does anybody feel like teaching me how to do that "click on the little picture and get the big picture" thing?  I'd sure appreciate it.
> ...


Thanks Stephen.  I'll give it a shot the next time.


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## IPD_Mr (Mar 28, 2012)

Dow - At first I was going to say something about the shape of the finial, but I kept going back and looking at it. The more I looked the more it grew on me and I definitely like it. I just hope that you have glued it in well as I can just see a kid trying to pry it out at a show.


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## The Penguin (Mar 28, 2012)

other than price - is there any difference between LauLau's Retro and the JR. Retro at CSUSA?


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## dow (Mar 28, 2012)

IPD_Mr said:


> Dow - At first I was going to say something about the shape of the finial, but I kept going back and looking at it. The more I looked the more it grew on me and I definitely like it. I just hope that you have glued it in well as I can just see a kid trying to pry it out at a show.



Thanks!  Yeah, they turned out a little bit taller than I'd have preferred, I didn't realize it until they were glued in.  Oh, and epoxy is your friend with them.  I turn them with a tenon the same diameter as the one on the metal factory finial and put epoxy in the cup of the crown.  They stay centered until the epoxy sets up.  I've done some jr. gents the same way, and my daily carry pen  has been knocked around a lot.  The finial on it has never budged.



The Penguin said:


> other than price - is there any difference between LauLau's Retro and the JR. Retro at CSUSA?



The platings are different.  Aaron has gold ti, black ti, and rhodium, while CSUSA only has 10k gold and rhodium.  Aaron also has both rollerball and fountain pens. CSUSA no longer carries the foutain pens in this model.


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## Brooks803 (Mar 28, 2012)

Love the finials. I've got a half stick of that serpentine and I dunno what I'll ever do with it. It sure is beautiful! They both are.


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## dow (Mar 29, 2012)

Brooks803 said:


> Love the finials. I've got a half stick of that serpentine and I dunno what I'll ever do with it. It sure is beautiful! They both are.


Shoot, send it to me.  I'll use it. :biggrin:

Seriously, If I remember right, a full stick is about 13 inches long, so if you've got half a stick of it, then you've probably got enough to do at least a closed end jr. gent or something like that.  There may even be enough to do a kitless, if you make the section out of something else.  Here's the first closed end pen I made.  the body is a little long, since I wasn't sure what I was doing, and that makes it stick out of my shirt pocket a little bit, but it's less than half a stick, so you could do it as well.  Oh, sorry about the picture.  It's a little blown out.  Cell phone cameras aren't the same as DSLR's are.

Oh, and I got that thumbnail thing to work. Thanks again for the tip, Stephen!


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## Seer (Mar 29, 2012)

Exotic Blanks also carries the JR Retro,  I need to get some of the Cebloplast that is pretty material


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## scotian12 (Mar 29, 2012)

Dow...Cebloplast rods are available at Exotic Blanks. Great looking pens.


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## mikespenturningz (Mar 29, 2012)

really nice


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## turningfish (Mar 29, 2012)

Good looking pens. I am also a fan of the jr. retro. I haven't done any finials yet but but thought that after glueing a plastic in I might stick a heated nail head down the tube to put a good burr on the tennon to lock it in . The factory ones look like they are peened over. Does  that sound logical ?


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## dow (Mar 30, 2012)

I don't think they're peened over.  I think they're made slightly oversize for the hole in the crown and then pressed in.  They're easy enough to get out with a transfer punch the right size.  There's a tutorial article somewhere in the library that explains how to remove one from the jr. gent.  The same rules apply for the retros.


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