# A Work in progress



## go_fish (Mar 16, 2013)

Im just so happy at how this is turning out. Its my first kitless fountain pen.







Its a Fire Ribbon blank from 043 Turning. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Mark for a few hours last weekend. He ran me through how to make a kitless FB. Learnt some damn cool tricks aswell.






I stole the section from the pen we made last week just to see how it would look. Alot of the why this pen has been made has been modified to suit my skills and my lathe. I dont have the $$$ to get the triple start taps and dies so ive made do with what i have sitting in the garage.

I had planned to turn a section from the same blank but after a few attempts and just as many fails i gave up. There a couple of polishing marks. I'll have to make up a jig to hold the pen fully out of the lathe jaws so i can sand in one step, rather than sand half and then reverse it in the chuck to sand the other half.


Thanks for looking.


----------



## Jim15 (Mar 16, 2013)

Outstanding work, beautiful pen.


----------



## plantman (Mar 16, 2013)

Threads look good, blank is sharp, can't wait to see it finished.  Jim  S


----------



## go_fish (Mar 16, 2013)

Thanks guys!






You can clearly see the marks that i need to sand off and re-polish..










Heres the section that i tried to make. It heated up and warped. Is there away i can stop it from heating up and warping like that? Or do i just need to go extra slow?


----------



## RMayoIII (Mar 16, 2013)

Try using a spray bottle with water. Or you could just take a couple passes and wait for it to cool then take a couple more. Theres lots of different ways to keep it cool. I use carbide tools, light cuts and a water bottle myself, and a towel on the lathe bed to keep it from rusting!


----------



## RMayoIII (Mar 16, 2013)

Very impressive BTW!


----------



## darrin1200 (Mar 17, 2013)

That is a fantastic first. 

I am getting ready to try one myself. I just received my 9 x .75 for doing the section to body. Like you, I don't have the dollars buy triple starts. Which single tap did you use. I have a tap&die kit, but there is nothing in it fine enough and there is nowhere near me to buy individual taps. This means I will order online, but I am not sure which to get that will work with this section size. 

I look forward to seeing you pen assembled and complete.


----------



## duncsuss (Mar 17, 2013)

Great job!

I find it really important to sand up and down the length of the barrel with each grit before progressing to the next finer grit -- making sure that every one of those circular scratch lines is gone.


----------



## SDB777 (Mar 17, 2013)

What are the tap/die combo's your using for this one?  And is that a #6 nib?

Warping....light passes spray bottle with straight water(towel is a must), and take some breaks while turning.  WD-40 you lathe to keep any water that gets though the towel from rusting anything!





Scott (coffee no good now, must have beer) B


----------



## go_fish (Mar 17, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> What are the tap/die combo's your using for this one? And is that a #6 nib?


 
I think its a #6 nib, not 100% sure. Ill have to find out.

As for the threads, Cap is 1/2" UNC 20 and threads for the grip section are 3/8" UNC 24 from memory. It takes about 2.5 -3 turns to screw the cap on. Im happy with that.

Id really love a 14mm x.8 x 3 but i cant afford those at the moment.

Benny


----------



## Curly (Mar 17, 2013)

Benny you have your thread designations mixed up. The 1/2-20 is a United National Fine thread. If it were coarse it would have 13 threads per inch. The 3/8-24 is also a UNF thread. The coarse for 3/8 is 16 tpi. It doesn't change anything but will confuse someone looking for the taps and dies if they are not familiar with the terminology. 

Your pen is going to be a beaut when done.


----------



## go_fish (Mar 18, 2013)

Curly said:


> Benny you have your thread designations mixed up. The 1/2-20 is a United National Fine thread. If it were coarse it would have 13 threads per inch. The 3/8-24 is also a UNF thread. The coarse for 3/8 is 16 tpi. It doesn't change anything but will confuse someone looking for the taps and dies if they are not familiar with the terminology.
> 
> Your pen is going to be a beaut when done.


 
Sorry! Im working off memory. I will double check when i get home after work. I would hate to lead someone astray!


----------

