# A  tipless Slim-Line



## RussFairfield (Feb 12, 2006)

Since there have been several clipless pens recently, I thought I would show a couple that are tipless. This is not new, and there was a similar pen shown here recently. The difference with these is that there is a metal Slim-Line tip buried inside on the end of the brass tube. That solves any problems with wear and possible breakage of the wood at the tip. The only problem is that the pen has to be big enough at the tip to cover the metal tip. I have been making these for about a year, they seem to be durable, and there is no plating to wear off.

The top pen is Eastern Cedar and the one under it is from a piece of Gold Desert Ironwood that BB threw in the box with my last order.  Both are finished with CA glue.


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## Randy_ (Feb 12, 2006)

Russ:  That doesn't look like a clip off of any stock slimline that I ever remember seeing??

Never mind.  It looks like the clip off of the streamline 7 mm BP kit that BB sells??


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## pete00 (Feb 12, 2006)

classy looking......
dont suppose there's tutorial about these mixed in with all the other goodies 
on your site huh ?


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## vick (Feb 12, 2006)

Beautiful work Russ, thatks for sharing it with us.


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## PenWorks (Feb 12, 2006)

I allways wondered about the durability of that style. Seems like you solved that.
Very sharp .

I guess Mike will have to make a clipless / tipless []


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## pastorbill1952 (Feb 12, 2006)

Russ you are always going one step beyond the standard.  Great work & great idea, thanks for sharing.


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## Chuck Key (Feb 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by RussFairfield_
> <br />
> 
> The only problem is that the pen has to be big enough at the tip to cover the metal tip. [/font=Comic Sans MS][/size=3]



Chuck the tip up in a metal lathe and shave the flange down to the outside diameter of the brass tube.  Since that part is only brass, it may be possible with a wood lathe and a bit of finesse.

Awesome tip!  Thanks.

Chuckie


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## wdcav1952 (Feb 12, 2006)

Wow, Russ, I really like that look.  Thank you for sharing it with us.  That is about as classy a pen as I have seen.


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## Jim in Oakville (Feb 12, 2006)

Hi Russ,

It's great to see your work...I really like this design and I can see that the quiet class about it makes it a real winner!


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## vick (Feb 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by PenWorks_
> <br />
> 
> I guess Mike will have to make a clipless / tipless []


Nah I don't was Russ to think I am stalking his designs.[]


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## RussFairfield (Feb 12, 2006)

I got a couple e-mails about how it was drilled, so here is the answer. This is about as much tutorial as you will get for now.

The kit is the Streamline from Berea, but only because I like the clip better than the standard SlimLine. 

The tip is pushed into the brass tube before it is glued into the wood. Then the tip is brought down to the same diameter as the tube with a file while spinning in the lathe. The gold plating is also removed to get a better bite with the glue.

The hole is drilled to the depth of the straight section on the tube with a 9/32" drill. I do this in the drill press so I can use the adjustable stop. Then the bottom of the hole is drilled with a bit that has been tapered to match the metal tip. This bit is also ground with a short straight nib on the end that matches the tip hole, about the same diameter as a #45 drill. This does all of the drilling at one time so all of the holes are lined up. This tapered bit is ground by hand on the tool grinder. This isn't an efficient drill, but it is good enough and it also works on plastic.

After the tube and tip are glued in with medium speed CA glue, the excess wood is trimmed back to expose the bottom of the #45 hole, and until there is no more than 1/32" of wood between the end of the blank and the metal tip.

The rest is easy after that. It is turned on a mandrel that has a spade ground on the end to grip the inside of the tip section that is held in place with the tail-center. The cap section in pushed against it from the other end with a stop collar that is used as an expanding bushing. Except for the expanding bushing and the tail-center replacing the nut, it is turned like any other pen. A pin-chuck held in a collet might be a better way to do it, but this works for me, and it is cheaper.


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## scubaman (Feb 12, 2006)

Nice looking pen, Russ!  Do you think thin wood over the embedded brass tip is substantially stronger than just wood, or is this more for dimensional control and stability?


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## RussFairfield (Feb 12, 2006)

My original attempts at this pen were with an all-wood tip and not having the brass inside of it. That made the wood the sole supporter of the extended writing point. I had three problems with them.

The biggest problem was getting the pen assembled without crushing or splitting the wood on the end. Sanding the transmission to get a looser fit helped but that caused another problem - a loose transmission. Gluing the transmission into the tube is something that I have never had any long term success with. The only solution was leaving more wood in a blunter shape at the tip, but this made for a butt-ugly pen. Stabilized wood and plastic were no help because they are brittle and easilly broken in thin sections.  

Another problem was with the writing tip wallowing out the hole after the pen had been used for awhile. Writing with a pen point that wiggles in the end of the pen is not a good experience. No amount of CA glue would stiffen the wood enough to solve the problem. The only solution was using stabilized wood or plastic. But, I cut most of my own pen blanks and this was a restriction and an added cost that I didn't like. 

A 3rd problem was that every pen that is dropped always lands on the tip. Again the heavier blunter tip prevented damage, but they were ugly pens.

Having the brass inside solves all of these problems. It gives strength to a more streamlined shape, the hole doesn't wallow out from use, and by having less than 1/32" of wood in front of the brass, the tail center is in contact with the metal, and it can be used to push the transmission into the pen barrel. 

Bottom line - I would never have been able to make the pen shown in the photo from a soft wood like Eastern Cedar without having the brass tip inside of the wood.


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## Johnathan (Feb 12, 2006)

Wow, that's a lot of work, but it sure paid off.


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## scubaman (Feb 12, 2006)

Thanks, Russ, you highlighted the exact concerns I always had about all-wood pens, and why I kept putting it on the back burner.  The solution with the tapered bit is pretty neat - I would have thought you modified he tip, turning a couple of fixed diameters and step drilling a few times.  Your way is much more efficient, of course.

Can you tell me more about the drill bit, or take a pic?  Unless it's confidential ;-)  Is this a spade-type bit?  I didn't think the webbing in a 9/32" bit was small enough (the flutes deep enough) to cut all the way to the tip, or rather the #45 center extension

BTW - I like this wood version a whole lot better than the acrylic one.  Not because of the clip ;-)  As for the overall shape, and the transition between the barrels - really beautiful classic look, I absolutely love it!  You done good!  In fact, the subtleties of the shape are even nicer than the fact that it has no metal tip!  It looks like a classic FP until you notice the BP tip


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## Darley (Feb 12, 2006)

Really nice looking pens Russ, one question, could be possible to see a picture of your grinder bitt drill? please,  Thanks


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## woodscavenger (Feb 12, 2006)

Beautifully done!  thanks for the description of the machining.


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## Brent (Feb 13, 2006)

Russ, your pen has a nice clean look all the way down. Now that you have solved the tip durability problem I'am sure we will see more.  Thanks for sharing


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## RussFairfield (Feb 13, 2006)

This is the drill bit that I ground for the buried Slim-Line tip.


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## Darley (Feb 13, 2006)

> _Originally posted by RussFairfield_
> <br />
> 
> 
> ...



Thank you very much Russ for the picture, now I got a question, after you drill the blank an put to size the nib and tube would you recomended to drip 2 or 3 drops of thin CA toward the wooden nib to hardener it before glueing the harware? and re-drilling the hole for the refil, sure that might be very easy to riun the blank if you do have a little catch or missed judged the sanding process ( I mean sanding to much and seeing the hardware )


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## Darley (Feb 13, 2006)

Sorry Russ excuse my ignorance but what is a #45 drill size, what that in inche? Thanks


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## myname1960 (Feb 13, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Darley_
> <br />Sorry Russ excuse my ignorance but what is a #45 drill size, what that in inche? Thanks



Serge

I believe a #45 drill is equivilant to a .082 diameter according to my drill chart.

Chris


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## gerryr (Feb 13, 2006)

Just what I need is another inspiring photo![]  Great work.  I wonder how many drill bits I'll ruin before I get one that works?[]


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## btboone (Feb 13, 2006)

Great job Russ.  I like the drill tip innovation.  That's about what mine look like when I try to drill titanium without coolant. []


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## dfurlano (Feb 13, 2006)

Very nice job Russ, and thanks for the info.


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