# Investigations in to wood and acrylic



## gordonfraser (Dec 17, 2012)

Hello

I don't feel it's worthy of a show your pen post as it's just an investigation in to whether or not this would work for the Fraser C design, but I will post it here just to say hello.


So I took the prototype C and decided to try and see if I could make the non-clear part of the barrel out of wood, as a proof of concept and also as a springboard for other ideas I have.

Here it is:








Obviously this is an aye-dropper (see what I did there? Damn Scots...) so I couldn't have an ink-wood contact situation, meaning I had to get some other material inside the wood.

Acetal/Delrin is the material of choice so, I got a bit of it, drilled a hole and...well a picture says a thousand words so here's 20,000.























































The wood ended up being just a smidge under 1mm thick and the delrin slid out so was able to quickly snap this before ushering it back to the comfort of the delrin inner. It's amazing just how delicate you can get a bit of wood using high speed and a bit of bum-clenching. 
















I really need to get a butane torch. When the ink is in it's not really noticeable but it would get the visual effect up there with the best.



So that's the basis of what I'm up to. I've got the section delrin'd up and ready to shape. I've also just got myself another tap/die of a smaller diameter to try and do a separate cap thread but I find myself worrying that the tolerances I've left myself are a bit to ambitious. Time will tell - Necessity is the mother of all invention after all.

I've also been getting myself sorted with custom clips - something I really need to resolve soon. I've got an idea of how to get it manufactured but I need to get it all confirmed. Coming in to this time of year it's a bad time to get anything done rickety tick, so it'll take a while. 

Looking forward to the holidays to get stuck in to some of my more time consuming designs.


All the best for now,

Gordon


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## Jim Burr (Dec 17, 2012)

I think you are doing amazing work Gordon!! You can grab a cooking torch, used for creme brule' (sorry about my lack of spelling ability) for about $25 in the states...easy to refill with a propane tube at any liquer store, again in the states, for about 5-8 bucks


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## gordonfraser (Dec 18, 2012)

Thank you Jim


I will have a look in to it. My mother in law has one as my wife's favourite desert is Creme Brule.

Might have to "borrow" it for a while...


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## flyrod (Dec 18, 2012)

You guys amaze me, nice work and can't wait to see the finished pen.  Quick rookie question...what's the torch do for you?


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## gordonfraser (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank you! 

It's a technique called flame polishing and works with extrude acrylic. You direct the flame along the edge and it melts the surface of the acrylic just enough for surface tension to flatten it out to a flawless clear finish (depending on surface condition before flame polishing). We use to do it at the model shop to get a crystal clear glossy edge to acrylic sheets. I'm hoping to direct this flame down me tubes to get the insides crystal clear instead of brushed look. 

It's apparently optically the best way but the MM and a bit of t-cut seems to also do the trick. I just can't get my micro mesh down a 7mm hole!! Haha


BUtane torch en route. Sketched a belter last night so that's my duty when my M12 tap n die arrive. Excited.


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## LarryDNJR (Dec 20, 2012)

Looks good.  Interesting idea.  Does get one thinking about new ways of doing things.

I lost it at the "bit of bum-clenching" part.


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## Brooks803 (Dec 21, 2012)

Looks great! Can't wait to see the end result. Now are you gluing in the derlin insert or are you letting the threaded parts hold it in place? Just wondering if you did glue it, what glue are you using.

Here's a video reference to Gordon's flame polishing method: How to flame polish an acrylic duck call barrel - YouTube Hopefully the link works. I don't remember how to embed a vid anymore.


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## gordonfraser (Dec 23, 2012)

*Building blocks*

Hello all. So part 2 here we are.


I took what I learned from the prototype above and instead of making another test-tube I decided to take it to the next level.

A few reasons for this most of all the fact that I dropped my white prototype at work and it burst all over the floor at the threaded part that joins the test-tube end to the resin. The hole was too big making the threaded part too weak. 

Evidence:







So taking what I learned from the acrylic/wood test, the failed prototype B and my new taps and dies, I set about righting the wrongs. I didn't see the point in finishing a prototype I knew to be weak.


Fraser Concept E / Wenge Lime

So to answer Brooks803 - I did try to araldite the burr elm to the black delrin but it just created a nice smooth layer between the two rather than bond. Ultimately the two screwed parts keep the wood on the delrin but I didn't want it spinning around.

So for the Wenge proto I decided to push fit the delrin within the wood. I bored out the Wenge with a stepped profile to allow me to put a nice smooth arc on the barrel, an 8mm thread on the end cap to keep the ink in, and a M10 on the window end for size.






The push fit was a hammer push fit. I had to carefully knock the delrin in to the Wenge with another bit of wood and my wee toffee hammer. It took a bit of bashing and I did split the Wenge a bit, but a wee squirt of CA and some shavings made easy work of the split.
















This push fit allows me to get the profile turned using TBC and also to insure that the barrel doesn't turn independently from the inner. 

Next was the window. I don't have the 1/3rd test tube end on this one, I fancied a bit of a more formal pen rather than a daily beater and the filler window isn't needed due to the white delrin used. Easy to see the ink within the large chamber. I did though want a window to see the ink anyway.











Now I had a bit of bother with this pen, I thought it would be easier than it was but I kept finding problems that I needed to fix on the fly. My sketch that I made had the sizes etc but when I actually got to making it, there were some that physically were a bit demanding and a lot of failed parts made long work of it.

Such as this:






I made the 12mm cap thread with a 10mm section thread. This left a very thin wall and resulted in this:






So a rethink was needed.

I did find a new technique to polish my acrylic without a flame and it's made an amazing job of it. I can now get a mirror shine within my tubes with nothing more than a bit of abrasive and some metal polish.

However the solution I thought was good to go ended up being a bit crap. So I ended up scrapping it again and trying something different.
















The problem was that by the time I got the nib and holder in, the pen was far too long for me. I like a nicely proportioned pen and this was a bit too long for comfort. So I got rid of the ivory part and rethought the clear window to now be able to both screw in to the barrel for the eye dropper, and also act as the cap thread like my Prototype B. I made sure the joint betwee the barrel and window was tight so that once it was screwed on dry it was hard to get off again without a bit of assistance, so with the silicone it will be sound.

It did mean though that I had to create a part with 3 different sized threads on it:






So from left to right - M10 for Barrel to window silicone filler join, M12 for cap and M8 for Section.

Now I also rethought the ivory at this point. I had some lovely Corian that I thought would go really nice with the Wenge so got it turned down to size and voila, we have this:






Barrel end was next along with the cap. I got some more of the Corian as I liked the idea of a flash of colour when the cap would be on. The lime goes lovely with the Wenge, in my opinion anyway.






The cap insert.






This is what happens with a bit of sanding and some metal polish. Wonderful.






Once I had the cap push fitted to the Wenge I then re-threaded the delrin insert as it had shrunk a bit with the tight push fit. My cap clips are coming on the week of the 7th so I've left the cap end open in order to accept that when it arrives. I'm going to get a provisional bung for the end so I can start using the pen.

Here is is assembled and ready for inking:




















I love how the shadow shows the clear gap. Very sharp and a nice wee break in the dark wood.






Once the clips arrive this will be a really lovely pen I think. It's just a bit thicker than a JR Gent (Will reply in a minute with a side by side.) and has a lovely feel to it. I've not glossed the Wenge up, I've left a slight sheen but kept the pits and grains showing. Feels lovely in the hand and nicely weighted towards the nib.

It's 13.5mm diameter at the clear section and just under 11mm at the lime green section. Still slim enough for me but large enough to get the 3 threads in.






This is my original sketch done last week. It's almost the same but I've lost the ivory for the lime.


So there you go!

It's been a lot of work this one with a LOT of failed parts. But it's all experience and I've really discovered a lot of stuff in the process. A lot of do's and don't's.

One things for sure, this pen is a lot more robust than the first couple. My threads have a minimum of 1.5mm to the hole making the whole thing rigid and strong. Step on it and it might break, but drop it and it won't. Once the clip is on I'll feel a lot happier.


This is me until after Christmas. No doubt I'll have stuff to show afterwards. So to all who bothered to read this far, thank you very much and have a great Christmas and new year. 

Gordon


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## gordonfraser (Dec 23, 2012)

Comparison with a JR Gent.


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## thewishman (Dec 24, 2012)

Isn't it amazing the things we have to do to work through our ideas. Thanks for sharing your progress and your redesigning work.

I'm working on a related set of parts and there area ample opportunities for learning along the way. It is interesting how having failures can teach so much. 

Having detailed sets of instructions may be simpler, but doing things on our own sure comes with a much deeper understanding of the whys of things along with the hows.


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## johncrane (Dec 24, 2012)

Well done Gordon! your pen is coming together very nice,im looking forward too seeing your clip,  i also use metal polish and cotton ear buds too get into the tight spots. so for now have a MerryXmas and safe Newyear.:wink::biggrin:


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## Fishinbo (Jan 3, 2013)

With so much hardwork, determination and patience, the pen will be as strong and rigid as the maker. Great process and materials used showed the true workmanship and talent. Keep it up!

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