# First custom pens...



## chugbug (Sep 26, 2010)

OK, Here goes! (big sigh!) Thought I'd post pics on my first attempt at custom pen making. 

Since these were my first, my main goal for these were to think through all the various parts and figure out how I could make a pen without any pre-made parts and a minimal amount of equipment (no special metal lathe, or tooling). The pens picture here are my first design attempt.

*Design features:*
*1. Pen Type* - Since I wanted to make all the parts, and don't even come close to having the equipment to make a fountain pen transmission assembly, I decided I'd start with a rollerball pen. I started out making the parts from hard maple stock, just to get the process and design elements down, then made a few others from wood, then went on to acrylic.

*2. Cap -* The Cap is friction fit. I was actually surprised at how solid a fit I could get with a simple friction fit, just by being careful with my measurements (love to hear that "POP"!). 

*3. Refill / Tip -* The pen was made for a Hauser rollerball refill. As I noted earlier, I made my own tip, and on this first go, the tip is glued in place. To change out the refill, I incorporated a small threaded cap on the opposite end of the body (which also houses the spring). You might say then that this isn't REALLY a closed-end pen, but even though the end comes off, the process to make the body was the same as a closed-end pen (I tapped that end of the body, added the threads to the "body-cap" blank, screwed it in place and then turned the body and body-cap in one piece). I may find that this was actually harder than if I would have made the tip to screw in instead. The removable body-cap doesn't show up in the photo, but trust me - it's there!

Since I made my own tips, I played around with several (grip) sizes. I like a fatter pen, but wanted to see how thin I could go. The acrylic has the smaller nib.

*4. Tooling -* Other than my wood lathe, the only tooling I used on these pens was a 5/16" - 18 tap (for the body-cap threads and in the tip to hold it secure for turning). All the drilling was done on the lathe using a Jacobs chuck, with the parts held in long-nose jaws in my chuck. Although I was never a fan of drilling my pen blanks on the lathe, since I had to drill multiple holes in the blanks, I found it much easier to keep all the holes aligned on the lathe (because of the close tolerances, it was impossible to keep them centered on the drill press).

I made my own stepped mandrels to mount each of the parts for turning. The tip mandrel was threaded, with a pin on the very end to act as a "depth-stop" so the refill tip would have the proper exposure each time. The cap and body mandrels were "pin" style mandrels. I was again surprised at just how strong a pin-chuck can be - even with acrylics!

*Next step -* Next I want to work on adding a threaded cap and tip (and a clip if I can find a source other than buying a kit).
Comments are welcomed, just don't be too harsh. Like I said, this is only my first attempt!

Thanks...John

PS... Note about the arcylic pen photo - when you look at the photo of the acrylic pen, you may notice some small "specks". Those are NOT dings! The acrylic is a very dark green with subtle white streaks and specks in it (a discontinued Woodcraft color called Verde, original #148242 ).


----------



## rjwolfe3 (Sep 26, 2010)

Those are awesome!


----------



## drgoretex (Sep 28, 2010)

Most excellent!  Very definitely custom, and insirational work!

In threading the refill-change cap, did you use the tap and die on the lathe - ie with tap guide, or by hand?

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!

Ken


----------



## WHSKYrvr1 (Sep 28, 2010)

Very Nice.  They are very unique looking.


----------



## fernhills (Sep 29, 2010)

Just great work.


----------



## mredburn (Sep 29, 2010)

John great start, there are several venders that sell just the clip parts or some of the members make them themselves out of wire or wood. I know Woodnwhimmsies sells clips as do some of the others.


----------



## MatthewZS (Sep 29, 2010)

Very nice looking pens!  Makes me wanna try some completely kitless myself.


----------



## jaybird (Sep 29, 2010)

Very nice,, I am just amazed of the many different ways one can make a pen, hopefully some day I will pick up on some instead of just makeing the plane ordanary pen,, 

sorry about the spelling lol,


----------



## Skye (Sep 29, 2010)

Oddly enough I never really considered a friction fit.


----------



## BigguyZ (Sep 29, 2010)

Very cool/ inspiring.  I hope to start going kitless very soon.  I also haven't thought of going with a friction fit cap, though most people who look at my capped pens try to pull them off first!  I'd just be worried about the long-term wearability of it.  Please let us know how they last.

Very nice!
Travis


----------



## mrcook4570 (Sep 29, 2010)

Very nice looking pens.


----------



## workinforwood (Sep 29, 2010)

Excellent display of talent John!


----------



## chugbug (Sep 30, 2010)

Hi All - Thank for encouragement!

Ken - I did the actual threading by hand using a tap. I drilled the holes in the blanks on the lathe, but then did the rest by hand. 

I was lucky enought to find a big tap & die set a few years ago at a tool salvage store (think I paid under $50 for it). It was 50 pc set, and I picked it up thinking I might come in handy some day. It's SAE sizes and has all sizes from 1/4" up to 1" in 1/8" increments for coarse and fine threads with matched sets of both the taps and the dies. Funny, I started using it after I almost purchased the 1x8 taps from one of the catalogs to fit my lathe. Then I remembered I bought this kit. Now I wish I had a metric set.

I want to try a setup on the lathe (for centering) but can't find the parts I want. I cheated on the male threads for the part I call the "body-cap". Instead of making the threads with a die, I used a either stainless steel or nylon bolts and cut off the heads. After taping a short blank section to set the bolt into, and tap the body, I screwed it in place and then turn the pen like you would a closed end pen (I made my own pin-style stepped mandresl from hardwood).

As for the sources for the parts (clips, etc.). Tried making my own. It was a disaster! I did see the stuff at Wood-n-whimsies, but wanted something a little fancier than those. Nothing against his, but just wanted someing a little more elegant looking, but not quite as expensive as the sterling silver clips (just a nice looking gold-plated clip). I've been emailing anyplace that I can find on a google seach to find sources for some less expensive stuff, but keep coming up blanks. Any other suggestions for a source for clips would be appreciated. 

In the meantime, I'm working up my process to go to the next level with threading in the cap and on the nib end (also looking for an economical nib assembly if anyone knows of them - as well as the taps to fit them).

Thanks again for the kind words...John


----------

