# Piston Pen



## FineTurning (Jul 25, 2017)

Hey,

Want to try to step up the kitless to make a piston filler pen, any guides on making the cap mechanism or piston fillers in general?


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## duncsuss (Jul 25, 2017)

If you buy the piston mechanism with a metal rod (the more expensive one) from Richard Greenwald, he includes a sheet with advice on which drill bits to use and to what depth. I followed his guidance and it worked fine.

For his (cheaper) plastic piston, he also sells a matching chamber that you can sleeve with whatever barrel material you want to use. It has a threaded section to receive a nib unit, but it's the Esterbrook threading (not the standard Bock or JoWo #5 or #6). I've got a few old-stock Bock nibs that fit it -- if you're interested PM me.


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## bmachin (Jul 25, 2017)

John Albert, aka JALBERT, has posted several made-from-scratch piston fillers.  If memory serves he even posted photos of a couple of them disassembled, although those photos don't seem to be available any more.  Then again, memory, like a lot of things that come with age might be faulty.

If not John's, go to www.fountainpennetwork.com and search "najera".  Some of the results will come up with empty photos but others will have completely disassembled piston fillers.  This guy cast his own gold ingots and forges his own nibs.  Truly amazing.

You might want to look at this link in particular: 

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/305993-bule-acrylic-piston-fountain-pen/

Bill


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## FineTurning (Jul 25, 2017)

duncsuss said:


> If you buy the piston mechanism with a metal rod (the more expensive one) from Richard Greenwald, he includes a sheet with advice on which drill bits to use and to what depth. I followed his guidance and it worked fine.
> 
> For his (cheaper) plastic piston, he also sells a matching chamber that you can sleeve with whatever barrel material you want to use. It has a threaded section to receive a nib unit, but it's the Esterbrook threading (not the standard Bock or JoWo #5 or #6). I've got a few old-stock Bock nibs that fit it -- if you're interested PM me.



Thanks. That's exactly what I am looking to do. It's figuring how the blind cap allows for unscrewing and pulling up before it engages with the pistol part, so that it is not able to be accidentally twisted whilst in normal operation. Any ideas or drawing? 
He seems to just have a magical brass bit that does all that


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## duncsuss (Jul 25, 2017)

FineTurning said:


> It's figuring how the blind cap allows for unscrewing and pulling up before it engages with the pistol part, so that it is not able to be accidentally twisted whilst in normal operation. Any ideas or drawing?


I've only made one piston filler so far -- it used the metal shaft piston. My simple approach was to create a blind cap that I glued to the knob on the tail end of the piston (with 2-part epoxy). It isn't threaded.

I'm working on my second, using the plastic one with the "housing". This time I'm going to cut threads on the open end of the barrel and the matching threads in the blind cap. My plan is to cut a slot in the knob of the piston and use a stainless steel pin through the blind cap that sits in the slot. I hope the pin will turn the knob and ride up & down in the slot.


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## duncsuss (Jul 25, 2017)

Ooooh ... are you thinking of a "plunger" type piston, rather than one that operates by a screw-thread on the shaft?


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