# 2 quick and simple DCEs



## skiprat (Jul 7, 2013)

Here are a pair of basic double closed ended kitless pens. Stainless as usual with a #63 Timberbits blank ( orangey one ) and the other I think is ElMostro's. Both rollerballs. 
The orange one is straight B2B but other has a taper to both ends. 

Been a crappy day here as I had to take my favourite cat to the vet and have him put down. He was a bit off yesterday and the vet gave him a B12 shot. He perked up last night for a bit, but this morning the poor little guy was only breathing about once a minute. :frown:

So I just hid in my workshop most of the day.


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## Charlie_W (Jul 7, 2013)

Super nice pens there Steven! Very clean looking. 


It's tough to loose your friend.


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## SteveG (Jul 7, 2013)

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Our pets are family members...it is a BIG loss when they go. And it is tough when we have to step in and decide that it is time.

Your pens, as usual combine the essence of style and simplicity, which make them pleasing to the eye and hand in an enduring way.

Steve Guzy


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## peterborough66 (Jul 7, 2013)

Steven, my condolences on the loss of your cat, we recently lost a long time family pet, not pleasant thing to go through. Pens are gorgeous as usual


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## OLDMAN5050 (Jul 7, 2013)

Sorry for your loss, pets are loved ones and we do miss them..


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## Ed McDonnell (Jul 7, 2013)

They look good.  

It looks like the orange resin is translucent enough to see where you stopped drilling on the cap.  I wonder if you had flared the orange one (like you did the blue one) if it would have been opaque enough at the end to not allow the transition from drilled to undrilled to show?  Not having the transition area show on translucent closed end resins is something I continue to struggle with.

Of course, if I'm just blind (and I pretty much am) and seeing something that isn't there, then the previous paragraph should just be ignored.

Sorry about your furry friend.


Ed


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## SerenityWoodWorks (Jul 7, 2013)

Sorry for your loss.


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## Jim15 (Jul 7, 2013)

Beautiful pens. Sorry about your cat.


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## Displaced Canadian (Jul 7, 2013)

I like the style of the pens. Classy yet understated. Too bad about the cat. They can be characters.


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## Ligget (Jul 8, 2013)

Sorry to hear of the loss of your buddy Steve, keep your chin up my friend, great work on the pens though!


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## jhelmuth (Jul 8, 2013)

Sorry for your loss.


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## bluwolf (Jul 8, 2013)

Simple maybe, but elegant definitely. I'm sorry about your little buddy.

Mike


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## jyreene (Jul 8, 2013)

Sorry for your loss.

Those pens look amazing, as always. Clean and elegant design.


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## John Den (Jul 8, 2013)

Great pens1
Very sorry to hear about your cat. We had to have ours put to sleep last October after she had a stroke - Very upsetting and it still hurts!
Regards,
John


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## johncrane (Jul 8, 2013)

Stev! Sorry to hear you lost your pet Cat, your pens look really good the 2nd one is my favorite


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## Russknan (Jul 8, 2013)

Some acts of love and compassion can be very hard. Yet, if you really love your pet . . .
Hiding in the workshop was a good choice. And the outcome is beautiful. Russ


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## skiprat (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks for all the kind comments. They are all appreciated.


Ed, you are 100% correct about seeing through the resin. It's a big deal and I always hate seeing it. I often comment on seeing threads and saying that it spoils a pen. I have a plan to add ss finials to sort it out.:wink:


parklandturner said:


> They look good.
> 
> It looks like the orange resin is translucent enough to see where you stopped drilling on the cap.  I wonder if you had flared the orange one (like you did the blue one) if it would have been opaque enough at the end to not allow the transition from drilled to undrilled to show?  Not having the transition area show on translucent closed end resins is something I continue to struggle with.
> 
> ...


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## jyreene (Jul 8, 2013)

I think I'm the blind one. I think you might need to send that pen to a third party to verify these threads you are talking about. But really. What are you talking about Ed? Keep in mind seeing people's finished "kitless" and homemade component pens like the ones in this thread are as close as I've come to seeing one in person or making one.


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## Dalecamino (Jul 8, 2013)

Very nice work Steven. Sorry you've lost a friend.


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## Ed McDonnell (Jul 8, 2013)

jyreene said:


> I think I'm the blind one. I think you might need to send that pen to a third party to verify these threads you are talking about. But really. What are you talking about Ed? Keep in mind seeing people's finished "kitless" and homemade component pens like the ones in this thread are as close as I've come to seeing one in person or making one.



Hi Ty - Here's a picture that shows what I was looking at.



 

The darker spot on the left is the undrilled portion of the cap.  The lighter area on the right is where it has been drilled.

In this case it's not the threads (at least not that I could see in the picture), but in many kitless pens made from translucent resin you can see the internal threads through the cap / body.  Something that some people (e.g. me) do not like.  Others think it looks cool.

I look for these things in kitless pens because I'm struggling with finding an effective way to eliminate them without losing the beauty of a very translucent resin.

Ed


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## jyreene (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks Ed. Picture and explanation make sense. I bet with the right blank it would look okay to decent but now that you mention it I can see it on both ends. I still really like the pens but I do notice it. I know you can only drill so much but would drilling and then reaming it to the very ends so it was consistent all the way. Does that make sense? Would that work?


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## Ed McDonnell (Jul 8, 2013)

jyreene said:


> Thanks Ed. Picture and explanation make sense. I bet with the right blank it would look okay to decent but now that you mention it I can see it on both ends. I still really like the pens but I do notice it. I know you can only drill so much but would drilling and then reaming it to the very ends so it was consistent all the way. Does that make sense? Would that work?



Reamers (at least mine) don't bottom cut.  Only side cut.  With a "flat top", using an standard end mill and leaving a bottom thickness the same as the side might work.  With a rounded top, I thought a ballnose end mill would make for a better looking transtion.  I haven't been happy with my results yet.

The translucent pens that look good at the ends are all injection molded.  That's not in my future.  Skiprat's solution of metal finials is still the best that I can think of.

Ed


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## skiprat (Jul 13, 2013)

*Quick fix?*

First, apologies for bumping my own thread. 
Here's what I did to fix it. I was going to make closed ended finials from SS but that would have made them a bit too unbalanced so I simply turned two thin walled stainless sleeves and then a matching tenon on the pen and cap. Fortunately both the original closed ends where slightly thicker than the centre bands so it was a simple case of sanding back the blank to meet the sleeves. :biggrin: I think it looks better now even if the see through blank wasn't a problem. The ends don't look quite as dark as in the pics. 

Thanks Ed !!:wink:


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## jyreene (Jul 13, 2013)

I like the results. Really matches up with the whole pen.


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## paintspill (Jul 13, 2013)

beautiful pens. 
only here will you hear someone use the term "quick and simple double closed end kitless"


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## Dalecamino (Jul 13, 2013)

This adjustment makes perfect sense to me :biggrin: Nice work Steven,


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## Ed McDonnell (Jul 13, 2013)

Thanks for showing what you did with it.  I was wondering what you had decided.  Looks great to me.

Ed


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## Sandy H. (Jul 13, 2013)

I thought the first pictures in the thread looked pretty nice.  I think the revised ends make the pen extremely nice.  I really prefer the SS ends completely.

Sandy.


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## joefyffe (Jul 13, 2013)

Steve:  You never cease to amaze!  Great looks.  I too am sorry to hear the news of your pet!


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