# Good material for a kitless



## alexkuzn (Sep 10, 2009)

Guys,

what are  some good kit-less pen blank materials? 
In other words, I am looking for a material that is "tapping friendly" and can also hold threads without stripping.

I assume it would be some kind of plastic. I have some nice stabilized wood but it still have some pores. It does not look like it is going to be good for threading.

Thanks,
Alex


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## cnirenberg (Sep 10, 2009)

Alex,
I am in no way an expert, but have used aluminum, brass, SS, lucite and any kind of acrlyics/plastics I can get my hands on in these type of pens.  Others have used Ebonite and trustone.  I haven't tried stabilized wood yet (don't have any) but wonder hoe it would hold a fine thread.


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## JJturns (Sep 25, 2009)

Alex,
Here is a pen made of M3 composite metal that is very easy to thread and works great.
JJ


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## BRobbins629 (Sep 25, 2009)

In my experience, Ebonite and Delrin are probably the most forgiving, but with care most plastic materials as well as brass and aluminum will also work.  If you want a kitless wooden pen, make a plastic, ebonite or brass insert and thread that.


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## alexkuzn (Sep 26, 2009)

I've machined delrin before and just love it for its easy of machining.

I wonder why delrin is not popular material for pen? Does black acrylic or Ebonite look better than black Delrin?


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## alexkuzn (Sep 26, 2009)

JJ,

how your M3 pen feels in hand? Does it feel  more like metal or  plastic?




JJturns said:


> Alex,
> Here is a pen made of M3 composite metal that is very easy to thread and works great.
> JJ


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## Texatdurango (Sep 26, 2009)

alexkuzn said:


> I've machined delrin before and just love it for its easy of machining.
> 
> I wonder why delrin is not popular material for pen? Does black acrylic or Ebonite look better than black Delrin?


 
In my mind, choosing a materal that would provide long lasting durability and beauty far outweighs ease of machining or threading.

Delrin is so soft it would be a poor choice for a pen because within a week it would look like it has been man handled for a year.  You can leave a mark with a fingernail.

I made a few pens from truestone and m3.  Both were dissapointments as they threaded easily but threads in both materials failed within a few months.  I still use truestone but use threaded brass inserts instead of threading the truestone itself.


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## alexkuzn (Sep 27, 2009)

George,

do you put  female threaded brass inserts into a cap or male insert  over pen body or both?


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## Texatdurango (Sep 27, 2009)

alexkuzn said:


> George,
> 
> do you put female threaded brass inserts into a cap or male insert over pen body or both?


 
I've tried several combinations but the one I like best is to glue the gold or chrome coupler from a Ligero kit into the lower barrel.  The section threads into that coupler.  The nib section is already threaded and I use the multi-start tap to cut threads in a delrin sleeve in the cap.  Look at the upper coupler of many kits, the threaded part is usually delrin which is swedged into a brass tube, I just glue mine to the upper body itself.

Using a delrin sleeve doesn't work well for light colored or semi-transparent blanks.


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## RAdams (Sep 27, 2009)

George, If i can ask, How do you turn the nib holder portion? That part is giving me fits. I have failed so far every time i try.


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## JerrySambrook (Sep 28, 2009)

Texatdurango said:


> Using a delrin sleeve doesn't work well for light colored or semi-transparent blanks.



George,
         There is white delrin as well as the black, and there is a brown, but it can be significantly more expensive.
The white should be good under light-colored blanks, but the semi-transparent would probably still give you fits.

You can buy it in tubes as well as rods from Graingers.

Jerry


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## JJturns (Sep 28, 2009)

alexkuzn said:


> JJ,
> 
> how your M3 pen feels in hand? Does it feel more like metal or plastic?


 
The pen feels just like metal.  I decided to try this material after using an M3 pen made by someone else every day for about 3 months.  I have not had any trouble with that one anbd like the way it feels.  Now I need to work on design and proportions.
JJ


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## Texatdurango (Sep 28, 2009)

JerrySambrook said:


> George,
> There is white delrin as well as the black, and there is a brown, but it can be significantly more expensive.
> The white should be good under light-colored blanks, but the semi-transparent would probably still give you fits.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info Jerry, I never saw it in tubes, I just drilled out solid rod stock.  I buy my delrin in rods and have most diameters in both black and white but I just don't like white for threaded sleeves.  Everyone is used to seeing black insides and the white just looks odd.


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## JerrySambrook (Sep 29, 2009)

I figure if you buy it in tubes, then you can use it all the way thru a blank without going thru all the drilling processes

Have a great day
Jerry


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## alexkuzn (Sep 29, 2009)

It does not look like drilling will be eliminated when you are using tubes instead of rods.
Delrin or Acetal tubes come only in 1/4" or 1/2" inner diameter. 
Most likely you have to buy 1/4" inner diameter tube and drill it to size.


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