# wooden grips for Baron fountains?



## thefunkyP (Mar 17, 2008)

Has anyone successfully accomplished this or seen a writeup on making custom grips for the Baron fountain pens?  It seems possible but with my limited knowledge, tools, and experience I can't figure it out.


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## gketell (Mar 17, 2008)

Not for the baron specifically but http://www.penmakersguild.com/articles/woodgrippen.pdf is a great article about making wooden grips.


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## Texatdurango (Mar 17, 2008)

The above article deals with making a wood cover for the gripper jacket of the large nib but the principal is the same for the smaller nib.  After reading the article if you still have any questions, fire away and we'll see what we can come up with.


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## Aderhammer (Mar 17, 2008)

Principle is different, the nib holder is manufactured differently and would require a different technique.


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## gwilki (Mar 17, 2008)

I just did an El Grande (I just posted it.) and plan to try a Baron next. If I succeed, I'll try to tell you how I did it.


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## gketell (Mar 17, 2008)

Andrew, it does indeed require a different technique that is covered in a sidebar to the main article.


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## Aderhammer (Mar 17, 2008)

The side bar looks like it only covers the el grande family though, my point is the nib receiver screws into the gold grip and the grip screws into the grip holder piece that gets   pressed into the pen.  So if you did something that was glued onto the nib receiver you could turn a tenon on it that would be glued into the grip holder but then there's no way to get inside the pen to the refill and such and i don't know how easy it would be to turn down the metal grip section so something could be slip fitted over that.


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## thefunkyP (Mar 18, 2008)

I have read the "Wood Grippen" article and found it fascinating.  It led to this question about the Baron grips though.  The article addresses the CSUSA Gentlemen's pens which are great looking pens and someday I hope to try one.  It also has a side bar that deals with the El Grandes, Churchills, and Ligeros which may end up being my next venture with pen kits, but currently I'm still enjoying the Barons.  

So I was tinkering with a couple Barons that I've made (inspired by Rich's article) and ended up with the grip/nib section completely taken apart.  What I ran into is a chrome grip section with threads on the exterior which screw into the body of the pen, as well as internal threads that allow the nib and feed to screw into the grip section.  There is also a chrome ring at the edge of the grip that is loose.  I will try to take some pictures and get them posted to further the illustration.  

I had not thought of Andrew's suggestion about turning down the grip section, I was looking for a way to cut it off just before the internal threads so I could turn a grip to slip on the feed and sandwhich between the chrome ring and the chrome threads.  Turning it down would probably actually look much better though.  I am trying to salvage the threads on the grip as I don't have a tap and die to do my own with.  




Out of curiousity, and a love for pictures...who here has done the modified grips?  I think they make the pens look incredible.  I checked out Grant's El Grande and it looks great!  I would love to see more pictures of the grip sections.  Maybe we need an advanced penmaking/techniques photography section...


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## RussFairfield (Mar 18, 2008)

If you want to make a wood grip for a Baron without having to deal with the metal of the stock kit grip, use the plastic after-market nib assembly that was originally designed for the Ameroclassic pen. The threads are the same, they are plastic, several nib widths are available, and they sell for about $5 from Craft supplies or Berea.


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## gwilki (Mar 18, 2008)

Thanks for this information, Russ.


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## Aderhammer (Mar 18, 2008)

RUSS! You're making it too easy![:I]


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## thefunkyP (Mar 19, 2008)

Thanks for the info Russ, but from the pictures it looks like all their nibs have gold plated sections on the grips.  Do you know if these remove?  I don't think that would match my chrome kits all that well, but if they can be removed then I may be in business.


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## Texatdurango (Mar 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by thefunkyP_
> 
> Thanks for the info Russ, but from the pictures it looks like all their nibs have gold plated sections on the grips.  Do you know if these remove?  I don't think that would match my chrome kits all that well, but if they can be removed then I may be in business.


Maybe this photo will help explain things.  As I said earlier, the technique is similar to Rich's method.  I have made matching nibs by making covers and by replacing the whole holder itself so I know they work.  Here is a breakdown of the replacement nib holders that will work for your Baron.  Hope this helps.


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## PenWorks (Mar 19, 2008)

Just curious George, how long does it take you to turn that front nib section with the threads?


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## Texatdurango (Mar 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by PenWorks_
> 
> Just curious George, how long does it take you to turn that front nib section with the threads?


About 3 minutes.

No just kidding, it was closer to 4 minutes.

No, I'm still kidding, actually I really didn't pay attention to the time, seems like each time I did one, I changed the sequence around.  Next time I make one, I'll jot down the sequence and time.


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## ed4copies (Mar 19, 2008)

Hey, George,

It's a nice looking pen!!![8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]

(Did you sell it yet??)[}][}][}][}]


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## Jarheaded (Mar 19, 2008)

I'm glad someone had this idea. I just looked at a Euro fountain pen that was supposed to be delivered later this week, but the nib holder is a mess, I am not sure what happened to it, but it almost looks like it may have melted. I was going to steal the parts from another kit, but this customer wouldn't mind something a little different. I like what you did with that holder.


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## gwilki (Mar 19, 2008)

Great job, George! Thanks for the pictorial, too.


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## Texatdurango (Mar 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by ed4copies_
> 
> Hey, George,
> 
> ...


No because it doesn't have a cap!  I've got pens like this one all over the shop because I experimented with lots of ideas.  They will probably never see anyones pocket but mine.  The good thing is that I've got a heck of a rotation to choose from!


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## gwilki (Mar 20, 2008)

George: Been there, done that.    The only difference between us in that regard is that it is my wife who has the very eclectic collection.


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## JC_UAH (Mar 20, 2008)

Just a note of warning.  

If you are turning grip "sleeves" be aware that when the pen is dipped in bottled ink for refilling, potentially ink could seep beneath the sleeve.  If the acrylic is translucent and/or thin, you may see ink stains beneath.  I saw a Limited Edition pen ($400+) from a famous Italian pen company that the owner had sent back because of this very problem.  The pen was returned with the sleeve removed (beneath was a polished metal section).  Pen looked fine, but the upset customer was not pleased and was trying to sell it.

Jeff


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## Texatdurango (Mar 20, 2008)

Good point Jeff. I have heard of that problem before and some think it's a good idea to seal the front with a bead of CA.  I'm still thinking about it and would like to hear what others have to say who have already been down this road.


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## RussFairfield (Mar 21, 2008)

Sealing the end of the wod with thin CA glue has worked for me. Others may have a different experience with it.


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## Texatdurango (Mar 24, 2008)

> _Originally posted by PenWorks_
> 
> Just curious George, how long does it take you to turn that front nib section with the threads?


Anthony I made another cover today and timed it for you and it took 25 minutes. That's from chucking a 3/4" cylinder into a Beall collet chuck to buffing the holder.  I can see easily cutting that time down to 20 minutes or possibly 15 minutes on the next few as I spent a lot of time double checking dimensions and fitting parts between steps.


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## thefunkyP (Mar 25, 2008)

Well this weekend I was able to get into my shop and try a wood grip for one of my older Barons, and thanks to some ideas here was able to successfully produce a wooden grip for the Baron.  Hopefully this weekend I will be able to add some pictures.  

I ended up using the wooden sleeve method.  I was able to easily turn down the chrome finish on my Baron grip and used that as my tube for the wood grip.  

I then CA'd some extra wood I had laying around to the new grip tube(unfortunately I didn't have the same wood I had used on the body and grip, but that's okay for my first experiment).  

I found that the Baron grips will thread onto the A mandrels but not actually slip onto the mandrel itself.  So I used slimline bushings as spacers up to the grip and after it on my retractable mandrel so that I didn't wear out any threads on the grip or mandrel.

I turned the wood grip down to a likable size and finished it.



Again I will attempt to upload some pictures soon, but this seemed to work like a charm.  I will most likely do this a lot now since I don't really care for the metal grip, but really like the Baron pens.  I also don't really care for a plastic grip so the wood is perfect.  I appreciate all the help and ideas to accomplish this.  Who knew that I would be able to accomplish a wooden grip before a closed end!  Thanks everyone.


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## thefunkyP (Mar 31, 2008)

Well, I finally got some pictures up.  This is my first attempt and I'm already planning my next attempt which would remove the last of the metal on the grip.  This was exciting as I was able to accomplish the wood grip on the baron, but also because I left myself plenty of room for improvement!  This is my daily pen and so I didn't mind using a different wood than the body.  It actually is somewhat of a nice suprise when I take off the cap.

As you can see in the picture for whatever reason I didn't sleeve over the back section of the chrome grip and therefore it got ruined when I sanded.  I don't believe it will be difficult to take the last section off and complete the grip next time though.  

Opinions, advice is welcome?


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## karlkuehn (Mar 31, 2008)

Oh man...I can see that this pen is going to get out of hand...anyone got any spare nib assemblies they want to part with for when I completely screw up my first attempt? I swear, I could build a business out of supplying parts to all of you doityerselfers. heh


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