# Jr Gent FP and Rolling Righter inserts



## KenV (Jan 23, 2011)

Dean started a review on the Rolling Righter inserts several days back.  After about 90 posts and a lot of perspectives, it seems like a new thread here is appropriate.

See the thread Dean started at:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73677


I had chased the threads on a Baron fountainpen and have has several weeks of good success using it as an alternative nib to a conventional fountain pen.  There was a lot of discussion about Jr Gents, so I ordered a sample of 10 Jr Gent fountain pen kits to try.  I also ordered Rolling Righter inserts from two vendors - one Schmidt brand named and the other Private Reserve.  The vendors (Richard Greenwald and Mike Kennedy) both offer 6.4 by 0.5 mm taps.  Visual observation indicates that these are identical in detail and are interchangable.

I have a tapco 6.4 X 0.5 tap I got with Heritance nibs and feeds some time back.

*Jr Gents*
I ordered a mixture of postable an non-postable fountianpens.
4 were rhodium plated
3 were gold titanium plated
3 were black titanium plated.

All came with compontents in small bags labled Daycom.  

I removed the stock nibs from all 10 lower nib sections.  

I lightly tried to insert the Rolling Righter cartridge into the nib section.  I met resistance and did not push very hard.  I probably could have inserted the Rolling Righter into the Rhodium plated sections.

I chased all 10 nib sections with the tap using finger pressure on the tap.  No tap wrench, pliers, etc were used - just fingers. Chasing was done from the nib end with the tap checked from the opposite end to assure clear theads.

Rhodium plating were the easiest to chase - little finger pressure was needed and minor flakes of plating were shown on the gullets of the tap.  

Gold Ti was the most difficult in general with one tight spot on a Black Ti that was tight also.

Black Ti was in between the Rhodium and Black Ti for effort to hold the tap.

*Results*

Following the chasing of the threads, the Rolling Righter insert easily threaded into the nib section.  The stock threaded nibs were also threaded into the nib sections and set firmly (bottomed out with firm tension) 

*Ken's Conclusions*

Based on this sample of 10 --  the threads on the stock nibs are threaded a few tenths of a mm smaller than the 6.4 mm tap, with similar thread spacing.  Visual observation suggests the thread pitch is a bit more coarse, but close.

Chasing the threads does provide a consistency for the threads in the nib section.  Thread chasing is an old technique to assure that threads are consistent, especially when putting together components where there is not specified controls on the components, as well as restoring damaged threads.

By chasing the threads, the Rolling Righter can be used in the Jr Gent fountain pen components as an alternative to the conventional fountain pen nib.  

Synthesis --  the threads are similar enough after chasing that the components are interchangable.  The Rolling Righter is a bit smaller than the tap and the standard nibs are a bit smaller than the rolling righer.  The differences in thread pitch are minor and while are apparent when looking for differences, are not felt when putting or removing compinents from the nib section.  Well within manufacturing tolerances given the different component streams.   Side note -- upgrade nib and feed assemblies should be a better fit with thread chasing as the Rolling Righter and Heritance nibs are very similar.


Rolling Righter -   This is a rolling ball fountain pen ink delivery system that allows some of the neat advantages of fountainpen ink (like neat colors) and a fountain pen like feel without some of the disadvantages of conventional fountain pen nibs.

These do not make a roller ball out of a fountain pen -- but look and hold like a roller ball.  The ink does wick easily so putting one of these into a shirt pocket without a cap will work just like putting a fountain pen nib into the pocket without a cap -- a large blot of ink.

Marketing opportunity -   I am looking at the Rolling Righter as a consumable component for these fountain pens.  I am planning to package a couple of these with the stock fountain pen nib and a few universal ink refills and the ink pump.  At under $3 each, the Rolling Righter allows those who like fountain pen ink, but not the hassle to use a fountain pen.

Disclaimer -   I am not a fountain pen person.  I am not steeped in the culture of fountain pens.  I am one of those who is not willing to submit to the associated hassles of fountain pen use on a regular basis, but am thinking about using the rolling righter because I like the line feel of writing with it.   I have already stained shirts with roller balls and gel refills in parker style pens and expect that I will do that with a rolling righter as some time in the future.


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## arioux (Jan 23, 2011)

This is a very nice and informative review.  Thanks for doing it.  I will definitely give this a try.


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## Jim15 (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review Ken.


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## Texatdurango (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks for the write up, this confirms something I already knew..... they work! 

You said you are not a fountain pen person but tell the truth....... compared to any other rollerball, these put down a smooth bold line of ink don't they? :biggrin:


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## KenV (Jan 23, 2011)

My wife appropriate the baron with the rolling righter and she lets me use it occasionally.  It does feel nice and lays down a nice line.   I am likely to have one at my desk out of this set of 10 I am making.   Would not likely use it with a conventional nib, but with the roller ball style action, I could get hooked.


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## BSea (May 17, 2011)

It's been a while since anyone has discussed these rolling righter inserts.  For those who have been using them, any additional thoughts?  I'm thinking of making a Baron just for my personal use.


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## Texatdurango (May 18, 2011)

BSea said:


> It's been a while since anyone has discussed these rolling righter inserts. For those who have been using them, any additional thoughts? I'm thinking of making a Baron just for my personal use.


 
It looks like the campaign to bash these into oblivion as not working with anything worked since you don't see anyone posting pens using them.

My personal experiences have left me upbeat about them however. I am still busy making things for my home and shop so still don't have a lot of shop time but I have managed to eek out a few pens and five of the pens I made since the first of the year included these rollerball nibs.

I gave three pens to friends and sold two as results of recommendations from the three I gave away so if my math is correct I have five satisfied recipient's of pens all using the fountain ink rollerballs with no complaints.

Another fact some might find interesting is that the two pens I converted to use these rollerballs *for my own use are still going strong and neither have been capped for a second since late January or early February*, I forget exactly when but both still lay down a beautiful line of ink and I couldn't be happier with them.

I must admit however, none of the pens I made were from kits and I did all my own threading so didn't have to deal with the threading issues one or two seemed to encounter.

These rollerballs will always have a place with the pens I make.


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## BSea (May 18, 2011)

Thanks George.  That's what I was kind of expecting.  I'm just now starting to experiment with kitless, so I've got a ways to go.  But I really liked the idea of the rollerball/fountain pen.  And I read that love hate thread a few times before ordering any.


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## EBorraga (May 18, 2011)

I've made three of these for an order. He's been using them for a few months and said they still right excellent. I also made one for myself using a Jr. Gent II kit from Craft Supplies. I chased the thread with the tap by hand. Excellent fit to the pen. I've been using it regularly for 2 weeks now. No problems with it at all. I got my roller righters and tap from Mike at Indy-Pen_Dance. I'm currently working on a few kitless pens with these insatalled on them.


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## Seer (May 18, 2011)

Ok maybe a dumb question after the thread chase can a person still use the fountain pen part in the pen if trhey wanted to?  I got to try one of the pens George had and they write like a dream.  Greta write up Ken.


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## IPD_Mr (May 18, 2011)

Jerry you can if you use a Heritance nib feed as it is the same thread, M6.4 x .5


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## Texatdurango (May 18, 2011)

BSea said:


> Thanks George. That's what I was kind of expecting. I'm just now starting to experiment with kitless, so I've got a ways to go. But I really liked the idea of the rollerball/fountain pen. And I read that love hate thread a few times before ordering any.


 
Bob, I think the term "kitless" has a lot of people spooked, there really isn't anything to it and in many ways is easier to master than doing kits.

As long as you can drill and tap a hole you have half of your skillset mastered.  The rest is just deciding on the shape you want.  

What I like is that I can make a lower body and thread it to accept all of the caps I make and all of the "front sections" I make.  I then thread all my front sections the same so they will accept either a fountain nib feed (I use Lou's Heritance feed) or the new rollerball nib.

I fabricate the caps so they will accept the lengths of the nibs I use as well as the rollerball.  That way If a customer sees a particular pen body they like I can switch it from a rollerball to a founten pen in a split second while still using the same converter.

If you are puzzled about anything, just fire away with a question, plenty of folks around here will be glad to assist you.


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