# Feathers on a metal lathe?



## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

When I first saw this Zen blank made by Marla, on IPD, I thought....that might make a nice kitless pen or, close to kitless. I wanted to use ALL of the length of the blanks length so, I just squared the ends enough to BE square and left the excess PR hanging over the ends of the brass tubes. I wanted to put the nib on the black end. After turning the blank to size, I then started to cut threads for the cap with the 12mm triple start die. It broke off a piece of the barrel. So, I made a cap to cover it. On the opposite end, I made an adaptor which I threaded for nib. So, I ended up with a pen but, no way to put a cap on it. After awhile, I called Mike Roux who offered a suggestion. His idea was great which involved drilling out the threaded adaptor and fabricate one that had both threads on it. I didn't want to risk destroying the blank while drilling so, I decided to make a sleeve and glue it in. The two photos with the nib off are before and after showing the adaptor. This was going to be a contest entry in the beginning. But, it was still fun making it. I am so glad I bought this metal lathe. Thanks for looking!

I forgot to mention that I had no bushings for a Zen kit so, I made some.


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## IPD_Mr (Sep 18, 2011)

Absolutely unreal.  Chuck do you have any idea how much your skill has advanced since leaving Indiana?  Looks like all that sunshine is doing you good. Of course it does help being near Mike & Mike.

As for the pen, it is awesome.  Your cap looks professionally done.  Which clip is that?  I know it is not aluminum but it goes well with the aluminum.  I think you did good enough that you can kick back and watch the race today.  Congrats on a great save and a beautiful pen.


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## mredburn (Sep 18, 2011)

Very nice Chuck if you hadnt told us of your design oppertunities we would have never known. That is one nice pen.


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## Drstrangefart (Sep 18, 2011)

Son of a motherless goat. That's awesome. Looks like the blank was purpose-made for that set of parts. Amazing.


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## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

Thank you Mike! What is unreal is that I do have Mike and Mike for their help in this venture.


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## wiset1 (Sep 18, 2011)

Real beauty!


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## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

mredburn said:


> Very nice Chuck if you hadnt told us of your design oppertunities we would have never known. That is one nice pen.


Thanks Mike! LOL you don't know how many opportunities have been altered.:redface:



Drstrangefart said:


> Son of a motherless goat. That's awesome. Looks like the blank was purpose-made for that set of parts. Amazing.


 Thanks the blank really makes the pen. :wink:


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## Curly (Sep 18, 2011)

Great looking pen Chuck. I was wondering who would be the first to take a "stock" pen blank and make a kitless around it.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Sep 18, 2011)

Bravo!!!! Well executed and great looking.


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## hewunch (Sep 18, 2011)

Chuck! You did that?!? Fantastic!.... Wanna do another pen swap? :biggrin:


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## BRobbins629 (Sep 18, 2011)

Nice combo Chuck.


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## Kaspar (Sep 18, 2011)

Some of these feather blanks I've been seeing lately are just out of this world.  The earth tones game bird ones are great too, but I love the bright color feather blanks.  Great job adapting and saving as much of this one as possible.  

BTW, what kind of metal lathe did you get?


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## Crickett (Sep 18, 2011)

Absolutely stunning!

Sent from my iPhone because it's smarter than Ron's


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## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

Curly said:


> Great looking pen Chuck. I was wondering who would be the first to take a "stock" pen blank and make a kitless around it.


Thanks Curly AND Marla. It just had to be done :biggrin:



OKLAHOMAN said:


> Bravo!!!! Well executed and great looking.


Thanks Roy! I may just have to make another one :biggrin:



hewunch said:


> Chuck! You did that?!? Fantastic!.... Wanna do another pen swap? :biggrin:


YES Hans! I did that. I remember you asking me in our last swap, if I wanted to stretch it out? I had no idea what that meant. I DO NOW. I think I'm getting closer to your standards so, YES, I'll do another swap.:biggrin: Thanks Hans!



BRobbins629 said:


> Nice combo Chuck.


Thanks Bruce!



Kaspar said:


> Some of these feather blanks I've been seeing lately are just out of this world. The earth tones game bird ones are great too, but I love the bright color feather blanks. Great job adapting and saving as much of this one as possible.
> 
> BTW, what kind of metal lathe did you get?


Yeh, I like the bright colors too. I have the 7x14 Micro-Mark Microlux True Inch Thanks for the compliment.


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## el_d (Sep 18, 2011)

FREEKIN EXCELLENT!!!!

That came out really sweet Chuck. I got practice to catch up to you buddy. 

Great execution on a great blank with a great shape.


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## Kaspar (Sep 18, 2011)

> ... I have the 7x14 Micro-Mark Microlux True Inch Thanks for the compliment.



That what I have too.  Not bad, for a piece of China junk.  I've got it dialed in nicely.  The runout on the spindle is off by less than .0004.  And the other day I turned a piece of Lucite that was six inches long and the ends were within .001 of each other. 

I'd like to get a slightly bigger one next time, but I also want one that can do multi-start threading.   For that it needs to be able to do 4 TPI, and have the necessary torque.  

I'd love to buy American.  Grizzly now has South Bend lathes, including their new Benchtop model.  

Only $5,000   

Minus the stand.  And still no four TPI.  However, I think you have to get a special gear to get any benchtop to go that low.


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## Curly (Sep 18, 2011)

Pssst Kasper. The South Bend is being made in Taiwan in a factory that also make toolroom lathes. The quality is definitely there and that's why the high price. Wish I could afford some. 

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner because I can't reach my desktop!


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## bluwolf (Sep 18, 2011)

Great job Chuck! Great color combination. I like it a lot.


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## Kaspar (Sep 18, 2011)

Curly said:


> Pssst Kasper. The South Bend is being made in Taiwan in a factory that also make toolroom lathes. The quality is definitely there and that's why the high price. Wish I could afford some.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner because I can't reach my desktop!




Figures.  To get away from Asia I could get a Proxxon, but ...


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## hewunch (Sep 18, 2011)

dalecamino said:


> hewunch said:
> 
> 
> > Chuck! You did that?!? Fantastic!.... Wanna do another pen swap? :biggrin:
> ...



Chuck, you aren't giving yourself much credit. I think your stuff is as good as mine... if not better. Great work! Really.


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## BigShed (Sep 18, 2011)

Charles way to go, awesome work!

You have taken to that metal lathe like a duck to water, I may have to come over and get some lessons.:wink:

Like the design concept, very imaginative.


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## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

el_d said:


> FREEKIN EXCELLENT!!!!
> 
> That came out really sweet Chuck. I got practice to catch up to you buddy.
> 
> Great execution on a great blank with a great shape.


Thanks Lupe! You'll wipe the floor with all of us soon!:biggrin:



bluwolf said:


> Great job Chuck! Great color combination. I like it a lot.


Thanks for your guidance Mike!



hewunch said:


> dalecamino said:
> 
> 
> > hewunch said:
> ...


Thank you Hans. I try to keep myself humble. There'll be no tutorials nor PMG applications for a LONG time.



BigShed said:


> Charles way to go, awesome work!
> 
> You have taken to that metal lathe like a duck to water, I may have to come over and get some lessons.:wink:
> 
> Like the design concept, very imaginative.


Thank you Fred! Drop by anytime:biggrin: I'm actually trying to catch up with you.:biggrin:


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## Dalecamino (Sep 18, 2011)

*Bushings*

Here are the bushings I made for the Zen pen.


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## workinforwood (Sep 19, 2011)

I really like that Chuck!


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## D.Oliver (Sep 19, 2011)

Holy batman that's a nice pen!  I really think you should have entered this one.


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## Dalecamino (Sep 19, 2011)

D.Oliver said:


> Holy batman that's a nice pen! I really think you should have entered this one.


Thanks Derek. It's not quite that nice in my opinion.



workinforwood said:


> I really like that Chuck!


 Thank you Jeff.


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## EBorraga (Sep 19, 2011)

Absolutely Fabulous Chuck!!!!! Great piece of craftsmanship


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## spilperson (Sep 19, 2011)

That is beautiful. I also use a metal lathe, but I did not think many others did. I bought mine before I ever even heard of pen turning. It is a 12x36 chinese sold by Bolton Hardware. The lathe has been fine, the price was good (they even negotiated with me since I bought a lot of the basic accessories too) and the service is really, really good.

I am going to have to get a couple of those feather blanks. Next payday though, my play money ran dry early this month.   ;(...


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## Dalecamino (Sep 20, 2011)

EBorraga said:


> Absolutely Fabulous Chuck!!!!! Great piece of craftsmanship


 Thanks Ernie.


spilperson said:


> That is beautiful. I also use a metal lathe, but I did not think many others did. I bought mine before I ever even heard of pen turning. It is a 12x36 chinese sold by Bolton Hardware. The lathe has been fine, the price was good (they even negotiated with me since I bought a lot of the basic accessories too) and the service is really, really good.
> 
> I am going to have to get a couple of those feather blanks. Next payday though, my play money ran dry early this month. ;(...


 Thanks Frank. There are lots of metal lathe owners on this forum. Be sure to watch for the new metal lathe forum if Jeff gets it up and running. That sounds like a Hoss of a lathe you have.


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## rizaydog (Sep 20, 2011)

Truely spectacular.  Great work.


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## cnirenberg (Sep 20, 2011)

Chuck,
That is one nice looking pen.  Awesome job.


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## bitshird (Sep 20, 2011)

Chuck ,that's a slick pen, I like it, and the machine work is nice, it looks like  you're making friends with your metal muncher.


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## Dalecamino (Sep 20, 2011)

cnirenberg said:


> Chuck,
> That is one nice looking pen. Awesome job.


Thanks Cris. It's all your fault!:biggrin:



bitshird said:


> Chuck ,that's a slick pen, I like it, and the machine work is nice, it looks like you're making friends with your metal muncher.


 Thank you Ken. Yes, I'm having a great relationship with the lathe. Although, I know it can cloud up any day:biggrin:


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## MarkD (Sep 20, 2011)

Awesome pen!
I love the style of it. Great Job!


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## Dalecamino (Sep 21, 2011)

MarkD said:


> Awesome pen!
> I love the style of it. Great Job!


 I appreciate the compliment. Thanks!


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## JohnU (Sep 21, 2011)

Great save Chuck!  And totally worth saving.  You and Marla contributed to a beautiful pen.  I think the extra metal on that pen really makes that kit complete.


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## Buzzzz4 (Sep 21, 2011)

Wow, I can't add anymore to what has been said. You are creating masterpieces.


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## Dalecamino (Sep 21, 2011)

JohnU said:


> Great save Chuck! And totally worth saving. You and Marla contributed to a beautiful pen. I think the extra metal on that pen really makes that kit complete.


Thank you John. It was fun. Now, the way you blank builders make these things doesn't look like much to ME.


Buzzzz4 said:


> Wow, I can't add anymore to what has been said. You are creating masterpieces.


 Thanks Eric. I don't know about masterpiece but, I like the challenge and, the blank really does make the pen.IMO


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