# The Jay-Line "twist tip" pen



## RussFairfield (Jan 19, 2007)

This is the Jay (Pickens)-Line pen with the â€œtwist tipâ€ transmission. It is one solid piece. The plastic/wood joints and the finial are all cut at 15Â°, even though they donâ€™t look like it in the picture. 

This pen is Â½â€ longer than the kit.

The blank was turned round and straight to 5/8â€ diameter between centers so it could be held in a Bealle collet chuck for drilling from both ends. The little center marks are used to make sure it is running true before drilling. A new or newly sharpen drill will prevent drill wander.  The through hole has to be absolutely straight and concentric.

The drilling could be done in a scroll chuck, but they aren't as accurate as the collet chuck and there is more chance for error. The collet chuck is a good investment for anyone making this type of pen.

I used a "J" drill for the upper 7mm tube and a 19/64" for the larger lower tube.

The tubes were glued in with CA from both ends and I used a mandrel rod to make sure they were lined up with each other. This is necessary because the transmission has to go into the upper tube when the guts are pushed in from the tip. All is not lost fo there is a little mis-alignment, but I would reject the pen if the mandrel couldn't fall through from its own weight when all of the tubes are in place. 

The wood is Zebra, the pen is a Berea Stream-Line, and the finish is a shellac friction polish over a polished CA glue. 

Thanks to Don Ward and Jay Pickens for the pen, and to Skiprat (whoever he is) for the idea of doing it with a "twist tip".

The next 2 photos will describe how it is put together.

OK, Don, it's your turn.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 19, 2007)

This is the business end of the pen. The tip is lined with a tube that I call the 7.5mm for want of any other name. It slips over the 7mm tube. I get these tubes from Woodcraft and they are sold as the Classic American tubes. There are 2 sets of tubes in the package and these are the smaller ones. They are a good fit into a 19/64â€ drilled hole.

The â€œassemblyâ€ is the entire lower barrel of the Slim-Line without the wood.  I made sure the tip was secured by using a drop of the â€œRed Locktiteâ€. The blue is more available, and it works, but the red is permanent.

There are two things that need to be done with the transmission to make it easier to twist and make the "assembly" easier to remove for changing the refill. The first is to soak it in some Mineral Spirits (paint thinner) to get rid of the grease so it twists easier. Then a drop of kerosene or WD-49 will lubricate it. The other thing is to file down the 3 little ridges at the top of the transmission to make it an easier fit into the upper tube. This has to be done carefully because I want enough grip to twist the transmission, but not so much that the â€œassemblyâ€ is difficult to remove from the pen. If too much is removed the very end of the transmission can be crushed to make it slightly oval, but not so much that the refill wonâ€™t go in. This is enough to grip in the tube, and might be the better way to do it.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 19, 2007)

<br />

This is the top end of the pen. The Stream-Line clip and finial are recessed as described in the Jay Pickens article. The only difference is that it is recessed Â¼â€ deep and the top is sanded back to the angle after the pen is finished.

The recess is made with an 11/32â€ drill and there is clearance for the Slim-Line bushings so the pen can be turned on the mandrel like a â€œnormalâ€ pen.


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## its_virgil (Jan 19, 2007)

Hey Russ, move around to the other end of the pen. [] I knew you would do it. A great looking pen...design and execution. Now that my demo is over I'm off to the shop.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


> _Originally posted by RussFairfield_
> <br />
> 
> This is the top end of the pen. The Stream-Line clip and finial are recessed as described in the Jay Pickens article. The only difference is that it is recessed Â¼â€ deep and the top is sanded back to the angle after the pen is finished.
> ...


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## JimGo (Jan 19, 2007)

Very interesting!  I assume that the finial end is closed, hence the necessity to turn it round before drilling; is that correct?

Edit:
Of course, NOW I see the finial end!  OK, so now I'm back to wondering why you had to drill after turning, rather than before.

Not a critique...genuine curiosity.  I really appreciate your willingness to share your techniques with us!


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## LEAP (Jan 19, 2007)

Russ,
Thanks for the pictures, they explained alot. of course now I have a bunch of ideas floating around in my head just waiting for shop time to try out. I'm going to have to quit this work thing it keeps getting in the way.


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## TellicoTurning (Jan 19, 2007)

Russ,
Great design.. great pen,  How would you change the refill?


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## RussFairfield (Jan 19, 2007)

I turn almost all pen blanks to round and straight before drilling because there are several advantages for me doing it that way for the pens that I make. Others may disagree, and that is their choice. I have listed 4 that are the most obvious. 

First, I use a collet chuck because the run-out is only about 0.001" while the run-out in the best of scroll chucks is 0.005" and I have seen some that were as much as 0.010.

The 1st advantage is that I can hold the round wood in the collet chuck. This lets me swap ends and drill from each end and have a some assurance that the holes will meet in the middle. There are those who say they can drill a blank from both ends in a drill press and have the holes meet in the middle. I have never been able to do that, even when I ran the blanks through the table saw to make them "perfectly square", and locked the vice in place before swapping ends. I came closer when using a scroll chuck with the #1 spigot jaws, but there was always just enough slop in the jaws and chuck that the holes didn't quite meet in the middle. 

And the center holes from turning the blanks provide a starting point for the drill.  

Another advantage of turning "round" first is that all of the heavy turning is done between centers. That means less pressure is needed to hold the round blanks on the mandrel. Less pressure on the mandrel is always a good thing. This is a really good thing on a very hard wood like this cross-grain Zebra.

A 3rd advantage is that I can swap ends in the collet chuck when I forget something. and there are no problems with eccentricity. 

And, the 4th advantage is that it lets me look at wood and get a feel for it before there is a lot of time invested in it. I can see how the grain pattern will develop. I can find cracks and flaws in the wood. I can tell how it will turn on the mandrel and whether CA is needed to patch or hold it together. And I can chose to throw it away now rather than later.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 19, 2007)

The refill is changed by pulling the "assembly" out of the pen. That is why the grip between the upper tube and transmission was reduced before assembly.


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## alamocdc (Jan 19, 2007)

You beat me to it, Russ. I had a feeling it would work as I envisioned. Thanks for showing us yet another way to do "the lowly slimline".[]


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## skiprat (Jan 19, 2007)

Well done Russ, lining the tip with a 7.5mm tube is sheer genius!!!

I think you should send that pen to me for further examination[]

Skiprat ( Whoever I am)


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## TBone (Jan 19, 2007)

Excellent job and great looking pen.  I had to read your post twice and the follow up questions before I understood but have to agree with skiprat, lining the tip was "sheer genius".


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## bnoles (Jan 19, 2007)

Russ,

That one blows my socks off and what a finish. That thing simply gleans.

Beuatiful Job!


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## BRobbins629 (Jan 19, 2007)

Love the style and design.  Thanks for sharing.


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## bob393 (Jan 19, 2007)

Nice job on a great looking pen!


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## DCBluesman (Jan 19, 2007)

As I remember seeing these pens, I remember:

Angelo's and thought "Cool!"
Then I saw Don's and thought "Wow! Very Cool!"
I saw Jay's and thought "Amazing"
Now I see Russ's and wonder what can I say that's better than "Cool", "Very cool" and "Amazing"

All I can come up with is "IMPRESSIVE!"  and that goes for all four variations.  You guys are truly inspirational. [8D]


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## wdcav1952 (Jan 19, 2007)

Russ,

I am a simple B2B turner, but people like you and Jay who share their wealth of knowledge with us inspire me to try some of your ideas.  This one I am going to have to give my best effort to emulate.

Thank you,


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## johncrane (Jan 20, 2007)

RUSS you have touched on some very good points with your drilling method which l will have to try when l get a collet chuck. Doing the whole process on the lathe would be a good thing,especially if you do demonstrations at markets or shows,Also Russ thanks for sharing another great pen mod' top stuff as always.[]


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## Kemosabe62 (Jan 20, 2007)

This is the first time I've seen someone mention using a shellac friction over polished CA. Does it hold up well and/or what does shellac do for the Ca finish? I've never thought to put shellac over CA, since the CA polishes to such a good finish.


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## Ozzy (Jan 20, 2007)

Russ,
 That is a fantastic looking pen and I am going to have to try one. Thanks for sharing the picture and instructions on how to make it.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 20, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Kemosabe62_
> <br />This is the first time I've seen someone mention using a shellac friction over polished CA. Does it hold up well and/or what does shellac do for the Ca finish? I've never thought to put shellac over CA, since the CA polishes to such a good finish.



I use the shellac over the CA glue for the same reason as others would use wax. It is a protective coating that lasts longer than wax. The CA under it is sanded to 12,000 Micro-Mesh so there is a seamless transition as the softer shellac wears away.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 20, 2007)

Thanks for all of the kind comments, and the help in getting there. These pens have been a fun project. 

Now I will have to use them for a couple months to see how durable they are, and the next step will be to see how they sell. 

The selling will be more difficult than it sounds because I have never found a market for a ballpoint pen that sells for more than $45, and I would have get $65 for this one to make it worth making in any quantity. Even then, there are more profitable pens for the time invested. The B2B oens may bot be as challenging or fun to make, but they are a whole lot more profitable.


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## gerryr (Jan 20, 2007)

That's a really slick pen.  I've seen these in Jay's album and have always liked them.  I think I need to get a new drive center and give these a try.


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## JHFerrell (Jan 27, 2007)

While I have not seen this particular pen, I have seen another one in this series that Russ did. I am fortunate in that I work in the Woodcraft store that Russ shops in and get to see a lot of his pens as well as some of his other turnings. He is truly a very talented turner...and a pretty nice guy too! In all seriousness, I have picked up so many little tricks from Russ just by listening to him when he shows up in the store its uncanny. This pen is just another example of why when Russ talks, we listen.


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## reef12 (Jan 27, 2007)

That is a great Pen and idea.

Maybe one day[V]

Oh I do like the super glued fingers also[)]


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## Stevej72 (Jan 27, 2007)

Beautiful pen, Russ.


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## BigRob777 (Jan 27, 2007)

Astounding!  Lou alteady took "impressive".
Rob


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