Jump to content

Something I Discovered About Early Pen Production


thompenshop

Recommended Posts

Wonderful machines -- fewer and fewer in use. When the contents of machine shops go to auction nowadays, screw machines typically sell for scrap value. Sad but true.

 

Good to keep in mind that in the panoply of machining, there are many intermediate levels of mechanical automation between a simple bench lathe and CNC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 32
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • thompenshop

    10

  • Vintagepens

    4

  • Chthulhu

    3

  • white_lotus

    2

Chris - I doubt that I would have made much of an impression at the show. I'm just another grey-haired guy of average height and build, wearing eyeglasses. Kind of sounds like a whole generation of us, I think. I purchased one of the replica DuoFold button-fillers you had in a rack on the table. Mine has a modern nib - a great broad (or BB?) stub/cursive italic nib that works really well in everyday use -- as long as I keep a bottle of ink nearby. We both (the pen and I) like the effect of lots of ink on the paper.

 

I'll be watching to see what your next projects may be. After the enjoyment the first has brought, I'd go for another in an instant. I'm glad to see you back here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Any Doufold made in the Uk most likely used Whitworth threads, they are inch dims but just different enough to cause the issue you speak of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I very much doubt whether Parker used imperial threads in their pen production. It would have required a redesign of the pen and caused problems with parts interchangeability. Also, I believe the Newhaven tooling was imported from America.

 

With pens you are not talking about fitting generic parts, so it makes no sense to use different thread forms.

 

Similarly Ford cars manufactured here had American threads (while most of the UK owned manufacturers switched during 1950's), rather than use imperial threads

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know one of the former parker executives before parker was bought out and fired everyone. When we talked he was telling me that with the Duofolds the workers where not paid for the number of product that they produced ,but paid based on how many where perfect. So I think that there may have been some differences just based on that and the different production plants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it is helpful; Parker´s screw machines department circa 1925.

 

http://s17.postimg.org/psbfkh42n/Parker_screw_departament_1925_Lazard.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, I don't know anything about vintage pen production, so what are "screw machines"? Seems like a lot of stuff to make screws. What do the gals on the left do?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought the girls on the left did the female threads, while the guys on the right do the male ones :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll look for them. Perhaps a reader here will have a web address.

TechShop is at http://www.techshop.ws/

 

I am a member, and am very pleased with them. I'm taking the classes needed to run a number of the interesting CNC machines. There isn't one close to you yet, but they are growing. They only add a couple of shops a year, though.

--

Lou Erickson - Handwritten Blog Posts

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought the girls on the left did the female threads, while the guys on the right do the male ones :rolleyes:

 

<Missing clapping hands emoticon x 3 >

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In another life, when I worked around a Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication unit, about 95% of the workers than worked "hands on" with the semiconductor wafers were women. They have distinct advantages in eye hand coordination and manual dexterity.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...