Getting To Work...

August 25, 2014

The pens I've made so far are still not satisfactory, but I'm working on it. These two are also gel/ballpoint type pens, but the 10mm x 1 threads will work for an El Grande section as well.

This first one is made from acrylic from Bear Tooth Woods. Initially, I wanted a clipless pen with finials on the ends to lengthen it slightly, as the original blank wasn't long enough. I tapped 10mm threads for both finials, female end with the dark plastic, and sanded it down. The end was tapered so I could get a good taper though I was doing it by hand. And then the troubles began. I drilled out the cap a little too long, up to the end you see here. While trying to trim the finial I ended up revealing the hole in the cap. I'd need to cut a male end on a blank to plug the hole. And then it occurred to me to try adding a clip. The Pentel Forte pencil has a rather heavy metal tip, good for pen spinners (AKA making baton twirling fashionable). It also has an easily-removable clip, which fit perfectly in the cap hole I drilled. For $2.52, the Pentel Forte II is a bit more expensive than the original Forte (discontinued), but still affordable, considering the fact that the tip is also usable for other purposes.

In short... that cap really should be a good bit longer.

The second one is a "mini-pen" using a Parker refill. My favorite refill is actually a bit shorter than even this. The cap's a little longer than it should be, but the body is drilled out to about 5mm from the end. It's about as long as the Fisher Space Pen, and with a Space Pen refill I could even make it shorter!

There was a Rhino Plastics version of this pen (in Copper Lightning) that shattered as I was trying to shape the finished pen. Polyresin really is too brittle.

After initial shaping, I took a break for the day. Someone suggested to try to put everything on the lathe so that it'd be better aligned. My 10mm die fits in my Harbor Freight 3-jaw chuck, and the piece i'm working on fits in the 1/2" drill chuck on the tailstock. The 12mm die, however, is too big. I went ahead with what I could. I used Delrin for the section on this one. It's a great material for threading - it's buttery smooth. Next experiment will be dyeing Delrin. It has a warmer feel and a naturally matte, grippy finish that works well for a pen section. It's also cheaper than plain acrylic - $3/foot for 3/4" round rods. It doesn't polish up well, but I've heard that it's possible to dye it for some character.

For the third time, I tried to tap the 12mm outer threads by hand. For the third time, they were off center. Evidently, even on shallow threads it's much easier to cut threads on the lathe.

Enter the cheapest 1.25" die stock of all time. The remnants of the Rhino Plastics blank were turned down to an approximation of an MT1 taper. The other end is nested in incremental sizes of PVC - 3/4" pipe, 3/4" coupler, 1" coupler, 1.25" coupler. Multiple bolts are used to stabilize the die - while two aren't perfectly perpendicular, having four points of support alleviates most problems. I don't need handles, though I could tap holes for 1/4" threaded aluminum rod. Total out-of-pocket cost: $1.33, roughly $5 if you include the bolts and blank. The broken piece of Rhino Plastic blank was used as a threading test. Super smooth.

I went back, cut off the threads, and rethreaded the pen. Yes, it is very short, and it's only slightly longer when capped. I have small hands (I'm a small person!) so it's okay. Also tried to match up the green sections on the blank so it'd look nice capped on either side.