Kit Section/feed/nib Assemblies?

[PDW]

I'm going on a wood-turning taster day next month and I have the offer of a loan of a lathe, so I'm not even at the start line yet. But I do know my limited capacity for accurate work, so I'm wondering whether making a barrel and cap body to go with a bought-in section/feed/nib assembly would be a good starting point. Is this a sensible approach?

 

Do such part pens exist, and if so can anyone recommend a brand/model and a UK source for it?

[AndyNC]

Hi PDW,

 

I have made three kit pens and then I started on Kitless and have made two over the last month as time allows.

There are two tutorials I know of

http://content.penturners.org/library/pens/kitless_pen.pdf

and

http://newtonpens.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/kitless-fountain-pen.pdf

 

They gave me great inspiration and enough info to make a good start.

 

I think the newton pen one uses a woodworking lathe. If you have a good digital caliper then with a bit of care shaving the correct amount off to get a reasonable fit should not be beyond a careful man. Don't forget the threads and diameters don't have to be to great precision, just enough to make the pen fit together well and not feel sloppy and of course not fall apart..

 

From my limited experience:

I have found and used three UK suppliers for nibs and other parts

http://www.springhill-creations.com

http://www.schmidtpenrefills.co.uk

http://www.penkitsuk.com

There are others but these are the one's I've used.

You will have to make the sections which means you will need to buy the taps 6.5 and 7.4mm for the feeds to screw into the sections. You could glue them in but I don't like that Idea. These taps cost me £43 inc postage from Silverpen Parts (US).

 

You will also need taps and dies to screw that section into the barrel and the cap to the barrel.

Making the barrel and cap is relatively easy, but then I've used a metalwork lathe. I use the woodworking lathe for shaping and polishing. Fitting the clip to the cap takes a bit of thinking through. I've modified standard 7mm clips for this.

You will need two blanks for each fountain pen.

 

As you're in the UK there is http://www.penturners.co.uk/ and there is the IAP forum as well.

 

Cheers

Andy

[Inspector]

The El Grande / Churchill / Cambridge kit pens use a 10 x 1mm thread to attach the section to the barrel. I believe the nib can be swapped out for a better nib if you find the Chinese supplied one isn't to your liking. UK Suppliers that cater to wood turners selling pen kits may sell the sections separately. If you get stuck Bear Tooth Woods in the US have them. The 10 x 1mm tap along with a 12, 13, or 14mm tap and die for cap should be easy to source where you are. A regular single start thread will work to start with until the bug chomps on you hard and then you can go looking for the way more expensive triple start taps for the cap

 

In the IAP Library there is the tutorial by BigShed on making a pen using the El Grande section assembly already mentioned by Andy. There are other tutorials in the Library on making pens from scratch too that will be of interest to you.

 

Have fun

Pete

 

[watch_art]

Glad my old tutorial was helpful. There's so much in there I would do differently now. Simple things like how to hold a part in the lathe or when to use the live center.