How To Make A Fountain Pen Without A Lathe?

[Robinkeys]

Hi everybody,

I was wondering if there was any way to make a fountain pen without a lathe? I have absolutely nowhere to put one. I'm looking south of $100 as a max budget, and probably a couple hour's worth of work max. Please chime in with your suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

[Kess]

I haven't thought this out in great detail but I imagine you could take a pen style you like and make a silicone mold of the cap, body and front section. After that, you would use your own resin to pour into the molds. Of course, there will be challenges in terms of casing usable threads from a mold...or you could cut your own. With a little trial and error I'm sure it would work.

[raging.dragon]

Do you have a drill press?

[InvisibleMan]

Do you have a drill press?

 

Just what I was about to ask.

[watch_art]

South of $100...

some creative trading with somebody who does have a lathe??

[79spitfire]

A drill press can be used as a lathe, PSI offers a kit to do their pen kits on it, shouldn't be too hard to modify it to make it do what you want.

[Tom Aquinas]

I saw some "Trench Art" from WW1 in a regimental museum where there were Frankenpens made from Waterman nibs, filler and cartridge cases. The tools used were files, bayonets, screwdrivers and hammers.

[dickydotcom]

I have only ever made kit pens, but I started with a mini drill lathe attachment. the whole thing was only about a foot long. Do a search on Dremel.

From there I went onto an ordinary drill lathe attachment, but that is a couple of feet long.

It can easily be screwed onto a board and doesn't take up much room.

 

Dick D

[drgoretex]

I hate to say this, but this sounds incredibly unrealistic to me. You need tools to make stuff. Tools cost money. Couple hours max? If you already had all the tooling, you could make a decent kit pen in that kind of time, once you know what you're doing...

 

Ken

[pictogramax]

If you are talking about tight-fitting parts, beautiful finish, smooth screwing action and everything other associated with a professionally made pen, I believe Ken is absolutely right. Just take a look at his gallery and you will immediately see that many hours of love and attention went into his pens. I cannot see the way to come up with a pen in that fashion without the knowledge, skill, tools, time and effort invested.

 

If there is, I would very much like to hear it and use that same technique for my own purposes:-)

 

As I do "make" my own pens without a lathe and with a very basic tools:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/233360-vintage-konrad/page__p__2508098__fromsearch__1#entry2508098

 

But it requires even more time, as I have to by-pass the fact that I simply cannot machine a part I have in mind. I have to find parts that are close enough to my idea and then glue, cut, trim and sand to make roughly the same thing. It works for me, as I take I lot of joy from these experiments and end up with pens that suit my specific needs (and that I cannot buy as they do not exist). Using something I made with my own hands is additional pleasure for me, even if it's not as polished or good-looking as the "real" deal.

 

So far the pens I made are working fine and are a joy to use. And that is my main goal, as I build them to be functional and ergonomical to me. I know that PIERCE, as hand-made-looking as it is, would not turn many heads, but it really is a very comfortable pen for me that I use daily for my drawings.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/234209-pierce/page__p__2518770__fromsearch__1#entry2518770

 

I guess it all depends on your motives for getting into pen-making.

[chris burton]

I'll second the drill press recommendation. I don't make pens, but I do customize existing ones and I started with a cordless drill and a couple of files. No joke. It was hard on my wrist and took forever, but it worked. And as soon as I had completed the first one (binde) I was hooked. I soon decided to invest in a drill press because I wasn't confident enough to buy a lathe right away. I probably made another twenty or thirty bindes on the drill press before I decided to suck it up and get a 'proper' lathe. I made another hundred or two with that little 7 x 10 lathe before I started looking for a real lathe, which is what I have now (9 x 48" SouthBend Model A).

 

You'll obviously have to figure out a lot of 'work-arounds' to make things because you don't have the 'proper' equipment, but figuring that stuff out is immensely satisfying, albeit sometimes maddening, along the way. Go for it and ask lots of questions.

[pictogramax]

>> You'll obviously have to figure out a lot of 'work-arounds' to make things because you don't have the 'proper' equipment, but figuring that stuff out is immensely satisfying, albeit sometimes maddening, along the way. Go for it and ask lots of questions.<<

 

Beautifully put! I feel the same way "making' my Frankenpens:-)

[richardandtracy]

OK.

 

Is it possible? Yes

Is it sensibly practical? No.

 

I have read of one gentleman who made a rifle block for a match winning rifle using a file (cf 'The Machinist's Bedside Reader' 1, 2 or 3 by Guy Lautard). If he can do that, it's theoretically possible to do the same with a pen. But there are MUCH better ways of doing it! The much better way to do it is a lathe unless you have unbelievable skill with a file or sandpaper.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[chris burton]

>> You'll obviously have to figure out a lot of 'work-arounds' to make things because you don't have the 'proper' equipment, but figuring that stuff out is immensely satisfying, albeit sometimes maddening, along the way. Go for it and ask lots of questions.<<

 

Beautifully put! I feel the same way "making' my Frankenpens:-)

 

So I was just out in the garage trying to figure out how to ascertain the number of threads per inch inside of a Pelikan K800 ballpoint pen barrel. Hmmm. I can get the thread pitch gauge in there, but can't really see how they're lining up. Hmmm...

 

 

Ah, I wonder where the kids' Play-Doh is?

 

I cut up a popsicle stick to gently press the Play-Doh into the threads, pulled it out and was able to measure the tpi count.

 

 

As everyone has said, it's much easier to do these things if you have the proper tools, but there's always another way.

 

 

[Inspector]

If you are not adverse to a kit fountain pen then you can make a polymer clay pen. It can be made without a lathe. Basically you work and apply the polymer clay to the brass tubes, bake them in your kitchen oven. When cured and cooled you can sand it to size holding the blank with the turning bushings and a bolt, apply a clear finish, and assemble the pen kit. Toni Ransfield was the first person that I am aware of that did it and she didn't have a lathe when she started. If you don't want to do your own clay work, you can buy her blanks and finish them yourself. There are also several others making the blanks too and I could link them if you want.

 

http://www.exclusivedesignz.com/

 

http://content.pentu...pbooks/toni/#/0

 

Pete

 

P.S. My first and last attempt at a polymer clay feather on a click ballpoint. I used a lathe though. There are books on making polymer clay designs and patterns and the feather came from one. The one in the book looked much better than mine for some reason.

[79spitfire]

If you are not adverse to a kit fountain pen then you can make a polymer clay pen. It can be made without a lathe. Basically you work and apply the polymer clay to the brass tubes, bake them in your kitchen oven. When cured and cooled you can sand it to size holding the blank with the turning bushings and a bolt, apply a clear finish, and assemble the pen kit. Toni Ransfield was the first person that I am aware of that did it and she didn't have a lathe when she started. If you don't want to do your own clay work, you can buy her blanks and finish them yourself. There are also several others making the blanks too and I could link them if you want.

 

http://www.exclusivedesignz.com/

 

http://content.pentu...pbooks/toni/#/0

 

Pete

 

P.S. My first and last attempt at a polymer clay feather on a click ballpoint. I used a lathe though. There are books on making polymer clay designs and patterns and the feather came from one. The one in the book looked much better than mine for some reason.

I like it, I think it looks good!

[smk]

I tried my hand at making a barrel and a cap out of Bamboo. The ends were made from dark and light walnut. This was an experiment so I used different woods on the barrel and the cap to see how they worked out.

 

It is much more work than it would have been if I had a lathe but it can be done:

 

 

The following two holders were made without the use of a lathe as well. The longer one measures 12 inches from end to end.

 

 

I do wish I had a lathe though :-)

 

S.

Edited January 6, 2013 by smk

[richardandtracy]

Just thinking about this.

 

Buying a lathe is expensive. So, why not avoid buying and make instead? A book to describing what to do from scratch with hand tools is shown here: http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/series/index.html . I suggest you find the book quickly as the vendor is in the process of retiring and he was the easiest one to get the book from - possibly try Camden here (who may also close in the next few months): http://www.camdenmin.co.uk/engineering-practice-skills/lathe-books/build-your-own-metal-working-shop-from-scrap-book-2-the-metal-lathe-128-pages-p-1868.html . Book 1 would be good to get too.

 

I know of one such lathe that has been under construction, here: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/lathe1.html I think Lionel got bored with the project though and stopped at the point where the lathe worked quite well.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[79spitfire]

Just thinking about this.

 

Buying a lathe is expensive. So, why not avoid buying and make instead? A book to describing what to do from scratch with hand tools is shown here: http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/series/index.html . I suggest you find the book quickly as the vendor is in the process of retiring and he was the easiest one to get the book from - possibly try Camden here (who may also close in the next few months): http://www.camdenmin.co.uk/engineering-practice-skills/lathe-books/build-your-own-metal-working-shop-from-scrap-book-2-the-metal-lathe-128-pages-p-1868.html . Book 1 would be good to get too.

 

I know of one such lathe that has been under construction, here: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/lathe1.html I think Lionel got bored with the project though and stopped at the point where the lathe worked quite well.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

The problem with making tools like this (this is a personal experience story) is that you can end up having making the tool be a bigger goal than actually making anything on it. You invest so much time in the tool you loose sight of the goal of making a few pens!

 

I'm not suggesting that you don't make your own lathe, just be aware that it's a serious investment in time.

 

I don't know where your located but some of the bench top lathes at Harbor freight are accurate enough for hobby turning. I know I'm not exactly the pen manufacturing powerhouse Watch_art or Appleman are, but I have one and when I want to make a few pens, mine has been more than sufficient.

[Stanis]

Hi

I do not know if that was what the friend thought.

I do not have a lathe too. But "I have a dream" ...

My project: I have a piece of pipe polished and lightweight aluminum with 1 centimeter internal diameter.

I want to cut the pipe in the size of the pen and cap.Then insert a fountain pen kit in the tube.

Here in Brazil is almost a dream because there are no manufacturers of fountain pens kits.

The kits on the Internet does not have the features I need: 1 - fit into 1 centimeter (or less) 2 - should be a cheap kit.

Needs to be cheap, because when the kit to arrive in this country by mail, I have to pay taxes too expensive.

Well... this is my problem.

But I think is possible to make a fountain pen without a lathe, using a tube and a fountain pen kit.

Ps.: Excuse me for poor English "translator"