How To Make A Fountain Pen Without A Lathe?

[pshibb]

http://www.woodcraftmagazine.com/onlineextras/Penwright%20tools.pdf

Got the link from this thread.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/239465-a-question/?do=findComment&comment=2845363

[djpens]

i very seldom use a lathe because i make all metal pen cases

even from bicycle tubing brass copper tube titanium tube

havent tried fishing rods or golfclubs but the should work too===========

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did use a lathe on some titanium tube designs also to turn down bicycle back stays

but this could be done by hammering over a sharpening steel

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look for existing forms and adapt to pens

Edited December 16, 2013 by djpens

[Inkling13]

Now here's a tale that I know well... I saw pens on here that I've never dreamed could be from scratch, but they were, magically conjured by a lathe. I have always wanted to play with a lathe, and while I don't have the room, i did have the clams, so I got a lathe and put it on wheels. I have made a few bowls since, but stock for bowls is hard to come by. On the other hand, pen blanks are easy to be had. So the natual inclination was to start gathering tools for that too. I'm just a few drill bits away and a die and tap, but I'd say that if you want a lathe, buy a used one via craigslist. It's far easier and more reliable/safer than anything you might be able to scrounge up. I am assuming that since you don't have a lathe because of space constraints, that a full woodshop is also out of the question, and without that, you might not get the tolerances you need to have with making a lathe, even out of wood. A good lathe would run you 400$ if all you want to do is pens, but the tools and other things you need to support that lathe, that can easily double your price.

[pshibb]

If you only want a lathe for pens and small projects there are some specifically for that.

[Inkling13]

My guess is saying that this is not a long term viable project. If you make one pen, you'll find it's not perfect and if you spent months on it... well, the second pen might never come, and the world would be deprived of another penmaker. However, you also might find that you like making pens, so that might spur you to shell out for the tools of the trade. Who knows?

[Sasha Royale]

I think you are describing a significant part of the fountain pen industry of India. Some of the product is

very good. However, a couple hours work ? That sounds like a fountain pen kit.

[Inkling13]

I think you are describing a significant part of the fountain pen industry of India. Some of the product is

very good. However, a couple hours work ? That sounds like a fountain pen kit.

The fountain pen industry in India may not have electric lathes, but I'm certain that they use a lathe, even if it is a manually driven lathe.

[watch_art]

I'm pretty sure I've seen some nice old metal lathes in pictures from India.

[Inkling13]

I'm pretty sure I've seen some nice old metal lathes in pictures from India.

So i haven't been hallucinating....

[sanyalsoumitra]

This is a very interesting thread to me ! Even though I am only an amature , I have recently made about 20 pens , all with out lathe machine. Of course, in half of these I used a previously turned round wood blank but for the rest I used regular square section blanks. The method used is driiling a centre hole by hand drill, using a reamer to bring to correct size of internal bore for the cap & barrel, and sanding the sides to hexagonal / octagonal shape. Later the ends are taper sanded and all the sharp corners are smoothened by sanding and the ends for fitting the hardware are rounded. Then CA finish etc and barrel trimming again by sanding and using a right angle try square.

 

I must admit this is a very tedious and sometimes boring process and if I were to sell the pens , possibly I would not make the deadline.

However once made these are nice pens for my own collection. This is the best I could do without a lathe machine, and with practice the later ones are better than the first ones!

 

I can not upload photos here one might visit this link and see a few of them , the last ones I have not yet posted :

 

<< http://www.soumitrapencoolections.blogspot.com >>

 

Warn regards

Soumitra

[pshibb]

Try polymer clay. It's cheap and easy to work with and quite easy to make a pen without a lathe. The bushings for the kits your using would help a lot but aren't required. The pen in my profile pic is clay and was made without a lathe.

[MINItron]

 

Would this lathe be overkill? It's only about a dozen feet long.

 

But seriously I have been contemplating a lathe to make pens. I wish I had a way to try it first to see if it really is something I want to get into. The polymer clay idea is very intriguing.

[richardandtracy]

Overkill?

Not really. It's amazing how much fun turning is. Once you've got the bug, you will always find jobs just too big for the lathe you've got - and that lathe gives lots of scope.

 

Seriously wood lathes are fairly cheap, and it is possible to buy attachment kits for electric drills to convert them into wood lathes for about half the cost of a wood lathe. They are not as easy to use, but give a flavour of what can be done.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[MINItron]

Richard, that lathe is a dozen feet long, and must've been installed as the ship was built because there is no way to move it in or out of that space that it is in. It is still in use 70 years later.

 

A Chief I work with used to turn pens, and has tried to talk me into buying his lathe and supplies, but I do not have the money.

[richardandtracy]

Steel ships/boats/yachts are mutable.

 

I know one gent who made a steel yacht without an engine, then decided he needed one. The engine was too big to go down the companionway. What of it? He cut a hole in the deck, lowered the engine in with a crane, then welded the deck beck. Took less than a day to cut, lower, re-weld, grind back and re-paint, and was vastly less effort than trying to manhandle an engine through cramped areas even if it could have gone through the doorways.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.