1St Pen Done!

[Flyingwatchmaker]

(Pics posted in the Facebook group earlier)

So this is my first fountain pen, it was an interesting process...

The section was meant to be longer, but I got distracted and my drill bit self fed into the workpiece and chipped about 4mm off the front.. I'd already done the threading for the section/barrel and for the nib unit, so I figured I'd at least see how it all fitted together (in other words I couldn't be bothered starting again)

 

There are small pit marks/bubbles all over the pieces from the resin cast, I'm not 100% sure why, but am thinking I didn't have the pressure high enough/fast enough, but I think I'll be doing more of this colour combination, it really has some awesome depth to it (especially in person, I was quite surprised at the variance in just these pictures)

 

This pen is made from alumilite resin, with a #5 Bock nib/feed unit, it definitely needs at the very least a roll stop, but I'd like to make a clip for it at some point.. and I was quite surprised how well just friction fitting the cap worked.. I haven't forked out for the triple start taps/dies yet, and I didnt want threads on either the section or the barrel... I may develop a bayonet type fitting instead, as they look a lot cleaner...

 

all comments welcome!

 

Tom

 

[Old_Inkyhand]

Good job! It looks great. How long is it (uncapped, unposted)?

[fountainpagan]

Congratulations on your first pen.

 

Simple, but very nice. I like the way you did the section.

 

Well done!

[Jamesbeat]

Very nice!

Pity about the section, but otherwise it is fantastic.

I especially like the blank you made.

 

How did you go about friction fitting the cap?

[Flyingwatchmaker]

Thanks, I'll have to find a ruler when I get to work to measure it.. (things you forget while making)...

I do have additional material to re-make the section, though I may go a contrasting colour just to mix it up a little...

 

For the cap, I probably did things a little backwards, I had made the barrel, with the thought that I may thread the outside of it, so just turned it parallel for approximately 10-15mm (12mm o.d ish) I just drilled out the cap, first with clearance for the nib/section, and then a relief at the very end to clear the barrel (12.5mm), I then fed a 12mm drill bit in, for 10mm past the relief to hopefully "scrape" on to the barrel.. this was too tight, so i let the drill bit slip a little to take a very small amount of material off with.. Not the most precise way of doing it, but it seems to have worked.

 

In the future, if I continue using friction fit I will possibly make the cap first, as it's easier to just drill the hole, then test fit over the barrel, having an adjustable boring bar rather than drill bits would work well too, but that will be a fair way in the future, this lather doesn't have the precision fitting to warrant it.

 

T

[Jamesbeat]

You mentioned above about the triple start taps and dies - have you given any thought to making them yourself?

Having seen your watch, I feel like you can do pretty much anything

 

I have thought a lot about this myself. Not only are those taps and dies expensive, sometimes they are simply unobtainable. It seems that you have to wait until a group buy happens and jump on it.

 

The tap wouldn't be too hard, but the die might be difficult.

I wonder if it would be possible to make a decent die using a tap?

Edited February 13, 2017 by Jamesbeat

[Flyingwatchmaker]

 

Pen measured! And next to a metropolitan for size/shape comparison..

 

I would consider making my own taps/dies, except I am way too lazy.. and would have to figure out how to do it on my mill as none of my lathes have thread cutting capability... for the time/effort required, buying them is quite economical... I think I'm still more likely to do a bayonet fitting, as I like the look of them more (a la Visconti Homo Sapien).. one of the next steps will be to start adding metal fittings, and doing the bayonets at least partially in metal is quite likely.. it just comes back down to time available again :-)

 

Tom

[Jamesbeat]

If you decide to remake that section in a different material, perhaps consider ebonite.

It is a little stinky when you machine it (I actually love the smell but many don't) but it is SO satisfying to machine

[Flyingwatchmaker]

I have considered ebonite, the only downside being there's none nearby, whereas I have 10 or so sticks of alumilite cast and ready to rock... I did just pick up 2m of 12mm aluminium too.. that may be something I play with as well ;-)

[ZoidbergFr]

Very nice !

Congratulations.

[Soggycitybob]

Lovely! I'd love to see more pen projects.

[Flyingwatchmaker]

Very nice !

Congratulations.

 

Thanks :-)

 

Lovely! I'd love to see more pen projects.

 

Thanks!, I've got a whole heap up my sleeve, just needing the time to get them out of my head and into production.. including changing the resin I'm using due to a bubble issue I can't seem to shake with the current material...

 

Tom

[Texasshipagent]

Solid ! Good job

[Jamesbeat]

 

Thanks :-)

 

 

Thanks!, I've got a whole heap up my sleeve, just needing the time to get them out of my head and into production.. including changing the resin I'm using due to a bubble issue I can't seem to shake with the current material...

 

Tom

Are you curing it under vacuum?

If so, have you tried vacuum and then positive pressure?

 

I used to know a guy who cast prosthetic fangs and that's what he did - the vacuum sucks out the majority of the air, then the positive pressure compresses any tiny remaining bubbles into nothingness (or at least too small for the eye to see).

 

The idea as it was explained to me is this: the vacuum is great for removing the majority of the air bubbles, but the ones it doesn't remove are actually made worse because they expand due to the vacuum.

 

The idea is to remove as many bubbles as you can with the vacuum and then immediately remove the vacuum so the remaining bubbles shrink down to their natural size.

Then you apply positive pressure, squeezing them down even smaller.

 

I only have this information second hand and I don't know what kind of equipment you would need.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Jamesbeat

[Jamesbeat]

Also, a guy who I used to buy casting materials from told me that it's best to pour the resin in a thin stream from as high as possible into one corner of the mold.

The idea is that any bubbles pop easily in the thin stream, and also pouring it a thin stream avoids trapping more bubbles as you pour.

 

This seemed to work well for me when I made some RTV silicone molds, so I imagine it would be worth a try with resin too.

 

Have you tried evacuating the resin before pouring it and then again after it is in the mold?

 

I really want this to work out for you, because I have a feeling we're going to see some spectacular pens from you one day soon

[Flyingwatchmaker]

Also, a guy who I used to buy casting materials from told me that it's best to pour the resin in a thin stream from as high as possible into one corner of the mold.

The idea is that any bubbles pop easily in the thin stream, and also pouring it a thin stream avoids trapping more bubbles as you pour.

 

This seemed to work well for me when I made some RTV silicone molds, so I imagine it would be worth a try with resin too.

 

Have you tried evacuating the resin before pouring it and then again after it is in the mold?

 

I really want this to work out for you, because I have a feeling we're going to see some spectacular pens from you one day soon

 

 

Thanks, yeah, vacuum would be nice, the biggest issue is that the alumilite I have been using has a maximum 7 minute pot life, and it's currently averaging 22-25 degrees celcius here, which reduces it to about 5, trying to use multiple colours, and ideally getting at least 1 minute under pressure.. I've just started trialling another polyurethane resin that has a 15 minute working time, and the initial cast as no visible bubbles whatsoever! I just need some time to turn theblanks into pen bits ;-)

 

if this resin works out, I'll likely set it up with vacuum as well, to make absolutely sure, plus there's another variant of the same resin that has a 60 minute pot life...

 

will post some pics of the newest sticks when I get home, they're quite pretty too

 

Tom

[Jamesbeat]

I'm pretty sure I read that vacuum is mandatory for alumilite, which is why I have never tried it myself.

 

I'd like a vacuum setup one day, but I have far more pressing tooling requirements to take care of first.

 

Have you considered taking it easy at first and buying acrylic blanks?

They are a joy to machine, and some of them can be really stunning when polished.

 

I'm not doubting your ability to learn it all at once, but it would enable you to concentrate on the two issues (pen making and resin casting) separately - less to go wrong.

 

I still have the first pen I made out of acrylic blanks, and even though I have improved a great deal, it's a perfectly good pen and I still keep it in my rotation.

 

And once again, I implore you, please order some ebonite!

It's a very appropriate material for sections, having a texture and warmth that you just can't duplicate with plastics.

Ebonite barrel and cap finials turn a pedestrian pen into a show stopper.

[amberleadavis]

Congrats!!