Which Taps And Dies

[dozuki]

I have been turning pes for a while now and want to combine my love of fountain pens with my pen making. I would like to start by getting some equipment together I know there are all different size taps and dies with different pitches and single or multiple thread. Iwould just like pointed in the direction of a good pair for a nice sized fountain pen. I know I'm missing a lot and really appreciate any help or pointers.

 

Paul

[richardandtracy]

You are asking the impossible.

The size you need will be determined by your design and the location of the thread.

 

For instance, the cap to barrel thread on a Duofold Centennial size pen could be M13 x 1, triple start, or quad start. For a smaller pen, the cap-barrel thread may be M12 x 1, triple start. Then you'll need the barrel to section tap & die. You may find that a 3/8 x 24 tpi is the most appropriate for this if you have a 12mm dia barrel, possibly reducing to M9 x 1 if the barrel is 11mm diameter. It all depends on your design as tiny changes in the design can make a big difference in the final pen.

 

I suggest you work out the design you want on a piece of paper, then choose the nearest thread size that is appropriate and iterate the design tweaking diameters to fit the taps you can get. Then take a look at the material thicknesses at the thread roots to see if they're adequate, iterating again if they aren't.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[dozuki]

Ok I knew this would not be an easy answer and I appreciate the advise. Can you tell a good place to get the tap and die from once I figure out just how big I want to make this pen. Or is it possible to order a nib and build the pen around the nib. since the threads on the nib will determin what die I need to screw the nib into the body of the pen.

 

Again thanks for the help and patience.

 

Paul

[richardandtracy]

If you are in the UK I can give a couple of pointers on E-Bay for some of the taps/dies, but for triple start they tend to be items of opportunity. If you are outside the UK there may well be better, more local sources for you that I don't know about.

 

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quality-Taps-and-Dies?_rdc=1

http://www.tracytools.com/

 

RDG tools below has a reasonable range, but no particularly special taps - their range of single start threads is excellent though:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/RDGTOOLS-ON-LINE?_rdc=1

 

I have also found Chronos to be good, if occasionally pricy:

http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/

 

Hope these help,

 

Richard.