Todd in PA
Member
This is kitless No. 6 for me. I'll say that I'm still in the frustrating phase of making a mistake that results in me remaking the whole cap. 
Or whole body. Or, in this case...BOTH. 
I guess technically this could be pen No. 7 if you count the near whole pen in my scrap bin.
Mistake #1: Not drilling deep enough for section to thread tightly, and not realizing until after the threads were cut.
Mistake #2: Not using a live point to hold the cap when shaping, resulting in a VERY out of round end unsuitable for the clip ring.
Photos.
Or whole body. Or, in this case...BOTH. I guess technically this could be pen No. 7 if you count the near whole pen in my scrap bin.Mistake #1: Not drilling deep enough for section to thread tightly, and not realizing until after the threads were cut.
Mistake #2: Not using a live point to hold the cap when shaping, resulting in a VERY out of round end unsuitable for the clip ring.
- It is made from a Polymethyl Methacrylate blank called Blue Ice that I got from Berea, and Ebonite.
- Stats.
- Capped length: 5.25"
- Uncapped length: 5.00"
- Cap Diameter: 16.5 mm tapering to 15.0 mm.
- Pen Body Diameter: 15.25 mm tapering to 13.75mm.
- The metal is Argentium Silver.
- I fabricated silver jump rings and inset them into the ebonite end caps (discussion HERE). I previously used 20 gauge, but increased the size to 14 gauge square silver wire for this pen.
- Single threads which take 4 revolutions to remove the cap. I'll be shopping for more expensive taps and dies once I've honed in on a design I want to produce.
- Photography.
- The first two photos are my usual setup-- outdoors, white refectors, iPhone. The second two pictures are using the technique discusses HERE, using glass, one side painted black, and a reflected background image (in this case a wood tabletop). The glass images are highly touched up in post due to a lot of dust and scratches in the glass that weren't visible until after painting.
- Costs.
- I think this may be helpful to others considering the plunge. The Jowo #6 nibs are $18. The blank was $5 (I used two due to mistakes but I'm only counting one). Three inches of ebonite is $5. There is a little over $3 worth of silver in the two rings (again, mistakes cost me one additional ring). The clip cost $4.
- Grand total in raw materials $35.00.
- I'd like to give you a grand total on the time investment, but it's not fair due to mistakes and re-builds. I'll try to track it for you on the next one.
Photos.
. The IAP does have the option to ignore specific members. LOL.
