Another kitless trial

brainick · Jun 19, 2024

Hello everybody,

I just bought a triple start tap die set from the Turners Workshop and, for the honor of this big investment (for me), I have tried another kitless pen from acrylic blanks.

I am happy with the result, however, I need to work on the threads of the body, not satisfied with the threads' look. It can be better. The pen is finished with Zona papers, Aerosol acrylic paste and Meguiars Plastx.

And I think I found a good solution for cutting the tenon precisely. I just bought the tap drill for 10 and 13mm from a local workshop and it worked great for me. I just roughly thinned the blanks to something like 11-12mm and the tap drill did the rest. You can see the product picture below.

Looking forward to hearing your feedback!

Regards,

Ahmet

floatslow · Jun 19, 2024

Nice work. Can you elaborate on your tenon cutting method? I ended up buying the Hinze Tennon tool, but did wonder about the plug cutting bits you show.

leehljp · Jun 19, 2024

Beautiful work and Finish!

Todd in PA · Jun 19, 2024

Nice looking pen.

One thing I found (no expert here), is that soaking all the pieces in soapy water and taking a toothbrush to the threads really makes them look better. I say this because I was trying to "clean" between the threads with plastic polish on a thread, which didn't work. The tops of the treads in your photo look polished.

It looks like the nib sits a bit too far back in the section. Should be easy enough to trim the section shorter if you even care to change it.

Anyway, great work in a very classy looking pen.

brainick · Jun 19, 2024

floatslow said:
Nice work. Can you elaborate on your tenon cutting method? I ended up buying the Hinze Tennon tool, but did wonder about the plug cutting bits you show.

Here is the basic drawing what I did. I thinned the tennon area to something like 14mm, then with the help of drill chuck, I cut the blank with tap drill (dowel cutter) to the exact 13 mm. And did same thing for the section part. Here is the part link. Hope this helps.

brainick · Jun 19, 2024

Todd in PA said:
Nice looking pen.

One thing I found (no expert here), is that soaking all the pieces in soapy water and taking a toothbrush to the threads really makes them look better. I say this because I was trying to "clean" between the threads with plastic polish on a thread, which didn't work. The tops of the treads in your photo look polished.

It looks like the nib sits a bit too far back in the section. Should be easy enough to trim the section shorter if you even care to change it.

Anyway, great work in a very classy looking pen.

That is a great feedback. I was stuck cleaning threads. I tried with oil and baby toothbrush but didn't work. I will try it with soapy water. Sometimes I see perfect clean threads and wonder how can someone does it. Is there any video or something about it?

I intentionally put the nib way back because I don't want the black area seem from outside. I checked the photo again and yes, it looks like there is a distance between nib and section. I will check the pen again

Thank you.

Todd in PA · Jun 19, 2024

If it was a design choice, I retract. I don't think the black feed showing would look bad because of the black in the body. But you saw it in person, and I think you surely made the right decision.

Jim15 · Jun 19, 2024

Awesome pen.

derekdd · Jun 19, 2024

That's a real beauty!

Sri Pens · Jun 19, 2024

Very pleasant colour combination .

PatrickR · Jun 19, 2024

very nice pen! Your threads don't look bad but I can see what you are talking about.
My process is to use mineral oil, cut the thread starting with the
die adjusted large cutting quickly forward and back ( this uses the die to polish) don't remove the die. Compress the die a little at a time and repeat ( don't remove the die !)
Keep well lubed and repeat until the process until the threads are sized to the cap. Personally I don't cut away threads at the end of the tenon. Personal preference, not necessary and looks cleaner to me.
Keep it up

Darios · Jun 19, 2024

brainick said:
Aerosol acrylic paste

How that work for you? The results are spectacular

brainick · Jun 20, 2024

Darios said:
How that work for you? The results are spectacular

That was my first time with Aerosol and I am satisfied with the result on acrylic.

I have tried the Aerosol also on epoxy on my shaving brush handles but it couldn't take little scratches away. On epoxy, I also tried Yorkshire Grit abrasive paste (fine), it didn't help either. Maybe I should try a more aggressive heavy cut on epoxy or a buffing system. By the way, epoxy is a little bit softer material than acrylic according to my observation. It is like ebonite and really hard to catch the perfect shine.

brainick · Jun 20, 2024

PatrickR said:
very nice pen! Your threads don't look bad but I can see what you are talking about.
My process is to use mineral oil, cut the thread starting with the
die adjusted large cutting quickly forward and back ( this uses the die to polish) don't remove the die. Compress the die a little at a time and repeat ( don't remove the die !)
Keep well lubed and repeat until the process until the threads are sized to the cap. Personally I don't cut away threads at the end of the tenon. Personal preference, not necessary and looks cleaner to me.
Keep it up

Thank you. If I got it right, at first you keep the die diameter relatively large and gradually you make it narrower while keeping it on the blank until you reach the right size. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

I was thinking the same about cutting till the end. Maybe not cutting thread till the end of tenon is a good idea as you suggested. But at this process, I think I should make some space for the thread's beginning on the cap with countersink so that it looks neat and fits properly.

PatrickR · Jun 20, 2024

#1 yes, that's my process. Keep the piece well lubricated, clean the swarf off regularly and after the initial cut turn the die rapidly clockwise/counterclockwise in small amounts over the entire length (this polishes the thread).

#2

Your pen

My preference (not my pen)
there is no need to remove the last few threads. Though it is commonly done, it adds nothing and is less pleasing.

Another kitless trial

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