Hi,
i've never actually tried what you outline . However I did try machining a pen from asolid aluminium billet this proved ok just needed precise drilling of the bore hole, in my case i made this the same as a7mm slimline set (inside tube diameter) this allowed me to use standard kit components for the nib end and lapel clip. I used a small metal lathe (clarke cl 250m), this has the benefit of accepting my tooling from my sheppach woodturner.
Im not very happy with the end result simply machining metal is apparently different from woods etc when i perfect it i'll post some pics........ Im also trying to obtain some m3 material which is an alloy that can be machined on the wood lathe with normal chisels etc
