Cigar Pen Clip Question

[Culprit]

Greetings from Virginia!

I never had a lathe until a friend recently gave me a 1955 Shopsmith. I fixed it up, replaced all the bearings and made a few other modifications and am now learning to turn. Pens seemed like an obvious first choice.

Here is a picture of 2 of my first 4 pens. They are Jatoba wood with a friction polish and Renaissance Wax. Yes, yes, I know that CA is all the rage. I'll get there - one step at a time.

Here's my question: there is a gap between the clip and the body of the cigar pen so that if you put it in your shirt pocket and bend over, it falls out. The obvious fix would seem to be to test the clip before pressing it on, and bending it if necessary, but I wanted to ask before messing up a kit. Can you bent the clip without it breaking, or without the finish cracking and flaking off (this one is gunmetal - I'm sure the answer may vary by finish)? I do not want to be restricted to making fatter pen uppers just to allow the clip to hold.

Thank you. I have learned a ton just from reading this forum the past few weeks before registering and posting.

 

[Justturnin]

I just checked mine to be sure before posting. Your kit looks like a PSI like mine so you should be able to unscrew the finial holding the clip down and remove the clip to bend it slightly.

Edit,
Great looking pens. I HATE CA but I do it becasue I want the pens I sell to last. If I am making a pen for me, I typically do not CA it. Just a smooth sanding and some wax and let the patina build.

 

[ed4copies]

The cigar style pen is made in several different "factories" and sold by different distributors and has many levels of quality.

So the short answer is nobody can KNOW the answer to your question.

(That won't stop some from answering authoritatively, though)

(BassBlaster sets a great precedent!!! Answer by indicating WHICH cigar kits you have used!!)

 

[BassBlaster]

I can say that I have "tweaked" the clip on just about every cigar pen I have turned and have yet to have a plating issue. The cigars I turn are Berea kits.

 

[Culprit]

The cigar kit came from wood n whimsies - if they carry more than one kind, I don't remember which off the top of my head. It is gunmetal.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Culprit]

I just checked mine to be sure before posting. Your kit looks like a PSI like mine so you should be able to unscrew the finial holding the clip down and remove the clip to bend it slightly.

Edit,
Great looking pens. I HATE CA but I do it becasue I want the pens I sell to last. If I am making a pen for me, I typically do not CA it. Just a smooth sanding and some wax and let the patina build.

Yes, you're right - I can unscrew it and tweak it. Now I just have to ask the friend I gave it to to give it back for a moment. The two pens in the picture above were thank you gifts to a husband and wife - family friends of ours who we owed.

And not to de-rail this into a finishing debate, but I agree with you completely. I prefer natural wood feel, but it is a balance between that and making the shiney finish on a pen given/sold to others last.

 

[Wingdoctor]

I have not had this problem on the 50 or so Cigar Pens I have turned, but I do contour the top blank a little differently. I have almost a cylinder shape the size of the bottom band on the top and then taper the last 3/4 to 1" of the top to match the cap. This leaves a larger area than what you have turned under the clip end. It makes a little fatter looking pen but I like it and so have my customers. I have shaped some other kit clips and if you use caution and padded vise jaws to hold the top end it is possible to bend the clip on most pens either in our out in relation to the body.

 

[corian king]

Very nice pens.Stick with the friction polish.Don't let others sway you.I have seen ca finish crack over time plus it makes the pen feel like plastic instead of real wood.