First Kitless Rollerball with a clip

[TDahl]

While I have made Kitless Rollerballs in the past, this is my first attempt making one with a prefab clip. The clip is from Beaufort Ink (style "J" with an OD of 14.4 mm.) I poured the blank in the shop using Alumilite Clear Slow resin, and Pearlescent mica powders.


I had to be extra careful turning the cap and cap-finial down since I needed to match the OD of the clip ring. The body finial is from a sheet of brass. I wanted to experiment with a different shape for the nose cone, and am happy with how this one turned out.


For anyone interested, here are the dimensions of the completed pen:

Total length: 6 inches
Cap length: 2.75 inches
Barrel length: 3.25 inches
Section length: 1.25 inches

Cap diameter (largest): 16.5 mm
Barrel diameter (Cap end): 13 mm
Barrel diameter (Finial end): 11.5 mm

Tap and Die for Cap and Body: M13 x 0.8 TS
Tap and Die for Section and Body: M10 x 1 SS

As always, comments, questions, and critiques are encouraged. Thanks for reading.

 

[anthonyd]

Very nice!

 

[floatslow]

Nice work on the blank, also I am really liking your section/ nose cone. Is the finial screwed into the cap to secure the clip? Any issues with concentric alignment?

 

[TDahl]

Nice work on the blank, also I am really liking your section/ nose cone. Is the finial screwed into the cap to secure the clip? Any issues with concentric alignment?

Thanks for the kind comments Mark. The finials have been threaded and are fastened without using any type of adhesive. The tenons for the finials turned down to 10 mm and the cap and body ends and drilled with a 9 mm bit ( a "T" bit works as well.) These dimensions provide very little play and provide a snug fit for the finials. I did most of the turning and drilling on my metal lathe so there were no concentric issues. I attached a copy of the designs for the finials. The slightly larger tenon is between the finial end and the threads allows the clip ring to fit snug on the finial fit tight between the cap and body ends. It is really important to NOT make this tenon longer than the width of the clip ring.