Kitless mandrels

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Amihai

Amihai

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Joined
Oct 8, 2021
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Israel
Hello,
Does someone here know who can manufacture those so called "kitless mandrels" on personal order?

Alternatively, Is there a way to get around making kitless pens (especially the section) without using the so called "kitless mandrels"?

Beaufort Ink sells some, but only for Bock nib housing. I guess I can make most of those mandrels myself from Ebonite, but I don't have those M6.5x0.5 and M7.4x0.5 dies for the Jowo nib housing, only the taps...
 

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Rick Harrell can make them. Look in the vendor forum for his info and tool list. Also, I think you have some confusion going on with the section mandrel. The section mandrel (the one I use) is not specific for the Bock or JoWo. Or, maybe I am confused with what you are asking.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
I think Rick Herrell (rherrell) might be able to hook you up.

I've personally never used a mandrel for a section. I put the stock in a chuck, turn down the tenon on the back, thread it, drill the inside, (thread for a Schmidt K6 if I'm planning on using one), pull it from the chuck and grab it with a chuck on the threads or screw it into a female spud and bore and thread the front for the nib unit, and then I finish the exterior.

I've only recently made any mandrels for any part of a pen since I don't stick to any one pattern. For a barrel I grab the stock in a chuck, turn the tenon and thread it, drill the inside and thread it, turn and finish the exterior up to where it's held in the chuck and then flip it around and grab the finished portion (usually wrapped in paper since I'm holding it in a standard metalworking chuck and I try to avoid damage to the finish) then I simply finish the rest and it's done. The cap is done in the same fashion.
 
I cut my blanks extra long then round it off to the desired diameter. Mount in collet chuck and do all of the drilling, tap & die work. Then mount on "mandrel" that I make from either Delrin or HDPE rods. The Delrin and HDPE is easy to turn, can be threaded and will not CA glue itself to my parts.
 
Rick definitely can help you with mandrels.

I am a beginner and this was one of my big questions when starting. You can use a section mandrel for your external threads rather than the bock/jowo nib threads. This will allow you to use the same mandrel for different nibs and you don't need the nib dies to make the mandrels. I use M10x1 threads to the body, so my section mandrel is for that size. I cut the tenon while loaded in the collet chuck and cut the threads and drill out the tenon, flip it around and place it on the mandrel to finish drilling and shape. I am not sure if this is correct, but it has worked for me.

Here is a similar M11x.75 aluminum section mandrel photo to give you a visual:

1666027009436.png
1666027045291.png
 
Dannv said:
IT's not. It's female m11-0.75. Works great. Making one in a different thread wouldn't be complicated if you have a metal lathe of some kind.
Click to expand...
Correct. The M11 x .75 is the section thread that screws the section into the pen barrel. The JoWo info is for the drills and tap that threads the inside of the section to accept the JoWo nib unit.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
I would make your own. Just buy some brass rod and you can use your taps and dies as needed. (Or use ebonite as you describe but you may find it's less stable when turning the longer parts such as the barrel).

For the section you just need a simple female mandrel that takes your section threads - it would me nib-agnostic (you can use it for any nib as long as you stick to the same section threads).

You don't need a metal lathe to make them, I made all mine by hand on a wood lathe using a skew and a parting tool (and emery paper to get down to finial finish).

Brass is soft so turning it with sharp hand tools isn't too hard, just start with stock that is as close to the finished size as possible. Aluminium is also an option and it is easier (softer) to turn by hand.

You can of course buy pre-made mandrels but that dictates, to some degree, the design of your pens so it's quite a big compromise in my opinion.

Cheers
Ash
 
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