My First Kitless Click Pen

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hokie

Member
Joined
May 29, 2017
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353
Location
Falls Church, Virginia
Hi again everyone!

Finally got around to finishing this click pen using stabilized, spalted guava (or starfruit, I've seen it described with both names) and brass. The click mechanism inside is the Schmidt SKM-192 which I am finally able to use thanks to everyone who joined my group buy for the taps that match its unique threading. Also, special thanks to @rherrell for the custom bits to help me make the process a lot easier. They are perfection.

No clip this time. The pen itself was enough of a challenge, I just wanted to get it complete and put to use!

I hope you like it and would love any and all feedback. Happy to answer any questions too.

4R6A6015.jpg

4R6A6016.jpg


 
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rixstix said:
Nice execution. The use of the brass tip is an attractive & functional touch.

Which refill did you use?
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Thank you! Yeah, the brass tip was important for both of the reasons you mention. Absolutely necessary with a wood blank with the narrow tip at least.
Good question about the refill, I totally forgot to mention that! The pen is designed for a Parker style refill.
 
Love it!
I'm looking forward to seeing more and finally working on my own.
What did Rick do for you? (He's a great asset to this forum)
 
PatrickR said:
Love it!
I'm looking forward to seeing more and finally working on my own.
What did Rick do for you? (He's a great asset to this forum)
Click to expand...
Thanks!
As you can probably tell, the lower section of the pen tapers gradually down to a fairly narrow tip. In order to accommodate the Parker refill and the brass hardware, there is a stepped bore down the length of the blank. My earlier attempts at a similar pen style involved using several bits in succession to get the right width holes down to certain points in the blank. I had serious issues with concentricity and getting the holes to be in perfect alignment down the length of the entire blank. Probably operator issues, but I didn't want to keep wasting blanks on my journey, so I commissioned a couple custom stepped drill bits from Rick.

That process took some trial and error as well. Had to make a couple orders due to my lack of experience with custom tooling like that. He was patient and accommodating the entire way. He's such a valuable resource to those of us trying to take things in different directions.
 
What a striking pen.

I'm a bit confused though.

You milled the brass tip and threaded inserts? The only premade portion is the mechanism?
 
derekdd said:
I'm a bit confused though.

You milled the brass tip and threaded inserts? The only premade portion is the mechanism?
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That's right. All of the brass parts, aside from the mechanism, are off my mini metal lathe.

This pic might help show what I made in their pre-installed state...

IMG_3755.jpg


I'm not aware of any pre-made parts that could be used in place of custom parts. At least not ones that would allow as much of the pen to showcase the wood rather than the metal. That was my overall goal.
 
NJturner said:
Damn, I had just convinced myself that I didn't really need a metal lathe......hmmmm.

Nice work!!

Kevin
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Haha, thank you!
I don't mean to add to your tool troubles, but the metal lathe has really let me expand my creative options. It's super satisfying to make exactly what I need for the task at hand.
Next on my list is a mini mill... one day!
 
hokie said:
Haha, thank you!
I don't mean to add to your tool troubles, but the metal lathe has really let me expand my creative options. It's super satisfying to make exactly what I need for the task at hand.
Next on my list is a mini mill... one day!
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Can i ask which metal lathe you went for?
Amazing work - its absolutely gorgeous.
 
OscarHallStudios said:
Can i ask which metal lathe you went for?
Amazing work - its absolutely gorgeous.
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Thank you!
My lathe isn't super special, just a Harbor Freight special, haha. I bought it shortly before they stopped offering their nearly unrestricted 20% off coupons. Glad I did. Made such a large ticket item a little more palatable. No regrets!

Edit: I just realized you're in the UK and that info on a Harbor Freight lathe isn't very helpful. I believe the model lathe Harbor Freight sells is essentially a copy of a Sieg lathe that might be available elsewhere.
 
hokie said:
Thank you!
My lathe isn't super special, just a Harbor Freight special, haha. I bought it shortly before they stopped offering their nearly unrestricted 20% off coupons. Glad I did. Made such a large ticket item a little more palatable. No regrets!

Edit: I just realized you're in the UK and that info on a Harbor Freight lathe isn't very helpful. I believe the model lathe Harbor Freight sells is essentially a copy of a Sieg lathe that might be available elsewhere.
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Thanks for the info, looks like Axminster has a similar one which would be my go-to for large ticket items like this. £500 seems doable, maybe in a couple months.. Thanks for the info. I'm pretty clueless on metal lathes so its good to see pen makers putting them to such good use. They have one which looks really similar but is £1069 which is probably out my price range for a metal lathe i dont know how to use 😅
 
This is fantastic and I love that blank! This looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to add a clip to where it screws together if you wanted to. I look forward to seeing more of these.

hokie said:
My lathe isn't super special, just a Harbor Freight special, haha. I bought it shortly before they stopped offering their nearly unrestricted 20% off coupons.
Click to expand...
If you stay away from HF long enough, they will send you a "we miss you" coupon for 25% off one item with NO exceptions.
 
sorcerertd said:
This is fantastic and I love that blank! This looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to add a clip to where it screws together if you wanted to. I look forward to seeing more of these.


If you stay away from HF long enough, they will send you a "we miss you" coupon for 25% off one item with NO exceptions.
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Thanks for the kind words! I had been looking forward to using that blank for quite a while. When I got the raw wood, it was basically styrofoam. It soaked up the stabilizing resin like crazy.
Good point about the placement of the clip. Shouldn't be too difficult. I want to design and make my own to round out the whole thing as a nearly 100% handmade item if I can manage it. I think I'll go with roll-stops for the time being.
 
hokie said:
Haha, thank you!
I don't mean to add to your tool troubles, but the metal lathe has really let me expand my creative options. It's super satisfying to make exactly what I need for the task at hand.
Next on my list is a mini mill... one day!
Click to expand...
I've walked past the Harbor Freight lathe in my local store lots and always wondered about its true functionality, as I know nothing about metal turning. Harbor Freight has upped its game with tools recently with some new decent quality options, but the lathe seems to be the same as it has been for a lot of years. Have you had to put a lot of time and/or money into it to get it to perform well for you? Your brass components as well as making my own mandrels and accent pieces is where I think I'd like to go with a metal lathe so not looking really high end but would like to get something dependable and possibly able to do metal threading so I could get around the cost of expensive dies. Don't need another expensive rabbit hole, but adding more design options like what you did is a big interest. Again, really nice work!
 
NJturner said:
I've walked past the Harbor Freight lathe in my local store lots and always wondered about its true functionality, as I know nothing about metal turning. Harbor Freight has upped its game with tools recently with some new decent quality options, but the lathe seems to be the same as it has been for a lot of years. Have you had to put a lot of time and/or money into it to get it to perform well for you? Your brass components as well as making my own mandrels and accent pieces is where I think I'd like to go with a metal lathe so not looking really high end but would like to get something dependable and possibly able to do metal threading so I could get around the cost of expensive dies. Don't need another expensive rabbit hole, but adding more design options like what you did is a big interest. Again, really nice work!
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You're right. While the rest of Harbor Freight's products seem to be ticking up in quality, their entire line of lathes and other machining tools seem to be stuck in decades past. My lathe from them was not perfect out of the box and I did have to invest a healthy bit more into it to turn it into the *relatively* easy-to-use machine it is now. Things like quick-change tool post (and all the tool holders), tap/die holders, jacobs chuck, collet chuck, 3/4 jaw chucks, etc. all add up over time too. I guess it's like any hobby.
I don't regret the decision to go down this rabbit hole, but I'm fortunate enough to not have a lot of competing needs for the funding, so it's easier to dive in head first for me. I'm looking forward to trying new designs and techniques. Once I began making my own metal parts (like on this fountain pen I made), I finally began to feel like a pen *maker* and not an assembler (not that there's anything wrong with the traditional approach!).
 
hokie said:
You're right. While the rest of Harbor Freight's products seem to be ticking up in quality, their entire line of lathes and other machining tools seem to be stuck in decades past. My lathe from them was not perfect out of the box and I did have to invest a healthy bit more into it to turn it into the *relatively* easy-to-use machine it is now. Things like quick-change tool post (and all the tool holders), tap/die holders, jacobs chuck, collet chuck, 3/4 jaw chucks, etc. all add up over time too. I guess it's like any hobby.
I don't regret the decision to go down this rabbit hole, but I'm fortunate enough to not have a lot of competing needs for the funding, so it's easier to dive in head first for me. I'm looking forward to trying new designs and techniques. Once I began making my own metal parts (like on this fountain pen I made), I finally began to feel like a pen *maker* and not an assembler (not that there's anything wrong with the traditional approach!).
Click to expand...
Similar - I have nothing against component pens, but I'm trying to put more of my creative energy into really building my own with the least amount of commercially made stuff. I have invested into the tooling for 'bespoke' pen making, am casting my own blanks using various materials, and now kind of face a design wall - which is why I am looking at metal lathes to add the needed pieces for the next level. I bought into the recent click mechanism tap group buy so your use of your own inserts needed by them caught my eye. Lots of my funds went to putting my kids through college - including one Hokie - but am retired now with lots of time to think and play. As with any lathe, it sounds like the actual lathe was your smallest cost on this path - which is my concern both from a cost perspective and a space issue, since I work in a very tight space. Thanks for your comments!
Kevin
 
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