Pen & Pencil Turning 101

[gus]

Hi Guys

"MontBlanc" move over. Here comes "HMEM".

Just cannot accept "MontBlanc" can go as high as S$40,000 or even higher.The cheapest is few thousand SingDollars. I am happy with "BIC". Just walk into a "MontBlanc" shop,the salesgirls will size you up whether you are in the class.Minimum requirement would be a Rolex on your wrist.A Vacharon Constantin best qualifications.
Mainland Chinese customers are welcome as they go for the mid-----top range and they buy by the dozen.

In the 40s 50s 60s Parker and Sheaffers is a part of the dress code when you take girls out for a movie show. For the very first date you arrive at your new girl friends house dressed up with a Parker Pen or a Sheaffers in your breast pocket to impress her parents you are an educated man!!!!
Parker comes in pairs.That is a fountain ink pen and a pencil pen. Ball Point were tens of years away. Parker sold at S$30-----S$50 and that is big money.

One supplier gave me a "MontBlanc" 15 years ago and I had no idea it was an expensive pen which I gave away to a happy relative.
He has one complain.The refill cost a bomb.

Did Gus open up another can of worms. Ha ha.

 

[black85vette]

Just thought of another benefit of doing metal machinist work; some of the pen kits require really odd size drills for the hardware. Instead I just made D reamers out of tool steel and made them exactly the size I needed for each job.

Actually I feel sorry for the wood only pen makers. They have to buy everything they need.

 

[mitchlandry]

Here is my latest. Since I just got the lathe and not much tooling, have to practice on something. Only parts used from pen kit are the retraction mechanism and the ink cartridge.
Learning a lot of things as well as had to make a mini boring bar to reach all the way into the tip as my smaller drill bits aren't long enough.

I picked up a pencil kit and a stylus tip to make a matching set. The stylus tip will be easy, the pencil, not so much. Have to give that one some thought.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Gus : can of worms not likely. I will say that IMHO the gang here has more appreciation for quality shop made products than the average bear. I think society in general is too used to disposable mass produced run of the mill stuff.
I grew up a few years after you. I remember the bic pen commercial where they would fire a pen through a piece of plywood then write with it to show how tough the tip was. I grew up in the age of ball point. IIRC I had a schaffer calligraphy set with a nib pen and plastic ink cartridges, but never realty used them. I was never actually a fan of bic pens. .There were times in my life when a pen was one of the most important tools to have at hand . When I was In military Training I had a Parker camouflage set. in my pocket. As a cop I preferred the Zebra Stainless steel tube pens. Seemed like a little nicer pen was easier to hang on to. And I continued with the zebras . Now in a bit of an industrial situation but still needing to lots of paperwork I use the plastic zebra pens.

When I was making and selling pens I got a lot of different reactions though.
I was selling them for IIRC $25 or $30 a set in a leatherette case. Some would say that price was cheap others would say why send $ 30 when i can get a bic for 14 cents. and some would buy them and enjoy having a nice pen and pencil set to sit on the desk for writing checks.

Tin

 

[aarggh]

Pen making is really great, my kids (9yo daughter and 13yo son) had a ball making pens on the lathe, and it was a huge amount of fun watching them getting right into it. In fact they so much fun they went on to make pen sets for each of their cousing this XMAS. One thing I found really handy for the lathe, was to take the mt2 taper off the mandrel, and use a straight 20mm er20 collet holder instead in the 3 jaw chuck same as the one in the pic. Saved having to take the chuck off to fit the mt2 mandrel. Although a 1m bc lathe is possibly overkill for making pens, but you can really line up the blanks on the er20 collet! When I have time I'd love to do some brass barrels with some knurling.

btw, for people in OZ, it's really hard to beat timberkits for parts and kits, they have fantastic prices and seriously fast shipping. Great to deal with!

cheers, Ian

 

[gus]

In the now-who-planing-next-year-christmas thread I was asked for more details on making pen and pencil sets in the home shop, so here is some info.

Pen turning is how I got started in model engineering. I was trained By the USAF as a machinist and welder. I knew I eventually wanted to build model engines.I also wanted to try making pen and pencil sets. For me it was a good move as the wholesale value of the P&P sets more than covered my initial investment in a mini lathe, a belt sander, arbor press, and a band saw. I purchased pen supplies and a few pieces of tooling just for pens.

First of all no I do not have photos of my set ups but I can take some if needed.
Pen turning is a popular hobby/business in and of itself and there is lots of info on the net.



Most suppliers will help you get started, buying there product of course.
Penn state offers a free video dvd:pennstate DVD

first you will need pen kits :

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pen-kits.html


http://www.woodcraft.com/search2/search.aspx?query=pen%20kit

http://woodworking.rockler.com/search?w=pen%20kits

The selection is wide IMHO start simple. I use the american slimline cross style kits.

you will need blanks these can be purchased or made. the blank size size will depend on the kit(s) you choose. I cut mine on my band saw from wood or corian. the choice here is vast.many wood species. many colors of corian and similar solid surface material as well as resin etc etc. 3/4 x 3/4 x 2 1/2 will cover most applications. I cut the corian to 1/2 x 1/2 x 2-1/2 for the slim line.

Blanks need to be drilled a brad point bit is good for wood a parabolic bit from MSC is good for corian. the slim line tubes are 7mm so that is the size bit needed. other kits larger hole. this size is driven by the tube size of the pen kit. Drill long enough to fit the pen tube not all the way through. then cut to length. I suggest making or buying a drilling jig. and drilling on a drill press. . A 4 jaw on a lathe would work as well.

The next step is gluing the brass pen tube to the blank. gel CA or epoxy works here I tend towards the epoxy.
Clean, rough up the brass with scotch bright this will insure good bonding.
the excess glue will need to be cleaned from the tube and the ends of the blank cleaned and trimmed . a pen mill tool aka tube cleaner trimmer works well.(a purchased item) A belt sander can also be used to trim away excess blank material.

Once the the blank is secured to the tube the inside of the tube clean and the ends trim to size. The pair of blanks (you need two for a pen or pencil ) can be mounted on a mandrel. with bushings. the bushings are simply spacers . A mandrel and bushings are easy to make for a home machinist. or of course any pen supply company will sell you one for a price and this basic tool is often a part of a starter kit.
I made my own mandrel simply a piece of 1/4 in drill rod threaded on one end the end center drilled for a live center and the other end held in a chuck. I use my mini lathe to turn rather than a mini wood turning lathe.

the blanks are then turned down and polished on the lathe. if using wood that is finished on the lathe french polish works well here. make your own 1 part denatured alchohol,1 part shelac (I prefer amber) and 1 part linseed oil.

sand and then friction polish.

corian wet sand to 600 then auto polish, then plastic polish.
make sure the ends of your newly machines tubes are smooth to a lady's touch.
The pen (or pencil can now be assembled a simple press fit . there are tools for this . I use a small arbor press fitted with plastic to prevent damage to parts. follow kit instructions for how deep to press the pen inards too deep and you are stuck hard to get out. also gentle even pressure. cracks can be repaired but it takes time.

You will also likely need some sort of packaging to finish off the gift or product. again available from the pen kit supplier of your choice.


I will be glad to answer questions an elaborate if need. You should be able to do a P & P set in an hour or so but like anything else in the shop too many variable too give an exact answer. also you will likely work in batches. cut blanks,drill blanks, trim blanks, glue, let the glue dry, clean , then turn a few pieces or sets then assemble. Not something you do one piece start to finish then start another. Hope this helps .




Tin

Hi Tin,

Just thinking about making my own ball point pen.The first dozen will not look like pens.:wall::wall::wall:
This is make my rich friends jealous. These guys collect very expensive pens like Mont Blanc which can go up from $150 to $100,000.:wall::wall::wall::wall:

Nice n warm n humid now.:fan::fan::fan:

 

[rodw]

You guys have got me interested too now! I am forever loosing a pen if I don't have a good one in my pocket. With a good one, you watch it like a hawk. I got 19 years out of a gold Parker 45 I was given for my 21st and then Parker replace it with a new one under warranty. The original cost about $70, the replacement had a $225 sticker on it!

Anyway, I am keen to give this a go when I get my new tools bedded down.

 

[Cogsy]

Anyway, I am keen to give this a go when I get my new tools bedded down.

Be warned - these things can put a stop to engine making! I haven't produced a single engine part in the last week and a half, but I have a small mountain of pens now Pressies for all my rellies and friends sorted for the next couple of years...

 

[ShopShoe]

Just jumping in to show a pen barrel I made as one of my first lathe projects. The original pen was a cheap giveaway from an electronics company. I kept visualizing a brass barrel and so made one. Had to try out internal threading and single-point threading on the lathe at the same time (twice).

--ShopShoe

 

[rodw]

Be warned - these things can put a stop to engine making! I haven't produced a single engine part in the last week and a half, but I have a small mountain of pens now Pressies for all my rellies and friends sorted for the next couple of years...

Geez, I gotta be careful then. I have yet to make an engine part! I bought some stock and tools to give it a go then my lathe blew up so by the time I got it fixed, then sold it and bought a mill and new lathe which has given me plenty to do to set it up right.

I better not start on pens straight away, If I'm not careful, I might get banned! :fan:

 

[Tin Falcon]

no worries mate . Pens were the first things i made on my lathe.
and I have made few engines.
Tin