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lukitas
September 4th, 2016, 10:22 AM
Dear pen makers and lovers,

I am stunned. The quality of the pens you show is extraordinary. Beautiful finishes.

Recently, I published my first go at building a pen : An-attempt-at-building-a-better-pen (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/17236-An-attempt-at-building-a-better-pen)

It is a sorry thing, wonky threads, half broken parts, but as a proof of concept, it works, and rather well.

I want to make a pen, designed entirely to function. A pen with a large, easy to fill reservoir. One that is comfortable to hold along the length of the barrel. With a cap that closes fast and securely, and posts confidently.

The n° 6 nib and feed, I sourced from FPR. Apart from those, the pen has five parts : the section and the barrel come in one piece, then there is the piston, a ring to retain the piston in the barrel, the back cap and the cap. And an O-ring, and a little tube to push air from the piston through the feed, when filling the pen.

I thought it might amuse you to watch my sorry attempt at building a better pen.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-63ftCObN1lk/V8XdSEA_zZI/AAAAAAAAL28/fXbnh_OVGBo6_Tfiy4Hs73DxnJaQPJvgwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4155.jpg

This is when I put in the wrong gear for thread cutting, and ended up with 2,25 mm pitch, instead of the 3 required.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mt6pKdaBfmc/V8c2tHO8mBI/AAAAAAAAL3w/y_QyeCAFDiElKpmKWO9NYIYAnXcnaL99gCLcB/s1600/_DSC4160.jpg

Inside and outside screw threads cut on the barrel. The inside turned out not to be quite deep enough; I had to lap them with 'universal cleaning cream'.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-03213IKJo94/V8oQlavJwnI/AAAAAAAAL4U/pOpUvaGmAP4jPzcxJ2ooQ2_VzJ03JYL6QCLcB/s1600/_DSC4167.jpg

Cutting 0,25 mm, about 200 turns per minute, feeding at 0,01 mm per turn.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3RM4EdHYl7w/V8tPMKc_BqI/AAAAAAAAL4o/n4ctmOXkOxgZqiVMFBVlxb1eZzfIHh2UACLcB/s1600/_DSC4173.jpg

This is what happens when the tailstock is not perfectly aligned, and when you drill after shaping the outside.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I8VBc2FGgww/V8w5EzBF42I/AAAAAAAAL5A/_j3fwKA7tMwLQw138HNMIna5AzEXoY6zgCLcB/s1600/_DSC4175.jpg

Do it all over again.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__rw4hz5M-w/V8w5EXqAmmI/AAAAAAAAL48/qWolhzFd2mE-ZANaI7U195a6R7pWYZP1ACLcB/s1600/_DSC4176.jpg

More knurling. Not very even, but I don't have a dividing head.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EuroD1bJgRQ/V8w5EFgvQhI/AAAAAAAAL44/O0H_sihuUTEFcaQ9rc2ryBE7s6igeBMLwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4178.jpg

Fitting parts.

Quite a way to go yet, but I do have fitting parts.

Please do not hesitate to shower me with critique and advice; I am quite the novice at this endeavour.

Cheers!

Frank
September 4th, 2016, 11:27 AM
This is amazing work!

:)
Frank

carlc
September 4th, 2016, 11:56 AM
I adore your photography.

Sent from my E2303 using Tapatalk

penwash
September 4th, 2016, 02:13 PM
I adore your photography.

Sent from my E2303 using Tapatalk

Lukas is an excellent photographer, he and I frequent the same photography forum called Rangefinderforum.com

Aristosseur
September 4th, 2016, 07:03 PM
As with anything new, you learn a lot along the way, even if instructions seem straightforward. Despithe setbacks yoy have a nice pen body in the works and some exceptional photography skills. I think it will turn out fine, awaiting updates ;)

lukitas
September 5th, 2016, 03:25 PM
Thank you all for your kind remarks.

Yes it is a learning experience.
I had to fight my tailstock repeatedly. Someone had the Bright Idea to put one of the 2 set screws for aligning the angle right in the middle of the stock, making it very hard to adjust.
And I've just found out that it is possible to chuck a drill slightly off, producing the same result as an off-centre tailstock. A slightly deeper cut, less than 0,01 mm, helicoidal in shape, turning once in about the length of the bore, making four evenly spaced bulges along the wall.

But I'll show more pictures soon.

Woody
September 6th, 2016, 07:54 PM
Above my pay grade but the photos are excellent. Going to be a great pen 😊

lukitas
September 7th, 2016, 04:44 PM
Yes, it is going yo be a great pen. The design is decent :

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gHMQm0--yqA/V9COKBSguWI/AAAAAAAAL60/og7eMU4puroIYP4uzqoqGJG3PnGT64hRwCLcB/s1600/LePiston.jpg

this is the sketch: Capped, it is about half a centimetre longer than a 149, and the same width : 16 mm. Uncapped, it is one and a half centimetres longer. The section tapers from 11 mm to 16 mm over a 1/19 ratio, which puts the fattest part of the pen rather far back. The feel in the hand is very comfortable, even when held up high, near the threads (I like to do that for drawing, or signatures, when i like more freedom to move the point).
It holds about 4 ml of ink, more than the famed 'Bulkfiller' made by my compatriot.
I've decided to omit the o-ring, that was going to render the pen watertight when capped : as the tapers on the section and inside the cap have the same angle, just screwing the pen shut creates a mechanical seal, much like the Morse tapers used in machining. The back cap has the same taper, it posts firmly.

But it is a lot of work, and fiddling, and learning. Here's a picture of the problem I tried to describe yesterday :

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qo_bRX7XPKw/V9CJO6EJKhI/AAAAAAAAL6c/axK2fN-YeNkjdrlPPRyVzI940RsbDTGPwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4179.jpg

There is a scratchy zone, forming a screw thread, turning twice along the length. The interesting part is, that this hole, drilled with an 8,5 mm drill, is too small for the 8,4 mm piston.
That, combined with the fact that threads cut with nominally 0,15 mm clearance on both sides doesn't fit, suggests the material fights back under the cut : I think it compresses under pressure, and then springs back when the tool has passed.
I'm using Dial indicators on both axes of movement, and when cutting inside thread, the compound pushes back 2 or 3 hundredths, even though both cross-slide and compound are tuned quite tightly.

A lot of thinking and trying left to do...

lukitas
September 9th, 2016, 05:55 PM
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nKpuZVw7mc/V9HIcwT91JI/AAAAAAAAL7M/x4pNFGG6jikGRG3RALZHwUPdGNwjzcZZwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4181.jpg

The blind cap is screwed onto the prototype, to give it some support in the four claw.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iE81v4MRX8/V9HIc6oBjZI/AAAAAAAAL7I/XwMny-UoKQQJ3ZNx3LU1g3Bkt9Tc9YchQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4182.jpg

Roughing out the taper. The blind cap starts at the threads : only two of the jaws teeth hold onto the cap itself, the taper stopping about a millimetre from the chuck. Having the blind cap screwed to the body proved to be a life saver : when trying to part the end, the part kicked, and I couldn't get it securely back into alignment. But as the steps are only a quarter of a mm apart, filing to shape was quick work, and remarkably precise : I could judge my progress by the shiny rings at the deep end of the cuts.

I omitted to take a picture of the 'finished' blind cap, But i used it to mount the body, together with the piston and its retaining ring, to provide some structural strength. The body has to stick out rather far, for cutting the taper.
Here it is mounted as deep in the chuck as possible, while still allowing to indicate on the turned portion. For cutting the thread at the end of the section, I want as little bending as possible.
That decision may end up biting me in the behind : I may have a hard time getting the piece centered, when I pull it out to cut the taper. This perspex-plexiglass-acrylic is a lot bendier than I expected : the relatively light pressure of the chuck compresses the barrel enough to grip firmly on the piston, which has 0,05 mm clearance all around.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6I5cC_h3aQ/V9NAOQG-0FI/AAAAAAAAL7g/j5SDLn5SEmMZTR6ZKlRTDXeosdrYoDNjACLcB/s1600/_DSC4185.jpg

Onward and upward.

lukitas
September 10th, 2016, 02:22 PM
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5NijfYYAQk/V9RmWVI5o-I/AAAAAAAAL8Q/G_Tbn81OGdk2_kZyvarYYlKFGSK9gTjvgCLcB/s640/_DSC4193.jpg https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3YFTo6Qo_Q/V9RmWvb5zSI/AAAAAAAAL8U/JVJyABs8SPEdeaKGJ7IZcJ3_5EI26sTeQCLcB/s640/_DSC4195.jpg

These are the gearings I use : on the left, a 16 to 1 reduction, for the slowest feed possible. On the right is the set for cutting thread of 3mm pitch. It is a chore, changing out the gears for different operations, but it beats rechucking.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vTCaUfjify0/V9RmWREuT9I/AAAAAAAAL8M/5MlpHSuFioUlwqjyLSCWZ8NsySncIWksACLcB/s1600/_DSC4199.jpg

The section roughed out. I cut the steps to 1 in 18, half a millimetre every 4,5 mm. Not quite the 1 in 19 taper, but close enough to leave very little material to cut.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CuvKVAjin14/V9RmYeqzqMI/AAAAAAAAL8Y/L-JFvJjVFOgK019AdmDkkxgLiNcml7n9ACLcB/s1600/_DSC4204.jpg

Nearly a pen.

carlc
September 10th, 2016, 02:35 PM
Looking good

Sent from my E2303 using Tapatalk

lukitas
September 13th, 2016, 01:42 PM
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wWHD1glNXps/V9hNYp5W-PI/AAAAAAAAL9g/0Pq2X3eNUSUaS5wWYoxR22ZVQohSEMwzQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4213.jpg

The cap, ready for turning threads.

laurielindly
September 13th, 2016, 02:59 PM
Love seeing the pictures. Thank you for sharing. I am very impressed.

lukitas
September 15th, 2016, 12:25 PM
Thank you for your kind comments!

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L6TjYABEk08/V9m2DsNK2gI/AAAAAAAAL-A/Npe7UbzNUy474bBJ1GmjqHALilN9-SLVQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4216.jpg

The threads in the cap are still too tight, even though I cut it to have a tenth of a mm clearance on both crown and cut : there should be 2 tenths of slop, and more, as I cut the inside thread to be a tenth wider than nominal.
But I am growing blisters on my fingers trying to lap the threads with a very fine liquid abrasive.
And wondering what is wrong with my threads. Inside and outside diameters should be fine : the male threads are a tenth smaller than nominal, and the female ones a tenth larger : the tops of one set shouldn't touch the bottoms of the other. I guess that it must be the sloped sides that cause the tightness, so I'll have to cut a little more slop on the width, rather than the depth of my threads.

There you go, I haven't finished this one yet, and already I have to make a better one. hm.

lukitas
September 17th, 2016, 03:41 PM
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dEiERI6ige8/V92sxU_8lYI/AAAAAAAAL_I/W7kQ5ZtL-lE-9jdKqweANV3rRmKmVp1zgCLcB/s1600/_DSC4220.jpg

The cap, freshly turned.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c-KcSm9XUyU/V92swxU3h4I/AAAAAAAAL_A/fiZgy1hfWpcQgBuN32rTaBRZveC5SEegQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4224.jpg

Here you can see the effect of an imperfectly aligned drill bit, tool marks screwig around inside the barrel. They aren't out more than a few thousandths of a millimetre, functionally it makes no difference, but it keeps me awake.

Have to try and polish them out.

cheers!

lukitas
September 21st, 2016, 02:03 PM
Catastrophe!

While patiently polishing out the tooling marks in the barrel, I quite entirely stripped out the threads for the piston-retaining-ring. I felt rather despondent.
That will teach me to watch what I am doing.
This time, I decided to cut the insides with a boring bar. Drill bits give me holes that look like Bernini's pillars in Saint Peters, and it has to do with how the bit is seated in the chuck. And that is when I am being careful.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--bdhFBOXLBw/V-LZKTokr8I/AAAAAAAAMAg/2cXrWJBtyVE6LgW2I-NEqtwLz6lQGL0gwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4229.jpg

To fill in the gap till new parts are ready, a shot of the prototype :

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KmDEgBVyNc0/V-LZKEHJEVI/AAAAAAAAMAc/xDptZLb1Ip8U4n1RU-KLinTOAvPsENZLwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4239.jpg

It has the new cap on, with a neat little deposit of ink int he corner of the bore. And I put some 'invisible' tape around the threads : they are loose, and the blind cap has 3 cracks in them.

For me, it is a pleasure to use, comfortable in any position along the barrel, so that i can write as small or as large as I like. It holds a serious amount of ink, and it is generous with it.
But I can see it is not a 'universal' pen. The cap-threads at the end of the barrel get inky. A #6 (or#35) flex nib, on a 6,3 mm feed, just fits in a round 6,7 mm hole : there are 0,2 mm wide gaps under the nib. It doesn't drip, but it tends to have some ink ready for you, that can amount to a drop in your first loop. I like a really inky pen, but I can see it is not for everybody. The cap is ugly. But it has to be chunky, so it doesn't break when it is pulled onto the cone of the barrel. And it has to be half a millimetre wider than the barrel, so I can file in a little flat to stop it from rolling off the table. It looks a little better on the back, if rather long, but the pen looks its best without it. A pen that looks best in use...

more and better is coming.

lukitas
September 22nd, 2016, 06:02 PM
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pQYflIW3oSU/V-RuYb1NYbI/AAAAAAAAMBA/YG9biuo7P8gioHUkotKUzVszxG3Igl0SACLcB/s1600/_DSC4240.jpg

lukitas
September 29th, 2016, 03:20 PM
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fVajjBVTwlM/V-19E1iUADI/AAAAAAAAMBY/Aqj0kBA56mMGakB0sufhczkG5VJUzGEEQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4245.jpg

More wreckage. While turning a chamfer on the end of the blind cap. After turning the taper, It sticks out 5 cm, and is chucked on 8 mm. A very precarious set-up.
I think the most fragile part of this pen is its manufacture. Once made, ti is rather solid. But it's shape demands a machining process that is accident prone : To cut the tapers, three parts have to be held on (very) short straight sections, leaving a long stick-out.
This makes the turning laborious : to avoid stressing the end, cuts have to be light. Going in 0,1 mm at a time takes twice as long as 0,2mm, but I wouldn't dare.

I 'll just have to slog on, I guess. At least my holes are straight now, and close to shiny. And my threads fit.

Cheers!

TSherbs
September 29th, 2016, 04:33 PM
labor of love, I guess

jacksterp
September 30th, 2016, 09:41 AM
WOW - a terrific thread OP!

Thanks for taking the time...

lukitas
October 1st, 2016, 04:22 PM
Thank you Jacksterp!

Yes, a labour of love. It is designed for use, not for looks, and certainly not for ease of fabrication. Not commercially viable : too much work, too much breakage. When excellence is the goal, time invested doesn't matter.
Once the design is proven, maybe a more industrial production method could be explored, but that is quite a way's going yet.

Here is my poor man's DRO :

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOUy9Ew2l_g/V_AkHeFVYFI/AAAAAAAAMCM/WRIjbJdix7M1h1ouuKHZElvi88w8JCfJwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4247.jpg

Digital callipers fixed with some neodymium magnets, and a 50 mm dial indictor on the cross slide, clocking on the tool holder. It's quite good, repeatable within 0,01 mm

Fitting new parts :

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOTXwE854aE/V_AkH174lZI/AAAAAAAAMCU/_bZBTh4DDDcPw9mTlv0MzuQlasd7Vx_rwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4250.jpg

from left to right : the body, with the section hidden in the nubbin at the end, the piston floating inside, the blind cap screwed on the body and the piston retaining ring. Nicely concentric, with rather tight tolerances.

More to come!

lukitas
October 8th, 2016, 02:17 PM
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WPGWcgOjQxU/V_lKpBx00RI/AAAAAAAAMF8/SLFyHmobnNwOvfBLCXiuCWhMRzvAOB7KQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4252.jpg

I decided to shorten the taper a little, 1/18 instead of 1/19. This leaves about 2 mm more straight to hold on to.
It does feel a smidgen fatter, but it is hard to feel the difference.

Now I must get on with the cap.

Aristosseur
October 9th, 2016, 02:42 AM
This is turning out awesome, love the shape and curvature.

lukitas
October 9th, 2016, 03:05 PM
Thank you Aristosseur!

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rpIGg9HTRYA/V_ql0IKM9yI/AAAAAAAAMGY/Y0U2-xLQZJIexDS0EwkSFVNSlrJp70gHQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4254.jpg

Testing the fit of the cap.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51SkaewPIuo/V_ql1KPdslI/AAAAAAAAMGc/Y6jq3ywpdDwtcSdbgS9y4FIZyZ4CJFEqwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4257.jpg

It is good. the tapers pull onto each other, a watertight cap.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_9G69a8PxS8/V_qlz4nWWWI/AAAAAAAAMGU/KFZXlR5AZK4HgY2jUTqc6Y1rQDPEQoh4wCLcB/s1600/_DSC4262.jpg

Le Piston, ready for inking. I'm rather happy at how it turned out. Everything fits quite tightly. It is hard to find the junction between body and cap by feel; with a fingernail you cannot miss it, but the ball of the thumb barely distinguishes it. The piston has about 0,005 mm clearance : you can feel the resistance of the air passing along the sides. And the piston tucks, snug as the proverbial bug, into the back of the blind cap. The 0-ring runs nicely along the barrel, when it has some silicon grease. Without the grease, you need pincers to pull it out : a watertight fit. But it could be a little shinier. Pernickety to make, but I love the result.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mTCzazHgKaM/V_ql2mJrJrI/AAAAAAAAMGg/DPdPslRJE4QCMPTZll_gGUkehbndd1YdQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4263.jpg

I'll be posting the inking and some writing soon.

lukitas
October 11th, 2016, 03:54 PM
Well, here it is my second pen, inked

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wOCDAfWXczg/V_1TvS9aXvI/AAAAAAAAMHY/HbAPc01T9xYR5lGIGdMTTINTtRINIvlLwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4272.jpg

It is rather good. The fit on the nib and feed is a tad sloppy - as you can see the nib only really touches in a couple of spots - but it doesn't leak. Im sure the tight construction of the back is a factor here.
It writes really well, and I do like to fondle it; it is sensual. One, slight, but possibly irksome problem is that when closing the cap, it is easy to hit the insides with the nib, and then the little trace of ink can smear between the tapers. I keep a hankie at the ready. The is one of the reasons why it had to be transparent : I wanted to see what the ink would do.

You'll have to wait for writing samples, I 'd like to be able to show a half decent page.

lukitas
October 15th, 2016, 05:23 PM
I promised, so I had to do it.
Please forgive my scratchings.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWdtXdh6wcU/WAKvtZYgwLI/AAAAAAAAMIk/Cd24yZDzC1wqducHEmUK09eSqfCp_MNuACLcB/s1600/_DSC4274.jpg

I tried out three nibs on this page : first the FPR (fountain Pen revolution) flex nr35 - aka nr6, in the middle a Brause Rose, and at the bottom a Jin Hao medium nr6.

The FPR flex works really well, there is some resistance from the paper, but nowhere near scratchy. It makes nice little sausages of wet ink, and when pushed, it doesn't railroad too much.
The Brause Rose is made of much thinner sheet, so it pushes in rather deep; a rather sloppy fit. I suspect this is why it was the most satisfying experience I've had with the Brause Rose so far : fewer hard starts, less railroading.
The Jin Hao is amazingly smooth. Smoother than a shave in advertising, smoother than the ride of a Rolls, or a Citroën DS. So smooth that I almost lose control of my handwriting.

I did have to shim the feed. I put a sheet of ziplock baggie plastic around it, keeping the air channel free. It wasn't quite leaking, but quite often, it had a drop or two too much of ink. With the shim, it seems more civilised. Starting it 'à la hussarde' will still spray some ink around, but, pending more tests, it looks as if its is quite docile now. And 'la Hussarde' really is a last resort.

What a lovely adventure, to have been able to plunge into the deep end of pen mechanics. Now I'll have to make a few more.

Cheers

mehandiratta
October 18th, 2016, 03:45 AM
amazing... thread....
pictures speak for itself...

lukitas
October 22nd, 2016, 06:29 PM
I think I half knew from the start, that a second attempt wouldn't be enough. I want to try and make three pens for three nibs; a small bore for the Brause rose, a little larger for a flex and a medium.
So here we go, mass production :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7zwcJcmtMYo/WAv9yVVBhDI/AAAAAAAAMJ8/hGPwNdidlIw2K0avVpaI7eojZXHOhirUwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4289.jpg

lukitas
October 29th, 2016, 01:18 PM
More mass production

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UR3bjn43Bkc/WBTpMnPu1MI/AAAAAAAAMK0/EVDW9javsmgI_uON2vUa3xa1_8pttioqACLcB/s1600/_DSC4293.jpg

I have to do this after work, and it doesn't go as fast as I would like it to.
But going faster melts the plastic :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YlRTpAdc1aE/WBTpMM2TQkI/AAAAAAAAMKw/b3fOm2PZgysNMa5KLlB9uottkiL_rsoVQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4294.jpg

I'll just have to make another one.

lukitas
November 6th, 2016, 04:32 PM
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4g4-kZnsuBw/WB-6XQZadRI/AAAAAAAAMNM/rHOJhAHI1fARMAEoaH2_PNVmmFrYSamfwCLcB/s1600/_DSC4303.jpg

Boring barrels

lukitas
November 27th, 2016, 02:09 PM
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6O8ET_-Z7q8/WDs98YjV3NI/AAAAAAAAMSM/V9Sxw3EH_jYbyztk6tqJ0jBatzY2ifyWQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4305.jpg

Boring in steps. By inverting the order - starting with the largest hole - everything stays cooler longer : every drill has a friction-free approach to its own section, the tailstock can be on a shorter stick-out, and I don't have to measure until the last diameter. Boring is the operation that generates the most heat. I go slow, step up from 2 to 7 mm in 1/2mm increments, using WD40 to dissipate some of the heat. You can see the oil has spread onto the end.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bSCzs-OE3fI/WDs9-GOvyqI/AAAAAAAAMSQ/KXH8_s5Cn8QOd5cwyu4iyS5tWooZUIgRQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4308.jpg

Parts waiting to be finished. I'm doing all the threaded bits first. These will be christmas presents.

I've decided on an important design change : I'm leaving off the threads in the cap and on the end of the barrel. As it is, it takes little effort to stick the cap on the end in such a manner that it requires some force to pop it off again. The ubiquitous Morse taper does the same thing : long tapers that are jammed together do not want to come undone. The threads aren't necessary to close the cap securely. It will gain me a few hours of machining, and it will look a little better. And it will be faster to deploy.

A short report on the pen I'm currently testing : It doesn't leak! Sitting in my shirt pocket, under a pull-over, a little water can steam up into the cap, which then condenses water droplets, but the cap is watertight. It fell, and the little tube came loose but that doesn't stop it from writing. a few drops of ink splattered in the cap when it fell, but again, it is watertight, and it was cinch to clean out the cap with a paper hankie. This will work even better in the un-threaded version : no ridges.

Till next time.

lukitas
November 28th, 2016, 03:37 PM
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Apidfy-yrK4/WDyuY4yX0gI/AAAAAAAAMS0/POJSnKUH6J0igwPjFJD1fCqcozCANUhrQCLcB/s1600/_R006135.jpg

condensation in the cap.

lukitas
December 10th, 2016, 10:14 AM
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3N8KcFvoHv8/WEwvrmNv8mI/AAAAAAAAMVQ/oXYiEIE0pbkfEOHUcPaGBJGq62EHFINqACLcB/s1600/_DSF8995.jpg

getting there.
The threadless cap works well, but it requires some fine-tuning. The compound was set to exactly the same angle for the inside and outside tapers, but still, the outside tapers have a slightly sharper angle than the insides.
But with a bit of sandpaper, I can get a respectable area of contact. The caps are air-tight : I can pop them off by pushing the piston. And the seam between body and blind cap cannot be felt.
Seamless, threadless, a pen with a lot of lesses.
Now I have to bore the pistons, and do a little more polishing.

lukitas
December 23rd, 2016, 04:41 PM
Well, I found two new ways to ruin a pen. You can crack the section by heat shrinking on a misaligned nib and feed, and cleaning an acrylic part with alcohol on a cotton-tip will make it shatter.
Of the three I built, one is left :

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud69COz0kW0/WFyFHHiDL4I/AAAAAAAAMZE/eIm4D7htPOQ5mji_Da2dEHSlhv6kPuCcQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4332.jpg

No threads in the cap, the section entirely smooth : It is a comfy pen. The cap fits securely with light pressure : you can see a ring of full contact just behind the end of the section. Without the threads, it is easier to clean, not that it needs it much : it isn't a leaky pen. The volume of the reservoir is not without problems. When the pen is half empty, heat from the hand can provide enough expansion to the air to cause some leakage. There are two easy ways to deal with this : you can push the air out of the pen with the piston, or you can refill the pen. And I like the straight cap better : you can stand the pen on it. The end has a mirror finish.
That said, acrylic scratches rather easily. I'll have to I've with that.
I'm quite proud of the blind caps' fit to the piston : pulling on the cap creates a vacuum strong enough to work as a spring, sucking the cap back on. A satisfying 'plop' accompanies it's release. Here it is, cleaned for christmas, posing on it's own writing :

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WbhJX-kKr4/WFyFHkj00hI/AAAAAAAAMZM/62MxODcQa_ktzpi0w5UZLw8UhUwb4Ja_wCLcB/s1600/_DSC4342.jpg

I did manage to salvage the one with the broken section. Super Glue, cyano-acrylate is the stuff. Perfect for welding acrylic. It doesn't wick up into the fissures very well though : I cut a groovy along the cracks and filled it with glue to make sure nothing could seep through. It is slightly out of round, and partly crazed along the cracks, but it works well enough for my own use. In the next picture, it is on the right, the one that has ink in it. It shows the effect of tiny drop of ink between the section and the cap.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eDcLlJyy24Y/WFyFHrdHc9I/AAAAAAAAMZI/-CLmghgx22wyCGj5vMON-auDawZFwyiKACLcB/s1600/_DSC4346.jpg

The other two are presents.
Next I want to have one sized for the Brause Rose nib, a good one for myself, one for a friend, and maybe a couple for review. I hope I'll get a better survival rate...

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Lucky New Year!

writingrav
December 24th, 2016, 06:33 AM
Fantastic photos. Incredible patience.

lukitas
January 5th, 2017, 04:27 PM
Finally, the pen I wanted to make in the first place, with the Brause Rose nib.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J1QuAYG6rEs/WG7K9pPTskI/AAAAAAAAMcA/HzEz5n-kTHY86FOAaLCMCey0wNu79p8hQCLcB/s1600/_DSF9197.jpg

Forgive my trembling fingers. It is an exercise,working this nib. It is made for fine spring steel, with deep cuts in the sides, allowing for an amazing sensitivity to pressure. Of course, as soon as the tines open, capillary action stops - you can see the film of ink climbing up the slit. But if you are delicate enough, you can try slightly pump the tines to call ink to the point, and most satisfying déliés come out.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kmKOvWVTuQ4/WG7K964G23I/AAAAAAAAMb8/4ayodz_ubAM6IaqsVtRSEIgBjIYyPdzZQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4356.jpg

It brought me straight back to when I was six, paying great attention to every stroke, trying to keep pressure, speed and direction within tight limits. It is refreshing, to have to concentrate on the details of shaping letters.

Dreck
January 5th, 2017, 04:43 PM
Thanks for sharing your experience. Well done, you. Absolutely beautiful work!

lukitas
January 5th, 2017, 06:17 PM
Shiny

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okIWlDrdByQ/WG7v0Iy8ajI/AAAAAAAAMcQ/mc6hgySOM9YgNQeo5il1vs1z1GhVICr_gCLcB/s1600/_DSC4361.jpg

dfo
January 5th, 2017, 10:22 PM
Shiny

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okIWlDrdByQ/WG7v0Iy8ajI/AAAAAAAAMcQ/mc6hgySOM9YgNQeo5il1vs1z1GhVICr_gCLcB/s1600/_DSC4361.jpg

very nice polishing work.

Shuli
January 19th, 2017, 11:09 AM
I love it. Super helpful considering I'd like to make a pen myself. Where did you source the acrylic and piston?

lukitas
January 20th, 2017, 01:07 PM
I love it. Super helpful considering I'd like to make a pen myself. Where did you source the acrylic and piston?

Thank you!

The acrylic is 20mm rod from kuststofshp.nl, they sell in 1 meter lengths. The piston is turned out of that same rod. The feeds and the 'flex' nibs come from FPR, fountainpenrevolution, the medium nibs are from the JinHao brand, I got them from eBay. A lot cheaper than the Indian ones!. FPR offers feeds in different sizes, and different cuts : the ones I got are cut generously, for flex nibs. It works quite well with a Brause Rose nib, I had great fun relearning my school script. But the back end of the Brause Rose nib, the bit that is between the feed and the section, starts rusting away as soon as it is in contact with ink, which, in a fountain pen, is always. I didn't get to use a quarter of the reservoir before I had to change out the nib, I could see rust accumulating in the section. The other two nibs, the FPR #35 flex and the JinHao #6 medium, write beautifully; I suspect the generous feed makes them feel more luxurious than they really are : they glide on a little cushion of ink.

I made the first pistons in one piece, but that made them very hard to turn without accidents : the outside has to be machined first, leaving very little material to bore into, making it almost impossible not to overheat. Now I make the bore in the full rod, then turn it to size, with the lip for the o-ring near the chuck. The knob is a separate piece, built as a stopper, which is then glued into the piston with cyanoacrylate superglue. Leaves an invisible join.

Hope that helps!

lukitas
March 29th, 2017, 01:30 PM
Three months later.

I've been trying to fashion my piston pen out of pleasingly couloured acrylic blanks, with catastrophic results. To ensure a good fit, I heat shrink the section on the nib and feed. But at 90 - 80° C, the material is malleable. As I had the piston engaged, to facilitate the insertion of the tube stuck in the feed, the o-ring deformed the reservoir, making it leaky. Two pens went that way, one just got unstuck. Aargh!.

Now, I build the insides of the pen first. Like this :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qBj2Og8Nfj4/WNv2VMAXwoI/AAAAAAAAMyk/NsMfgX3l0SY4lLwL5M0ZUndqTuk9eYWZwCLcB/s640/_DSC4409.jpg

Then, I bore out the section just under size. I bore out the feed, glue in the tube, and put the nib and feed in the fridge. The section, without the piston, goes into freshly boiled water for a few minutes. I then fit everything together and put some pressure on the assembly in a collet chuck. The hot plastic shrinks on the nib and feed, and leaves only very small gaps, while leaving a straight bore behind it. The last operation is to turn down the tapers. Some dust gets in the nib & feed, but that is easily washed out. It works quite well :

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9x-jQZPzbYk/WNv2VFEA99I/AAAAAAAAMys/8Kd3epqosjAiTzsMvvf6YO7Qyu4q73cJACLcB/s1600/_DSC4414.jpg

A happy side effect of the springiness of the material is that the tapers, though cut on exactly the same angle on the compound, are slightly out : the outside cone is a little too narrow, and the inside taper a tad too wide. The result is that the cap fits on a little ring near the end of the section, ensuring secure closing and easy opening. The difference is very slight : the cap doesn't wiggle. And if the tapers were perfectly aligned, it would be very hard to get the cap off.

The Piston pen needs a window; it is generous, not leaky, but, like an eye-dropper, when the back half of the pen is filled with air, the heat of the hand can be enough to make the air push some of the ink out. so it is good practice, to push out the air bubble when it gets too big. The pen needs a window. And the clear acrylic is stiffer than the coloured. So i made this :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9RDEmpaeC_o/WNv2VOR1p6I/AAAAAAAAMyo/Oooa6le5Vvsfha1KZyzGAxLtRDKDYVPzACLcB/s1600/_DSC4420.jpg

It's far from perfect, but it works. The barrel is one piece of clear plastic, the coloured stuff a sleeve glued around the barrel, and the section glued into a chamber cut in the front of the transparent acrylic. There is some unevenness in the glueing, mostly around the section. And the outside of the barrel is slightly out of whack : where it feathers into the mosaic pattern you can see the angle.
But it is the best writing pen I have made yet. Very wet, but not leaky. Very very smooth. And if you don't look too closely, it looks rather nice, I think.

Cheers!

lukitas
April 3rd, 2017, 07:25 PM
I'm well chuffed. It feels like a miracle.

I discovered the perfect fit for a flex nib, ebonite feed and acrylic section. The feed has to be as far forward as feasible, and then a bit more. It has to be heat shaped to the nib over it's whole length. The section bore has to be a tad undersize, enough to permit the nib and feed to just slip in when the section is hot. The best possible fit. The ebonite pushes little ridges under the nib, and the section shrinks on the assembly.

I've been trying to fit Brause Roses and Zebra G's to fountain pens for a while, with sorry results. Until now.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9NZjjznzEig/WOLsXwthWyI/AAAAAAAAMzM/CB1EBwKego0mJWW2qdO66o9EJrEgripcQCLcB/s1600/_DSC4431.jpg

Shiny, wet ink. No drips, no drops, no dribbles, but all the ink you need, on demand. Pages and pages.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_tpXTOLxKr0/WOLsXxXjOrI/AAAAAAAAMzI/XJ-SCsu0XK4EltGjcBrH5TqgSgZAlwnJACLcB/s1600/_DSC4432.jpg

When the piston has about a little finger's with of air at the top of the section, it will start to gush a little. The solution is simple. Push the air out, holding the pen upright. With a hankie around the section, of course. Big reservoir : the air that seeps back in the pen has loads of ink to push on, best keep it to a minimum.

More Pen-Porn :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxMwYicbbcw/WOLsX2QYXII/AAAAAAAAMzE/F8l-06i7y4843xy3TntGHHA6h3tOEGlUgCLcB/s1600/_DSC4441.jpg

I love this pen. Haven't had any false starts yet, nor railroads. It's wonderful.

Cheers

lukitas
June 27th, 2017, 06:50 PM
It has been a wild ride.
It has been nearly a year. Of disappointment, breakages, accidents and bloody stupidity. But now I make pens that work exactly how I like them : near the limit of giving too much ink. Without leaking. I made a zebra G pen that can trace three millimetre think lines without hesitation. A stub that writes so fat it requires especially feather-proof paper. All of them write the moment you put the point to the paper, even after several weeks of non-use.
There are niggles. It is hard to excruciatingly difficult to ensure straight bores, and the problems grow exponentially with smaller bores. A cutting tool with a 5mm diameter shaft, 50 mm long, cannot be but bendy. If only slightly. And the acrylic itself bends every which way. Every one of my bores has some deformation. The barrels are as straight and slick as I can make them, but they are always a tad wider at the bottom. Which can make it a little difficult to actuate the piston. My finishes aren't as good as I would like them to be, especially not in the insides.

To round off this story, I would like to present a pen, that was commissioned by a lover of purple, I filled it with Noodler's Saguaro Wine :

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DlL8-V5TEXc/WVLmwxyCQdI/AAAAAAAAM_4/NWQxo3Jg_hETgmB1DvcklsPLeG3Y1-AzACLcBGAs/s1600/_DSC4484.jpg

It is fitted with a Jin Hao Medium nr.6, which feels and looks like a luxurious bold, given the generous amount of ink on which it floats.

And I triumphantly announce my first sale of a pen, for a decent price (calculated at about 40 to 50 hours of work) :

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-raqLqES3IvM/WVLmwph8_oI/AAAAAAAAM_0/Gm_k93FD6fUpFpsvR5YMudTrwgBQ-ootQCLcBGAs/s1600/_DSC4488.jpg

A fine - ish semi-flex nr. 6 from FPR. I wrote the accompanying letter with it. And you may have noticed I felt confident enough to send it out filled. I tested it. I didn't leak after two days of standing on its point. And after three weeks of leaving the cap on, it writes the moment it touches paper. It will be a present for someone who likes to put ink on paper.

I guess this must be the end of this series of posts. The second attempt has become a useable series of pens. Thank you all for enduring my fumbling.

Lukas

lukitas
July 22nd, 2017, 08:05 PM
One last remark.
When I was a boy, my dad taught me to hold my pen as high as I could, keeping my fingers away from the nib as far as possible.
I never reflected on why that was better, until I saw my sister using one of my pens, and remarking on that teaching of my dad"s.
When you put a pen on paper, the area in which it can move is determined by the center of the three finger grip you have on the pen.
The higher one places that grip, the bigger the area that can be covered. It requires less movement for a conveniently sized letter, causes less fatigue, allows for more precise control, and wider embellishments.
Freedom of finger placement is one of the most important design features of my Piston pen : the absence of design features along the length of the pen make it so.

lukitas
August 15th, 2018, 06:41 PM
Woohoo!
One of my pens was reviewed by Stephen Brown of Youtube fame :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17fB8sXKLpg

Have a look!

calamus
August 16th, 2018, 01:00 PM
Congratulations!

Good job.

NibsForScript
September 30th, 2018, 07:18 AM
Great work. Keep at it!