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Finally Made My First Pen

B

broadsea

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Fraserburgh
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John
Well finally got round to making my first pen. Unsure what the wood is and one of the blanks must have been a few mm too long as the nib does not come fully out when twisted. Also not happy with the cheap pen insert. Must purchase a better quality insert.
 

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Terry Q

Terry Q

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First of all congratulations on stepping off the edge of the cliff.:ciggrin: I have been there and done that. I have also made the tubes too short and extended the nib as far as it will go. All part of the learning process. I would hazard a guess and say Walnut. But that's only a guess. If you use CA you can wet sand the blank to create a slurry that fills the pours nicely. Practice on something not a pen blank. I use thin CA and 180 or 220 paper. Sand at a slow speed. Don't forget your rubber gloves if you do this. Cant count the times I glued sandpaper to my fingers.:whistling:
 
Kardav

Kardav

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Not bad for a first effort John, turning doesn't look too far out to my eyes anyway. As for the nib not protruding enough, you might need to press the mechanism in a bit farther. This will allow the nib to protrude further. Easily rectified mate, just pull it apart, take out the refill and press the mechanism in another couple of mm, try the refill and keep pressing the mechanism in a bit until you're happy. Don't press it in too far otherwise you won't be able to fully retract the nib.
 
stevenw1963

stevenw1963

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Kardav said:
Not bad for a first effort John, turning doesn't look too far out to my eyes anyway. As for the nib not protruding enough, you might need to press the mechanism in a bit farther. This will allow the nib to protrude further. Easily rectified mate, just pull it apart, take out the refill and press the mechanism in another couple of mm, try the refill and keep pressing the mechanism in a bit until you're happy. Don't press it in too far otherwise you won't be able to fully retract the nib.
Click to expand...

As Kardav says.

Nice 1st pen tho
 
Bill Mooney

Bill Mooney

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We all started here. You will progress & improve. There's some good advice given above, follow it & things will get better. A good first attempt.:thumbs:
 
bassethound

bassethound

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John, well done for the first one mate try as was said by Dave and push in the mechanism a bit and you got a nice usable pen mate!
I thought it looked like Oak but not sure! nice anyway! :thumbs:
 
Clothahump

Clothahump

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John, well done for the first one mate looks good you have joined the club as did I yesterday glad you did I'am.

Regards

Mark
 
bluntchisel

bluntchisel

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Well done, John - hopefully this is the first of many and, provided you don't repeat your mistakes then it's onward and upwards for you, matey!!!

Bob.
 
ni9eofse7en

ni9eofse7en

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Kardav said:
Not bad for a first effort John, turning doesn't look too far out to my eyes anyway. As for the nib not protruding enough, you might need to press the mechanism in a bit farther. This will allow the nib to protrude further. Easily rectified mate, just pull it apart, take out the refill and press the mechanism in another couple of mm, try the refill and keep pressing the mechanism in a bit until you're happy. Don't press it in too far otherwise you won't be able to fully retract the nib.
Click to expand...

Agree with above, I have only made a small first handful within the last few week. I put the mechanism in and press in towards the marked rim but not all the way. I stop short and install the refill and check the mechanism for protusion. I then remove the refill and push the mechanism in further until I am happy.
 
Phil Dart

Phil Dart

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Well done for getting off the mark John.

Just to add what Dave said about squeezing in the mechanism a tad more, and give you a bit of a heads up - the mechanism has a little groove at the top of the brass section, which the manufactures reckon is where you should push it in to.

It's total nonsense, and the amount you push it in to depends entirely on how long your barrel is, (which is really what Dave has already said) So use the line as a guide only and aim to have 100mm from the end of the kit nib to the end of the mechanism on most slimlines or slimline variants, (which all seem to use the same mechanisms) in order for the refill a) to come out far enough, and b) to retract far enough.

I'm not saying you should measure it, in fact its quicker with a bit of practice to do it by trial and error, but I promise you that's how it works out. So you can see there's no such thing as a barrel that's too long or too short. (unless it's extreme or course)
 
Penpal

Penpal

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If I have a particular blank that starts off a little short I use that for the top of the pen and try very hard to keep the bottom half as near to the length of the brass tube as possible I like the refill pressed a little more than most. Pressing is an important step and like others I under press then correct always pressing the winding part fully extended. On rare occasions you will get a faulty winding part so I always test that with the biro in before I press it also checks the biro the thread in the odd one can be muffed in manufacture that screws into the winder and I check for free flow in the biro does it write. Take care mate and have fun.

Seems so many facets to making mate you have your first now and at the risk of repitition you have done well.

Peter.:thumbs::thumbs:
 
donwatson

donwatson

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A good first pen John. You have already identified the fault and Kardav has explained how to fix it. Welcome to the slippery slope. :thumbs:
 
Lons

Lons

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A good first attempt and refill problem easily fixed as stated already.
I vividly remember my first pen, also a slimline and the reaction it received from my wife. It's a landmark and you're well and trull on the slope now - no going back.
 
paulm

paulm

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a good first pen John and some good advice about pushing the mechanism in a bit farther. Its always best to be short and push it in a bit more than too far and having to knock it back out. :thumbs:
 
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