Thread: Brass Pen No 1

Amos

Nice work with the metal. Is it possible to drill the blank out thinner to make it somewhat more lighter??? Maybe an oops band on both ends so you can drill from the opposite ends of the threads??? I know when I make aluminum pens I always use my carbide cutting tool to shape it. As far as sanding, if I want a brushed look I like to use a nonwoven pad which is a synthetic steel wool pad. If I want a polished look I then hit with 2000 grit wet auto sandpaper followed by a polishing on a designated wheel because the metal will turn the pad black. To me the Gizzmo does not go well. Maybe a black acrylic oops band would have been better???? Just thinking outloud. Thanks for showing.

I think the camera is being a little unkind to your efforts Amos,sure you can see the circular rings from turning ,you have to hand sand along the length as well between grits to get rid of them, I sand my bullets to 12000 mm ,sanding both ways then "0000" steel wool , then polishing compounds and buffing before powdercoating ,and even then a close look can show minor flaws . It looks like a single start thread ,if so you may need a bit less thread as it might take too many turns to replace and remove the cap ? is the doohickey a dice ? not sure from that camera angle Over all a good learning experience and well worth the effort, Just a bit more difficult than your average pen hehe. Probably stretching it a bit but one of your chrome or or similar hidden clips would work well with this style Cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by Woodenink

Talk about learning curve, still much to learn here, this is almost kitless brass fountain pen. I can see the score marks of the turning, even though I tried sanding them out!!!!, I decided on a Do Hickey cap because I wanted to keep the weight down, I still think this is quite a heavy pen. Here it is for advice etc. Amos

Love it. I would vote for a black end as well.

Well done

Top effort Amos, very interesting.
I dont mind the look of the dohickey. My only critisism is the length of the thread, its too long and looks unbalanced.
I think about half as long as it is, or maybe use the golden ratio for the thread and the feed, would give it a more balanced look.

ScotchBright 0000 will do just as JT said, leave you a satin finish, just remember to keep turning it over and swaping the direction you hold it.
Dry sand with 400 grit, follow by 2000 grit wet n; dry, then a polish like McGuires Mag and wheel polish, maybe follow that with Renaissance wax and you will have a glass finish.
You will also see any other or all the fine scratches you need to sand out. after that...if the 400 grit dosen't get rid of all of them the first time, then step up to 600 grit wet n dry and sand wet, then go up from there.
Pen looks great, and yeah, a real learning curve.
When you were turning this, did you do it dry, or lube the brass with oil as you cut?
I use oil, cheap 30w in a squirt can with a tin pan under the work to catch the drip...then screen it through a coffee filter into a can and reuse it, this keeps the cutting marks down a lot.
Messy, but effective.
I like the overall effect, but the cap won't really weight that much more if it was solid.
Pretty cool all the way around as it is though.
Bet the idea machine is really working now!

Like the shape Amos and turning a round end on a brass rod like that isn't easy, well done.

I find that to get a better finish "off the tool" on a metal lathe you need to do the final cut with HSS rather than a carbide tipped tool. Agree with John's (gawdelpus) comment re sanding.

Also agree with the length of the thread and regardless of weight I would have liked to see a matching round brass end rather than the doohickey.

Finally, perhaps as well as shortening the threads try a brass section with perhaps a narrow black band between it and the threads.

I think you are very brave to attempt such a project and you pulled it off very well.

Well done

awsome pen amos! i think the bushed look works better than the polished, and if anything a slightly smaller finial cap.
the dice is a rippa, just what it needs!

WOW Amos,

Eggsceptional gambling with brass and a throw of the dice in the top (love that touch).

A comment hard to hold a shiny slippery pen but who cares it is a concept pen. I am finishing a Dentist hand Piece Pen for my mate and the top half is slippery Titanium.

The shape is formal and complete, too many threads to the cap however it gives it great strength.

Ratio of top to bottom (scientific terms?) is very pleasing to me.

Complements all round from me.

Kind regards Peter.

Thanks for those comments everyone, and for the advice. The thread is a Triple start thread, I will try to cut off a little bit, and I also will try sanding along the blank as well as the natural turn on the lathe.
The inside is drilled to suit the 12 x 1 triple start, so I cannot drill any more out of it.
The end cap can be made into something else, maybe a black piece of Poly Resin.
The Section can be made brass, but I was trying to avoid the extra weight, however, maybe using a gold colour section would be better.
So, more to do and experiment with. Also I will try a HSS bit on the finishing.
One more thing, maybe cutting off a little more on the outside of the whole length opf the pen may reduce the weight, the thing I am concerned about doing that is not to make it too thin and damage the pen. Thanks Amos

Another thing to consider when sanding the outside is to quickly traverse the sanding medium back and forth along the length of the pen with the lathe running. This will prevent you getting circular lines around the pen, but rather give you a cross hatch pattern. As others have said, after going through the grades, use the liquid polishes to shine it up. Brasso can be used on the lathe while spinning.
We might have to move you on to the metalwork forum if you keep coming up with these new ideas.

If you had some dark wood, and/or leather instead of the doohickey, you would probably sell this to the SteamPunk crowd.

Cheers,
Andrew

Very striking pen. Loving the way it finishes, not so shinny as it could distract when writing.