Thread: Carba-tec JR instructions

Hey Chris Mate have a look here they have most pen instructions once you find out how to read them
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/ca...tructions.html

Thanks Toni,

Found the right instructions, and the site is now bookmarked.

I bookmarked it also
Terry

i downloaded all the pdf files, but i am like that.

Oooh .. thanks Toni

Never seen that site b4.

yEA, THANK YOU tONI amos

Thanks to Toni, I got the instructions okat, for the JR's. As I need the pens for a birthday on Friday, I decided I'd better make a start this morning. Got everything layed out, and was ready to cut and drill the blanks. Don't know why, but I checked the tubes and bushes (new from Carba-tec). They didn't come winthin a bull's roar of matching, as the bushes had been machined to mate the OD of the tubes. BUGGA!!!! :mad:

Shot back to CT, and the other sets were the same. They didn't have anything else suitable, or any other matching fountain/roller pen kits. So had to get a refund, and go to The Woodworking Warehouse in Braeside. Really nice people there, but the best I could do was a matching Sierra pen/pencil set. It's a real downer.

What a bummer. Lucky ya checked before drilling and glueing the blanks hey.

You need to be careful with these kits bought in Australia. Craft Supplies USA have gone to a version 2 of the JR and the size of the tubes, and hence the bushes and drill bits, changed. I bought some kits from Carba-Tec too and found that that a couple of them suited the bushes available from them, but I had an odd sized fountain pen which was probably a Version 1 model.

Chris

It really doesn't take much to turn your own bushes, even a scrap piece of timber will do for a one-off.

A good set of vernier calipers certainly helps, though, as does a bit of practice.

gee thanks skew that would be a great saving with the bushes wouldn't it. What do you call verniers?
Toni

Pic 1: Vernier calipers (AKA Vernier gauges) are the best to use for this type of thing.

A set of bowl calipers (pic 2) could also be used, but they're more awkward to use for measuring the inside tube size and aren't quite as accurate.

Making bushes is easy enough:

Drill out a piece of wood the same as you would for a pen-blank, except use a drill bit the same size as the mandrel. (There are no tubes involved! )

Mount it on your mandrel, pack it with other bushes or tubes or whatever and then turn it round.

Lay out your kit and line up the pieces the way they'll go together. This way you can see exactly which pieces the wood has too match. Using the calipers and pic 3, measure the parts of the pen-kit and turn the blank to the same sizes. Here's the usual the order I turn them in:

A = inside diameter of top part of upper barrel tube.
A' = inside diameter of bottom part of upper barrel tube.
(With a straight tube A = A')
B = inside diameter of top part of upper barrel tube.
B' = inside diameter of bottom part of upper barrel tube.
(With a straight tube B = B', and if you're doing a slimline, A = B = A' = B'
W = outside diameter of top finial
X = outside diameter of centre band assembly for upper barrel
Y = outside diameter of centre band assembly for lower barrel
Z = outside diameter of nib.

You really want to turn the bushes to the same size as the parts in the kit, but if you're a bit sloppy it's better to turn the bush a bit too large... you can always turn or sand more off, but adding a bit means starting from scratch.

When all done, simply cut into pieces along the red lines (in the pic) to break it into individual bushes. A bandsaw is handy, but if you gave yourself enough room you could use a parting tool on the lathe.

Test fit the bushes, if any are too tight you can remount it on the mandrel and adjust it perfectly.