Octagonal Profile Pen

[duncsuss]

I've owned a Montegrappa Symphony for many years, and started thinking about how I'd build one similar soon after I got into pen making.

 

I didn't get around to starting till last weekend, then yesterday I see over on IAP there's a slew of activity around the subject of "faceted" pens ... cue the Twilight Zone music ...

 

Anyway, here's mine: it's Dalmatian acrylic acetate, with a cap finial of black acrylic acetate. The section is black ebonite, with a Bock #5 nib -- though I might swap it out for one made from the same acetate as the cap finial (and might change the nib type while I'm tinkering with it.) As a first attempt, I'm quite happy with the way it turned out -- though there are a few things I have to improve (as will always be the case.)

 

Dimensions:

 

Length (capped): 146mm

Length (uncapped): 137mm

Thickness (across flats): 14.2mm (average)

Nib: Bock #5

Fill: cartridge/converter

Weight: 21g (without cartridge or converter)

 

 

 

 

 

[watch_art]

Okay - so how did you do it?

[duncsuss]

PennState Industries used to sell a product called a "lathe mounted fluting guide" ... I can't find it on their site now, they must have discontinued it. One part holds a laminate router (trim router), the other clamps to the lathe ways and becomes a fence against which you can run the jig holding the router. My lathe has 24 indexing positions built in, so I used every 3rd stop.

[watch_art]

That's cool.

[duncsuss]

Thanks!

 

(btw, did you ever make anything from the pieces of lignum vitae I sent you?)

[watch_art]

Urhm. No. Still sitting on them. They will make a pretty pen one day, I promise.

[duncsuss]

Still sitting on them.

 

Ouch ... probably best not to advertise that to whoever gets the pen ...

[watch_art]

Well I'm not sitting on them in so much as they're sitting on a shelf enjoying the view of my shop.

[Ted A]

Is sitting on them a new polishing technique?

[Ted A]

I am a total layman. But it sounds as if faceting a pen is more difficult than just shaving down the edges. I like the looks of facets and was wondering why I haven't seen many on here. This kind of explains it to me a bit.

[watch_art]

Sitting on them could add a certain... er... something.

[duncsuss]

I am a total layman. But it sounds as if faceting a pen is more difficult than just shaving down the edges. I like the looks of facets and was wondering why I haven't seen many on here. This kind of explains it to me a bit.

Ted, yes it's a bit trickier -- and involves substantial hand sanding/polishing compared to a regular pen, which can be finished using the lathe motor to provide most of the action. If I'd used the same technique on this pen, all the corners would have been sanded off ... hello, it's round again

[sanyalsoumitra]

Very beautiful pen. Recently I have made some hexagonal and octagonal section wood pens by hand sanding [ way too un-refined in comparison to yours ! ] , and was trying to figure out how to make them on a lathe. Now I know little better. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.

[duncsuss]

Very beautiful pen. Recently I have made some hexagonal and octagonal section wood pens by hand sanding [ way too un-refined in comparison to yours ! ] , and was trying to figure out how to make them on a lathe. Now I know little better. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.

 

Thanks.

 

You don't actually need a lathe to do what I did with this pen, but it is a useful way to (a) hold the pen securely, and ( allow a controlled rotation so each side in turn can be shaved down by the router. Indexing systems can be added to any lathe (even if it doesn't come with one built in), I've seen them on eBay for around $50.

[oghistoryteacher]

Thanks very much for this info, I'd always been curious about how to do this while maintaining the correct angles. Do you have any particular advice for hand sanding without rounding off the edges?

[duncsuss]

Thanks very much for this info, I'd always been curious about how to do this while maintaining the correct angles. Do you have any particular advice for hand sanding without rounding off the edges?

 

The way I did it was straightforward ... began with a sheet of 320 grit sandpaper laid flat on a piece of 3/4 plywood, sprayed it with water (which also helped keep it stuck to the board) and -- holding and moving the pen against the paper -- sanded each face in turn, adding water as needed. Then did the same to both ends, turning to "lean into" each of the 8 edges.

 

The "entire pen" was assembled while I did this (leaving the clip out, of course) -- meaning barrel, cap and cap finial all screwed together tightly with faces aligned.

 

Then I washed it down, and repeated with 400 grit. Then washed it down and repeated with 600 grit.

 

Then I switched over to a more normal "hold it in one hand, rub it with the other" method using auto rubbing compound -- first the brown one, then the white one -- rubbing each face in turn using a piece of cotton (t-shirt) cloth, and not forgetting the ends. Finally hit it with Plast-X polish, again the t-shirt material, rubbing each face in turn then the ends.

 

Washed the whole thing down, then removed the finial and fitted the clip into the cap, fitted the section & nib into the barrel, and started taking photos ...