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Hi, I'm Chesh

C

chesh78

Full Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2023
Posts
11
Location
Preston
First Name
Neil
Pleased to meet you all! I'm an oil painter and model hobbyist in general, but I've long had an interest in machining and recently been drawn towards pen turning and blank making. I'm hoping to soak up your collective wisdom so that I can learn how to make some great blanks and, hopefully, eventually make my own fountain pens from scratch!

As a newbie, I'm more than happy to chat with anyone about anything, and hopefully learn as much as I can from you if you're happy to teach me! Particularly interested in learning how to make kitless pens, and the best machine shop setups on a budget (these days, any little money saved definitely helps!)
 
flexi

flexi

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
6,676
Location
Maidstone
First Name
mark
Welcome to the forum mate, there are a few kitless makers on here, but there are also many that do use kits to great effect.... Enjoy your time and feel free to ask questions and post pictures.... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
 
Penpal

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,342
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Hi Neil welcome from over here in Australia, I fear you are jumping in the deep end with two things blank making and kitless pens. On a budget there are real costs in both suggest you come in on kit pens initially. There are erxcellent members who cast blanks that could advise you on costs and with kitless the special triple start taps and dies cost IMHO an arm and a leg still,in the hundreds each. Happy pen turning.
 
C

chesh78

Full Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2023
Posts
11
Location
Preston
First Name
Neil
flexi said:
Welcome to the forum mate, there are a few kitless makers on here, but there are also many that do use kits to great effect.... Enjoy your time and feel free to ask questions and post pictures.... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Click to expand...
Thank you! I certainly will be asking questions, I'm afraid - it's quite a rabbit hole when you start!
 
C

chesh78

Full Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2023
Posts
11
Location
Preston
First Name
Neil
Penpal said:
Hi Neil welcome from over here in Australia, I fear you are jumping in the deep end with two things blank making and kitless pens. On a budget there are real costs in both suggest you come in on kit pens initially. There are erxcellent members who cast blanks that could advise you on costs and with kitless the special triple start taps and dies cost IMHO an arm and a leg still,in the hundreds each. Happy pen turning.
Click to expand...
Thanks, @Penpal - I think I'm only just starting to realize how deep this rabbit hole goes! I'm certainly going to take your advice onboard about the kit pens, especially because of the costs involved in setting.up even a basic workshop (lathes alone aren't cheap, and they're just the start). I'll peruse the various threads and try to soak up as much knowledge as possible before diving in off the deep end!
 
silver

silver

General dogsbody
Executive Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Posts
6,303
Location
Somewhere in Staffordshire,
First Name
Eamonn.
Welcome on board, rabbit hole! Anything about quality pen making is one hell of an addiction and can be very costly or done on a budget..

There are a few great kitless makers on here and would recommend that before investing in triple start taps and dies is start with the fine thread off the shelf metric ones. That will get you in to using taps and dies in the likes of acrylics before you invest in the triple/double start ones.

I’m not affiliated with this company in any way but I certainly use them for tooling and can vouch for them in great customer service.


Enjoy..
 
M

magpens

Full Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2019
Posts
21
Location
British Columbia, Canada
First Name
Mal
Welcome, Neil ! ! !

You'll learn lots here ! ! . . don't neglect to look "over there" as well . . www.penturners.org . . as well as the multitude of vendor sites everywhere.

I believe that you CAN actually start with kitless, but there is lots to learn from studying the architecture of kit pens even if you don't make them.
Study their design and read the (sometimes wordy) instruction sheets. Phil Dart's site . . BeaufortInk.co.uk . . is a good starting point.
 


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