That old chestnut

[Garno]

I decided to spend a few hours out of bed today and prepare some blanks for future use, I usually do them as and when they are required and only do 1 at a time. Just never occurred to me to do them in batches.
Whilst searching through my kits I noticed I had a ton of kits that I have marked up as slimline, in fact every 7mm kit has been marked as a slimline. When I looked at the kits closer I noticed there was a slight difference to them, on some the centre band was rippled (looked like 3 rings on top of each other) whilst the others were plain also some were bigger in height than others. It looks as though I have streamline kits mixed in with the slimline kits. For some reason I was under the impression that the slimline and streamline were the same pen.
In all this time I have never made a slimline/streamline pen

I have cut 15 sets of blanks in preparation for drilling so I will soon start churning some out, they will make for good practise (and I do need that)

Now here is the question,

It seems as though I only have 1 set of bushes that I have marked up as slimline (they came here with no identification on them) but the could well be streamline, can I use the same bushes for both kits? or would I need different bushes?

 

[Dalboy]

Measure the parts and then the bushes this will tell you

1 which the bushes are for and
2 if they are the same.

If not then use tapered bushes and measure the fittings and turn the blank down to that size, I can't remember the last time I brought any bushes, come to think of it a can't even remember the last pen I turned

I must see what kits I have and if I have any blanks for them

 

[Dalboy]

I certainly have the odd blank

 

[Neil Lawton]

The only difference between a slimline and streamline is the size of the centre band. Your bushes at the nib and clip end are the same for both but the streamline is thicker in the middle. They can vary so much in size and quality depending where you get the kit I just use cone bushes and a pair of callipers on the centre band to get the right size.

 

[flexi]

As above with Neil, I use slim bushes either end and cones in the middle.... Calipers are your best friend!!