Some metalworking is needed after the Banner marquetry. The Inheritance Machining channel on YouTube shared a video on making a bolt action pen. I purchased the beautifully hand-drawn plans ($7) and will now make my own pen. If any of the kids desire one, I will make one for them as well.
A number of operations require more precision than my Sherline three-jaw chuck can deliver. A four-jaw chuck could be used, but I don't enjoy the effort required to repeatedly align the part. Consequently, I will use a collet. The Sherline collets are not large enough for the 1/2" brass purchased for this pen. Before beginning the project, I will make a collet that fits in the three-jaw chuck to hold the parts as needed.
A 1" slug of 1 1/8" aluminum round was cut off with the hacksaw from a piece of scrap . This was faced and the diameter was reduced (to get rid of the cruft) while held in the three jaw chuck. The part was flipped and the opposite end was faced and the remainder of the outside was reduced to match the previous cut. The end was center drilled in the lathe and drilled first with a 5/16" drill followed by a 3/8" drill. The aluminum, still held in the chuck was punched next to a jaw that was labelled "1", shown below. In this way the collet can be removed and returned to its original position maintaining the concentricity of the hole. I began to bore the hole to size and ran into a recurring problem with my QCTP, it turns while boring!
A fix was needed so I can bore this hole, thus a quick meta-project was undertaken. A piece of gasket material was cut to fit the bottom of the QCTP. This was glued to the QCTP with Gorilla glue under a five pound weight. It is hoped that the gasket material will provide a better grip between the bottom of the QCTP and the top of the cross slide, stop the rotation, and allow boring to proceed.
The fix went perfectly, the collet not so much. The QCTP was set up on the lathe with a boring bar affixed. The boring went extremely well with a QCTP that no longer rotated under the torque of the cut. It's like gaining a new tool! The bore was cut to 0.501" so the brass rod to be used is a perfect sliding fit. The collet was removed from the chuck and slit with a hacksaw seen in the photo below. After running a 1/2" reamer through the collet it was reinstalled in the lathe and the chuck jaws tightened down it did not grip the inserted rod. The collet is probably too thick for this small chuck to bend.
That is in fact the case. The collet was first reduced to 0.875" being careful to remark the location of the collet relative to the labeled jaw. The collet was still too stiff to hold the brass rod. The collet was further reduced to 0.750" OD and now the chuck jaws are strong enough to close the vise and hold the brass rod tight. The photo below shows the rod in the collet.
A length of rod was cut off at 4" with a hacksaw. This was held in the collet in the chuck. The runout was minimal at the collet, but significant at the end of the rod, even though the rod extended past the collet into the chuck. A little tapping with the hammer reduced the runout to about 0.003" at the end of the rod. The rod was drilled up to an M drill and then reamed 5/16". An error was realized at this point. I had drilled completely through the rod. More brass for the scrap pile!
This morning I am going to venture into the garage to make the pen barrel. It will be about 40°, but a few clothing layers should keep me, if not my hands, warm. That was so much easier. Using a real collet made all the difference. A 3.5" length of 1/2" brass rod was held in a collet and faced. It was center drilled, drilled with an F drill and then an M drill to a depth of 2.795" (± 0.005). It was then reamed. The first 0.409" was opened with an O drill and then tapped 3/8-24. By this time my hands were frozen, so the final task of facing to length was completed on the Sherline lathe in the basement. The final length is 3.397". The sealed end was chamfered with a file. The barrel at this stage is shown below.
A 2 5/8" length of 1/2" brass rod was cut from stock with a hacksaw. This was faced on the Sherline lathe and 0.40" of the end was reduced to 0.375". The end was chamfered with a file. Thread relief was cut with the parting tool at 0.36". The end was threaded on the Sherline. The threads were cut to a depth of 0.030" and the fit in the barrel was already a little sloppy, so the threading was stopped at that point.
The part was transferred to the South Bend lathe fitted with a collet in the cold garage. It was drilled and reamed according to the plans first with an A drill followed by a 1/4" reamer, then drilled to a slightly greater depth and reamed 3/16". The part was turned end for end in the collet and a 0.110" hole was drilled through the end. Work was stopped at this point due to the cold and an approaching migraine.
The grip was quickly finished. The grip was removed from the collet and measured. It was faced to length. The compound was set at 15° and the bevel was cut until the bevel reached a point 0.60" from the tip of the grip. The two photos below show the project at this stage. The first is the completed grip and the second shows the grip and barrel as one, starting to look like a pen.
After purchasing a Waterman rollerball refill at Staples, the pen was returned to the cold garage this morning. As the grip and barrel did not sit flush when screwed together, it was inspected for problems. A very slight ridge was evident in the face that the barrel seats against on the grip. The grip was put in the collet and the ridge was removed with a parting tool. The two parts then mated closely.
The next step was reducing the OD of the pen. With the grip and the barrel assembled the grip was held in the collet and the barrel including the joint was reduced to 0.45". The setting on the cross slide dial was noted. The pen was removed from the collet and the barrel was held in a 7/16" collet. This time a tailstock live center was used and the grip end OD was reduced to the same cross slide setting matching the ID on the already reduced barrel. The photo shows the pen still in the lathe after reducing the OD. The finish on the barrel end is not great, so some sanding will be needed.
The barrel was chamfered with a coarse and then fine file. The pen parts, held in the Sherline chuck with soft jaws, were sanded with the two grades of crocus cloth I own. They were further polished with black Scotch polishing sponge. The photo below shows the results of this work.
The barrel was moved to the milling vise. The chamfered end was located and the edge of the endmill was moved 0.550" toward the threaded end. The two insert end mill was used to mill a flat to 0.023" deep. One side of the barrel was located and the spindle centered over the barrel. The spindle was similarly moved 0.100" from the chamfered end. A hole was drilled with a #50 drill and then tapped 2-56 with plenty of cutting fluid for both operations. The spindle was moved a further 0.250" and a second hole was drilled and tapped 2-56. The photo shows the flat with two tapped holes.
The barrel was completed this morning. The barrel was held in the three jaw chuck, which was supported in the Sherline gear cutting fixture. It was supported at the distal end with a machinist's jack. The barrel was first set so the flat was level. The barrel was then rotated 45°. The side and end were located and the spindle centered over the location of the top of the "J". A hole was drilled first with a center drill and then with a 1/8" drill. The table was moved 1/4" and a second hole was drilled at the bottom of the "J". The material between the two holes was milled out with a 1/8" end mill.
The table was rotated 60° and a hole was drilled for the second bottom corner of the "J". A 1/16" long slot was milled from this hole parallel to the first slot. The bottom "J" slot was milled by hand turning the rotary head 60°. The edges of the "J" were cleaned up with a file. The photos below document this process.
The pen bolt was a simple part to make. A piece of 410 stainless steel (0.375" OD) was reduced to 0.310 OD. The free end was faced and drilled with a D drill to 0.48" deep. The end was lightly chamfered. After parting off and facing the pen bolt the opposite end was also drilled with the D drill 0.156" deep. The part was moved to the mill vise and drilled on center 0.318" from the end with the less deep hole. After drilling the hole was tapped 2-56. One end of the hole was countersunk with a 1/8" end mill. The completed pen bolt is shown in the photo below.
The lever also began with a short length of 3/8" stainless steel rod. It was reduced in diameter to 0.250". The first 1/8" of this reduced rod was further reduced to 0.125". The headstock was rotated 30° and a bevel was cut between the two diameters. After returning the headstock to 0° the part was drilled with a #50 drill and tapped 2-56 for a depth of 0.188". The lever was parted off and then held in a 1/8" collet for facing. The lever was transfered to the mill vise and two opposite sides of the 0.25" diameter area were milled flat. The resulting distance between flats was 0.188". The two photos below show the flats after milling and the completed bolt and lever.
Just a note to mention the easy machinability of the 410 stainless steel used in the last two parts. Drilling, lathe work and milling were all a pleasure to perform. This stainless is so unlike the stainless steel purchased for the legless table. That material was extremely tough and difficult to drill, even with carbide drills. I should use 410 stainless more often in projects.
The pen was assembled. At first the lever did not fit well in the "J" groove, so the groove was filed until the lever slid smoothly through it. There are still two issues that need to be resolved. The lever edges are too sharp. With the strong spring tension this quickly became painful. The second issue is the corners of the "J". The two inside corners catch on the passing lever and need to be rounded. The photo below shows the pen assembled. Looks great and writes nicely! The fine tip was the right choice for cartridge.
The pocket clip was made this morning. First a 1/4" X 2 1/4" strip of 1/16" 410 stainless steel sheet was cut off with a hacksaw as shown in the first photo below. After marking out the hole locations this strip was drilled with a 0.086" drill at 0.100" and 0.350" from one end. The strip was thinned to the desired 0.2" width on the belt sander. A ball peen hammer was used to wark harden the steel strip with about five minutes of hammering, while supporting the strip on the vise's anvil. The strip was shortened to the desired 2" using a cutoff wheel in the Dremel. The work hardened strip was marked for bend locations and bent using the vise and pliers. This bent clip is seen in the second photo below.
The bent clip was no longer straight so the sides were flattened with the belt sander. The corners were then rounded. The strip at this stage is seen below. The clip was polished on the cloth wheel with green rouge. This polished clip is seen in the second photo below after washing with soap and water. The holes did not align sufficiently to attach the clip to the barrel of the pen. The holes were widened with a 0.096 drill. This allowed the 3/8" stainless steel screws to firmly attach the pocket clip as seen in the third picture below.
The lever still feels sharp on my thumb, so its edges were filed again. The pen was disassembled. The barrel and grip were washed with soap and water, dried, and rinsed with acetone, while wearing rubber gloves. The barrel and grip were painted with two coats of Protecta-Clear varnish.
The pen was assembled this morning. The action is very smooth and it looks great! The last photo shows it completed.
