Pen Turning

[Stan Thigpen]

Does anyone know of any roller ball (or fountain pen) pen kits manufactured in a style other than those most commonly seen in catelogues? Specifically, I do not like the long finial and screw part to which the cap attached when it is in the writing position. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Stan

[Tom Hintz]

Rockler, Woodcraft and woodturnerscatalog.com all have a wide selection of pen kits. I would think one of them will have something that appeals to you.
There are also many other suppliers of pen kits which I suspect you will hear about shortly! I can't remember them all.

[Stan Thigpen]

I know all of the named suppliers, but their roller ball/fountain pen kits are all the same style. I was just trying to find out if anyone knew of a different style kit for this type of pen. Thanks

[Kurt Aebi]

Stan, I know we aren't supposed to link you to any other forum from here, so I am not going to post a link. There are a lot of us "Creeker's" that frequent a penturner's forum and I have sent you a PM with the web site information.

I am surprised, though that Russ Fairfield or Scott Greaves or any number of other members of both groups haven't piped in with some help for you yet.


Ken & Keith - If I have over stepped the rules of conduct here, please let me know. - Thanks

[Tom Seaman]

Berea HardWoods sells one with a very small screw part and longer lower barrel. It is called the 'Streamline American'. I've made a couple - I also like the look of more wood, less plastic!

Tom

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Stan!

Dang, it's been a long time since I've posted! ;-)

You're right, most of the kits have that long screw-on type finial. I don't really care for them much either. The ones I've seen that are different without modification are still not that different. I'm thinking the Gent and Jr. Gent kits from CSUSA. But those ends are not made so you can post the cap, which has it's own problems.

But let me intrigue you for a moment - why not make your pen the way YOU want to, which may be quite different from the way the kit manufacturer intended? If you don't like that screw-type finial, leave it off! On a fountain pen it's easy, on a rollerball it's a bit more important to have the hole to the proper depth. But who says you have to post the cap, or if you do, that you need to do it their way?

Check out that link that Kurt gave you. If it's the one I'm thinking it is, there's a nice article by DW Frommer there about how he modified a kit in just the way you might like!

Scott.

[Tom Seaman]

Here's Berea's Streamline American Rollerball I mentioned above. The black near the endcap is ebony, not part of the finial (I put it there to fix a chip out, I mean to balance out the black in the cap and center band :) ). This is the only one I had to scan and post, but it'll give you an idea of what they look like.

(If you don't see a picture, I couldn't figure it out!)

[Dennis Peacock]

Good looking pen Tom.!!!! Nice work!!!

I usually get all my pen kits from Berea. Great folks and good prices and a wide selection of kits to choose from.

[Stan Thigpen]

Thanks all for your suggestions. Stan