A Few More Bullets

[Dave Bell]

Here are a few bullet pens I was asked to make from some of the recent fall hunting expeditions.

The brass/copper is lacquer coated and the antler is finished with 6 coats of CA and sanded to 12000 MM and Huts Plastic Polish.

From left to right......
2 x .270 cal. with Deer Antler
1 x 30-06 with Deer Antler
3 x 300 Mag with Moose Antler

Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Dave

http://www.stickermetimbers.com/Pens/antler1.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dave - real nice work on all of these! Would make for quite the memento!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dave those are some classy looking pens. Well done.

[Paul Douglass]

Nicely done. Do you drill the bullets or melt the lead out? I have to make three of those for some guys that did some work for me. I have always drilled the bullet but I'm going to give melting a try this time.

[Pat Zabrocki]

Those are really cool! I have some of those kits that I've been meaning to make, I'll have to find some of that bone material. I didn't reallize there were two kinds of clips, kinda like the thicker one best but both are cool.
nicely done
Pat

[Jon Lanier]

Those are looking really nice.

[James Combs]

Some really nice looking pens Dave. Do you modify bullet kits or are they kitless?

[Dave Bell]

Thanks for the compliments.

I do not use a "Kit" for the pens as you know them. What I do is purchase a slim line pen kit or an elegant slim line kit and take specific parts from the kit. I use the twist mechanism, the tubes, the refill and the final cap. I solder my tubes into the bullet casings and glue the other tube into the antler. These are made from real bullet casings and real bullet tips. The tips are drilled out and the lead is fully removed in the process. No heating is required, it's all in the technique used to drill them. I use an under size drill that is slightly smaller than the lead in diameter. I have calculated a depth that I drill and do not go deeper than this. 99% of the time the heat from drilling melts the lead enough to release from inside the copper. The lead grabs onto the drill bit and I slowly extract the drill and the entire piece of lead with it. It takes some practice, but once you have done this as many as I have, it's really easy. There are a few little techniques involved in this, but this is basically how you drill it out in one shot. I use 2 sizes of drill bits, the first being the undersize one (forgotten the size) and the last bit is a 5/64" for the tip of the refill. All of the drilling is done with the use of a collet chuck on my wood lathe.

The soldering is done on a jig and the resizing is done manually with another jig I have made. The soldering jig is designed to accept a standard slim line tube without any modification to it. The soldering jig also determines the depth that the bullet tip is pressed into the casing. It took a bit of math and a bullet casing dissection to figure out the calculations for the jig. There is also one other jig I use to swage/expand the end of brass tube prior to soldering it into the casing. This tool allows the twist mechanism to be pressed into the casing without any restriction to the mechanism itself.

I also have another jig for holding the finished casings for assembly so that the lacquer does not become damaged.

Yes, lots of jigs, but the results speak for themselves. As for the price.....it varies between $40 and $90 depending the complexity of the pen. I also do a "Window Casing" bullet pen that requires a lot of extra work. I also use Nickel plated casings and they are quite a bit more expensive that the standard brass casings. Antler also comes at a price as well. I have been told by many that my prices are low, but supply and demand keeps them at this value. Some people readily sell the finished casings complete with the twist mechanism already installed. The only thing left to do is turn the antler yourself and assemble.

Dave