Just to get this out there, I am feeling rotten and have been all week so I will try to make this short.

*Pen making

There is one subject that will fill this update. Yes I made a pen which I will show later but the main news is that I have started to use Jowo nibs and I have to say I am not enjoying the experience one bit. The nib units are such awkward shapes. Also I am not sure whether it is the material or I have taken a few steps back in my skill set but at the moments my threading sucks. The threads are so tight that I struggle to get things screwed together even when I use holes and tenons (I think that is the right word) of the same diameter for the threads that I have been using all the time.

So I made a practise run with a bit of kirinite I had laying around from an off cut of the second pen I ever made and tapped a hole in that then tried it out. Didn’t really go as planned, I couldn’t screw it in. I widened the hold for the widest part to see what still no dice. I tried to widen the hole for the main part of the unit but stripped the threads. I may have sworn at that point and scared all the spiders, I mean one minute they were there watching me like usual and the next they had scurried off, I am thinking of naming them, anyway I digress. I made a second attempt and went for the size drill bits I gone up to on the initial attempt and it worked fine. The threads took, it needed a little widening around the thicker part but it looked ok, see. The third attempt was for an actual pen I had in mind, a Zeus model with an extended taper on each end so that when it is closed the taped slant off in opposing directions.

This is where the problems lay, I used the standard measurements that I have found to work on other materials. So for example, I know that for a 13mm x 0.75 pitch die on a stick on the materials I have been using thus far I have found that turning a tenon down to 12.8mm gives a good thread. Likewise, I know that on the materials I have been using to tap a 10mm x 0.75 pitch tap a hole of 9mm works. Did they work with this material? Nnnope. I managed to get the section done as seen above but it took most of my morning work session (about 40 minutes). To say I am frustrated with Jowo nibs is an understatement but a friend over at mythic pens has given me a few tips on drill sizes, any other help is also welcome.

So, this pen I made. I quite like it. I went with one of the designs I have come up with which is a pretty simple design that has a tapered end but instead of finishing in a point it finishes with a flat surface either end. What do you think? Here it is capped and I think I have an uncapped image. I did have a bit of an issue where I dropped a part I had just threaded and cracked it, oops.

*Website

So I have something fun to share with you all. Well the first is a shameless plug, I have put all my designs up on my website but I won’t put a direct link up as I don’t want to breach any rules. The second thing is something I am quite proud of. Do any of you remember those flip books that you could get when you were a kid, the one I had was one that had 3 flaps with the head of various things like pirates and space men, the second had the corresponding body pieces and the 3rd had the feet/legs. What I have done it made one using slide shows so that one is pen caps, the second is the sections and the third is the barrels. Here is the link, just thought you would like a little play, it’s not fully featured yet but I will be adding content as I make more pens.

Oh, I need help naming the spiders, there are 3 regulars who I am going to name, one is by the window, one above the door and one in the corner. I suck at names, what do you think?

Any comments good or bad feel free to leave them here.

That is it for this week. Have a good weekend.