Monday, October 28, 2013

Teakwood Fountain Pen

Just finished this teak wood fountain pen. Teak is a very delicate wood and much softer and lighter compared to Indian rosewood (sheesham). I have developed a slightly different technique for turning (kitless) wood pens.

Typically, the wood pen blanks are drilled first and then turned on a lathe. I have been doing the exact opposite. I am first finishing the outer shape of the pen and then drilling the inside. This also allows the glue to soak into the blank and make it more stable.

Using collet chuck holders also helps during the turning/drilling process. Because the collet grabs the blank from all sides. This ensures that the wood will not split during high-speed drilling.

Here is a finished pen:


As you can see in the picture below, the cap is only about 1mm thick at he threads:

Because wood does not thread well, and these threads are fine, a threading insert is needed. The cap to barrel thread insert is done using an Aluminium ring. The cap finial is threaded using ebonite.




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