Continuing the discussion from VHS Custom Pen Shootout:
It’s that time again. My hands are getting itchy, and I’ve gotta go build some stuff.
Last time I machined a pen, I did some rough planning, then scrapped it for the most part as I built it by the seat of pants.
This time, I’m approaching it with a slightly more meticulous strategy,
Check out my blog, here, but the short version is that I characterised what I liked about pens that were sitting on my desk, and hope to science the hell out of this. Hopefully it will help the other entrants, too!
Additionally, @jon provided some pen-expert-level terminology for that post:
section A is the “tip”, B-D is “the section” of the pen. C-D is the “body” or the “barrel". If you have the clip on the cap rather than the body (ie: rollerball, fineliner, fp, rather than ballpoint/mechanical pencil), between the clip and the end is the “finial”. if the back of the body is also removable, that’s the “blind cap”. I think A-B is usually just considered part of the section. G would be the Body Diameter, H the Section Diameter - it’s quite common for sections to be curved.
oh, something that might not be obvious, and would be annoying -
if you go with a refill that’s labeled a “rollerball” rather than a “ballpoint"
they’re the same basic idea, but a rollerball uses more liquid ink, and needs to be capped
Note to self: incorporate that into my post.