BigShed
2008-08-05, 05:44 AM
Finished turning another of my home brew PR blanks. This time a Pearl White on a Jr Gent II FP in Gold. Initially had planned this as a closed end pen but when I saw how good (IMHO) the Gold looked with the Pearl White I decided to turn another barrel for the gold end trim.
This gold kit comes with a black finial and a black centreband, both of which didn't look good with the Pearl White, so I drilled out the black finial cap (to my surprise that was black plated or painted brass, not plastic as expected) and separated the 2 centrebands, 1 black and 1 gold, from the centre fitting. I followed some instructions on the iAP forum (thanks rherrel, you're a champ!)
Turning a new finial cap in Pearl White was finicky, but doable.
Making a new centreband from the Pearl White was another story altogether, the one you see on the pen is the third attempt. This centreband has an OD of 14.5mm, an ID of 12.5mm and is 2mm wide. Needed all my patience for that job. Next time I will make a special mandrel for this job.
By that time I hope to have my metal lathe set up (picking it up tomorrow:)), should be easier to control than on the wood lathe.
This is my first Jr Gent II and I must say I am impressed with both the look and quality of this kit. It is available with both the threaded end for posting the cap and the straight end shown here, which I prefer. Not a fan of the threaded ends on pens, one of the main reasons I have bought the closed end mandrels.This pen is a bit thicker and heavier than the Baron I have been doing, and of a better quality I feel.
This gold kit comes with a black finial and a black centreband, both of which didn't look good with the Pearl White, so I drilled out the black finial cap (to my surprise that was black plated or painted brass, not plastic as expected) and separated the 2 centrebands, 1 black and 1 gold, from the centre fitting. I followed some instructions on the iAP forum (thanks rherrel, you're a champ!)
Turning a new finial cap in Pearl White was finicky, but doable.
Making a new centreband from the Pearl White was another story altogether, the one you see on the pen is the third attempt. This centreband has an OD of 14.5mm, an ID of 12.5mm and is 2mm wide. Needed all my patience for that job. Next time I will make a special mandrel for this job.
By that time I hope to have my metal lathe set up (picking it up tomorrow:)), should be easier to control than on the wood lathe.
This is my first Jr Gent II and I must say I am impressed with both the look and quality of this kit. It is available with both the threaded end for posting the cap and the straight end shown here, which I prefer. Not a fan of the threaded ends on pens, one of the main reasons I have bought the closed end mandrels.This pen is a bit thicker and heavier than the Baron I have been doing, and of a better quality I feel.