.30-06 Pen
I decided to make a pen for Fathers Day from a .30-06 case that I picked up from the shooting range. I designed and made the action myself so it would fit the pen's design, rather than trying to fit an off-the-shelf pen kit. Originally, I was planning to make a bolt action style lever to open the pen since I was struggling with a twist action design, but I didn't think it would look elegant enough. After some thinking and sketches I was able to produce a twist action design that would work.
I started with the steel shaft for the lower half because I thought the bullet shaped end would be difficult to get right. It wound up being one of the easiest operations to complete and I got it right on the first attempt (Yes, the shaft diameter is .308"). I don't have a ball turning tool made for the 7x lathe yet, so I just used coordinated X and Z handwheel movements and a little bit of draw filing. I drilled the shaft for the pen refill and threaded the opposite end. The .30-06 case was drilled and tapped at the base for the steel shaft.
Next, I made the upper body from brass bar stock. I turned it to the same diameter as the base of the .30-06 case and added the same rim detail. The lower end was drilled and tapped to mate with the threaded steel shaft. The rest of the upper body was drilled larger and threaded to accommodate the twist action cartridge and brass end cap.
The twist action cartridge, piston and twist mechanism were all made from aluminum. I started these parts by turning most of the cartridge to fit in the upper body past the threads and threading the end. I drilled it out and then cut a screwdriver slot in the end on the mill. I turned the basic profile of the twist mechanism to fit inside the cartridge with about a 0.002" clearance, drilled out the end for the piston and threaded the other end for the knob. There is a shoulder on the threaded end, so it can't pass through the brass end cap. I turned the piston to fit the cartridge (also with 0.002" clearance) and turned the end to fit inside the twist mechanism.
I made the brass end cap so I could test fit the whole assembly and determine locations for the holes and slots in all the moving parts. The end cap was threaded to fit the upper body, drilled out for the twist mechanism and a screw driver slot was cut on the mill. I needed to make a special assembly tool for the cartridge and end cap. With the twist mechanism protruding from the cartridge and end cap, a regular screwdriver would not fit in the slots. I took a piece of steel round bar, knurled the end, drilled out the middle and milled the end to make a split slotted screwdriver. I also made a threaded aluminum tool to set the proper depth of the cartridge.
With everything test fit, I was able to see that the piston was the proper length. I disassembled everything and marked the holes and slots that needed to be drilled. The holes in the piston were straight forward on the mill, as were the slots on the cartridge. The check mark shaped slots on the twist mechanism were challenging because I don't have an end mill small enough. I drilled a series of holes with the proper sized drill bit, used a rotary tool with a small diamond bit to connect the holes and numerous files to smooth out the slots. I made the 2 pins out of steel. Finally, I knurled a piece of steel for the twist knob. It was then drilled and tapped to fit on the end of the twist mechanism.
I worked the action of the pen probably close to 1000 times in front of the TV of the course of a few nights to break it in and smooth out the slots. I disassembled it many times to file the slots, polish the pieces and try various oils and greases. Every time I assembled it, the action was still very rough and it was difficult or impossible to extend the pen tip. Every lubricant I tried was too light and seemed non-existent until I finally settled on thick, axle bearing grease. With all the moving parts coated with that grease, the action worked very smoothly. Once the pen was completely functional, it was handled only by gloved hands while I polished it with various compounds on a buffing wheel. When I achieved a smooth, shiny surface, I cleaned it with acetone and sprayed it with many coats of lacquer.
I made a simple maple box to display the pen. I mitered the ends of the side pieces and rabbeted both of the inner, long edges. The 4 sides were glued up, the top and bottom panels were cut, and then they were glued into the rabbets. When all the glue was dry, I used the table saw to split the hollow box in half. I used the router table to smooth the rough cut edges and to put a chamfer on the edges. I drilled holes for the locating dowels, magnets and steel magnet catches and glued all of them in place. I cut out the 2 cross pieces with a hand saw and glued them in place. The whole box was coated inside and out with 4 coats of spray lacquer. The large piece of felt in the lid was held in with carpet tape and the small strips on the cross pieces were glued with contact adhesive.
Click on the pictures below for larger images.
I started with the steel shaft for the lower half because I thought the bullet shaped end would be difficult to get right. It wound up being one of the easiest operations to complete and I got it right on the first attempt (Yes, the shaft diameter is .308"). I don't have a ball turning tool made for the 7x lathe yet, so I just used coordinated X and Z handwheel movements and a little bit of draw filing. I drilled the shaft for the pen refill and threaded the opposite end. The .30-06 case was drilled and tapped at the base for the steel shaft.
Next, I made the upper body from brass bar stock. I turned it to the same diameter as the base of the .30-06 case and added the same rim detail. The lower end was drilled and tapped to mate with the threaded steel shaft. The rest of the upper body was drilled larger and threaded to accommodate the twist action cartridge and brass end cap.
The twist action cartridge, piston and twist mechanism were all made from aluminum. I started these parts by turning most of the cartridge to fit in the upper body past the threads and threading the end. I drilled it out and then cut a screwdriver slot in the end on the mill. I turned the basic profile of the twist mechanism to fit inside the cartridge with about a 0.002" clearance, drilled out the end for the piston and threaded the other end for the knob. There is a shoulder on the threaded end, so it can't pass through the brass end cap. I turned the piston to fit the cartridge (also with 0.002" clearance) and turned the end to fit inside the twist mechanism.
I made the brass end cap so I could test fit the whole assembly and determine locations for the holes and slots in all the moving parts. The end cap was threaded to fit the upper body, drilled out for the twist mechanism and a screw driver slot was cut on the mill. I needed to make a special assembly tool for the cartridge and end cap. With the twist mechanism protruding from the cartridge and end cap, a regular screwdriver would not fit in the slots. I took a piece of steel round bar, knurled the end, drilled out the middle and milled the end to make a split slotted screwdriver. I also made a threaded aluminum tool to set the proper depth of the cartridge.
With everything test fit, I was able to see that the piston was the proper length. I disassembled everything and marked the holes and slots that needed to be drilled. The holes in the piston were straight forward on the mill, as were the slots on the cartridge. The check mark shaped slots on the twist mechanism were challenging because I don't have an end mill small enough. I drilled a series of holes with the proper sized drill bit, used a rotary tool with a small diamond bit to connect the holes and numerous files to smooth out the slots. I made the 2 pins out of steel. Finally, I knurled a piece of steel for the twist knob. It was then drilled and tapped to fit on the end of the twist mechanism.
I worked the action of the pen probably close to 1000 times in front of the TV of the course of a few nights to break it in and smooth out the slots. I disassembled it many times to file the slots, polish the pieces and try various oils and greases. Every time I assembled it, the action was still very rough and it was difficult or impossible to extend the pen tip. Every lubricant I tried was too light and seemed non-existent until I finally settled on thick, axle bearing grease. With all the moving parts coated with that grease, the action worked very smoothly. Once the pen was completely functional, it was handled only by gloved hands while I polished it with various compounds on a buffing wheel. When I achieved a smooth, shiny surface, I cleaned it with acetone and sprayed it with many coats of lacquer.
I made a simple maple box to display the pen. I mitered the ends of the side pieces and rabbeted both of the inner, long edges. The 4 sides were glued up, the top and bottom panels were cut, and then they were glued into the rabbets. When all the glue was dry, I used the table saw to split the hollow box in half. I used the router table to smooth the rough cut edges and to put a chamfer on the edges. I drilled holes for the locating dowels, magnets and steel magnet catches and glued all of them in place. I cut out the 2 cross pieces with a hand saw and glued them in place. The whole box was coated inside and out with 4 coats of spray lacquer. The large piece of felt in the lid was held in with carpet tape and the small strips on the cross pieces were glued with contact adhesive.
Click on the pictures below for larger images.