Paul,
I will give you my experience on pens and you should take it with a grain of salt, so to speak.
IMO, Patriots and Sierra's are the easiest pens to make because they only require one tube. These are great to start out with - but the kits cost more than twice the price of slimlines.
Slimlines are cheaper but harder to make. If you make a big mistake on a slimline and lose the whole pen, you have only lost $2. I always buy a few extra tubes for each kit type that I buy. On slimlines, the difficulty comes in when you are trying to make them like Cross pens - straight sides, top and bottom. It is a little difficult to do when new at turning but it is GREAT practice and skill enhancing.
Matching the nib and center ring in diameter is also part of skill enhancing. Again on a slimline, it is a lot cheaper. Plus on the slimline, you can experiment on shapes, groves and beads - and haven't lost much if you mess up.
IF you can do a decent slimline, then you certainly can do the more expensive and easier larger pens. The only ones to be wary of at the beginning are those that require a tenon. Some of these require you to use calipers to measure your cuts to get everything right.
Speaking of calipers, I use my calipers to measure my pens all the time. I have learned to trust the calipers rather than the bushings for size. If you start off using calipers to determine the final diameter at the nib, center band or clip end, it will be easier and will soon become a natural part of your pen making procedure.
For most people, the bushings should be taken as a rough guide only. One of the reasons is that when one trusts the bushings, it will soon be found that the bushings are not a perfect as first thought. Hence a need and dependency on calipers. So start at the beginning with using calipers.
These are just MHO, learned from experience. One size does not fit all!
I will give you my experience on pens and you should take it with a grain of salt, so to speak.
IMO, Patriots and Sierra's are the easiest pens to make because they only require one tube. These are great to start out with - but the kits cost more than twice the price of slimlines.
Slimlines are cheaper but harder to make. If you make a big mistake on a slimline and lose the whole pen, you have only lost $2. I always buy a few extra tubes for each kit type that I buy. On slimlines, the difficulty comes in when you are trying to make them like Cross pens - straight sides, top and bottom. It is a little difficult to do when new at turning but it is GREAT practice and skill enhancing.
Matching the nib and center ring in diameter is also part of skill enhancing. Again on a slimline, it is a lot cheaper. Plus on the slimline, you can experiment on shapes, groves and beads - and haven't lost much if you mess up.
IF you can do a decent slimline, then you certainly can do the more expensive and easier larger pens. The only ones to be wary of at the beginning are those that require a tenon. Some of these require you to use calipers to measure your cuts to get everything right.
Speaking of calipers, I use my calipers to measure my pens all the time. I have learned to trust the calipers rather than the bushings for size. If you start off using calipers to determine the final diameter at the nib, center band or clip end, it will be easier and will soon become a natural part of your pen making procedure.
For most people, the bushings should be taken as a rough guide only. One of the reasons is that when one trusts the bushings, it will soon be found that the bushings are not a perfect as first thought. Hence a need and dependency on calipers. So start at the beginning with using calipers.
These are just MHO, learned from experience. One size does not fit all!
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