# vintage cebloplast fountain pen



## duncsuss (May 31, 2016)

Cebloplast is a type of pen material that used to be made by an Italian company (Mazzucchelli), I believe it's cellulose acetate. Sometimes I get a chance to buy some that looks good, and I grabbed this cobalt blue stuff when I saw it for sale.

The nib is made by Peter Bock AG, the German nib manufacturer. That and the clip are the only parts that I bought, the rest I turned out of the Cebloplast.

Oh -- the entire barrel of the pen is the ink reservoir, what's called "an eyedropper" (because that's how you fill it up, drawing ink from a bottle and dropping it into the barrel.) I'm keeping this one for myself.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 7 | Way Cool 5


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> Cebloplast is a type of pen material that used to be made by an Italian company (Mazzucchelli), I believe it's cellulose acetate. Sometimes I get a chance to buy some that looks good, and I grabbed this cobalt blue stuff when I saw it for sale.
> 
> The nib is made by Peter Bock AG, the German nib manufacturer. That and the clip are the only parts that I bought, the rest I turned out of the Cebloplast.
> 
> ...


Think I'm going to buy a nib and try one of these. Need to see what taps I bought

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Tony (Jun 1, 2016)

That is a first class pen Duncan, beautiful! Tony


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

Tony said:


> That is a first class pen Duncan, beautiful! Tony


Thanks  The material is a bit trickier to work with than modern acrylic acetate, it doesn't tolerate heat so sharp tools and slow lathe speed are needed ... but the end result is worth the extra effort

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Kevin (Jun 1, 2016)

That's a real classic beauty. I just love the colors and pattern.


----------



## keepanionme (Jun 1, 2016)

That is one great looking pen. Has anyone ever done a how to on a kitless pen?


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

keepanionme said:


> That is one great looking pen. Has anyone ever done a how to on a kitless pen?


I do mine different every time. Lol. Come on dunc. Do a tutorial.


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

Kevin said:


> That's a real classic beauty. I just love the colors and pattern.


Thanks -- me too, I've got some of the same stuff in cranberry red, that's going to be stunning too


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

keepanionme said:


> That is one great looking pen. Has anyone ever done a how to on a kitless pen?



Thanks, Jim 



Tclem said:


> I do mine different every time. Lol. Come on dunc. Do a tutorial.



There are several tutorials in the IAP Library, and videos on YouTube. Everybody seems to do things slightly differently, or in a different sequence, and what I do might change from one pen to the next. Mostly I do the same things, but maybe in a different order each time, and sometimes things simply don't work so I get to do it multiple times.

The fact that there are only 2 restrictions -- the size and threading of the nib unit, and the size of the clip ring -- is a mixed blessing: you are limited by the taps & dies & drill bits that you own, not by a kit designer's decision of what the diameters of the parts will be. (If you own a metal lathe with threading capabilities, you aren't even limited by that -- total free-form!)


----------



## barry richardson (Jun 1, 2016)

It's a beauty Duncan! Do you use regular old taps and dies, or are they a specialty tool for pen making?


----------



## rdabpenman (Jun 1, 2016)

Looks great!

Les


----------



## ironman123 (Jun 1, 2016)

That is a great looking pen Duncan. Don't tell "turtlehead" what tap and die to use until he takes that thing off his head.

Reactions: Funny 3


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> Thanks, Jim
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I think I have every tutorial printed out. I have problems with getting them to line up. Lathe is perfectly inline but it seems when I used my close end mandrels it throws them off. Got them from Harrell on IAP. I use a different sequence every time and I think that along with no patience is part of my problem. I have several tap sets. Some I haven't even used yet


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

barry richardson said:


> It's a beauty Duncan! Do you use regular old taps and dies, or are they a specialty tool for pen making?





rdabpenman said:


> Looks great!
> 
> Les





ironman123 said:


> That is a great looking pen Duncan. Don't tell "turtlehead" what tap and die to use until he takes that thing off his head.



Thanks all 

@barry richardson - the tap for the nib unit is nearly always a specialty item, because the nib manufacturers use such weird sizes (examples: M 7.4 x 0.5, and 9/32" x 36tpi). The section-to-barrel and barrel-to-cap threading can be anything you want, I normally use M9 x 0.75 tap and die for the section-to-barrel, it's just large enough diameter that I don't always destroy the part when I drill a hole to receive the end of the ink cartridge/converter. For the cap, I choose a size depending on how slim or fat the pen is going to be -- but usually I go for M12 x 0.75 or thereabouts.

I got some specialty multi-lead taps & dies -- M12 x 0.8 x 2 and M13 x 0.8 x 3 -- that I sometimes use for the cap. They are ridiculously expensive compared to the normal ones (which are available from places like Victor Tools online for a reasonable price).

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

Tclem said:


> Yeah I think I have every tutorial printed out. I have problems with getting them to line up. Lathe is perfectly inline but it seems when I used my close end mandrels it throws them off. Got them from Harrell on IAP. I use a different sequence every time and I think that along with no patience is part of my problem. I have several tap sets. Some I haven't even used yet


"close end mandrel" -- do you mean the "pin chucks" that Rick makes? How tight is the fit of the drilled blank onto the mandrel? (Any slack at all will come back to bite you -- mine are such a tight fit they form an air seal and I have to fight to get the suckers on there.)

What do you hold the mandrels in?

When the mandrel is in the headstock (with nothing on it) is there runout at the tail end as you rotate the spindle?


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> "close end mandrel" -- do you mean the "pin chucks" that Rick makes? How tight is the fit of the drilled blank onto the mandrel? (Any slack at all will come back to bite you -- mine are such a tight fit they form an air seal and I have to fight to get the suckers on there.)
> 
> What do you hold the mandrels in?
> 
> When the mandrel is in the headstock (with nothing on it) is there runout at the tail end as you rotate the spindle?


Hey you understand missuoppi language by now. Lol the 1/4" I have won't tighten for anything so I have one that is a uhmmmmm 5/16 or something I had him made that is a tad thicker than the rollerball refill that fits good. I may need to check that.


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

Oh I have a psi collet chuck set I use.


----------



## manbuckwal (Jun 1, 2016)

Purdy pen Dunc

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

Tclem said:


> Hey you understand missuoppi language by now. Lol the 1/4" I have won't tighten for anything so I have one that is a uhmmmmm 5/16 or something I had him made that is a tad thicker than the rollerball refill that fits good. I may need to check that.



Ah. I think that might be where the problem is. I knew that I wanted to make barrels drilled with an 8.25mm drill bit (because I tap the threads to M9 x 0.75) and when I asked Rick a pin-chuck to fit this, he suggested I send him a blank that I'd drilled because he hadn't made that size before. Like I said, that is a snug fit -- I could probably inflate a football with it (cue the Deflategate jokes ... )


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

Tclem said:


> Oh I have a psi collet chuck set I use.


Should be good. Check the runout -- move your tool rest close to the tip of the rod, run the lathe, and slide a pencil over the tool rest till the point touches the spinning rod. If you get a "tap tap tap" sound, that's not good. You want it to draw a circle round the rod (but that's asking for perfect alignment -- picky, picky, picky )


----------



## duncsuss (Jun 1, 2016)

manbuckwal said:


> Purdy pen Dunc


Thanks Tom!


----------



## Tclem (Jun 1, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> Should be good. Check the runout -- move your tool rest close to the tip of the rod, run the lathe, and slide a pencil over the tool rest till the point touches the spinning rod. If you get a "tap tap tap" sound, that's not good. You want it to draw a circle round the rod (but that's asking for perfect alignment -- picky, picky, picky )


Run out is good. I'm always checking it now days. Had a burr inside spindle one time that I had to get out. Had lots of problems before I found it. I'll double check it this evening


----------



## GeorgeS (Jun 2, 2016)

@duncsuss Duncan that is a beautiful pen!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------

