Dan Mosley
Member
- Messages
- 1,169
- Location
- Palm Springs, Ca
Decided a while back to play around making pens for a bit - after making a fair amount of them I went over to the Slimline Saturn then to the Slimline Pro and on to the Mesa (Cigar type). I have a friend that asked me "my opinion" on what I think of the kits I have used so far so I thought I would post it on here and he could read other peoples feedback as well.
Opinion - Slimline pen kits are a good starter kit - there cheap - easy to assmble and adjust fitting during assembly - Poor quality pen fills - approx $2.00 per kit
Slimline Saturn - same as above but a better quality kit as far as parts go - a bit thicker mid section (style) - a bit better ink tube - approx $4.00 per kit
Slimline Pro - Nice everyday pen - Gel - a bit more in cost - kits has much better quality in parts - a bit of learning curve to assemble - approx $6.00 per kit - and you
have to be fairly spot on when you trim them so they fit correctly - to short or to long and your assembled pen will not look or work correctly - they will
accept Parker Reills
Mesa - a much nicer kit all the way around if you like that style - approx $6.00-$7.50 per kit depending on if you get the twist or click.
Putting them together - I have been using a Irwin hand clamp and it is easy enough to do - On the Mesa kits it can be done but sometimes depending on how fat the sleeve is it can become a little challanging - So the other day I ready where they opened up a Harbor Freight store near me and decided to go look around - while I was there I saw a Arbor press for $47.00 (1 ton) and thought it would be handy to have one in the shop - if you join there inside track club $30/yr you get $10.00 off on any purchase - so Ill join I can see where I will be going there for other things. The press makes puttting pens together easier but its not necessary -
Thanks Dan
Opinion - Slimline pen kits are a good starter kit - there cheap - easy to assmble and adjust fitting during assembly - Poor quality pen fills - approx $2.00 per kit
Slimline Saturn - same as above but a better quality kit as far as parts go - a bit thicker mid section (style) - a bit better ink tube - approx $4.00 per kit
Slimline Pro - Nice everyday pen - Gel - a bit more in cost - kits has much better quality in parts - a bit of learning curve to assemble - approx $6.00 per kit - and you
have to be fairly spot on when you trim them so they fit correctly - to short or to long and your assembled pen will not look or work correctly - they will
accept Parker Reills
Mesa - a much nicer kit all the way around if you like that style - approx $6.00-$7.50 per kit depending on if you get the twist or click.
Putting them together - I have been using a Irwin hand clamp and it is easy enough to do - On the Mesa kits it can be done but sometimes depending on how fat the sleeve is it can become a little challanging - So the other day I ready where they opened up a Harbor Freight store near me and decided to go look around - while I was there I saw a Arbor press for $47.00 (1 ton) and thought it would be handy to have one in the shop - if you join there inside track club $30/yr you get $10.00 off on any purchase - so Ill join I can see where I will be going there for other things. The press makes puttting pens together easier but its not necessary -
Thanks Dan