My sister wants a top with an ink pen on the bottom to trace out it's
route. I figure I can make a top and drill for an ink pen, but I need a
short insert--about 1". Where can I find an insert like that? If I can't
get one that size, is there one I can safely cut?

Puckdropper

On Mon, 18 Jul 2016 01:37:19 +0000, Puckdropper wrote:

My sister wants a top with an ink pen on the bottom to trace out it's
route. I figure I can make a top and drill for an ink pen, but I need a
short insert--about 1". Where can I find an insert like that? If I
can't get one that size, is there one I can safely cut?

Puckdropper

I think the problem there is going to be ink flow. I used to work for a
company that made plotters, and our big problem was getting ink to flow -
the faster we made the plotters the bigger the problem got. You might
have better luck with an drafting pen point like the ones he

http://www.draftingsteals.com/catalo...ns--technical-
markers----other-markers-technical-pens-kohinoor-rapidograph-repla.html

Even there, when we got to really high speeds we had to remove the little
wire from the barrel and depend on capillary action alone - had to
experiment with inks to find one that would flow but not drip.

You'd want to remove the wire anyway as it wouldn't spin very well
without digging in.

It's not as simple as it looks. But maybe you'll get lucky and prove me
wrong - it's been almost 50 years that I was involved in this. But I see
the drafting points haven't changed much.

Just for kicks, here's an ad for the high speed plotter we had - the head
was on an air cushion with a linear magnetic motor.

http://www.dvq.com/ads/fl/Xynetics%2...20-%201975.pdf

--
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross.

Larry Blanchard wrote in
:

I think the problem there is going to be ink flow. I used to work for
a company that made plotters, and our big problem was getting ink to
flow - the faster we made the plotters the bigger the problem got.
You might have better luck with an drafting pen point like the ones
he

http://www.draftingsteals.com/catalo...ns--technical-
markers----other-markers-technical-pens-kohinoor-rapidograph-repla.html


Even there, when we got to really high speeds we had to remove the
little wire from the barrel and depend on capillary action alone - had
to experiment with inks to find one that would flow but not drip.

You'd want to remove the wire anyway as it wouldn't spin very well
without digging in.

It's not as simple as it looks. But maybe you'll get lucky and prove
me wrong - it's been almost 50 years that I was involved in this. But
I see the drafting points haven't changed much.

Just for kicks, here's an ad for the high speed plotter we had - the
head was on an air cushion with a linear magnetic motor.

http://www.dvq.com/ads/fl/Xynetics%2...20-%201975.pdf


I've been wondering if that would be a problem. Maybe a pencil would
work better? Hm... I could actually thread the outside of pencil so it
could be removed and sharpened as necessary. (It seems to me that a set
screw or wing screw would make the top off balance.)

Puckdropper

Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in news:578d3e7c$0$12023
:



I've been wondering if that would be a problem. Maybe a pencil would
work better? Hm... I could actually thread the outside of pencil so it
could be removed and sharpened as necessary. (It seems to me that a set
screw or wing screw would make the top off balance.)

Puckdropper


I tried threading the pencil. The cedar was so soft all it did was shred
the pencil. Just a FYI: pencils don't thread very nicely.

Puckdropper