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It includes a pen holder, pens of various widths, and the Wizzard Subtable. With the Pen Kit you can do calligraphy on diplomas, awards and invitations, and draw "test" plates in pen before engraving plates. The best fonts to use when you’re lettering with the pens is Richardson’s Calligraphic or Olde English. However, many customers produce interesting results with single line fonts like Cursive, Futura or Gothic.
While the pens used in the Dahlgren Pen Kit of the highest quality, a standard felt or nylon tip will work just as well. (Find tip on obtaining other pens from drafting stores).
The Pen Kit can only be used with the Wizzard Diamond Kit.
Note - Some of the latest Diamond Kits sold by Dahlgren, and most third party Diamond Kits did not have the copper colored wire on the top part body that guided the notches on the pen holder barrel. While it is necessary when using calligraphy pens to have this wire, it is not required when using a standard round pen tip.
Setting Up the Pen Kit
Many Dahlgren owners are not using their pen kits properly. The original designer, Richardson’s designed their pens to float in the diamond spindle. And for that reason you must remove the lock screw on your diamond spindle bracket (this screws holds the diamond shaft in place). Although the pen is held in place in the Pen holder by the pen lock screw, the holder itself should be able to move up and down freely in the Diamond Graver body.
The Dahlgren Subtable provides one of the best surfaces for pen engraving, but any flat piece of material that provides a smooth sturdy surface will work.
With the Diamond graver mounted in your cutter box?, remove the diamond shaft and shaft lock screw.
Insert the pen in the pen holder and tighten the pen lock screw to secure the pen firmly in the holder. Insert pen holder in the Diamond Graver body. If you did not remove the big black know, DO NOT tighten the knob; the pen holder must be allowed to "float" in the Diamond Graver body.
Create layout and compute job
Press the PAUSE key, and then the START key. The pen will pause over engraving area.
Press SHIFT CUTTER DOWN
Make sure gap is equal on cutter box (illustration here).
Place a plastic tab in the cutter box as shown (another illustration here).
Loosen notched collar lock screw and allow pen to rest on work area. Tighten notched collar lock screw and release cutter down button.
Early Methods
Original instructions said to either use SHIFT CUTTER DOWN, or CUTTER DOWN.
Setting your pen using the SHIFT CUTTER DOWN method without the plastic tab will break the pens, or the pressure will be too great. (See Squaring your cutter for more explanation how the eccentric bar applies pressure).
The CUTTER DOWN method will work, but you have to adjust the cutter box gap before and after the use of the pen kit. Otherwise, your cutter box will not be parallel to your work surface, and you will get tails on your letters.
Refer to Squaring Cutter, Leveling the table, Burnishing Sections
Miscellaneous Notes
The pen kit was designed to permit the pen to float in the diamond spindle. By following the original designers tip, you can avoid the most common problem, tip breakage.
If there is a tail before each letter, or the pen doesn’t reach the plate in some areas, it means your table isn’t level. Refer to Leveling Your Table below.
The gear-like brass top on the pen holder is used to increase the angle of the pen to the paper resulting in variable stroke width. To try a different angle, lift up the pen holder and drop it into a different notch. Many Experiment with it and you’ll enjoy the varying results.
Leveling Your Table Using The Pen Kit
Create a layout so your pen does a letter in each corner of your 5x8 plate. Position your cutter/pen over the top left letter and adjust as previously described. Then, allow pen to complete the four letters. When job is completed examine each letter. The letter with the longest tail or mark before it means that’s the highest point on your table.
Compute the job again and with a clean plate in your vise, proceed to do the lettering, but now hold the pen above the work area unit it goes to the letter at the highest point of the table - then press pause - this is when you should adjust your correct pen height. Follow steps (6A 7A) to raise either corners of your table. You must place masking tape on the top of your vise - repeat this until each letter in each corner will be properly lettered.
With your table level, you will eliminate not only your inking problems but a lot of engraving problems also.
A Product Review Custom Industrial Products has just released a very useful product. Similar to Dahlgren’s Diamond Graver with a Pen Kit, the Calligraphy set goes one step further. In addition to felt and plastic tipped pens, you can now use actual calligraphy tips.
Whether you are ‘engraving’ parchment certificates, or just drawing out a job for a customer proof, the Calligraphy set works great. All of the test jobs we did with the kit look very nice.
The $195.00 kit comes complete with all hardware for your Dahlgren Wizzard or System 300. Also included is a Parker Calligraphy Set which includes calligraphy fountain pens and ink.
For more information, contact Custom Industrial Products in Beloit, WI, at 608/365-6167.
Make sure they’re still available, or in business.
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