Pen Stands

[Komitadjie]

So, the latest brainstorm out of my wood shop! A friend asked me if I could make him a pen stand, and this is what I came up with. The photos here represent quite a few of these I've made, some cherry, some oak, and some walnut. The walnut ones are still on my drying rack at the moment.

 

This was the proof-of-concept, made in about five minutes from a piece of scrap 2x4. The angle is too steep, the hole is too small in diameter, and of course I didn't bother with finish at all.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150805_185709_zpshaoijj4n.jpg

 

After working over the design, this is what I came up with as first-production hardware. The material has changed to cherry, and the hole increased in diameter from .500 to .625. I also added a suede bottom lining, to hide the dent left by boring the hole.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150807_195740_zpsngdzbcs7.jpg.

 

After a few repetitions:

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150808_183008_zps871dt0nl.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150808_183020_zps4ygyabsq.jpg

 

And the latest one, just finished it tonight, is out of oak. I'm not a tremendous fan of working on oak, it splinters an awful lot, and burns easily. But this one turned out quite nicely!

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_195145_zps8oghivb4.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_195200_zps1njspkyq.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_195137_zpsw70zcunc.jpg

 

These are on my rack right now, drying their first finish coats. Found a chunk of walnut to play with at the bottom of my pile, I'm a happy camper. Love working with walnut. One of these had a couple of internal flaws in the wood that I didn't spot until the finish was on, annoyingly enough. Not sure if it's good enough to keep, or if I should chuck it in the scrap bin. Have to decide once the finish has dried, I think.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_194618_zpsrzru1odm.jpg

[macaddicted]

I like the walnut more. It's a nice design. I'm curious how it would do with a cigar shaped pen.

 

Did I mention I've started The Home for Wayward Walnut Stands? Grant money and everything. I'm sure we could give at least one of them a good home. :-)

[Komitadjie]

Thanks, I've been having fun making them, too. Enough detail to not be boring, not so much that I can't just stroll out into the shop and make a couple, without having to dedicate hours to the project. I like the walnut ones myself, I just like walnut in general. It's such an *alive* looking wood when you hit it with a good clear finish of almost any kind. I'm going to be making more of the walnut ones, for sure, I just love the grain.

 

As for how they do with cigars? How 'bout a nice, big, fat stogie? This is the pen I measured to choose the .625 diameter, actually. The pen is quite solidly rested, it's not leaning backwards at all. I was initially a bit worried about the possibility of the pen toppling over backwards, but after handling the first one, I was entirely pleased with the retention.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_212803_zpsxiyuffmj.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_212814_zpsfvutgmag.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150812_212824_zpsnwhsymtx.jpg

[LeonW]

Nice, very nice.

[mmg122]

Very nice work, Komitadjie. I favor the darker woods too but that oak one has a beautiful grain.

[Komitadjie]

Thanks! I'm not a big fan of working with oak, it splinters so easily and the open grain is tough to get a good finish on... but dang, the grain *is* really nice.

 

I'm pondering making another one of these this weekend, only this time mount the holder like these on a base that also has a pocket for a Noodler's bottle.

[Komitadjie]

The walnut ones came out pretty well, I think! I ended up making a couple different ones, trying out different finishes. There's two in my usual polyurethane, and one in Mahoney's Utility Finish / Walnut oil wax. First time I've tried using a totally food-safe finish on one of these, and so far it's not bad. Little more satin finished than the others, but nice looking. Also added a bit of a chamfer to the back of the stand, and tried out tan suede in the pocket, instead of black. Overall, I like the effect.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150813_163717_zpsxtsotp8j.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150814_083403_zpsfged7gbb.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150814_083414_zpsfrcinq8t.jpg

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150814_083428_zpspk7zfpdd.jpg

[PaperQueen]

Verrrrrry nice, Komitadjie. Really like the horizontal grain and softened edges on those last two. Well done.

[Komitadjie]

Thanks! I'm thinking I will keep that broken back edge, I like what it does to the overall appearance myself. The grain orientation on these tends to be rather random, largely based on what I can fit into the board. I'm making most of these out of scrap from other projects that would otherwise end up in the trash. These are handy for that, given the fairly corner-type shape. It lends itself nicely to using up drop ends.

[alc3261]

I'd buy a few of those.....

Also how about doing 3 in one piece?

[Komitadjie]

Hmmm... I don't have any single piece of material that thick, but it wouldn't be particularly challenging to make a laminated block for it... I might have to give that a try!

[mmg122]

Thanks! I'm not a big fan of working with oak, it splinters so easily and the open grain is tough to get a good finish on... but dang, the grain *is* really nice.

 

I'm pondering making another one of these this weekend, only this time mount the holder like these on a base that also has a pocket for a Noodler's bottle.

Now that would be awesome!!

[alc3261]

Hmmm... I don't have any single piece of material that thick, but it wouldn't be particularly challenging to make a laminated block for it... I might have to give that a try!

Please do!!

[Manalto]

I'm keeping my eye on this thread, good things happening. A stand is a good way to keep your pen from getting blemished when you stop writing for a while but aren't ready to put it away. (It reminds me of the pipe stands that sit on the edge of ashtrays.)

 

If I may make a suggestion - It would be nice if the stand were bottom-heavy and more stable, so if you should bump into it, the stand will slide on your desk rather than tip over.

 

Carry on! I can't remember that last time I was so excited about wood. (Maybe I should rephrase that.)

Edited August 15, 2015 by Manalto

[Komitadjie]

So, after some discussion with James, I'm trying something new! This is what came out of my quick "throw it together" build, it's almost where I wanted to be with it. The initial plan was not to have the base, but I didn't guess right at my flat placement, so it rocked over backwards without it. Next one I will need to do a bit more planning before I start whacking at the board, but I like the idea here too. Before any kind of finish, of course. The glue is still drying, but it's fully sanded and ready for polyurethane.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150814_182748_zpsgsestzab.jpg

[The Write Pen]

Excellent work.

 

Regards,

 

danny

[Komitadjie]

Thanks!

 

Here it is after the third coat of poly. Tomorrow, I will lightly sand this coat, and give it a very light finish coat. The lighting is rather bad for photography, so please forgive the excessively dark shot.

 

http://i1158.photobucket.com/albums/p603/Komitadjie/IMG_20150814_221010_zpsj9azyqk4.jpg

[lionheartlee]

i like the idea and look of these...one would look real nice sitting on my desk...let me know when/if you decide to sell them. Great work!

[KaB]

Please do!!

+1 on that! a set of 3 would look more stable (the single one looks like it might be easily be accidentally tipped sidewards) and 3 pens on your desk feels good

[frogbaby]

Very nice work. I would love to see you do a multiple pen stand.

Also, what kind of cat is that in your avatar ? Beautiful cat.