My Own Design Custom Made Pen Cabinet For 280 Pens !

[Wahl]

Fantastic idea for a pen chest, and a very good collection.

[chugbug]

Nice Job!

 

RMN... you were interested in how the dividers were made. I made some similar trays. The first set I made to put into an old briefcase that I converted into a portable pen display case. I made those dividers from cabinet grade plywood. I wanted to be able to pull the trays out to display the pens on a table, so I wanted them to be sturdy and didn't want the pens to fall out. The plywood made the briefcase a little heavy, especially once it was full of pens, but other than the weight, the case works just like I wanted.

 

The grooves for the pens were routed on a router table with different diameter round nose bits. I made two different width dividers-- one narrow for slimline type pens, then a wider tray for thicker pens. I just had to work out how to setup the router table fence so the grooves spaced properly.

 

After I routed the grooves, I covered the trays with some type of fleece material my wife picked up for me. Since the trays were made to be portable and taken in and out of the case, I also added flex cord to keep the pens in place.

 

I made the case several years ago, and out grown it in a hurry, but I still use it to carry an assortment of pen around with me. Then I made similar trays (but much wider) to put into a cabinet insert I made for under my workbench. But for those trays since they weren't going to be pulled in and out, and to try and save a little money, I used rigid foam board and didn't put in the flex cord. I used the thin (blue) insulation sheets and doubled it up, then routed the grooves just as I did with the plywood. The foam board was a little tricker to route clean grooves, but once I figured it out, it worked just like the wood.

 

It took a lot of work to make the trays, but it allowed me to make them to the correct size to fit my pens, rather than having something that I can't use half the slo9ts cause they're too narrow. I made 4 drawers for under my workbench, but only made two trays. I finally out grew those and need to make two more sets of trays one of these days.

 

Cordially...John

 

 

[akustyk]

Nice Job!

 

RMN... you were interested in how the dividers were made. I made some similar trays. The first set I made to put into an old briefcase that I converted into a portable pen display case. I made those dividers from cabinet grade plywood. I wanted to be able to pull the trays out to display the pens on a table, so I wanted them to be sturdy and didn't want the pens to fall out. The plywood made the briefcase a little heavy, especially once it was full of pens, but other than the weight, the case works just like I wanted.

 

The grooves for the pens were routed on a router table with different diameter round nose bits. I made two different width dividers-- one narrow for slimline type pens, then a wider tray for thicker pens. I just had to work out how to setup the router table fence so the grooves spaced properly.

 

After I routed the grooves, I covered the trays with some type of fleece material my wife picked up for me. Since the trays were made to be portable and taken in and out of the case, I also added flex cord to keep the pens in place.

 

I made the case several years ago, and out grown it in a hurry, but I still use it to carry an assortment of pen around with me. Then I made similar trays (but much wider) to put into a cabinet insert I made for under my workbench. But for those trays since they weren't going to be pulled in and out, and to try and save a little money, I used rigid foam board and didn't put in the flex cord. I used the thin (blue) insulation sheets and doubled it up, then routed the grooves just as I did with the plywood. The foam board was a little tricker to route clean grooves, but once I figured it out, it worked just like the wood.

 

It took a lot of work to make the trays, but it allowed me to make them to the correct size to fit my pens, rather than having something that I can't use half the slo9ts cause they're too narrow. I made 4 drawers for under my workbench, but only made two trays. I finally out grew those and need to make two more sets of trays one of these days.

 

Cordially...John

 

 

 

I clicked the link to your site, and Wow! You've made some beautiful fountain pens. The button filler is awesome. I've seen other pen makers who have the skills but not the eye, and you have both. I am deeply impressed.

[RMN]

Hi Jeb, thanks.

 

That turned out to be a nice case.

 

You seem to have a lathe. I don't so I would use standard profiles from the DIY store.

But I wonder how you got the cloth on the tray without ugly folds. It looks like a task you should do with help to hold up the cloth while you stroke it into each ridge.

What type of glue did you use for that?

 

 

D.ick

[yolrgrand]

Nice case and more importantly a brilliant collection! Congrats!

[yolrgrand]

Nice case and more importantly a brilliant collection! Congrats!

[Bugmerc]

Very nice cabinet. I wish we had details on how your guy made those trays, those are impressive. It almost looks like the dividers are covered separately from the rest of the tray. They look great!

 

Nice collection too..

[chugbug]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 

Getting the material down was a bit of a challenge without getting any wrinkles or trapped air bubbles, but I took my time and didn't rush it and it worked out pretty well. I use to do a lot of furniture upholstery with my dad when I was a kid, so I had some experience covering stuff.

 

I used 3M 'Super 77' spray adhesive to attach the material to the boards and applied it to the base only. After I sprayed it on, I let it setup a while so it got tacky, to be sure it didn't soak through the material.

 

Then to cover it, I carefully laid the material down on the flat strip at one end and made sure I had it laid out straight and square to the board and used a rubber j-roller to press the material down on the flat areas. After I had the material position on the end, I used a wooden dowel to guide the material into the grooves and to push it against the sides and was careful not to trap any air bubbles. After I had the first one setup, it was just a matter of working through the rest one groove at a time until they were all covered.

 

If you try it, just make sure you leave plenty of material when you start-- the grooves use up more than you'd think. I estimated how much I'd need by adding up the width of each of the spacers (the flat spots), then estimated for the distance around the 'U' of each groove, and added it all up. Then added some extra just to be sure I had enough.

 

For the sides and bottom, I flipped everything over then lightly sprayed the cloth with adhesive-- just enough to have a little stick to it, but not saturated, then after it dried a little carefully wrapped it tight to the sided and bottom, then I stapled it down and trimmed it up.

 

I did a little extra to the middle tray (the one that comes out). I added a thin sheet of foam (the stuff you put under laminate flooring) to protect the pens on the bottom tray (and it makes it look nice too-- I'm kind of a neat freak!). Then I added feet to the bottom of it to raise it up a little so it was up away from the pens on the bottom tray and didn't rub against the pens and scratch them. Lastly, to make it easier to pull out the tray, I added little strips of plastic strapping to the two bottom corners. To pull out the tray, just grab the tabs and pull up and out.

 

Cordially...John

[Pterodactylus]

Hi Rishi,

 

this is an awesome cabinet and your collection is gorgeous.

Thanks for showing it to us.

[RMN]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 

Getting the material down was a bit of a challenge without getting any wrinkles or trapped air bubbles, but I took my time and didn't rush it and it worked out pretty well. I use to do a lot of furniture upholstery with my dad when I was a kid, so I had some experience covering stuff.

 

I used 3M 'Super 77' spray adhesive to attach the material to the boards and applied it to the base only. After I sprayed it on, I let it setup a while so it got tacky, to be sure it didn't soak through the material.

 

Then to cover it, I carefully laid the material down on the flat strip at one end and made sure I had it laid out straight and square to the board and used a rubber j-roller to press the material down on the flat areas. After I had the material position on the end, I used a wooden dowel to guide the material into the grooves and to push it against the sides and was careful not to trap any air bubbles. After I had the first one setup, it was just a matter of working through the rest one groove at a time until they were all covered.

 

If you try it, just make sure you leave plenty of material when you start-- the grooves use up more than you'd think. I estimated how much I'd need by adding up the width of each of the spacers (the flat spots), then estimated for the distance around the 'U' of each groove, and added it all up. Then added some extra just to be sure I had enough.

 

For the sides and bottom, I flipped everything over then lightly sprayed the cloth with adhesive-- just enough to have a little stick to it, but not saturated, then after it dried a little carefully wrapped it tight to the sided and bottom, then I stapled it down and trimmed it up.

 

I did a little extra to the middle tray (the one that comes out). I added a thin sheet of foam (the stuff you put under laminate flooring) to protect the pens on the bottom tray (and it makes it look nice too-- I'm kind of a neat freak!). Then I added feet to the bottom of it to raise it up a little so it was up away from the pens on the bottom tray and didn't rub against the pens and scratch them. Lastly, to make it easier to pull out the tray, I added little strips of plastic strapping to the two bottom corners. To pull out the tray, just grab the tabs and pull up and out.

 

Cordially...John

 

 

Thanks John.

 

Will try in a few weeks, when I have more time

 

 

D.ick

[WaskiSquirrel]

Even my fantasy fountain pen collection is nowhere near that size. However, I love your cabinet. It has a nice, minimalist appearance, and I like the way the doors work.

[Frank C]

I really like your case. I think that the design is very functional. Your pen collection is fantastic, too.

[rishikhanna]

Since some of you have asked about how the cloth was fixed perhaps the following pictures may help

I am afraid I dont know more about the process

[subramaniyam]

I am absolutely certain your babies are perfectly cossetted. that is some wonderful lining material :-)

 

Regards,

Subramaniyam

[Inkheart]

Very cool! Thank you for sharing!

[pb2]

Very exciting Rishi! Thank you for sharing.

 

pB)2