Homemade Pen Stables!

[whitedot]

Earlier this year, my collection outgrew its storage. Much as I covet the Agresti pen chests, I resolved to put my severely limited budget towards fountain pens, and set about looking for an alternative. Much to my dismay, I found that pen storage was scarce in Hong Kong; many mass-produced pen chests were of a quality that did not justify their price, and most would take up precious real estate. So, I "designed" one to be:

 

• cheap,
• compact, and
• modular.

I am very happy with the result. So, here is a walkthrough.

 

1. Trays

• US$2.50 ea.
• 350g
• 20*15*13cm
• stackable
• felted

Over time, the lining might wrinkle a tiny bit, just a tiny bit. ​If my collection outgrows them, or I would like to fresh trays, there are plenty more where they came from.

 

Stock photo

http://i.imgur.com/pTAj46j.jpg

 

 

2. John Hubbard's inserts

 

John was crucial in this project.

• Superb value! Ask John for a quote!
• saddle-style
• friction-fit
• lined with 100% wool, recycled baize
• light and cheap to ship
• six pens each in my case

Saddle-style inserts are vacuum-formed, semi-flexible plastic, onto which John white-glues suede or felted cut-outs. Occasionally the inserts are jointed. That is, they are made of more than one piece of plastic. To be frank, a couple of them came apart at the joint during their journey. However, John was more than gracious about it, and I managed the repairs just fine. If you would like non-jointed inserts, perhaps you could pay extra for more raw material. It would save joining the inserts too, which is not half as easy as it looks! I am no artist. John did a much better job than I could have done in (many, very frustrating) days.

 

http://i.imgur.com/R1l6sGR.jpg

 

 

3. Assembly

 

I used cardstock cut to length and Scotch 3M Removable Mounting Squares (US$2) to centre and anchor the inserts. Despite the fuzzy surface, the adhesive worked wonderfully.

 

http://i.imgur.com/naOPg1i.jpg

 

http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/13/80/13805481.jpg

 

The baize is gorgeous. It is gorgeous. The saddles comfortably accommodate my collection, including The Fat One. Here are some of FPN favourites for scale: Lamy AL-Star, Lamy Studio, Pelikan 400NN, and Montblanc 146. Moving a tray from stack to desk is peasy.

 

http://i.imgur.com/bXIZbJt.jpg

 

Finally, here is the stable whole, stacked on my bookshelf.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7twOp5X.jpg

 

Well, that's mine. How about yours?

Edited October 2, 2013 by whitedot

[arandur]

Do you have a diagram outside of the cases to show you what pens lay where, or is it purely by memory?

Quite good looking stable you have there!

[mbankirer]

Brilliant!!

[whitedot]

Do you have a diagram outside of the cases to show you what pens lay where, or is it purely by memory?

Quite good looking stable you have there!

 

I am working on this. Memory isn't quite cutting it.

 

I need some good-looking labels.

 

Brilliant!!

 

[sargetalon]

Nice solution. Might I recommend Avery mailing labels for an inkjet printer as a possible way of identifying your trays. They have a clear background which might look good on your trays if they will stick. Here is how I've implemented them for my storage solution. I've made some changes since this pic but the idea is the same.

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01848_zps058cafc5.jpg

[N2theBreach]

Nice solution. Might I recommend Avery mailing labels for an inkjet printer as a possible way of identifying your trays. They have a clear background which might look good on your trays if they will stick. Here is how I've implemented them for my storage solution. I've made some changes since this pic but the idea is the same.

 

That's clever. The labels give it class instead of detracting from it. How hard is it remove them if, say, your Kaweco collection overtakes your Pelicans?

[sargetalon]

That's clever. The labels give it class instead of detracting from it. How hard is it remove them if, say, your Kaweco collection overtakes your Pelicans?

The Pelikan collection is overtaking all. Easily removed but some sticky residue gets left behind. A little goo gone and it came right off.

[N2theBreach]

The Pelikan collection is overtaking all. Easily removed but some sticky residue gets left behind. A little goo gone and it came right off.

Thanks.

[whitedot]

The Pelikan collection is overtaking all. Easily removed but some sticky residue gets left behind. A little goo gone and it came right off.

 

 

Evidently.

 

Many thanks for the suggestion - a very good one.

[arandur]

Nice solution. Might I recommend Avery mailing labels for an inkjet printer as a possible way of identifying your trays. They have a clear background which might look good on your trays if they will stick. Here is how I've implemented them for my storage solution. I've made some changes since this pic but the idea is the same.

Sorry for the off-topic, but...even if the Pelikans are overtaking, it is good to see that your TWSBI pens have some fabulous neighbors in their drawer. (Or is it the other way around?)

[sargetalon]

Sorry for the off-topic, but...even if the Pelikans are overtaking, it is good to see that your TWSBI pens have some fabulous neighbors in their drawer. (Or is it the other way around?)

 

Haha. It is a bit of an odd couple. A Montblanc 144 and Slimline next to two Diamond 540's.

[BamaPen]

---snip-------

 

2. John Hubbard's inserts

 

John was crucial in this project.

• Superb value! Ask John for a quote!
• saddle-style
• friction-fit
• lined with 100% wool, recycled baize
• light and cheap to ship
• six pens each in my case

Saddle-style inserts are vacuum-formed, semi-flexible plastic, onto which John white-glues suede or felted cut-outs. Occasionally the inserts are jointed. That is, they are made of more than one piece of plastic. To be frank, a couple of them came apart at the joint during their journey. However, John was more than gracious about it, and I managed the repairs just fine. If you would like non-jointed inserts, perhaps you could pay extra for more raw material. It would save joining the inserts too, which is not half as easy as it looks! I am no artist. John did a much better job than I could have done in (many, very frustrating) days.

--------------snip--------------

 

The baize is gorgeous. It is gorgeous.

------------snip---------------

Thanks very much for the compliments, whitedot, I enjoyed working with you on this project.

 

My normal product is a complete pen storage box, so the "saddle" material, even if jointed, is already securely glued in place and supported by the box itself. In this case, however, whitedot had the clever trays and by only supplying the very lightweight saddle assemblies sized to fit the trays, we saved quite a lot of money on shipping cost - ounces vs pounds. I had not shipped stand-alone jointed material before and since they were not properly supported - my packing was not sufficient - whitedot had to re-glue some of the joints.

 

I've learned a lesson from this experience and will not ship stand-alone jointed material again without adding support to ensure safe arrival.

 

And yes, the baize is indeed gorgeous. I was fortunate to secure a supply from a local billiard table company. It is vastly superior to the more commonly available felt.

 

John

Edited October 4, 2013 by BamaPen

[WirsPlm]

Very nice! One question - what were your trays called? All the stackable felted trays I've found so far are made for jewelry and are divided up in ways that won't work for pens.

[whitedot]

Very nice! One question - what were your trays called? All the stackable felted trays I've found so far are made for jewelry and are divided up in ways that won't work for pens.

 

They don't have a name per se. In the PRC, their description often contains the words "展示平盘", literally translated as "display flat trays". They are commonly used in jewelry - and fountain pen - boutiques on counter-tops. A customer might pick out a few pieces behind glass, and the salesperson would rest the selected piece on the tray for the customer to inspect or handle.