Making A Pen Case

[my63]

I want the suede to lay flat when it is attached to the inserts I made earlier my solution is to mount the suede to thin card which I pre shape to the inserts.

 

2019-07-01_07-47-55 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This card is a little too springy for this purpose but with some persuasion it will work. Eventually it looks like this.

 

2019-06-30_06-47-48 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then I attached the suede to the card

 

2019-06-30_06-47-35 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The hardest part is getting the insert into the tray which needs to have its finish applied first.

[XYZZY]

[snip]

 

More to follow if anyone wants to see all of the pictures and read the step by step then have a look at my blog.

 

I was definitely interested and just checked the blog. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this goes together.

 

I want the suede to lay flat when it is attached to the inserts I made earlier my solution is to mount the suede to thin card which I pre shape to the inserts.

 

2019-07-01_07-47-55 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This card is a little too springy for this purpose but with some persuasion it will work. Eventually it looks like this.

 

2019-06-30_06-47-48 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then I attached the suede to the card

 

2019-06-30_06-47-35 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The hardest part is getting the insert into the tray which needs to have its finish applied first.

 

After I read the blog I realized that I misinterpreted what you are doing. From the post here on FPN, I assumed that the moulding was just a jig for shaping the card/suede insert. But from the blog you're actually gluing in the moulding as well as the card/suede bits. Why? More specifically: if you're gluing in the moulding, why not glue the suede directly to that and skip the cardstock?

[my63]

Hi XYZZY

To be honest you are right I could stick the suede directly to the wood although the glue can show through the suede you can avoid this by using spray adhesive. My main reason is I want as smooth a finish as possible there are small gaps in the wood even though I was careful cutting them to the required size. The mouldings are softwood and there is a small chance that some resin could come out of the wood over time.

I have been doing this for some time now and over that time I have tried with and without card and I prefer the finish with the card it may take longer but reducing the risk of things that can go wrong is important to me.

[my63]

All that was left to do was wax the wood and glue the inserts together "All" did I really say that there are 8 trays to do.

 

I have 2 waxes clear and dark

 

2019-07-02_03-50-13 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Dark was chosen and I did one to check what it looked like.

 

2019-07-05_04-28-14 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After applying all of the wax it was time for a polish. 2 done 6 to go.

 

2019-07-06_04-15-37 by my0771, on Flickr

 

While waiting for the wax to dry I completed gluing all of the inserts together.

 

2019-07-06_04-14-49 by my0771, on Flickr

 

All 8 trays finished and ready for shipping they all fit in the template drawer I made right at the start.

 

Thanks for reading.

[my63]

I thought I would share a picture of the finished pen tray in its drawer holding the pens.

 

20190710_181816a by my0771, on Flickr

[XYZZY]

Wow. Gorgeous. I didn't realize before that the chest already existed, I had just assumed that your trays were the drawers. But this is really pretty, and I like the utility of being able to take a tray out and... well whatever one does with a loose tray of ten pens.

[fountainpen51]

This is really Nice!

[Anne-Sophie]

Th pen trays are so amazing!

[my63]

I have some standard cases to make this month along with some notebook covers one for an FPN er which I will detail here.

 

The request was for a Seven Seas notebook cover which could hold a fountain pen without clip.

 

2019-06-28_10-36-40 by my0771, on Flickr

 

My first thought was to make a standard cover with extended sides to accommodate the pen case.

 

Although this would work it seemed to lack any elegance and my mind kept looking for alternatives as it happens I made a model some time ago which held the solution.

 

IMG_6677_1 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This was not exactly what I was thinking about but close enough to allow me to plan something and explain it to the customer.

 

2019-07-16_03-27-31 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here is the notebook with the outer cover with some of my marking out. I have marked for folding grooves to help the leather fold around the corners there will be two folds and four grooves.

 

I do have a mould for small pens and here it is with the leather formed around it.

 

2019-07-16_09-03-03 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I then made a strap and flap to secure the pen as it has no clip. A little splash of brown dye and there you go.

 

2019-07-16_03-17-41 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to fit the pen case into the suede liner which may be a little harder than I first thought.

[PaulS]

I like the original draw fronts and the carcass - also the moulded lines around the edges - they have a warm antique appearance, and of course the drawers were made to fit the cabinet. For my money (and my oversize collection), I would have liked the drawers to be larger - I buy the flock/coloured drawer inserts from Gary Lehrer at Go Pens in the States, which are designed with 48 inserts, and then have to make the carcass and drawers based around the measurements of the inserts. Unfortunately, buying from the States incurs the unwanted import charge, but I can't seem to find those same flock trays here in the U.K.

Hunting through the contents of skips - especially those used for the old wooden window frames where double glazing is being replaced, can be profitable - on occasions it's possible to find good mahogany.

But of course do appreciate for those folk who don't have mega collections then these smaller tray cabinets are more than adequate.

 

Anyway all good stuff and sure the customers are very pleased with the work shown here.

Edited July 16, 2019 by PaulS

[my63]

Hi Paul

The advantage of my system (well I say mine I was actaully shown how to make it by Henry Simpole aka Trufflefinder on fpn) some years ago.

I can make my trays for any size of pens and any size of drawers. Please note I did not make the drawers in the pictures I was given the size of the drawers and made the trays to fit.

I have approached manufacturers in the past to enquire about forming plastic sheets into trays but the set up costs were huge and quantities required were in the hundreds.

I could form my own using my wooden trays as blanks but the moulding plastic costs the same as the wood and I would need a vacuum pump to form the plastic.

A B5 tray would take about 16 hours to print on a domestic 3 D printer.

Hope this helps.

[my63]

The Seven Seas writer cover has a suede liner which is new to me so it is taking some time. I need to cut a slot in the suede to allow the pen case to be secured to the suede.

 

2019-07-16_05-05-22 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have made a template from a piece of card using chalk I have marked out the position of the slot and the grooves I glued the card in place and cut it out.

 

After cutting the slot I just had to insert the pen case and stitch it in place I did say just it took me two hours to get it in a place I was happy with.

 

2019-07-16_07-50-02 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitched in place now I need to put it all together.

[my63]

Fasteners need to be fitted before the suede can be glued in place before stitching

 

2019-07-17_08-22-37 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Final dry fit before the glue which will hold everything in place while I stitch it together.

 

2019-07-17_03-59-32 by my0771, on Flickr

[PaulS]

suede and leather are marvellous materials - the former is just the flesh side of the latter when the skin is split - I use both in the course of my bookbinding, and they have such durability and eye appeal, and the suede is light years tougher than my flock trays.

Also love the purple - always think of it as clerical purple - almost a royal look.

From experience there's a need to be careful when having suede in the vicinity of pva or similar - when I do make a mistake when binding, and get pva on the suede it rarely if ever comes off.

 

anyway, the job looks really great.

[my63]

Thanks Paul bookbinding something I would like to know more about when I have some spare time.

 

The deep purple suede has way more stretch than I was expecting so I have cut some strips of thin leather the same as the pen case and I plan to stitch them to the inside of the pockets where the notebook covers go. I will stitch them into the outer edges as I go to reinforce the edge of the suede.

Pictures tomorrow

[my63]

As I mentioned yesterday the suede was stretching where the notebook covers were inserted my solution was to dye and stitch some thin leather strips along those edges.

 

2019-07-19_09-02-48 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Before above and after below

 

2019-07-19_09-03-29 by my0771, on Flickr

 

You can see the strips sticking out where they will be anchored by the stitching around the outer edges which is the next task

[my63]

Stitching always takes me some time I started yesterday and finished this morning.

 

2019-07-20_10-15-54 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Edges also take time as it is a many stage process with sanding between coats.

 

2019-07-20_11-02-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Michael

[kazoolaw]

Really like the fold-over cover with the stud(?) closure.

[my63]

Really like the fold-over cover with the stud(?) closure.

 

Thanks it is called a Sam Browne (same as the belt) stud

[my63]

Matching cases and notebook covers are quite popular at the moment here is my latest.

 

The Seven Seas writer cover is first up. I have a template for this notebook as I have made many.

 

2019-07-28_08-16-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After marking out and adding some grooves to help with the folds I applied some black Tannery dye I applied the dye to dry leather (mistake 1) as the dye was drying I noticed some high spots forming ridges in the leather assuming these were caused by the dye (mistake 2) I used a cloth to rub the marks away ( mistake 3) I think this was a bit of a panic reaction. Leather has marks it is skin after all applying the dye caused some marks to become more visible. I usually dye my leather wet.

 

2019-07-28_08-22-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Rubbing the leather dampened by the dye made the rub marks permanent on the left in the above picture the colour difference is down to the light as one has bends and the other is flat. I made a replacement cover which has normal natural marks but not the rub marks that are man made.

 

While I was making mistakes I clearly thought that it would be a good idea to alter the two pen cigar style case made to match the cover.

 

2019-07-28_08-18-07 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I got to this point and decided to adjust the tops it is difficult to get them level as there is two layers of suede.

 

2019-07-28_08-18-07 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2019-07-28_08-19-11 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2019-07-28_08-19-27 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2019-07-28_08-19-39 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Full cycle of a mistake rather than messing about trying to correct the mistake I started over I prefer this as I can be sure the end product is error free.

 

Forming the outer covers of the pen case.

 

2019-07-28_08-19-55 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Stitching the pen case together.

 

2019-07-28_08-21-43 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Finally pen case and notebook cover stitched together.

 

2019-07-28_08-23-00 by my0771, on Flickr

 

More soon

Edited July 28, 2019 by my63