Making A Pen Case

[my63]

I had joined the frame for the base and lid together while I cut the mitres and glued them together this is much easier than cutting the lid off the box once it is made.

 

2019-11-21_10-16-22 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once the glue had dried I started shaping the outside of the lid.

 

2019-11-21_10-16-03 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After shaping the lid I covered it in ostrich leather this is a practice box for another in ostrich leather as I have not used it before. I soaked the leather in cold water before forming it around the lid.

 

2019-11-21_07-28-09 by my0771, on Flickr

 

When the leather was dry I glued it to the lid and stretched it around the corners.

 

2019-11-20_03-31-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The box is now wrapped in the orange ostrich leather I am not going to finish the inside at this point as it has served its purpose as practice box and I can resume the actual project.

[my63]

I learnt a few things while making the first box one of them was to shape the corners before rounding the edges.

 

2019-11-22_09-25-47 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Using my circle tool I have marked the corners to round the on the bandsaw. The edges were rounded with a router and round over bit. Using this bit I went a little further down to set the level to bevel the top of the lid the stop point is the line 50 mm in from the edges.

 

2019-11-22_09-26-05 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The edges are rounded and the top has been champhered this is to make the leather easier to fit and give some shape to the lid.

 

2019-11-22_09-26-18 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am going to start fitting the leather cover tomorrow.

[my63]

Box making 101 dont make your box until you have the hinges I wanted a specific hinge with an automatic stop when the lid opens, The very best hinges are made by https://www.fineboxhardware.com/ They are very difficult to get hold of but in brass but they managed to find me a pair.

 

2019-12-04_07-36-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

So I have made a new box designed around the hinges, As the box is going to live in a climate very different to the UK I have made it from engineered board.

 

2019-12-04_07-17-51 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I laid the pieces out in order and used glue and masking tape to hold everything in place before adding a top and bottom panel.

This time a more gentle rounding of the corners to allow space for the hinges. The rectangle in the centre is a guide line for future shaping of the lid.

 

2019-12-04_07-16-03 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step involved a router and a hole lot of dust so I moved outside and used a mask.

 

2019-12-04_07-15-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I created a lip when rounding over the corners of the box to give me the outer reference point for shaping the lid.

 

2019-12-04_07-16-41 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The shape of the box is difficult to see it has a fall of 3 mm over 50 mm it works well when covered with leather.

[my63]

If you were wondering why the corners were rounded over then this is the reason.

 

2019-12-05_08-52-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The ostrich leather needs to be stretched around the corners and glued tightly in place. What makes it more difficult is I wanted to keep the texture and grain which is what makes it so special. I am not going to tell you it was easy because it was not but I am not going to tell you how I did it either

The next step is to wrap the lower part of the box then all I need to do is line the inside in soft red suede and it is done.

[my63]

After the top it was time to tackle the sides which I did in one piece.

 

2019-12-06_11-10-40 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have started thinking about the inside but first I will dye the leather.

[my63]

Hinges are now fitted this has been a massive learning experience, it is a long time since I have made a large box.

 

2019-12-14_06-47-56 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After fitting the hinges I have now dyed this box its final colour

 

2019-12-15_07-15-05 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have also been working on the interior. The owners name is going to be embossed into the suede lining of the lid.

 

2019-12-13_07-04-49 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2019-12-15_07-14-50 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I showed the pen tray on a previous page that will also be covered in suede and fixed in place.

[my63]

The ostrich leather box is approaching the final stages. Lining the inside of the box is fairly simple measure the inside of the sides and take off the thickness of the suede. apply glue and stick them together.

 

2019-12-18_09-17-29 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once you have the four pieces stick them to the inside edges of the box.

 

2019-12-18_09-17-51 by my0771, on Flickr

 

You may remember earlier I made the insert for this box well this is the point where it was wrapped in suede and fixed into the box.

 

2019-12-18_09-18-09 by my0771, on Flickr

 

A friend made me a blank in the shape of an Emperor pen this is to help me make sure the pen will fit.

 

2019-12-18_09-18-55 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The inside of the lid has the owners name embossed into the suede.

[my63]

My final projects of the year are on their way to their new homs as we speak. Another year of case making draws to a close I made more cases in 2019 than in any previous year. Over the holidays I hope to finish makeing the benches for my workshop.

 

2019-12-23_09-53-35 by my0771, on Flickr

 

There are two of these frames across the rear wall of the workshop and two more along the window wall the tops are mortice and tenon joints while the bottom rails are screwed in place. The bench tops will sit on Torsion boxes which will provide the support.

 

I have for sometime been considering some changes to my range of pen cases they will become more rounded and slimline I will also be making some cases without the armoured kydex lining.

 

2019-12-23_10-29-50 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have a commission to make a slimline case for an Emperor fountain pen the requirement being as slim as possible the out line drawing you can see above is my starting point with the Emperor size blank a friend turned on a lathe for me as I don't have one of my own.

[my63]

I have a couple of things to update today.

Firstly my latest project completed is the Emperors box the owner has sent me some pictures to share with you.

The box was designed to fit in this drawer just like this.

 

2019-12-28_09-41-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It was also intended to sit on this desk.

 

2019-12-28_09-39-44 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2019-12-28_09-41-33 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have to be honest I don't think I will ever make a better box.

 

My next update is from my workshop I have taken the frames I made last week and placed them into the workshop unfortunately I had used the tops for my temporary bench and it was piled high with all of my tools I had removed from the house before Christmas so I spent hours removing that before I could fit the tops.

 

Left side

 

2019-12-28_06-21-00 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Right side

 

2019-12-28_06-15-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This will be my marking cutting and assembly area it is 2.3 m x 800 mm the next step is the woodworking bench which will attach to this bench.

[WLSpec]

This is amazing! Just saw this thread, I am incredibly impressed with everything going on here. Thanks for for sharing all of this wonderful information.

[my63]

Thanks WLSpec

For 2020 I have decided to remake some of my moulds for pen cases.

I am starting with a single Emperor case which has been commissioned.

Unfortunately I dont have an Emperor so a friend who is a woodturner made me a blank on her lathe.

 

2020-01-09_09-42-16 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I took all of the dimensions I had collected for Emperors and made the mould to accommodate them.

 

Moving from paper to wood I laid out the dimensions from the drawing onto a laminate of two pieces of MDF.

 

2020-01-09_09-44-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once I was happy with the marking out I used a band saw for the straight cuts 2 mm apart followed by a scroll saw for the rounded ends.

 

2020-01-09_10-08-17 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2020-01-09_10-08-46 by my0771, on Flickr

 

You might not be able to see but there is a slight taper in this mould 2 mm over 56 mm so very slight.

 

2020-01-09_10-08-56 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once it has leather formed over it all will become clear.

[my63]

After sanding and shaping the mould the next step is to make a preesing in wet leather.

 

2020-01-10_07-13-42 by my0771, on Flickr

 

My Emperor size pen blank is hiding inside the case.

 

2020-01-10_07-13-51 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It is impossible to get this view once the back panel is in place this gives you an idea how close fitting this case is.

 

2020-01-11_12-28-56 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Having dried out over night the leather retains its new shape I am going to think about this case as it is still very close to my current line.

[my63]

I will be coming back to the single case soon but I wanted to share this with you.

 

I have been commissioned to make some stacking pen trays for large pens for John at St Johns pens. The trays are designed to stack in threes and fit into hand luggage.

 

First I have to make a mould to form the pen slots. These slots need to have high sides to stop the pens moving too much in transit.

My first attempt involved a router and two pieces of plywood laminated together I wanted the slots to have a narrow dividing strip however this did not work as I planned.

 

2020-01-15_09-53-58 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately the speed of the cutter started to delaminate the plywood so I decided to go back to my previous method although making the high sides was a bit of a challenge.

 

As there is limited space I had to remove the edge of the moulding with my band saw to get this.

 

2020-01-18_04-36-07 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Once I had the pieces I decided to use artists gray board which I cut into strips and glued them to every other piece of moulding.

 

2020-01-18_04-48-41 by my0771, on Flickr

 

After what seemed like an age of gluing and sticking I had this.

 

2020-01-18_04-36-57 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I used the mould to form heated HIPS high impact polystyrene and create this.

 

2020-01-19_05-08-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It need to be trimmed to the correct size but I need to make 5 more first and then make the trays to fit them.

Edited January 19, 2020 by my63

[my63]

Before I start to make the rest of the trays as it was a dry day I started preparing the timber for the sides of the trays. The timber is a hardwood called Sapele it is a dark red like mahogany. It needs to have a groove or rebate on opposite sides top and bottom the top one is 5 mm x 5 mm and the bottom is 5 mm x 8 mm the extra space is for the bottom of the tray.

 

2020-01-21_06-28-12 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This simple drawing shows the layout of the wood the grooves on opposite sides will allow the trays to stack.

 

2020-01-21_06-16-49 by my0771, on Flickr

 

This is the wood after machining of the two grooves.

 

I then used the HIPS that I had left to make two more sets of inserts these are the correct length for 13 pens but I have made them wider than needed to allow the ends to be cut square. The trays will take pens up to 180 mm long.

[my63]

After shaping the edges of the timber I cut all of the pieces to size and mitred all of the ends. When this was done I laid the pieces out end to end in order and placed tape over the joints.

 

2020-01-22_08-20-02 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then add glue and fold up the clamp is optional but I prefer to use them, once clamped I made the base to fit and glued it in place.

 

2020-01-23_03-05-26 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next picture shows one of the moulded inserts which has been trimmed to size to give an idea of what it will look like.

 

2020-01-23_03-05-13 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I will be trimming this one a little more as I need to fit an edging strip on all inside edges.

[DilettanteG]

Wow, that ostrich pen box is just stunning. Lovely work! I think my favorite part may be the embossed name, but I'm pretty covetous of the entire thing.

[my63]

Wow, that ostrich pen box is just stunning. Lovely work! I think my favorite part may be the embossed name, but I'm pretty covetous of the entire thing.

 

If you design your dream box I will make it for you. That is what we did with the ostrich box of course I still have the orange one if you really need one.

 

My current project is for John at St Johns pens the outer parts are finished and have been sanded to 360 grit I may go a little higher with the sanding but not too much as this is going to have a wax finish.

 

2020-01-26_07-04-07 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2020-01-26_07-04-49 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have cut strips of card to form edging strips which will be covered in the same material as the inserts.

 

2020-01-27_09-47-59 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have also made a pair of lids which I have started to spray black with a lacquer paint.

 

2020-01-27_09-47-11 by my0771, on Flickr

[DilettanteG]

I’m downsizing at the moment, but once I get thru that I may have to place an order.

 

Your work is just lovely

[my63]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I have applied the dark wax to the wooden trays which has really brought out the tones in the wood it is a little darker than the pictures.

 

2020-01-28_05-34-50 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2020-01-28_05-35-39 by my0771, on Flickr

 

We have decided that the lids will be painted with a black lacquer spray paint. Unfortunately the temperature dropped significantly today and I am worried about the finish.

 

2020-01-28_05-35-22 by my0771, on Flickr

 

2020-01-28_05-35-06 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Hopefully it will even out as it hardens if not I need to come up with another solution.

[my63]

Well the paint did not even out and I am not sure it would ever dry out fully so time for plan "B" or is it "C" time to sand the paint level and move forward.

 

2020-01-29_09-51-52 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I like veneer and happen to have a large box of it in my garage so off I went.

 

2020-01-29_09-51-29 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The second lid did not go so well and has been striped back again I will use the spare piece of veneer tomorrow.