Custom Pen And Ink Storage Cabinet

[jj9ball]

Here is a cabinet that I just finished building. It is specifically designed to hold all of my fountain pens and ink and give me room to grow. The cabinet is made from solid walnut and the doors have a bookmatched walnut burl veneer pattern on them. I designed and built this cabinet from scratch. The doors have pen racks on them that will hold up to 27 pens (if I put only the pens I really like in my collection in there I have room for about 18 more ). They racks are also walnut and have goat suede on the bottom of them so my pens have a comfy resting place. I contemplated building risers for the middle 2 shelves so I could stack my ink 2 high, but it looks like I will need more ink before that becomes a need. The cabinet itself is not really that large. It is 11 inches deep, about 21 inches wide, and about 32 inches tall. You may also notice that the last picture shows where it hangs in my house... the deepest darkest corner of my basement. So why am I posting it here? Truth is, I would like to build a couple more (it was pretty fun and I have ideas on things I would do different next time) so if anyone is interested I would be up for a commission or 2. Pricing will be 100% based on the specifics of what you want. If anyone is interested please send me a PM and we can talk more. I would love to hear what everyone thinks both good and bad.

[AMWfountain]

that looks awesome, great job and craftsmanship!

[cleosmama]

That's beautiful. Lovely work.

[jj9ball]

that looks awesome, great job and craftsmanship!

 

 

That's beautiful. Lovely work.

Thanks a bunch.

[Shrimpkin1]

Fantastic work, and a neat design I haven’t seen elsewhere!

[Newjelan]

I think it’s beautiful and the attention to detail is impressive. I don’t know if it’s the photo but I think the handles let it down just a little. I don’t have a real alternative but I think more strongly chrome “Art Deco”?

[PaganArcher]

Beautiful piece. I'd love to see the plans for it if any exist.

[jj9ball]

Beautiful piece. I'd love to see the plans for it if any exist.

Thanks a bunch. It is loosely based on a design I saw in a book by Doug Stowe on making small cabinets. When I built it, I just determined the amount of pens and ink and I wanted it to hold as well as the general measurements, and then just started building. I am sort of an airhead carpenter, which might be why I make so many mistakes.

[jj9ball]

I think it’s beautiful and the attention to detail is impressive. I don’t know if it’s the photo but I think the handles let it down just a little. I don’t have a real alternative but I think more strongly chrome “Art Deco”?

Thanks for the feedback. The handles were a tough one for me. I spent about an hour looking over the internet and another hour in Menards. In the end, Menards won. I did consider chrome, but I had just finished a different cabinet in walnut that I had used Matte Black hardware on. So I kinda had black hardware on the brain at the time. The good news is that is something that is easily changeable... now if you said you hated walnut burl I might be up a creek with no paddle.

[Stryyf]

I think it’s beautiful and the attention to detail is impressive. I don’t know if it’s the photo but I think the handles let it down just a little. I don’t have a real alternative but I think more strongly chrome “Art Deco”?

I agree the burl of the wood is so nice that putting large handles on it almost takes away from the beauty of the wood. Maybe some sort of push to open latch?

I don't know for sure but that piece is very nice.

It reminds my of some of the fine smoking pipe cabinets

[Newjelan]

Thanks for the feedback. The handles were a tough one for me. I spent about an hour looking over the internet and another hour in Menards. In the end, Menards won. I did consider chrome, but I had just finished a different cabinet in walnut that I had used Matte Black hardware on. So I kinda had black hardware on the brain at the time. The good news is that is something that is easily changeable... now if you said you hated walnut burl I might be up a creek with no paddle.

Never! Despite the fact I live in a strikingly modern glass and steel set of “boxes”, I adore Walnut burl.

[FPRebel]

The cabinet (design, material, & craftsmanship) is stunning! If I were of a mind to store my collection in a work of art, you'd have my business.
Just 2 cents worth: I do agree that art deco chrome pulls would enhance its appearance. Push to open mechanisms on your next cabinet are a possibility only if they don't interfere with your storage.

[johnboz]

That's a beautiful cabinet! I could imagine my pens and ink feeling nice and cozy in there. Now I just need a house again where I can mount something like this. My small SF apartment doesn't really have any wall space to spare.

[PAKMAN]

What a fantastic cabinet! Great job!

[sanjinp]

Lovely cabinet and I like the twist with the pens on the inside of the door.

I agree that the handles are not doing it justice, but why not made them also from walnut - that might look very elegant if done right. Art Deco or some other vintage could also be an improvement. Push to open as suggested by Stryyf would definitely do the trick.

[PaganArcher]

Honestly, I don't get the hate for the handles. In the lighting of the photos, they appear blued or Parkerized. It reminds me of a finely crafted knife or rifle.

 

To my taste, chrome hardware is tacky and over used.

[aardvarkbark]

Gosh, what's not to like. That's a very handsome piece. I see the burl on the inside of the doors, so am guessing the doors are solid board and not veneer? That's uber-classy. The handles complement it perfectly; I'd probably spec the same if given half a dozen choices.

 

I've gone the cigar box conversion route for pen and ink storage, but if I were to order one, I'd limit the height and width to that required for the two levels of pen storage since my ink and extra converters wouldn't even fill the shelves on the same two levels, and I'd only need it to be 6" deep. Or I'd ask for it to be deeper and make it a complete mini-closet for stationery, card stock, memo pads.

 

I'm hoping the elbow on that pvc drain pipe is well sealed. So sad if that gorgeous piece gets wet.

[jj9ball]

Honestly, I don't get the hate for the handles. In the lighting of the photos, they appear blued or Parkerized. It reminds me of a finely crafted knife or rifle.

 

To my taste, chrome hardware is tacky and over used.

Thanks. The handles are actually a matte black with just a touch of "wear" to them with a bronze color showing through. I know they aren't perfect, but I'm a pretty poopy photographer. In my opinion black looks pretty decent with walnut.

[jj9ball]

Gosh, what's not to like. That's a very handsome piece. I see the burl on the inside of the doors, so am guessing the doors are solid board and not veneer? That's uber-classy. The handles complement it perfectly; I'd probably spec the same if given half a dozen choices.

 

I've gone the cigar box conversion route for pen and ink storage, but if I were to order one, I'd limit the height and width to that required for the two levels of pen storage since my ink and extra converters wouldn't even fill the shelves on the same two levels, and I'd only need it to be 6" deep. Or I'd ask for it to be deeper and make it a complete mini-closet for stationery, card stock, memo pads.

 

I'm hoping the elbow on that pvc drain pipe is well sealed. So sad if that gorgeous piece gets wet.

Thanks a bunch. I'm happy you like it. I did make it deep enough that I can put notebooks sideways. I have them on the top shelf. That was one of my goals. I just couldn't get a full 12 inches of interior space to have them sit the other direction. The cabinet is about 10 inches deep on the inside.

I'm happy the doors look solid... because they are solid.... MDF. I veneered both sides with sequentially matched veneers to give it the appearance that the grain went all the way through. It sounds like it worked . It would be impossible to get burl to behave well enough to use it for anything other than decoration. Grain going everywhere usually means a bummer to use tools on.

When you talk about the cigar boxes it reminds me. I almost made the bottom 2 shelves pull out drawers with integral lids. My though was I could make 2 separate boxes for the pens and have it so a person could pull them out and take them somewhere. That idea got nixed at the last minute because the boxes would be big enough to get pens to go 2 deep on each level... and I thought about the amount of extra work involved and started REALLY liking my other idea with the doors. I'm sorta lazy sometimes .

I'm not really worried too much about the pipe. If it gets ruined I will just have to make a better one.

I'm happy you like the handles. I'm actually amazed by the amount of strong opinions one way or the other that they have generated.

[jj9ball]

Lovely cabinet and I like the twist with the pens on the inside of the door.

I agree that the handles are not doing it justice, but why not made them also from walnut - that might look very elegant if done right. Art Deco or some other vintage could also be an improvement. Push to open as suggested by Stryyf would definitely do the trick.

Thanks a bunch. The one other thing I did consider doing with the handles was making them from ebony. I really am hung up on the way that black looks with walnut. To my eye, it's really striking. I did spend some time looking around for a good piece of ebony, but in the end, I couldn't decide on what I wanted the handles to look like if I made them from scratch. I have actually been kicking myself ever since he mentioned the push to open feature. I didn't even think about it!!!! but its a great idea. If I ever make another one I will definitely be trying it.