I Made A Pen Stand And It Turned Out Kind Of Cool

[Anaxyrus]

I have some 8-inch diameter PVC pipe left after using it to make a protective case for a tripod (for air travel). While looking at some of the scraps I had the idea to make a pen stand. I cut about a quarter of a section a little over 6 inches long and used a Dremel and hand tools to carve a little ledge in one end and five notches in the other. I was originally planning to use a smaller section (perhaps an eight of the circumference of the 8-inch pipe) mounted to the back (in the opposite direction) to make a support (so that it stood a bit like the legs of a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair). I got too lazy and instead just attached a small piece of one-inch diameter pipe to the back with silicone and it works a treat to support the stand. I sanded the entire thing to get rid of any markings and the sanded finish actually looks MUCH better than I expected. It's a buttery smooth, sort of silky texture. Here are some photos including one with a cheap promo ballpoint. I particularly like how the hollow of the curve gives plenty of space for your fingers when grabbing a pen.

Edited July 11, 2020 by Anaxyrus

[OCArt]

Clever and nice!

[AmandaW]

Very cool!

[langere]

That is cool! Very modern! Reminds me of Dulles Airport main reception area in Washington, DC.

 

Erick

[Anaxyrus]

That is cool! Very modern! Reminds me of Dulles Airport main reception area in Washington, DC.

 

Erick

Thanks Erick. When I started out I was going for a modernist look (e.g., the Mies van der Rohe inspiration for the support, which I abandoned to save time). Edited July 12, 2020 by Anaxyrus

[Anaxyrus]

Very cool!

Thanks!

[Anaxyrus]

Clever and nice!

Thank you!

[WLSpec]

That is cool! Very modern! Reminds me of Dulles Airport main reception area in Washington, DC.

 

Erick

I think I know what you're talking about!

 

Very cool idea, Anaxyrus!

[Anaxyrus]

Dulles Airport main reception area in Washington, DC.

 

Erick

I grew up in St. Louis, so maybe the proximity to Saarinen's work there had an effect on me.

[Anaxyrus]

 

Very cool idea, Anaxyrus!

Thanks!

[Astronymus]

Simple, efficient and esthetic.

[XYZZY]

That groove you have along the bottom looks much better than anything I could have done with "a Dremel and hand tools". Great job! And +1 for the sanded PVC: for such a common and otherwise boring material you can sand it to some interesting finishes.

[Anaxyrus]

Simple, efficient and esthetic.

Thank you!

[Anaxyrus]

That groove you have along the bottom looks much better than anything I could have done with "a Dremel and hand tools". Great job! And +1 for the sanded PVC: for such a common and otherwise boring material you can sand it to some interesting finishes.

Thanks! Yeah, the finish I was able to achieve was by far the most surprising (and pleasantly so) part. One would be hard pressed to ID the material from the finish.

 

You know you can cut some pretty straight lines with a Dremel if you work on a smooth surface with a straight edge. I clamped the stand to my work bench 3 or 4 inches from, and parallel with, the edge of the bench. I then held the Dremel with two hands such that my hand ran along the bench edge as a guide. Once I got the cut roughed in I wrapped sandpaper around a metal ruler and used the eighth inch thickness of the ruler as the sanding surface. I angled the ruler to try and make the cut vertical on the lower side and sloped on the upper side. No doubt I could have gotten a slightly more professional look in less time if I had a table saw or used a router with an appropriate guide. I kind of enjoy working stuff by hand, though.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Anaxyrus

[PAKMAN]

Looks very nice!

[Anaxyrus]

Looks very nice!

 

Thank you sir!