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Homemade (Non-) Cigar Pen Storage Box


stefanv

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I have a very small collection of fountain pens, and wanted to make a box for them. After reading the various posts here about repurposing cigar boxes, I started trying to find a nice cigar box. I found a few on-line, but really wanted to see the boxes in person first. I e-mailed the local cigar shop (they even have on-line ordering) to ask about empty boxes, but they never bothered to write back. So, as I'm apt to do, I decided to build my own pen storage box from scratch.

 

I made the box from 1/4" thick cedar left over from a package of closet-lining cedar. This comes as tongue-and-groove planks, 3-1/2" wide. I cut off the tongues and grooves. For the top and bottom, I edge-glued two pieces together. I glued the whole box together in stages (i.e. it was a sealed box). Using a round-over bit, I rounded all the edges. Next I finished the box without about 8 coats of wipe-on polyurethane. Finally, I used a 1/8" straight bit in the router table to cut the box open. The inside dimensions of the box are 10" x 6-1/4" x 1-3/8" (10-1/2" x 6-3/4" x 1-7/8" outside dimensions).

 

post-15411-0-57835900-1296333054.jpg

 

The pen tray holds 15 pens, and is also homemade. I started by using a 3/4" circular router bit to cut three 2/3" wide channels (by cutting only about 0.2" deep) lengthwise in 2" wide pieces of 3/4" pine, making five pieces in total. I resawed each piece on my bandsaw so the total thickness was about 3/8", and then edge glued the five pieces together to make the tray. I then sprayed both it and a piece of felt with 3M "77" spray adhesive, and lined the tray with the felt.

 

post-15411-0-19316600-1296333300.jpg

 

The inside of the box is also lined with grey felt, held on with 3M "77" . I lined the front and back before inserting the pen tray, and then cut smaller pieces to line the sides up to the top of the tray. The box is hinged at the back, and held closed by two pairs of rare-earth magnets embedded in the front.

 

post-15411-0-25156300-1296333133.jpg

Pens are 1980s Sheaffer No Nonsense, 1989 Pelikano, 2005 Sheaffer Javelin, 1942 Parker Duofold Jr., 1990s Sheaffer No Nonsense, 1970s Sheaffer 330 "Imperial", New Hero 616, 1990s Cross Townsend (10K).

 

I plan to make a felt-lined piece of soft foam to put on top of the pens when transporting the box. I'm really happy with the way this turned out, and feel it is probably of better quality than most cigar boxes.

 

Just over a month ago, I wasn't even a fountain pen collector! :)

Edited by stefanv

Stefan Vorkoetter

Visit my collection of fountain pen articles at StefanV.com.

 

A pen from my collection:

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Very beautiful and well engineered. I only wish you had a way to show that the tray was also wood. Maybe using bands of felt instead of a solid piece.

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that's a great looking pen box! i have my pens in a cigar box currently (which has become woefully limited on space), and the hinge, not made of metal on my particular box, is starting to feel frayed. yours looks like a sturdier option :)

 

if you were to make any more to post for trade/sale, i think you'd find some interested fpn-ers! ;)

Currently inked:

Smoke TWSBI 540, F, with Diamine Onyx Black

Pilot Prera, M, with De Atramentis Jules Verne

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That's a great looking pen box! I love that you made it, it's perfect.

 

Only a month, huh? Boy, did we get you...

Scribere est agere.

To write is to act.

___________________________

Danitrio Fellowship

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Wow, that is really nice! I'll bet it smells good, too!

Find my homemade ink recipes on my Flickr page here.

 

"I don't wait for inspiration; inspiration waits for me." --Akiane Kramarik

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Oho! Do I detect Lee Valley 1/8" rare earth magnets? A good job and an attractive box. I particularly like your insert.

 

Just a thought on your idea for top padding: I've had good success with lid inserts made of closed-cell foam (ie: camping pads) covered with felt. They have just the right amount of sponginess to hold pens in place without damaging them, and come in a wide variety of thicknesses (especially if you go to Mountain Equipment Co-op.)

David Armstrong

• antiques for readers & writers •

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Sevanti Letterpress

• guaranteed fountain pen friendly •

http://www.sevanti-letterpress.com

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I only wish you had a way to show that the tray was also wood.

Unfortunately, the tray doesn't look very nice without the felt. I would have had to put a lot more work into making it presentable.

 

 

If you were to make any more to post for trade/sale, i think you'd find some interested fpn-ers!

I thought about that, but then it would be work :) I also really have no idea if people would be willing to pay enough to make it viable. I probably have about 3 hours of work spread over a week in this box, but part of that was figuring it out as I went along.

 

 

Do I detect Lee Valley 1/8" rare earth magnets?

Yup. Unfortunately, they're not really strong enough to hold the box closed securely. I think I might install one of these Square Latches from Lee Valley instead:

 

http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/hardware/boxhardware/00d6901g2.jpg

Stefan Vorkoetter

Visit my collection of fountain pen articles at StefanV.com.

 

A pen from my collection:

spacer.png

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Beautiful work and an awesome design, Dude!

 

The 3/4" router bit is another good idea, but I bet that it was a lot of work, considering that there are ready-made pen trays available for "cheap."

 

D Armstrong's idea of using "closed-cell foam" as a pen underlayment sounds like a good alternative.

 

Your box certainly provides me with inspiration to pursue plans for my own custom-pen box!

 

Thanks for showing us your work!

 

[ BTW: Your Avatar appears as a "black box" - is that intentional? ]

 

Thanks, again, and Nice Work!

Edited by DavidHandmade
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Beautiful work and an awesome design, Dude!

 

The 3/4" router bit is another good idea, but I bet that it was a lot of work, considering that there are ready-made pen trays available for "cheap."

Thanks. The readily available trays aren't so cheap by the time they're shipped to Canada. Once I figured out how to make the wooden ones, it wasn't really a lot of work.

 

 

D Armstrong's idea of using "closed-cell foam" as a pen underlayment sounds like a good alternative.

I think he was referring to top padding (to keep the pens from moving around). But now you've got me thinking that it might be possible to make the trays using a 3/4" circular wire "bit" for a soldering gun to cut slots into foam.

 

 

[ BTW: Your Avatar appears as a "black box" - is that intentional? ]

No. It shows up here fine, and at work too. Anyone else just see a black box?

 

Stefan

Stefan Vorkoetter

Visit my collection of fountain pen articles at StefanV.com.

 

A pen from my collection:

spacer.png

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[ BTW: Your Avatar appears as a "black box" - is that intentional? ]

No. It shows up here fine, and at work too. Anyone else just see a black box?

 

Stefan

 

Ok -The Avatar looks fine now.

 

Must have been a prob with my internet connection at the time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've found that the lid of the box was starting to curl upward a bit, so I decided that I definitely need latches to hold the box closed. I purchased a set of Lee Valley Tools 30mm latches (the middle ones in my previous post on latches above) and installed them on the box. Here's an updated photo, with the box almost full of pens (room for one more):

 

post-15411-0-85113800-1298131929.jpg

 

The pens are roughly in order of acquisition, starting with my Geha school pen that my parents bought me in 1973 (and recently found again).

 

I've got room for one more pen (a Parker 50 Flighter on its way to me), but of course, usually two of the pens are out of the box in active circulation (currently the red and blue 1989 Pelikanos), so I've really got room for two more after that (which is good, because I just won a pen from Divine Turnings, and I'm looking to buy a nice transparent blue TWSBI some time soon).

Stefan Vorkoetter

Visit my collection of fountain pen articles at StefanV.com.

 

A pen from my collection:

spacer.png

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