Alternatives To The Goulet Pens Sample Vial Holder?

[plistumi]

I do not know much about woodworking. I do know that the wood block I used is a type of fir. It came from Home Depot. It was one of the eight foot long $1.50 2x4s. I had some scrap wood left over from Halloween project. I used a 5/8 inch spade bit. (had to look that up)

 

[wastelanded]

Let us know how it goes at the lumber yard, Holly! I will go this weekend to the one near me.

[DanF]

Here's one I made about a year ago or so. Its black walnut, about 13.25" long by 4.5" wide, and .75" deep. Has three rows of 10 holes drilled .5" deep. The bottles are glass, just a shorter but bigger around than the plastic sample vials.

 

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0743_2.jpg

 

I used a flat bottomed drill bit called a Forstner bit to drill the holes. They are commonly available and not that expensive, worth getting one because the point of a regular drill will ear up about .25" before it reaches fill width. In a thin board, that would be half the depth of the hole. They also leave cleaner holes than a standard twist drill or the spade bit that was shown in the last post.

 

Check the size of your vials, they might be smaller than the plastic vials I have, which are just over 5/8" thick, so the next size Forstner bit is 11/16. If your vials are like the ones pictured in your last post, they are not the same as mine, so you may be able to get away with a 5/8" bit, which will be easier to find (a very standard size), and will give a closer fit, by the looks of that block that Plistumi made.

 

I put the ogee edge profile on mine with a router to add a nice touch, sanded to 320 grit, and finished it with Wipe On Poly from Minwax.

 

Dan

Edited April 17, 2012 by DanF

[DriedUpBob]

Several months back I took a scrap 2x4 block and drilled several holes in it. I did it at three different levels to get a theatre seat-like effect to better be able to read the labels (that part did not work). Took about 15 minutes to make.

 

 

Plistumi

 

We thought alike. I did the same thing but did all the same depth on the holes and staggered the center row of holes between the outside holes to help see the labels. Kind of like the below if you were looking at the block of wood from the top. It worked ok

 

o o o o o o

o o o o o

o o o o o o

 

I liked the Goulet version but it would not fit in my ink storage container.

 

Oh and +10 on the Forstner bit. Best clean bottom holes.

 

Bob

[JimB]

I am WAY too lazy and unambitious to do all that permanent work with wood. I just save the box the Goulet's send their stuff in, open one end, pull out the wrappings, tape, wires, glue, (what all do they really use to wrap this stuff???) blue plastic mystery film and my safely protected purchases, then close it up with tape. (Getting the purchases removed and unwrapped comprises the greatest amount of time spent in preparing this project!)

 

Then I run over to my work bench (where I do my matting and framing) and poke some holes in the box with my scissors, turn a rotation, and push/cram the sample vials into the holes! No worries. If I spill BSB on the cardboard, so what? Works for me. Not for display, of course.

[danahn17]

Several months back I took a scrap 2x4 block and drilled several holes in it. I did it at three different levels to get a theatre seat-like effect to better be able to read the labels (that part did not work). Took about 15 minutes to make.

 

Wow! That's really nice looking!

 

...so when are you going to start selling them?

[wastelanded]

Here's one I made about a year ago or so. Its black walnut, about 13.25" long by 4.5" wide, and .75" deep. Has three rows of 10 holes drilled .5" deep. The bottles are glass, just a shorter but bigger around than the plastic sample vials.

 

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0743_2.jpg

 

That looks great, nice work! The ideas just keep coming, this is good. My router and bits have been sitting in a box for years. Inspiring

[Bhavna]

I am awaiting a fistful of samples from Mr. and Mrs. Goulet. What I'm going to do is get a nice block of wood, and drill holes maybe 3/4 of an inch down into the top. Then a coat of varnish and viola, a nice solid sample vial holder.

 

:clap1:What an exquisite idea! The design options are endless.

[Bhavna]

Here's one I made about a year ago or so. Its black walnut, about 13.25" long by 4.5" wide, and .75" deep. Has three rows of 10 holes drilled .5" deep. The bottles are glass, just a shorter but bigger around than the plastic sample vials.

 

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0743_2.jpg

 

That looks great, nice work! The ideas just keep coming, this is good. My router and bits have been sitting in a box for years. Inspiring

 

That is beautiful - mine would have to be in gold!!

[OakIris]

There have been some wonderful ideas added since I checked this thread on Monday. Your holder is very, very nice indeed, Dan. I totally agree that the Forster bit is the one to use to make the holes for one of these sample vial holders - I had researched this and was planning to buy one of these bits today after picking up the wood, but...

 

I went to the woodworking shop today. Charlie, the man I had spoken with on Monday about getting a piece of wood for my project, showed me the piece of Doug fir he had told me about. Whoa. 2 1/2 inches thick, let alone the 3" I was looking for, is way too thick, definite overkill. The size of wood that Dan used is perfect, I think. So Charlie showed me some options and persuaded me - very easily I might add - to let them make me the holder. :embarrassed_smile: Well, come on, they have all the tools, this nice drill press, the skill and daring..... They are going to make me three of them so I will have room for 90 samples - hopefully way more than I need.

 

My holders aren't going to be near as nice as the one that Dan made since mine will be made out of fake wood - MDF with a cherry wood veneer - but they will be as functional. My very small part of the "production" will be to put the finish on them. If they look half way decent, I will post a photo here.

 

One very cool thing is that my talking about fountain pens reminded Charlie that he had a fountain pen that someone had given him sitting in his desk drawer. I am not knowledgeagble enough to know the exact model, but the pen is a later model Sheaffer, matte black, with a gold (gold coloured?) inlaid nib. It looks like a nice fountain pen. I told Charlie how to clean it out (it was a cartridge filler and had an old cartridge installed with a bit of dried ink in it) and he is going to give it a try. I did tell him that if he didn't like it I would be more than happy to take it off of his hands...

 

Holly

[JonSzanto]

Holly, I'll bet those will turn out very nice. Side benefits of them doing it in MDF are very clean holes (no splinters in MDF) and it is also fairly heavy, so less movement / tipping.

 

DO post photos when done!

[DanF]

Holly --- The one thing to be careful about with MDF is water - it will soak it up and deform, so make sure the outside of your vials stay dry, and don't spill anything in the vicinity. A drill press is a big help in doing such a project with accuracy. I guess the ninety slots ought to hold you for a while.

 

Dan

Edited April 19, 2012 by DanF

[mrcharlie]

I am awaiting a fistful of samples from Mr. and Mrs. Goulet. What I'm going to do is get a nice block of wood, and drill holes maybe 3/4 of an inch down into the top. Then a coat of varnish and viola, a nice solid sample vial holder.

 

I read this kind of post here or in the other topic Prevent Ink Vials from Spilling and decided to do that.

 

I had a bag of pine (I think) board scraps from a local Bookcase making business (they sell a big bag of them for $2.50), so I glued a couple together using some clamps and Elmer's white glue. Actually I did three of them. I didn't have access to a planer, so there is a gap on two sides of two of the blocks, but in one case they fit flush already.

 

I finished one of them at home by drilling all the way through with a 5/8" spade bit, trim with hand saw, hand sanded with 60/100, 150, and 220, and then shellac finish. Shellac in homage to fountain pens being traditionally glued together and sacs glued in with shellac. I painted shellac on one side of a piece of felt, and shellacked the bottom, and stuck the felt to the bottom. The shellac glues the felt to the bottom and also slightly stiffens the felt.

 

You have to keep "pen flush" away from shellac; shellac reacts with ammonia. Small ink spills that are wiped up in short order shouldn't be a problem though.

 

I had never worked with shellac before, so I ended up doing far more coats of it than I should have needed to do, with sanding (400) and/or steel wool (0000 grade) between coats. I used a brush to apply the shellac, not a pad or cloth. I finished with a slight steel wool rub so it isn't super shiny.

 

It both took me longer to do than the wood creations already posted here, and doesn't look as nice, but it works for me.

 

http://www.deathstar.org/~cmc/ink_sample_block/.slide_finished_front_view.jpg

 

There are a few more pictures if you want to see them.

 

The two other blocks were drilled out at a friend's house on a drill press and the sides were trimmed with a skill-saw circular saw; on these two blocks the holes stop 1/4" from the bottom and the vials stick out enough to read the labels. He didn't have the "forstner" bit; he had a 5/8" spade bit from goodwill where he snapped the pointy tip off with a vise. We drilled most of the way with a good spade bit, and the last few eighths with the modified spade bit. These two blocks are sanded, but not yet finished in any way.

 

Neither of us knows much wood-working, so they are pretty amateur.

Edited April 19, 2012 by mrcharlie

[wastelanded]

Wow, mrcharlie, that looks amazing! That is what I had in my mind to do, with more rounded corners. The finish is fantastic, the grain really pops out.

 

Amateur shmamateur, you don't need to be a cabinetmaker to do this kind of thing. And it looks a lot nicer than a plastic rack.

[OakIris]

Holly, I'll bet those will turn out very nice. Side benefits of them doing it in MDF are very clean holes (no splinters in MDF) and it is also fairly heavy, so less movement / tipping.

 

DO post photos when done!

I guess I will post photos one way or the other! If it doesn't look all that good, at least folks will know what not to use!

 

Holly --- The one thing to be careful about with MDF is water - it will soak it up and deform, so make sure the outside of your vials stay dry, and don't spill anything in the vicinity. A drill press is a big help in doing such a project with accuracy. I guess the ninety slots ought to hold you for a while.

 

Dan

I was concerned about liquids and MDF too, but will be using a finish that will - supposedly - waterproof the holders. I will of course do my best to keep "uncontained" liquids away from the holders just the same.

 

I am awaiting a fistful of samples from Mr. and Mrs. Goulet. What I'm going to do is get a nice block of wood, and drill holes maybe 3/4 of an inch down into the top. Then a coat of varnish and viola, a nice solid sample vial holder.

 

I read this kind of post here or in the other topic Prevent Ink Vials from Spilling and decided to do that.

 

I had a bag of pine (I think) board scraps from a local Bookcase making business (they sell a big bag of them for $2.50), so I glued a couple together using some clamps and Elmer's white glue. Actually I did three of them. I didn't have access to a planer, so there is a gap on two sides of two of the blocks, but in one case they fit flush already.

 

I finished one of them at home by drilling all the way through with a 5/8" spade bit, trim with hand saw, hand sanded with 60/100, 150, and 220, and then shellac finish. Shellac in homage to fountain pens being traditionally glued together and sacs glued in with shellac. I painted shellac on one side of a piece of felt, and shellacked the bottom, and stuck the felt to the bottom. The shellac glues the felt to the bottom and also slightly stiffens the felt.

 

You have to keep "pen flush" away from shellac; shellac reacts with ammonia. Small ink spills that are wiped up in short order shouldn't be a problem though.

 

I had never worked with shellac before, so I ended up doing far more coats of it than I should have needed to do, with sanding (400) and/or steel wool (0000 grade) between coats. I used a brush to apply the shellac, not a pad or cloth. I finished with a slight steel wool rub so it isn't super shiny.

 

It both took me longer to do than the wood creations already posted here, and doesn't look as nice, but it works for me.

 

http://www.deathstar.org/~cmc/ink_sample_block/.slide_finished_front_view.jpg

 

There are a few more pictures if you want to see them.

 

The two other blocks were drilled out at a friend's house on a drill press and the sides were trimmed with a skill-saw circular saw; on these two blocks the holes stop 1/4" from the bottom and the vials stick out enough to read the labels. He didn't have the "forstner" bit; he had a 5/8" spade bit from goodwill where he snapped the pointy tip off with a vise. We drilled most of the way with a good spade bit, and the last few eighths with the modified spade bit. These two blocks are sanded, but not yet finished in any way.

 

Neither of us knows much wood-working, so they are pretty amateur.

I think your sample holder looks very nice indeed, and I bet it was very satisfying to see the finished product knowing that you had done the work yourself. And as wastelanded said, it looks soooo much better than plastic!

 

Holly

[Ted A]

I just had a thought looking at these and reading about whether one can read the labels. I'm going to see if I can find some colored stick on dots that I could put on the top of the caps so that I can have an idea of what the general color is before lifting out the vial to look at the label.

[OakIris]

I just had a thought looking at these and reading about whether one can read the labels. I'm going to see if I can find some colored stick on dots that I could put on the top of the caps so that I can have an idea of what the general color is before lifting out the vial to look at the label.

That might work - you would then know the ink was some shade of blue, or red, etc. Not sure that the lables would have all of the colours you want though, for example brown seems pretty difficult to find. Still, it might work.

 

I was thinking about the possibility of just putting a small dot of the actual ink on the vial top. This would work if the ink would adhere to the plastic lid, and if it was washable/removable so that once the ink was used up you could reuse the vial. I haven't tried this so don't know whether or not it would work. Update - had to try it. It worked fine with PR DC Supershow Blue, dried to the touch on the lid top and then wiped right off with use of a paper towel.. Might not be as easy to remove once the ink has been there for a while, but it won't soak into the plastic so I bet it would still be OK.

 

On the other hand, it isn't all that hard to lift the vial to see the label, and if you organized them by colour you would have at least a rough idea of where to look. Not difficult for me, at least right now, since I have less than 20 samples...

 

Holly

[plistumi]

Mrcharlie, great work! I like to see what other people do with their wood blocks! I feel like making another one... Oh but if I do, I need to fill it with the vials I still not have. This hobby sure is hard on the pocket,,, hee hee.

[mrcharlie]

It would be nice to integrate some sort of dip pen holder into it, using a bottom board scrap that is a bit longer than the top board scrap. I haven't really investigated how to fashion such a holder yet though. There must be some sort of design that wouldn't require a router.

[OakIris]

Picked up my ink sample vial holders on Friday and put the finish on them over the weekend. Other than telling the shop what I wanted I can't take any credit for these since, obviously, I didn't make them, but I think they turned out nicely. Here are some photos:

 

 

 

 

The Goulet sample vials fit perfectly, but I did have a couple of odd balls that were just a bit too big to fit in the holes; guess I'll have to make sure I only buy samples from Goulet Pens!

 

Holly