Re-Purposing A Cigar Box Into A Pen Box - How I Do It

[BamaPen]

Many of you probably have seen some of the pen boxes that I have re-purposed from cigar boxes, and some of you have purchased a re-purposed box from me - Thank You!  Others, however, may want to try their hand at creating their own pen box, so I thought that I would show you one of my methods.  I've been intending to do this for a while, but kept forgetting to take pictures as I went along.  Here's a box I've been working on in the past few days:

 

This box began as a Perdomo cigar box.  The outside is factory finished nicely and has a plethora of colorful labels.  Often I remove the labels, but in this case a small trial showed that removing them was going to damage the finish, so I decided to leave them in place.  It is a cigar box after all...

 

I did not take a "before" picture of the interior.  The first shot I have here shows the interior after I had already stained some bare wood surfaces, allowed that to set for a day, then varnished over the stained areas and allowed that to set for another day.

 

In the process I found that the box wanted to tip backward because the lid is rather heavy and opened too far for good balance.  I added a lid support ribbon to keep the lid more upright.  A small brass screw secures it in the lid and good old super glue does the job in the bottom where it won't show when I'm finished.

 

The bottom lining has to go in next, before I put the stained side panels back in place (those panels are part of the original box and add a nice trim to the finished product).  I use my wife's fabric cutting table and a rotary cutter (like a very sharp pizza cutter) to cut the microsuede fabric to the right size.  Since I value my life, I do not use my wife's rotary cutter or her fabric scissors; I use my own.

 

Once the bottom lining is firmly secured to the box, I re-set the side panels and lightly glue them in place.  If the panels are a really tight fit, gluing is not necessary, but in this case I felt like they might slip loose, so glued them.

 

While that glue is setting, I use a template and my fabric scissors to cut the individual lining pieces for the eight pen slots. In this picture I've previously spray painted the plastic pen tray satin black.  Depending on my mood and the color of the lining, I sometimes paint the plastic to match the fabric.

 

After cutting the pen slot lining pieces and gluing them in place, I trimmed the ends of the pen tray for a good fit into the box.  Then I applied some glue to the bottom of the tray, centered it in the box, and weighted it down for the glue to dry.

 

There is one more step remaining to complete this box.  I always cover the bottom with a thin (2mm) foam pad so that the pen box does not tend to slide around nor scratch a nice surface, like your desk or table.  I'll take a picture of that when the pen tray glue has fully set.

 

As you can see, a fairly easy box like this one can be completed over the span of three or four days, with much of the time being drying time for stain, varnish, and glue.  If a box requires finishing on the outside, either staining and varnishing or painting, then the time to complete can stretch out over a week to allow for drying time. Fitting individual wooden dividers between pens, and lining each divider takes considerably more time than the pre-formed pen tray that I used in this box.

[OCArt]

Thank you for the excellent instructions.

[BamaPen]

One last step...foam on the bottom. Quick, does anyone remember Old Frothenslosh pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom??? That was waaay before the craft beer revolution, but I digress.

 

I cut a piece of 2mm dark brown foam and applied it to the bottom of the box, using Elmer's glue. Now the box is finished and I shall have to post it on the Classifieds (shameless plug). Thanks for watching.

 

Edited January 24, 2016 by BamaPen

[inkstainedruth]

One last step...foam on the bottom. Quick, does anyone remember Old Frothenslosh pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom??? That was waaay before the craft beer revolution, but I digress.

 

Old Froshingslosh?! So, I gather that at some point in your life you hung around Pittsburgh, then?

(The joke, as I understand it, is that if you bought a six-pack you never knew what exactly you were actually going to get: it could be the dregs of IC Light in the can, but it might be Sam Adams Lager, since Pgh Brewing had the regional contract to brew Sam Adams at one point; only the specialty beers were actually brewed by Sam Adams itself in Jamaica Plain...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[TSherbs]

very cool stuff

 

I make my own with even cheaper cigar boxes and foam board and felt: crude but effective

 

yours are way prettier

[BamaPen]

 

Old Froshingslosh?! So, I gather that at some point in your life you hung around Pittsburgh, then?

(The joke, as I understand it, is that if you bought a six-pack you never knew what exactly you were actually going to get: it could be the dregs of IC Light in the can, but it might be Sam Adams Lager, since Pgh Brewing had the regional contract to brew Sam Adams at one point; only the specialty beers were actually brewed by Sam Adams itself in Jamaica Plain...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I didn't hang around Pittsburgh, but I had a good friend there, and he used to send me a six pack every year with the picture of that year's Miss Frothinslosh on the label. You may recall that she was a little on the chubby side and instead of a tu-tu she wore a three-three. Oh my gosh! It's Frothinslosh!

Not very good beer, but definitely a funny and memorable bit...

[BamaPen]

very cool stuff

 

I make my own with even cheaper cigar boxes and foam board and felt: crude but effective

 

yours are way prettier

I started out like you, using foam board to make a removable tray. Then someone wanted to buy one and I had to up my game.

[MrThoth]

Thanx for the info! I have a closet full of cigar boxes I in theory will turn into pen chests at some point, so it never hurts to see how a real craftsman does it. I usually just cut a pen tray to fit, stick it in there, and bam!.

 

I collected beer cans as a kid back in the mid-Seventies, so I definitely recall Old Frothingslosh.

[CaramelNib]

Thank you for sharing. And because you did share, I absolutely want to buy a pen box from you now! We'll talk offline. But basically I always curious how things are made/formed- items, movies, personalities, etc. Whenever I see an artisan proud and confident enough to share his/her work, I am able to better create a connection to the process and thus, the product.

 

FPN is such a great source of knowledge on everything communication, and I applaud you for adding to it.

[emstardeluxe]

Lovely and very clever!

[zaddick]

These are great products and I would ecourage anyone on the fence to get off and pick up a box. There are so many interesting options.

 

And remember... a new box with empty slots is a good excuse to buy a new pen.

[zwack]

And remember... a new box with empty slots is a good excuse to buy a new pen.

And if you miscount and buy one more pen than empty slots you have a good excuse to buy another box... which gives you more empty slots to fill. :-D

[my63]

Nice work thanks for sharing

[77kath]

Some cigar boxes even come with slots for cigars, which, oddly enough, are very similar to large fountain pens in size and shape.

[corgicoupe]

Gosh, I haven't seen a pencil sharpener like that one for 50 years!

[BamaPen]

Gosh, I haven't seen a pencil sharpener like that one for 50 years!

You're right...and I have the drafting pencil that it sharpens, too. Honestly, it is really heavy, has a non-slip rubber pad on the bottom, and makes a great weight, which is all I use it for these days.

[BamaPen]

Some cigar boxes even come with slots for cigars, which, oddly enough, are very similar to large fountain pens in size and shape.

Nice box. Now sand, stain, and varnish the divider assembly, then line it with felt to protect the pens from abrasion.

[77kath]

Actually, I used some linen cocktail napkins I inherited from my mother in law. But they are pink, and that ruins the cigar box macho vibe. But I will follow your advice!

[inkstainedruth]

Some cigar boxes even come with slots for cigars, which, oddly enough, are very similar to large fountain pens in size and shape.

 

At an estate sale last August, I saw a small humidor that looked like an attache case. It had foam inserts -- top and bottom, IIRC -- for the cigars, and I could easily see it being turned into a portable pen case without too much difficulty (maybe adding elastic or ribbon to attach clips to, so the pens didn't slide around). It was pretty inexpensive, too (around $12 US -- no clue what a new one would cost, or where to buy one). I think it would have fit about between 8 and 12 pens.

Sort of kicking myself for not picking it up when I saw it. I really meant to go back to the sale, but by the time I got out of the next sale (I hit a total of five that Saturday) I was exhausted and starving -- it was around lunchtime by then, and I had driven about halfway across the county to get to the last two).

And admittedly I was *also* kinda distracted by the Parker 41 that I lucked into at the last place....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[JonSzanto]

Thanks, Bama. A few years back, when you first started, you were one of the inspirations for me to begin doing these. My local cigar store sells all their boxes for $1.00 with proceeds going to a Veteran's charity, so I always pick up a couple and hike the price. I do the projects based on how in-depth I want to get: sometimes the wood is nice on it's own, and I just put a little oil finish on it and forego the staining; sometimes I make all the interior myself, sometimes I cut commercially available liners. The following was one of the easy ones, as the box was in lovely form already. $1 for the box and < $7 for a tray (which I didn't use all of. Cut the tray in about a minute, and in under 10 minutes, room for more pens! I hope everyone finds encouragement for this. In a day or two I'll post pics of a similar project, one step further than just pen storage, that has been a nice addition. Until then, here's the quick-and-dirty variation!

 

http://i.imgur.com/cxoHf2x.jpg