Pen Tray Liners -- Need Wider Spaces

[whichwatch]

 

 

Wow...that bottom row. Just wow.

 

 

Thank you! Those are all Lambrou Classic Pens. L to R are an LM1, LB3, and the six LB5's, one in each color other than the black.

[whichwatch]

 

 

What adhesive did you use to attach the felt?

I tried something like this before but had a bad experience with the glue seeping through the felt a little and reacting with the pen's finish. At least it was a cheap Jinhao pen so nothing major lost.

 

 

I also had trouble when I tried Elmers Glue, so I used a can of spray adhesive. Spray on, let sit 60 seconds, and apply the fabric. It stuck very well without absorption, staining, or other issues. Spray adhesive comes in a number of brands. I bought mine at Home Depot. If you need to know a specific brand, I'll go take a picture of the can.

[vikingmedic]

I also had trouble when I tried Elmers Glue, so I used a can of spray adhesive. Spray on, let sit 60 seconds, and apply the fabric. It stuck very well without absorption, staining, or other issues. Spray adhesive comes in a number of brands. I bought mine at Home Depot. If you need to know a specific brand, I'll go take a picture of the can.

I just found this thread and I was wondering if you still had the can or knew what spray glue you used for your liners. I’d really like to make some of these as well!! Thank you

[austollie]

I make my own pen trays in different widths to suit various pens that I collect. When making a tray, my process is to make an open box, insert vertical plywood slats and to then glue curved cardboard (from a cereal packet and curved around a metal shaft). I then varnish the whole thing. Varnished cardboard looks surprisingly nice. See below for a picture of the first one I made (a box for my Montblanc Carrera collection).

 

[Sh.Andrews]

I made trays with wider spaces to go in my desk drawer. I bought cheap cove moldings at Home Depot and glued them back to back, then covered them with inexpensive felt purchased at a fabric store. These hold even my largest pens safely and attractively.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BB8B12872-662A-4AE3-A5E5-77E89B639882%7D/origpict/IMG_2482.jpg

What is that first pen without clip? Very interesting looking.

[AmandaW]

I made a place to store my pens out of a couple of sets of generic stationery drawers found at Kmart. The trays are just fabric-store felt, MDF, quad and half round moulding, plus spray adhesive and hot melt glue.

 

The spray adhesive I used was 3M Super 77, but only because that's what had in the studio.

 

[AmandaW]

After the bigger drawers turned out happily, a few days ago I made another smaller set to hold my 'currently inked pens'. Again based on a cheap Kmart desktop stationery storage thingy - I just added the pen trays made the same way as the bigger ones and using the left-over materials from those.

 

[whichwatch]

I just found this thread and I was wondering if you still had the can or knew what spray glue you used for your liners. I’d really like to make some of these as well!! Thank you

 

I got this spray adhesive at Home Depot. I also had an old can in my basement of Krylon (brand) Spray Adhesive. Both worked fine without seeping through the felt, as the coating is quite light and dries very quickly.

 

[whichwatch]

What is that first pen without clip? Very interesting looking.

 

 

It is a Ryan Krusac pen in Spalted Oak. Ryan does outstanding work!

[vikingmedic]

Thank you for all the ideas!!!

[inkstainedruth]

Re-reading this thread with some interest.

A few weeks ago I got an antique dental cabinet on Craig's list -- wooden body but the drawers are metal. There does appear to be a bit of discoloration (if not actual rust) on the interiors of the drawers. I was planning to order some more of the Go Pen trays but was wondering whether I should see about repainting the metal parts first (I was thinking about just buying a couple of cans of Rustoleum for that). Do you think I will have to worry about any sort of off-gassing from the paint (it's mostly the drawer bottoms that are the issue, and not all of them at that). I also have to replace some of the drawer knobs; I was able to find small ones (for the doors on the hutch part) that are unfinished wood at a local-ish Woodcraft Supply store (they didn't have enough of the larger ones in stock, but said I could order online now that I know the brand and SKU number but of course all the knobs would also have to be painted or stained (and I'm honestly not sure that the screws that came in the packages with the small knobs will fit through the holes in the hutch doors... or are long enough (they should be okay for the drawers and the bigger knobs).

I think the bottom row of drawers, because they are deeper, will be large enough for the ink vial drays. Not sure if the shelves inside the hutch center sections are metal or ceramic.

(the light-color knobs on the glass top are ones the former owner apparently bought but never opened, but I don't think match as well as the ones I bought for shape, and of course they're too big for the door tops).

Sorry, the pix are not the best (and I don't have any one the drawer interiors) and of course the [original] knobs are in the bowl on the glass top -- which is broken in the back corner on the left but doesn't show too badly -- I shudder to think how much getting a replacement glass panel cut to fit and get the front corner curves right would cost, because it's black glass and about a half inch thick; (I was bringing the photos around various hardware and craft stores trying to find stuff that would look right and not be too large; the glass knobs I've seen are really pretty, but don't come small enough for the hutch doors, and are also WAAAY more expensive.

Once I get the knobs on and the drawer interiors painted (we've had a heat wave around here and it's been too miserable to even think -- let along hope to get the paint to dry; and I'd have to haul the drawers back downstairs and outside because of paint fumes besides) what is the best way to deal with the pen trays? Just lay them out and hope the weight of the pens will keep them from curling? Or glue/epoxy them down in some way to the drawer interiors? And what would be the best to do that with (I'd be having to deal with enamel over metal and attaching plastic to it)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[bsenn]

Ruth, what a nice find!

 

The go pens trays sit flat and stay in place without glue, assuming they are cut to the drawer size. If you did decide to glue them, I'd suggest a small dab of rubber cement or adhesive caulk.

 

Brian

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks. I was worried a bit about fumes (from paint as well as from any sort of adhesive), given the discussions I've read over off-gassing running the risks of damaging celluloid pens.

There were less expensive ones on eBay (a couple MUCH less expensive), but all were at least a 4 hour drive and were listed as "local delivery only" -- plus, I couldn't get answers from the sellers about the drawer interior dimensions (and in one case I couldn't even get an answer to the overall dimensions). I'm glad I ended up not going that route. I'm also glad that I agreed to split the cost of moving the piece with the seller (it was an estate sale and the heirs needed to get that and another one out of the house before it sold; they gave up trying to find a home for the baby grand piano in the house, which my husband was lusting over but we just did NOT have the room -- even though that would have been a "free, you haul" deal ). The cabinet weighs, my husband estimated, a couple of hundred pounds; I did NOT want to subject that to friends to move, and even the professionals had to do careful measurements to get it up the stairs because our staircase goes up about 8 steps to the landing, turns 90°, goes a couple of shallow steps at the landing, then makes *another* 90°turn to go the rest of the way to the second floor. I did see a less expensive one to mine in a place about an hour and a half north of me, but it was all metal, the one drawer I tried didn't work too well, and the it was a hideous Art Deco sort of blue-leaning green.

The one nice thing (which doesn't show in the photo) is that it has enough space underneath the drawers (it has legs instead of going down to a base like some I've seen), and I think there's enough space to put stuff like storage tubs underneath. We did have to shim it up slightly, and one of the sliders came off one leg as the movers were getting it up the stairs as well, but my husband thinks he can jack it up enough to slide the foot piece back on. This actually wasn't the one listed on Craigslist -- but when I called, the seller said there was another one and that one got moved to the North Hills someplace before mine got brought to the house. That one had a white marble top below the hutch section, rather than the black glass like on mine -- but it had a big glued crack across the middle of the marble slab. It did, however, have all the knobs (which were glass) attached; I've been having to stick stuff through the screw-holes to get the drawers (and the doors on the hutch section) open. But it's just been too hot and humid this past week do any sort of painting. Not quite sure what to put in the hutch part, other than maybe containers of spare converters or the boxes that the (modern) pens came in because those sections are not all that large -- about 4"-5" deep inside the larger doors (even the main part is only about 15" front to back for exterior dimensions).

I gather that the original owner of the pieces liked to do wood restoration projects as a hobby, but died before the two cabinets (and parts of the lid on the piano -- the thing played just fine as far as we could tell, the damage being mostly cosmetic) were repaired.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[TinyTim]

Dear Ruth, this is repurposed pen cupboard looks magnificent.

 

look forward to seeing its pictures in its full glory once you have completed your project.

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, thanks. It will be a while. I almost didn't post the photos because it looks really silly with no knobs on any of the drawers.

I'll admit, that it was not the first thing I thought of spending part of my "stimulus check" for, but I'm glad I did. I like the fact that the bottom three drawers are higher (there are actually three different drawer heights -- the top six in each column will work for the pens and pen trays; then there is a row where the three drawers are a little taller, which might be good for composition books and such. Then the bottom row I think will fit the ink vial trays, and maybe some of the larger capacity journals (such as the spare Miquelrius 600 page ones I use for morning pages). That will empty at least one and maybe two of the IKEA sweater-size fabric and rattan covered boxes so I can use them for bottled ink (and also get some stuff off the desktop. I may even put some of the less fragile tchotchkes that were living on top part of the desk in the hutch cabinets or on top (but possibly NOT the glass dragon ornament my in-laws gave me for Christmas last year because the cabinet isn't flush against the wall (we have pretty deep decorative baseboards, and there is also a non-functional built in wall heater (we also have one in the main bathroom and the front corner room that was originally clearly the master bedroom -- it's now my sewing room -- and possibly one in the spare bedroom my husband has turned into an office); both the molding and the heater stick out a couple of inches from the wall, ao anything I put on top of the hutch runs the risk of getting knocked over and falling down behind. Unfortunately, that was the only place in the house the cabinet can really go -- we have large windows, big old fashioned radiators (and I mean some of them are six or eight feet long) with metal covers, and lots of doors and doorways -- most other available wall space anywhere in the house is already taken up by furniture, especially big five shelf bookcases.

Weirdly, even though the glass top on the main part of it is broken (it's in a corner and the broken piece is there so it's not all that noticeable) the mirror above it on the back of the upper part (below the hutch doors) seems to be in good shape for the most part.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Runnin_Ute]

I use cigar boxes with the GoPen pen trays. One of them when I got it had a red plastic liner holding 8 pens. When I changed to whats in it I gained room for another four or five pens. (Two hold 12 the other 13, not sure which is 13 without looking)

[Cursive Child]

What size of cove molding did you use? Great idea, and I'm planning to follow suit. I saw that my local HD has 3/4 in x 3/4 in cove molding, but I am not sure what that translates to, in the width of the U shaped slot that is created in between.

 

I made trays with wider spaces to go in my desk drawer. I bought cheap cove moldings at Home Depot and glued them back to back, then covered them with inexpensive felt purchased at a fabric store. These hold even my largest pens safely and attractively.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BB8B12872-662A-4AE3-A5E5-77E89B639882%7D/origpict/IMG_2482.jpg

 

[whichwatch]

What size of cove molding did you use? Great idea, and I'm planning to follow suit. I saw that my local HD has 3/4 in x 3/4 in cove molding, but I am not sure what that translates to, in the width of the U shaped slot that is created in between.

 

 

 

 

My local HD had 11/16 x 11/16 cove molding at $3.23 per 8 foot long piece. This is finger jointed, which is about 1/3 the cost of pieces without joints and is absolutely fine for this use since it is plenty strong enough and not visible once covered with the fabric. I used a spray adhesive to attach the felt cloth and a candle to press the cloth into the u-shaped grooves once the moldings were glued together.

 

Even my largest pens (Namiki Emperor, Montblanc 149, LB5, King of Pens, etc sit comfortable on the bottom of the resulting u-shaped channel. If you have pens larger than Namiki Emperors, you're on your own! :-)

 

As close as I can measure inside to inside at the top of the felt lined groove, it is about 3/4 inch across.

Edited July 19, 2020 by whichwatch

[pen lady]

Ruth, that dentists cabinet is wonderful. If you're looking to put small glass knobs on the drawers, there's a company called D. Lawless Hardware (dlawlesshardware.com) and they do a line of reproduction depression glass knobs that would look so right on your cabinet. Not a customer, I just love looking at their stuff!

[Cursive Child]

 

 

My local HD had 11/16 x 11/16 cove molding at $3.23 per 8 foot long piece. This is finger jointed, which is about 1/3 the cost of pieces without joints and is absolutely fine for this use since it is plenty strong enough and not visible once covered with the fabric. I used a spray adhesive to attach the felt cloth and a candle to press the cloth into the u-shaped grooves once the moldings were glued together.

 

Even my largest pens (Namiki Emperor, Montblanc 149, LB5, King of Pens, etc sit comfortable on the bottom of the resulting u-shaped channel. If you have pens larger than Namiki Emperors, you're on your own! :-)

 

As close as I can measure inside to inside at the top of the felt lined groove, it is about 3/4 inch across.

Thanks! That helps a lot. The fattest pens I have are a Platinum Izumo and Pelikan M815, so should fit. I was looking at the 11/16 x 11/16, but thought that would be too big, once you lay them side by side. but looks like it's not. Trying to fit into a 5 inch wide pencil box I stole from my daughter

Edited July 19, 2020 by CursiveChild