Pen Block

[rberg6868]

I do a little woodworking of my own and I really liked the work that Mike Dudek at clickypost.com does so I decided to try making a block of my own and this is what I came up with.

 

 

I started with two pieces of walnut, one longer than the other that I glued together, then planed down. I made a couple of mistakes with keeping the holes in line but, c'est la vie.

 

 

I overestimated the size of holes that I would need for my bigger pens so I wouldn't include the larger holes again. I realized that I had included too many of the largest holes so I cut the last row of them in half to make a kind of an architectural detail. I loved Mike's idea of a slot for my journal but I also wanted a narrower slot for correspondence or cards, that was why I made the whole piece longer.

 

 

Mine doesn't have the kind of architectural bauhaus simplicity that Mike has designed into his but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. If you are interested you really should check his out at http://clickypost.com/the-store-1/ (No affiliation, just inspiration)

 

[SujiCorp12345]

That looks cool! I love the tiny spot for Take-sumi.

[DrCodfish]

Really nice work. I dabble in wood working also and appreciate your finish and choice of materials. Did you have to take a second mortgage on the house to finance the walnut?

 

You've given me inspiration for a few mission/craftsman style desk top projects, but I guess I will need to get a new desk to accommodate them.

[inkypete]

Great result. Well done. I am completely useless with anything hand made. I envy your skills.

[estie1948]

Well done! Very nice work and done to fit your needs for pen space, journal space, and your cards. Well done, again. I am certainly envious of your fine work.

 

-David.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Very nicely done. Wood looks beautiful and I prefer yours to Mike's. I think your mistake with the big holes and decision to cut the last row made the piece look much less blocky and more interesting.

[Elyptic]

Very nice work! I love the spot for the letters in the back -- that makes it much more attractive in my opinion!

[Kuscer]

Niiiice!!! One question: what is that beautiful pen left top row first from left to right (white&gray one with the sun on the top)?

[clickypost]

This is so amazing! Well done, mate. The additional holes turned into the "architectural detail" is fantastic. 10 out of 10.

 

For the holes, lining them up can be a trick. If you plan to do others, after marking the positions I use a spring loaded center punch and then forstner bits with a "guide burr" which slip right into the punched indent. Really simple tools that make the job easier.

 

DrCodfish isn't kidding about the price of walnut... haha

 

This really is so great and thanks for sharing.

[senzen]

Very, very nice!

[masterguns]

That, my friend, is really nice. Well done! You have inspired me to try something like that.

[rberg6868]

Really nice work. I dabble in wood working also and appreciate your finish and choice of materials. Did you have to take a second mortgage on the house to finance the walnut?

 

You've given me inspiration for a few mission/craftsman style desk top projects, but I guess I will need to get a new desk to accommodate them.

I live on Vancouver Island and there are some decent hardwood dealers here so it's not too expensive.

[rberg6868]

Niiiice!!! One question: what is that beautiful pen left top row first from left to right (white&gray one with the sun on the top)?

It's a Delta Dolce Vita Stantuffo. It's a Chatterly Pens Limited edition variant of the Dolce Vita. Bryant Greer is the owner of Chatterly and I believe he designs these pens as well.

[rberg6868]

This is so amazing! Well done, mate. The additional holes turned into the "architectural detail" is fantastic. 10 out of 10.

 

For the holes, lining them up can be a trick. If you plan to do others, after marking the positions I use a spring loaded center punch and then forstner bits with a "guide burr" which slip right into the punched indent. Really simple tools that make the job easier.

 

DrCodfish isn't kidding about the price of walnut... haha

 

This really is so great and thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. My mistake with the smaller holes was that I didnt use a forstner bit so I got a bit of travel when I lowered my drill press, plus some tear out. On the bigger holes I used the guide burr on my forstner to punch a hole in the centre of the mark and then turned the press on to cut the hole.

[nakiana]

Very nice work. I really like your choice of walnut. It is a very classy wood.

[Venemo]

Wow, it looks really ccool!

I think any of us could use a pen holder like that

[MrThoth]

Nice work!

[Kuscer]

It's a Delta Dolce Vita Stantuffo. It's a Chatterly Pens Limited edition variant of the Dolce Vita. Bryant Greer is the owner of Chatterly and I believe he designs these pens as well.

Oh, thanks. when I say this pen, I just...just...wow. It's a beautiful work of art.

[DrCodfish]

I live on Vancouver Island and there are some decent hardwood dealers here so it's not too expensive.

 

I live a couple hundred miles (or maybe 500 miles depending upon if you live in Victoria or Pt Hardy) south of you in Oakville WA. There are a couple of places within an hour or so of me where I can get walnut and other fine domestics or exotics. I will say walnut is less expensive than some of the exotics but still not front pocket money. What were the dimensions of the blocks you started with?

 

I rode a bike event from Victoria to Pt Hardy and back, the Vanisle 1200. 1200Km in 90 hours or less, back in 2006 I believe. It was hard but nice country for riding. I'm used to logging trucks and they were pretty courteous, though I would have appreciated wider and cleaner shoulders in a few places.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

I'm also curious if the wood is natural or if you applied a protective finish on it.