Making
Your Own Custom Pen Without A Lathe
Instructions by Alice Weniger at Alice's
Workshop
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Making
pens is very simple, inexpensive, and doesn't require much time. A great
gift any time of the year.
A pen can be made in under an hour without a lathe using the
technique below.
Ideally you would use a lathe
and a turning
set to turn pens, but not everyone has the space for a large tool, or
they just simply can't afford one. |
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Tools and
Materials Required:
- A saw
or any tool that can cut through 1/2" material
- Drill
Press & a
7 mm Drill Bit (24593-
7mm Metric Hex Shank Brad Point)
- Wood
Pen
Blanks & Other
Pen Blanks
- Quick-Set
Glue
(67681 - CA Adhesive, Medium 2 oz.) & (67705 - Activator, 2
oz.)
- Pen
Mill
- Mandrel
& Bushings
- 7
mm Pen Kit & More
Pen Kits
- Sand
Paper
|
 Step
1: Take a pen
blank, and cut it in half using your typical miter saw and box. Or use
whatever tool you have that can cut through a piece of 1/2'' material. |
 Step
2: Drill a hole all the way through the center of both pieces
lengthwise using a drill press and a 7 mm drill bit.
Pen blanks
are basically just a strip of 5'' X 1/2'' X 1/2'' wood or corian.
You can either cut your own out of 1/2'' stock, use pieces of
scrap you have laying around in your shop, or buy precut blanks.
The advantage of buying precut blanks is that you have many
varieties of woods to choose from that you may have a hard time
finding in your area. It also gives you a chance to to experiment
with different woods before you go all out and and invest a small
fortune on a wood you know nothing about. |
|
 Step
3: Sand the exterior of the brass tubes with 120 grit paper before
gluing into the wood. This eliminates the oil from the brass tubes and
allows for better bonding with the glue. Glue the brass tube that comes
with your pen kit to the inside of each half of the blanks using Quick-Set
Glue. Quick-Set Glue is easier and cleaner to use than epoxy glue.
This step can get messy. So you may want to wear a pair
of gloves. As for the glue inside the tube, use a pen mill to clean
the glue out. A pen mill also squares off the ends of your pen blanks to
ensure a perfect fit when it comes time to assemble your pen. |
 Step
4: Insert a pen mill into each of the blanks, and turn clockwise. Be
sure to do both ends! |
 Step
5: Mount your pen blanks onto a mandrel, along with 3 bushings (one on
each end and one in the middle, separating the 2 blanks). |
 Step
6: Use a drill press and a sanding
drum to rough out the shape of the pen.
| There
is an advantage to owning sanding
drums. If you don't have any, you can achieve step 6 by hand,
by using a sander, or by using whatever tool you may have that can
round the edges. |
|
 Step
7: Mount your mandrel onto your drill press, and use a piece of
sandpaper glued onto a piece of plywood, to make the wood flush with the
bushings. |
Step
8: This is what your pen blanks should look like when your done
sanding.
If you plan on applying a finish to your pen like lacquer, varnish, turning
wax, or even painting a design on it, now would be the time to do it! |
Step 9: The
hard part is over with! Remove your blanks from the mandrel, and
assemble your pen using your pen kit. Press everything together.
Your done!
For the finishing touch we
suggest the usage of a sophisticated high-gloss Crystal
Coat finish.
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| Instructions
are used by permission from Alice's
Workshop |
|
| If the above
techniques don't suit your needs, you can accomplish the same tasks
effortlessly with the Jet Pen Lathe below. |
|
 Check
out the Jet
Pen Lathe . Now you can turn pens and pencils with a smaller,
easy to operate system designed exclusively for pen turning!
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