Shop Made Pen Press

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
I'm gearing up to make about a dozen or so pens, I think I've advanced far enough to make them to sell, and there even seems to be some interest :eek:

Up until now, I've been using my wood vice to press together my pens, but a week or so ago, while ordering some bearings for my Hitachi M12 router, I need to get my order over the 3000 yen mark ($25) to get the free shipping, Monotaro, had the toggle clamps on sale, I got one good for the pen press for about $15.

I looked at the ones for sale online and came up with this......

press_overview.jpg
I turned a round knob for the outside end of the shaft to adjust the distance that the stop block went to, and I turned the stop block as well. The stop block has a very slight indentation turned in it, to make it easier to put everything in line.

press_size1.jpg
Some size shots
press_size2.jpg
Sorry, it is in cm, just divide the cm by 2.54 to get inches :rolleyes:

press_cap_clip.jpg
Pressing in the cap and clip

press_tip.jpg
Pressing in the tip

curly_koa_pen.jpg
And the results...

The wood is Curly Koa, a blank I got from a guy over at SMC, Barry Stranton.

Sure like the look of this wood, not quite as much chatoyance as the Keyaki, but pretty, just the same!

BOY did the press work slick, man, I should have built one of these a lone time ago! Took less than an hour to build it, including some head scratching. The block of wood is some Akagashi that I had, hard, hard, and free :D

I put a threaded insert in the block of wood to hold the tighten down clamp on the shaft of the stop block.

Cheers!
 
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Watch it Stu, you will go broke saving money! :rofl:

Brilliant as usual. Those home made tools of yours look like they would do a much better job than many you could buy. :thumb:

DT
 
Well done. You certainly will find the press much handier than the vice method. You have your finish technique down and looking good. Pressing in the finial and center band puzzles me. If that is a standard 7mm European pen, the finial cap just screws on (after you press in the threaded fitting) and the center band, for me, just slides on with only minimal finger pressure.
 
Ooooooooookay,:thumb: , but it's gotta have a name, right?:D Let's see now.....it's a PRESS, :huh: well, wine is made by first using a press, and the designer is a purveyor of Wine, sooooo........ maybe something like Savignon- (sp) Pen'ignon????:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
I've resisted getting a pen press (I use one of my parallel clamps, which is OK if you're doing one at a time), but after seeing how you made yours, I'll probably do something similar if I do any more production runs of pens.

Nice job. :thumb:
 
Pen presses are like a lot of subjects. For the homemade ones, you will see a style for every person who has made one. They are made from walnut crackers, Harbor Freight hydraulic presses, old drill presses, whatever. Lotsa ingenuity. Mine is a factory made on I got in a trade.
For those interested in pen turning/making I reccomend the forum The Pen Shop http://www.thepenshop.net/ . It's a friendly forum loaded with good people and advice.
 
Nice Job Stu!

Hello Stu,

Nice job on the pen press! :) I bought one a few years ago and use it quite often, but I still prefer my old drill press jig for some pens. :D It has served me well for more than 11 years! Good luck to you and best wishes in all of your woodturning endeavors!
 
..........Pressing in the finial and center band puzzles me. If that is a standard 7mm European pen, the finial cap just screws on (after you press in the threaded fitting) and the center band, for me, just slides on with only minimal finger pressure.

Hi Frank.

The center band usually slides on with just a dab of CA glue to keep it in place, it was not pressed on. The Finial Cap, I put it on as one piece, with the clip already tightened on for two reasons; one, it was done that way in the book on pen-turning I bought, and two, I can really tighten the threaded insert onto the finial, with a pair of pliers. On some of my first pens, I had the finial cap come loose later on.

Not a bit deal, just a bit different way of doing the same thing, works for me.

I used the press again on Sunday, I made 6 pens, and boy does that press ever work great, I feel stupid for not building one earlier!! :doh:

Thanks for the kind comments.

Cheers!
 
Hi Frank.

The center band usually slides on with just a dab of CA glue to keep it in place, it was not pressed on. The Finial Cap, I put it on as one piece, with the clip already tightened on for two reasons; one, it was done that way in the book on pen-turning I bought, and two, I can really tighten the threaded insert onto the finial, with a pair of pliers. On some of my first pens, I had the finial cap come loose later on.

Not a bit deal, just a bit different way of doing the same thing, works for me.

I used the press again on Sunday, I made 6 pens, and boy does that press ever work great, I feel stupid for not building one earlier!! :doh:

Thanks for the kind comments.

Cheers!


Whatever works. I might try that method. When screwing on the cap, with clip, it is easy to mar the finish as the clip goes round and round. Sometimes I forget to put a piece of paper betwen the clip and barrel and end up cussing a damaged finish.
 
PEN PRESS

THE PRESS LOOKS GREAT BUT i WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE OUT THERE HAS PLANS THAT THEY CAN SHARE FOR BUILDLING A WOODEN PEN PRESS. IF SO I WOULD LOVE TO GET A MEASURED DRAWING IF ONE IS AVAIABLE.
THANKS
 
Hi - new member here and very impressed with your press and design. Where did you get the toggle clamp? I have been looking for one the "right" size/price to make one myself. Thanks !
 
Hi - new member here and very impressed with your press and design. Where did you get the toggle clamp? I have been looking for one the "right" size/price to make one myself. Thanks !

Welcome to the Family Bill!

I'm here in Japan, so I doubt my source would be of much use to you, but I'm sure places like Grainger.com would have these.
Cheers!
 
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