Pens With No Lathe or Drill Press

In this Instructable, I challenged myself to making a pen without a lathe or a drill press. But, let me be honest, I just don’t have those tools. The slim-line pen kits came from Rockler and they were on sale over the holiday season. The wood that was used is Cocobolo.

Here I am measuring out the blank to be cut in half. One line is the halfway mark while the other is for alignment purposes.

Here I'm using a jig to make a straighter hole for the pen cylinder.

Here I'm cutting off some excess pen blank.

Use some 120 grit sandpaper to scuff up the pen cylinder.

Use CA Glue (super glue) to bond the pen cylinder into place.

Use the belt sander with 120 grit to make the pen blanks flush.

In this step, align the blanks on the mandrel. Use the center line that was drawn on the pen blank to align where the blank was cut. This will insure the correct grain pattern.

Here, I'm using 120 grit sandpaper to rough out the shape of the pen.

In this step, use the backboard on the beltsander it will assist with cutting away the material faster.

Advice - take your time and leave plenty of material and avoid the bushing on the mandrel.

Here, I'm using 400 grit sandpaper to create the final shape of the pen.

In this step, the sandpaper is being used without the backboard on the beltsander. This allows for the material to be slowly taken away and gives more control to the worker.

In this step, serveral grits of sandpaper is being used to create a glass-like finish. The sandpaper is cut into small strips approximately 1x4 inches.

Grits - 220 - 320 - 400 - 800 - 1500 - and 2000

Advice: I like using the gloves because the sanding causes a great deal of friction and will begin to burn fingers.

I'm just using a paste wax for the finish. Give an ample amout of wax and let sit for about twenty minutes. After letting the wax settle into the wood, clean any excess off with a rag.

I take the time to lay out the pen materials in their order:

First: press in the nib

Second: Press in the twist mechanism.

Advice: go slow when pressing in the twist mechanism as you don't want to press it in too deep.

Test the fitting by twisting to full extension and the full closed position.

Press in the cap and clip

Slip on center gold ring and slide on pen cap.

I actually made a few pens and a Youtube video to demonstrate the process.

Make time to be creative.