Pen Branding
Pens are deemed a necessity in these times; these writing articles are utilized everywhere, from schools to offices. There is a vast varieties of pen brands and make; from inexpensive ones to hand-crafted bejeweled versions costing thousands of dollars.
You can readily purchase any kind of pens you like from stores, but how about making your own wood pens? You can fashion your own wood pen by using a lathe (machine tool for shaping metal and wood). The difficulty rate is quite high, as it is a challenging project, but once completed, the satisfaction you get is an unrivalled one.
You will need these materials:
• Pen kit
• Mandrel (spindle)
• Lathe
• Drill press or a hand drill (whichever you are more comfortable with)
• Bushings (cylindrical metal lining to reduce friction)
• Drill bit the size of pen kit
• Quick grip clamp or bench vice
• Epoxy glue
• Soft clean cloth
• Sand paper (220 to 2500 grit)
• 10, 000 and 12, 000 micromesh (for polishing)
• Renaissance wax (microcrystalline wax polish)
To make ready the blank
Get a blank which has already been pre-cut to fashion your pen. A blank is normally a section of wood measuring ¾ x ¾ x 5 inches in length which can be procured from a pen manufacturing supplier. As an alternative, you can opt to make your own blank using a table saw.
Divide the blank into 2 segments (for top and bottom portions of the pen). Read the instruction pen kit manual carefully to avoid making mistakes when cutting.
The end of the blank pieces should be squared away using a disc sander or miter gauge. The pieces have to be sanded in order to achieve length adjustments.
Illustrate a mark from one corner to the next of the blank ends. This will mark the center spot of the blank for drilling. Using the drill bit, make a hole through the pen where the tube will be placed.
So far so good.
Your pen kit will come with tubes. Using epoxy glue, carefully glue these tubes into the blanks through the drilled cavity. Make sure that they are included accurately. Using fine grit sandpaper, rough up the exterior of the blanks. This is to permit the glue to attach safely.
Use epoxy glue by placing a couple of drops in the end of the blank. Gently press on through the hole and rotate the glue evenly spreads. Put the blanks aside and let them aerate.
Follow the instructions in your pen kit and place blanks on the mandrel accompanied by the bushings. Tauten the mandrel’s nut and lock it into the lathe which is set at the optimum speed.
Bring the blanks to roughly 1/16 inch of the bushings by using a ¾ inch gouge. Using a skew chisel, carve the wood cautiously to fashion the pen as it rotates on the lathe.
Using the 220 grit sandpaper, proceed to sand down the wood. Continue with the smaller grit paper until wood is utterly smoothened. Take the blanks away from the lathe and coat the wood with a friction polish.
Reinstate the blanks into the lathe and buff-up the wood (using a soft clean cloth) as it rotates. Continue with this pace until it becomes to hot to handle. When this occurs, sand the finish with the micromesh.
Use 2 coats of Renaissance wax to the pen to preserve it from dampness and polish it to a sparkle between coats.
Put all the pieces together as instructed by the pen kit manual. If need be, use a bench vice or quick grip clamp to thrust the pens simultaneously.
