Quarter-sawn Morado Cigar Pen and Box

Another view

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

nice, how long did it take you to put the box together?

-- www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com

Beautiful job there Doug. That was an interesting way to make the pen, using the cross grain instead of the usual method.

How did it turn? Was it easy to smooth down, or did it chip a lot?

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Chipped like a —bear (family-version comment). I ended up rasping the corners off with a file (pre-bandsaw days), before turning. Once it was in the round, a sharp oval skew worked like it should.

Darryl, box probably took and hour or so, but I made six at a go. The end scales are just glued face grain to end grain with cyanoacrylic (Hot Stuff), but I didn’t need it to bear up to much in the way of shearing forces.
I made a bunch with thin scales I screwed in with countersunk brass screws and glued. The big fat ends on this I just rounded over with a 3M flap wheel on the drill press.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Fantastic, Doug! Bordnerized!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

((jaw dropped; eye wide open))

Stunning!!!
I can’t imagine what I’d do if I received something like this .. Probably cry. I’d be opening and closing the box… admiring every inch of the box and pen. Pretty special.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Beautiful, Very nice work, you’re an artist. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

Great Pen and case Douglas. A fantastic job.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

The pen and box came out very nice. I really like the cross-grain in the cigar pen….great job….

-- WeeWilly

WOW! I love it – great job. Absolutely beautiful – makes you want to reach out and touch. Is that a similar pen to the one Ms Deb used when she signed off my 2007 Shop Inspection?

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

There you go David. Now I get to kill two birds with one stone, I can make Deb weep for joy and get her a decent pen for inspections. I’ll have to get those bushings out and get busy! Debbie, you need to PM me the address. I get an employee discount for international shipping since FedEx bought out Kinko’s. You might have to pay the duties and tariffs, tho. ;—D

The thought came to me as I was getting dressed for work, about the cross-grain turning.
“We never, ever do nuthin’ nice – and easy.” — Tina Turner

Left a good job in the city, workin’ for the man every night and day.
Still I never lost one minute of sleepin’ thinkin’ ‘bout the way things might have been…

Off to work! Later…

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

yippee !!! A Pen :D

A beautiful pen

I can see me now as I do inspections… power cords will be wrapping around me and I’ll just be standing there, smiling at my beautiful pen :D

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Deb smilin’ – it’s a beautiful thang.
<snapping> ” People on LJ happy to give, Big Wheel keep on turnin’, Proud Mary keep on burnin’,
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ on the river.”

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

and a song to boot!! cool :D

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I love the end grain look. Nice box too.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

nice project …. love the wood …. I’ve never made a pen. Hope to soon

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Wonderful pen and box. I need to give making some boxes a try.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I like the pen as I enjoy making them as well and have just sold my first few. I am really interested in your box design it looks suttle and simple to make yet very beautiful and professionally done, very impressive! I have not seen hinges like that before I’ll have to keep a look out. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow your design.

-- Ed, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Douglas, I’m sure that you already know that I just love small wooden boxes, but this is even better, the pen really is beautiful!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

Ed,
I directly took the design from the Doug Stowe book Creating Beautiful Boxes with Inlay Techniques, so I expect he wouldn’t mind if you adapted it (although I am sure he’d like you to purchase a copy, just for the sake of reference). It is pretty ease to make. Take a board of suitable width (here approx. 2.5” avoirdupois or 63.5mm) and double the length required.
Plow a channel in the middle leaving 3/8” (8.255mm) on each side and at the bottom. Crosscut in half. The barrel hinges are 5mm, so in the US it is good to buy a 5mm brad point bit to drill the holes. Be sure and drill the hinge holes, before cutting a chamfer on the two opposing edges. Chamfer should not be the full width of the side walls. This chamfer allows the box to open, and it’s width causes the lid to open and stop at 90° or slightly more. Experiment with this to find what you need.

Here is a diagram.

My description is halting compared to Mr. Stowe’s, and there are many other projects in it, all of them skill-builders, so I would advise you to buy the book. If I ever have the honor of meeting him, I don’t want him to dislike me for stealing his bread and butter.

5mm barrel hinges available from Lee Valley-Veritas (the best catalogue, manufacturer and inventor ever! Robin Lee deserves to be knighted)

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Beautiful work Douglas!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

and Jenn in her painting clothes, and I in my beaver hat (well, not really),
We had just set down the painting mat,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the room to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Fedex man coming near!!

Christmas had come early this year and I furiously tore open the package to find, yes, an exquisite box. I explored the box, with the beautiful hinges, the contrasting colours of the wood.. and then… yes.. inside, nestled in its soft bed, a pen, a beautiful pen. And I smiled and I smiled and I smiled.
And then, showing my daughter, she smelled the wood (she always has to check things out by their smell.. ) and then she too smiled.

And then later, Rick came home and I repeated the process with him… and I smiled and I smiled and I smiled.

Thank you Douglas. Thank you. Merry Christmas!!!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I learn more about creativity here than anywhere else.

Great job on both the pen and box

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

So is the pen just an excuse for building a box, or is the box just an excuse for turning a pen? Beautiful work.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

Now that is a stumper. Which came first the chicken or the egg. Any excuse for shop time is okay by me (after this commission which is driving me nuts, my hourly rate is now about 50¢).

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

That’s a really nice box and pen.
How do you get on with the barrel hinges?

David,
I never seem to have problems with them. I just insert them and squeeze the box together in a vice, then open the box a few times. I rarely glue them in the pen boxes as they have a ridge in them and they fit snugly in their holes.
If I do glue them I use a slow-set epoxy and just a bare dab of it.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Beautiful job Douglas.

thats a beautiful box and pen Douglas. I really need to get a lathe. Thanks for the post.

Thanks, Dennis. I hope you get one, I’m sure you will love it. BTW, thanks for posting your video series. I think you are a natural. Your folks should be very proud of you.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.