Snare Drum – Segment Cutoff & Pen

As I cut the segments from the blanks I ended up with a short piece just over a couple inches long that got tossed in the scrap pile.  Along toward the end of the project it occurred to me that it might just be long enough to make into a pen.  Something that looked like this.

Example of Wood Body Fountain Pen

A quick measurement confirmed that there was enough material for it to work out just right.  To start, I marked where the piece would be needed to be cut in half to give me the top and bottom parts of the pen. 

Pen Blank Marked for Cutting

I used a bandsaw to cut to make the cut for a couple of reasons.  First, the piece was not wide enough to take into account the saw kerf using a table saw, even with a narrow kerf blade.   Second the piece is only a couple inches long and as far as I am concerned that’s pushing it for a safe length to cut on the table saw.  A bandsaw has a narrower cut and I could easily use a clamp to keep my keep my fingers away from the blade.

Using Bandsaw to Cut Blanks to Width

With the piece cut I could move on to drilling the holes lengthwise down through each of the two pieces that will make up the pen body.  The holes need to be drilled pretty much down the center axis of the blank so for me that eliminates drilling them by hand.  You can use a guide or in my case the drill press.  I set the blank square in a clamp and drill the hole.  

If everything is set up square and if the bit does not wander off on its own you end up with the hole centered in the blank.  The photos below show the top and bottom of the blank with the hole pretty well centered.

Drill Press Setup for  Drilling & Completed Blank

I set aside the blanks for just a bit to prepare the brass tubes that will get glued inside the blanks.  To insure a good glue bond I use some steel wool and buff them to remove any oxidation.  With the tubes cleaned I mixed up some epoxy and glue them inside the blanks. 

Brass Tubes After & Before Removing Oxidized Surface Plus Tube Glued in Blank

After the epoxy has set up I use a small trimming tool to cut a smooth surface square with the tube axis.  I need this flat true surface for turning.

Trimmer and Trimmed Blank

With the ends cut true I can mount the blanks on a mandrel along with the sizing bushings, put that in the lathe and start turning the blanks to a cylinder.

Left Side Partially Turned & Right Side Unturned

More turning, some finish sanding and I am almost ready to apply the finish.  

Both Halves Turned

For the finish I decided to use the same gloss lacquer I used for the drum.  There are other ways to finish pens but in this case I wanted the finish on the pen to exactly match the drum.  Why will become clear later.  I hauled out the repaired air-brush and gave the pieces several coats of lacquer.  After letting them cure for a week I buffed them out the same way as I did the drum and was ready to put all the pieces together.

Finishing of Blanks in Progress

Here are the blanks still mounted on the mandrel with the pen parts laid out in the order they will be when the pen is assembled.  Note the right blank has a small section of the wood removed down to the brass tube.  This last bit of turning was done after the finish was applied.

Ready to Assemble

The assembly consists of mostly press fit or interference connections.  This is where the piece being installed is a teeny bit larger than the hole it’s going in.  To get the pieces to go together requires some force.  I suppose you could line up the two parts and give one a good whack with a hammer to drive it in place.  However, when putting these small pieces together I doubt the results would be as desired.  My preference is to use a hand clamp, in this case the same one that I used to hold the blank while bandsawing it in half. 

Setup for  Assembling Press Fit

With the clamp I can take my time to line everything up and gradually, in a controlled manner apply just enough pressure to push the parts together.

Completed Press Fit

Once all the parts are in place you end up with a screw-on top fountain pen.  Unknown to the client when the drum was packed up for shipping I put the pen in along with it as a little extra surprise when he unpacks the box.  Now you know the reason I wanted the finish to match.

Completed Pen

With this project all done I will take a closer look at the Shaker Oval Box from Fine Woodworking to see if it is something I want to pursue.