How to make a pen press?????

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T

Tellefan

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Joined
Jan 3, 2010
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9
Location
Saint Louis MO
Hello,

I'm looking for ideas, I have some nice corian and a cast base toggle clamp. I'd like to make a pen press like the one in the photo, but I can't figure out what they used for the end to hold the slide rod.

I can drill and tap just about anything but I don't know what to call the fastener that is used on the Woodcraft pen press. It almost looks like a rod coupler with a male bushing threaded into the end to hold it against the aluminum angle. Ideas anyone????

Thanks,
David

PenPress.jpg
 
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I'd buy a large bolt, drill it out for the rod to slide through, drill a whole in the angle aluminum and hold it with a nut on one side, coupler on the other, with the coupler and bolt drilled and threaded for the knob...
 
Great write up, but, I'm guessing that if I bought all the parts separately, it might be cheaper to buy one. But, that's how it goes sometimes.

Get a wood clamp from HF to assemble your pens. Easily functions as a clamp too :wink:
 
It basically is hex shaped bar stock turned down and threaded where it goes through the angle. A nut is used to retain it in the angle bracket. As you can see it is hollow and drilled and tapped for the clamping knob. The hex is 7/8th across as is the nut the over all length is 2 3/4 the rod going through is 1/2 dia. If you need I can disassemble mine to take pictures.
 
I have to be honest here. I think the best bet is to either make the metal version of the picture above, or actually buy the version pictured above. I know there are tons of ways to skin a cat, and if you have something that works for you, then more power to you. For me, the pen press was the best tool i bought.

I went through the wood pen press, the clamp, the drill press, the vice, and probably a couple other types of pressing tools. NONE of these tools did half as good as the actual pen press. I used to mess up probably one in 20 pens trying to press with ghetto fabulous techniques. I have not lost any parts to my pen press.

Just my opinion. Sorry of you think it stinks, but this is my experiences. In hindsight, I would have saved alot of money, time, and energy just buying a press to begin with.
 
Just a thought from years of pressing pens together with everything from a C-Clamp to my drill press and beyond. If I was going to make a press for pressing pens it would be with a screw press to have better control on how far parts are presses. Mainly the transmissions. I now use the HF Arbor press but still wish it was on a screw rather than a ram. I get pretty good control ut every once in a while you get that transmission that wants to be stubborn right up until you are just shy of where it needs to be. then all resistance seems to have something better to do.
 
If you want a heavy duty press get on Paul in OKC'S list, I'll look for a picture of mine and post. I've had mine for over 2 years and you'd have to run it over with a tank to harm it.
 

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Daniel said:
Just a thought from years of pressing pens together with everything from a C-Clamp to my drill press and beyond. If I was going to make a press for pressing pens it would be with a screw press to have better control on how far parts are presses. Mainly the transmissions. I now use the HF Arbor press but still wish it was on a screw rather than a ram. I get pretty good control ut every once in a while you get that transmission that wants to be stubborn right up until you are just shy of where it needs to be. then all resistance seems to have something better to do.
Click to expand...

And if you want to follow Daniel's advice, you should look into the pieces that fit on the headstock and tailstock of your lathe. With this setup, you can use the screwing capability of your tailstock to press the pen parts in...
 
Chuck a piece of corian or whatever in your lathe and spin it so it will fit to be chucked in your drill press. Put a piece of wood on the drill press table. Set pen on end, pull down lever and that's it, on to the next pen.

That press that Roy has sure looks impressive. The Woodcraft one will bend over time. It's not that the rod bends or the base, it's those two clamps that are relatively close together and the rod goes through them..those are what bend and get all messed up on you.

How the heck did Justin get his signature upside down?????
 
If you look in Wikipedia for "computer nerd" you will find my photo.

Took me about 30 seconds to figure it out. But it IS COOL!!!!

AND I'm not talkin....
 
Daniel said:
Just a thought from years of pressing pens together with everything from a C-Clamp to my drill press and beyond. If I was going to make a press for pressing pens it would be with a screw press to have better control on how far parts are presses. Mainly the transmissions. I now use the HF Arbor press but still wish it was on a screw rather than a ram. I get pretty good control ut every once in a while you get that transmission that wants to be stubborn right up until you are just shy of where it needs to be. then all resistance seems to have something better to do.
Click to expand...



I knew your last few words were coming Dan.:smile: That's happened to me lots. That's why I put the nib on last- had to pound back the tranny too much after taking the nib back off.
 
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I took a wall mount nut cracker,cut it, and mounted ti to a piece of 1x6 with a grove in it to lay parts in Then cut a small block of wood "3x3x1" to use on the plunger end.
The other end is recess cone shaped, and threaded. It works great for me.
You can get a card of stickie back, feld buttins " like they use on the bottom of things to keep them from scraching the furniture" and stick one into the cone.
 
Daniel said:
Just a thought from years of pressing pens together with everything from a C-Clamp to my drill press and beyond. If I was going to make a press for pressing pens it would be with a screw press to have better control on how far parts are presses. Mainly the transmissions. I now use the HF Arbor press but still wish it was on a screw rather than a ram. I get pretty good control ut every once in a while you get that transmission that wants to be stubborn right up until you are just shy of where it needs to be. then all resistance seems to have something better to do.
Click to expand...

Daniel is dead on. You have little control with a levered press. Some people will cut a stop block to keep from over pressing. But that only shows the problem with a levered press. If it works for you, great, but I would recommend a press with a hand crank.

I've had a set of these clamps in shop for years. It's what I use to press pens together. I thought of cutting it down to make base just for pens, but I always need an extra clamp, so I've left it as is.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10819
 
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Wow! Thanks for all the replies. Justin's press looks great but..... I don't have a metal lathe to machine the parts.

While reading the posts I've gotten the idea that a lever press might not be the best way to do it.

Now I've gotta locate an old nutcracker that I have stashed somewhere in my basement.:eek:

Thanks again,
David
 
workinforwood said:
Chuck a piece of corian or whatever in your lathe and spin it so it will fit to be chucked in your drill press. Put a piece of wood on the drill press table. Set pen on end, pull down lever and that's it, on to the next pen.

That press that Roy has sure looks impressive. The Woodcraft one will bend over time. It's not that the rod bends or the base, it's those two clamps that are relatively close together and the rod goes through them..those are what bend and get all messed up on you.

How the heck did Justin get his signature upside down?????
Click to expand...

Me thinks it's a trick with mirrors and sh** :biggrin:
 
heavy duty pen press

Here is a little homemade press I made to put those stubborn pieces in their place.:eek::biggrin:
 

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I agree with Daniel, that a screw-type press gives better control. I know that there are plenty of folks out there who have had great, long-term success with lever-type presses, but I keep having visions of doing the final assembly of the Perfect Pen, which I have spend half my life on, then have the kids decide that it would be funny to sneak up and say "Boo", or the cat jump on my back, or the compressor unexpectedly cycle on. One twitch of the hand on the lever, and my Perfect Pen is a collection of Perfect Toothpicks.

I've always just used a bench vise for a pen press (during my long pen-turning career of about two months), and have had no troubles at all. With no support under the pen, you have to be careful that things are lined up straight, but I've had no disasters yet. The only problem with this setup is that it's not portable.

Not being one to be satisfied with a good thing, I started thinking (and reading) about alternatives. For a pen press to be useful to me (YMMV, of course), it would have to (1) be a screw-type, not a lever-type, (2) support the pen and keep things aligned, (3) be portable, (4) be easy enough to make that even I could make it, and (5) be inexpensive.

While wandering down the aisles of my local HF, something caught my eye. $7.20 later, here's what I came up with:

PenPress1.jpg

PenPress2.jpg

1. It's screw-type. Since the screw is 8-TPI, one turn is 1/8", a quarter turn is 1/32" (more or less--I wouldn't bank on the absolute accuracy of HF tools)

2. The cradle supports the pen and keeps things straight. If you need more support, you can add a second cradle, or substitute one that's longer.

3. It's portable, but can easily be clamped to a bench.

4. If I made it, anyone can.

5. Cost is $8.99 for the clamp ($7.20 with a 20% off coupon), some scrap wood and a little time.

Okay, remember I'm new at this. No doubt I'll get a hundred responses from people who have done this before and can tell me why it won't work. But hey, it works for me. If it inspires or amuses anyone else, my work here is done.
 
Great Idea Did you cut the clamp down I never seen on that short ?




JakeAB said:
I agree with Daniel, that a screw-type press gives better control. I know that there are plenty of folks out there who have had great, long-term success with lever-type presses, but I keep having visions of doing the final assembly of the Perfect Pen, which I have spend half my life on, then have the kids decide that it would be funny to sneak up and say "Boo", or the cat jump on my back, or the compressor unexpectedly cycle on. One twitch of the hand on the lever, and my Perfect Pen is a collection of Perfect Toothpicks.

I've always just used a bench vise for a pen press (during my long pen-turning career of about two months), and have had no troubles at all. With no support under the pen, you have to be careful that things are lined up straight, but I've had no disasters yet. The only problem with this setup is that it's not portable.

Not being one to be satisfied with a good thing, I started thinking (and reading) about alternatives. For a pen press to be useful to me (YMMV, of course), it would have to (1) be a screw-type, not a lever-type, (2) support the pen and keep things aligned, (3) be portable, (4) be easy enough to make that even I could make it, and (5) be inexpensive.

While wandering down the aisles of my local HF, something caught my eye. $7.20 later, here's what I came up with:

View attachment 23363

View attachment 23364

1. It's screw-type. Since the screw is 8-TPI, one turn is 1/8", a quarter turn is 1/32" (more or less--I wouldn't bank on the absolute accuracy of HF tools)

2. The cradle supports the pen and keeps things straight. If you need more support, you can add a second cradle, or substitute one that's longer.

3. It's portable, but can easily be clamped to a bench.

4. If I made it, anyone can.

5. Cost is $8.99 for the clamp ($7.20 with a 20% off coupon), some scrap wood and a little time.

Okay, remember I'm new at this. No doubt I'll get a hundred responses from people who have done this before and can tell me why it won't work. But hey, it works for me. If it inspires or amuses anyone else, my work here is done.
Click to expand...
 
Maybe I missed it but a friend of mine suggested a pipe clamp like a surefoot. Just use a short pipe. That way you can have total control by screwing the pipe clamp as much as you need without having a mistake.
 
I just started turning yesterday, but I clamped a block of scrap wood from a blank in my nova chuck and turned a tenon on another similar piece and put it in my jacobs chuck. I now have a perfectly useful pen press built into my lathe. :)
 
For slims, which seem to have the most possibility of over pressing transmissions, I made a cradle for my press. I cut a scrap piece of 2x4 to the correct length, drilled a 1/2" hole lengthwise, and then ripped it, leaving me with a chunk of wood with a channel running the length of the top. This stops me from pressing too far.
 
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