# Pen Tanker from Paduk and curly maple....



## redfishsc (Aug 10, 2008)

I decided to make myself a massive pen tote, I think "tanker" is the appropriate word. It's 30" long and 16" wide, 5 1/2" thick. Yes, it is HEAVY! 

I wanted trays that articulated like a nice tackle box, so I made a couple of prototypes and wound up with this, and I LIKE IT!!!!!!! This will make a fantastic display box for when I need to take a LOT of pens. 

It will hold more than 135 pens, but I prefer keeping them one space apart, gives the box less of a "stuffed" look. Well, that, and I don't have enough pens on hand to fill it up, as I have some others at stores.

The black tray inserts did not come with elastic string, so I used the Dremel to make holes to weave the black string through to hold the pens--- each pen has two loops to hold it.

The only thing I would modify is that I would make the wood hinges longer, because the back row of the middle and bottom trays aren't as easy to access as I'd prefer.

The box is made from quarter-sawn Paduk. The lid is the most unreal curly maple I've ever had. The bottom (not seen in pics) is 1/4" Finnish birch. 

Miter keys--- yellow birch.
Wooden handle-- hickory.
Pen trays--- mahogany with lock-shoulder joints.
Wooden tray hinges-- hickory with aluminum binding-posts as the pivot.
Box dividers (on either side of the trays)-- cherry.

The lid is finished with 5 coats of 100% Tung oil, cured for a month, and then the whole box was sprayed with several coats of satin conversion varnish (same thing I use on the pens).


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## hewunch (Aug 10, 2008)

:hypnotized: That is some kind of cool!

If the work you do for the school is half as nice, you are keeping the place better than I remember it.


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## brycej (Aug 10, 2008)

That is an amazing case. Beautiful woods and great finish. 

Where did you get the tray inserts?


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## workinforwood (Aug 10, 2008)

It is indeed a beauty!


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## devowoodworking (Aug 10, 2008)

Wow, exceptional work!!  :wink:


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## drayman (Aug 10, 2008)

wow that is a stunner, very well done. and yes you should be proud:beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty::beauty:


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## redfishsc (Aug 10, 2008)

brycej said:


> That is an amazing case. Beautiful woods and great finish.
> 
> Where did you get the tray inserts?




I bought the inserts from a guy that has a website selling fountain pen supplies, and it was over 6 months ago that I bought them, and for the life of me I can't remember where I bought them. I'll see if I can dig it up with our schnazzy new search feature, since it was someone here that informed me about the supplier.


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## VisExp (Aug 10, 2008)

:good: Redfish, that is some very nice woodworking! :good:  The curly maple and padauk with miter keys is an eye stopping combination!


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## ahoiberg (Aug 10, 2008)

holy cow that's nice! great work.


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## novop711 (Aug 10, 2008)

Excellent case, and beautiful job.


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## hilltopper46 (Aug 10, 2008)

A beautiful case.  

So..... I have to ask, do you listen to mp3 recordings of Greek irregular verbs while you work in the shop? Where do you find the time?


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## redfishsc (Aug 10, 2008)

Lol, hilltopper, I save the studying of irregular verbs for when I'm asleep. I have nightmares about deponent verbs and participles.

BTW most of this thing was done either before I clock in for work at the shop, or bits-n-pieces on my 15-minute breaks and lunch breaks.

I worked on this thing intermittently for nearly 6 months. Apparently patience pays off, this box came out as close to flawless as anything I've ever done (there are a couple of goofs in it but only one can be seen in the pic, and I ain't tellin!).


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## LanceD (Aug 10, 2008)

Great looking case. Hey where did those good looking price tags come from :devil::smile-big:.


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## Fred (Aug 11, 2008)

Great workmanship! Just don't let it out of sight as I'm sure it would develop legs and get away from you real fast! :wink:


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## BigRob777 (Aug 11, 2008)

Very nice work.
Rob


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## Mikey (Aug 11, 2008)

Very, very nice. If I was looking for a pen and someone showed up with a case like that, my first impression was that this person is very talented or knows beauty and quality.


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## LouisQC (Aug 11, 2008)

Great craftsmanship. I love it.


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## Grizz (Aug 11, 2008)

Oh man that is awesome!!!!   I'd ask you to make me one, but I know I couldn't afford it.


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## el_d (Aug 12, 2008)

That is VERY NICE.......


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## JayDevin (Aug 12, 2008)

very very very Nice


can I play with it?


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## bclaws (Aug 12, 2008)

That is an awesome piece of work.  you may wish to consider having someone sew a special cover for it like something in leather or velvet.  I'd really want to protect that great work.

Brian


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## kruzzer (Aug 12, 2008)

Great piece of work....


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## ldb2000 (Aug 12, 2008)

Spectacular !!!!!!!!
We need "Two Thumbs Up" and "Applause" smilies


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## DKF (Aug 12, 2008)

Absolutely beautiful!


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## redfishsc (Aug 12, 2008)

You guys are making me blush! 

I had a friend ask me how much I'd charge for that box, and I replied to him "all of it!". He got the point.


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## bitshird (Aug 15, 2008)

Man I would love to have a tote like that, it is beautiful, great work Matt


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## paulstenlund (Aug 15, 2008)

*Pen tray*

Some posted the link to the pen trays (or one similiar) a couple days ago, now the link is gone (I didn't save it). If it is not kosher to post it in the forum could you e-mail it to me

pstenlund@portoflongview.com

I need some desperately

Thanks
Paul


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## nava1uni (Aug 15, 2008)

Beautifully stunning to the eye. Exquiste work.  Do you need someone to test it out for you?  I would gladly do that for you


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## Ozzy (Aug 15, 2008)

Man!! That is awesome!


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## redfishsc (Aug 16, 2008)

paulstenlund said:


> Some posted the link to the pen trays (or one similiar) a couple days ago, now the link is gone (I didn't save it). If it is not kosher to post it in the forum could you e-mail it to me
> 
> pstenlund@portoflongview.com
> 
> ...




Paul, I've googled the fool out of it, and I just can't find the site I bought them from. I don't even have a clue as to the name. The only other option I have is to dig through my receipts and see if I can find the shipping invoice, but that will take a while with all I have to do. I can post the site as soon as I find it, it's perfectly kosher since I'm just a satisfied customer of theirs.


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## toolcrazy (Aug 17, 2008)

Gotta make something like that. Nice work. My current case is overrun.


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