# Homemade Closed end pen Mandrels



## JD Combs Sr (Mar 14, 2011)

I need closed in pen mandrel for a cigar look-a-like pen I made the other day.  I made a couple to fit Churchill blanks.  Though others might be able to use my method.

I have a three foot piece of 5/8" cold rolled rod.  I cut a couple of appropriate length pieces and drill a 1/4" hole through the center.  Turned part of the rod to fit the blank.  picked up a couple long 1/4-20 bolts at the borg.  Cut a short piece from some 1/4" air hose that I had.  Assembled everything together, turned a little off the air hose to fit inside the blank and presto a couple of closed in pen mandrels.

Cautionary note, these are not for a specific OD size blank.  I used them for 3/4" cigar replica.  For a closed end churchill a churchill size bushing would be needed.


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## alphageek (Mar 14, 2011)

Ohhhh.. thats an awesome thought.... I may have to have a go at that!


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 15, 2011)

Wicked awesome idea! It looks pretty easy to make also!

You should think of putting this in the Shops/Jigs/Fixtures Forum as it might get missed here.


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## cnirenberg (Mar 15, 2011)

That's cool.  I like this a lot.


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## IPD_Mr (Mar 15, 2011)

This is a fantastic ideas.  Especially for kits that there are no closed end mandrels available for.  

Of course I had to look at JD's profile and this sure made sense.

Occupation Retired Manufacturing Eng.  
Thanks for sharing a great idea.


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## shadrach1944 (Mar 17, 2011)

*Barnwood and Tobacco stick pens*

Hey JD! Looks and sounds Great! 
I created a few closed end pens only using the mandrel and they came out looking pretty good but not the best, I will try your invention, thanks for sharing. Here's some I created with wood from Bath county given to me by Billie Williams on Mud Lick road last year. 
one of the closed end pens using the standard mandrel.


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## monophoto (Mar 17, 2011)

I'm a fountain pen person, but really dislike the pen design that includes a metal post at the end of the body.  I recently made a CSUSA Artisan Pen in a closed-end configuration using a home-made mandrel.  

Standard pen turning bushings are designed for use with a 1/4" mandrel.  So my approach started with a piece of 1/4-20 allthread.   I drilled a hole in a small bit of HDPE, and then threaded the hole at 1/4-20.  Then, I turned the plastic down to a diameter that would slip inside the 10mm tube that came with the pen kit.  

I had previously made an Artisan following the kit instructions, so I was able to get an exact measurement of the internal space that would be required to hold the FP converter.  I cut a blank 1/2" longer than that dimension, and then drilled a 10mm hole that stopped 1/2" from the end of the blank.  After gluing in the tube and squaring the end, I mounted the blank on my homemade mandrel with a bushing at the open end, and the plastic spacer at the closed end to center the tube on the mandrel.  I used a Jacobs chuck to hold the mandrel on the headstock, with the live center in the tailstock holding everything in line. 

The live center in the tailstock will carve a divot in the closed end.  The solution to that is to either make the blank a bit longer than necessary, or glue a small bit of waste wood on the closed end, and expect to part that off after completing and finishing the body of the pen.  I made the mistake of using a bit of MDF for this waste, and discovered the hard way that a bit of hardwood (perhaps a cutoff from another pen project) would have been better.  As the piece is turned, the live center will gradually bore into the MDF, and eventually the MDF split.  Hardwood would resist both the drilling effect and the tendency to split.  

The other subtle point is that putting a fiber washer between the metal turning bushing and the nose of the Jacobs chuck provides a cushion so that when you tighten the tailstock there is something on the axis to compress and hold the blank in position.  

Obviously, the cap end of the body has to be turned and finished separately.


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## JD Combs Sr (Mar 18, 2011)

shadrach1944 said:


> Hey JD! Looks and sounds Great!
> I created a few closed end pens only using the mandrel and they came out looking pretty good but not the best, I will try your invention, thanks for sharing. Here's some I created with wood from Bath county given to me by Billie Williams on Mud Lick road last year.
> one of the closed end pens using the standard mandrel.



I am not familiar with Mr Williams or Mud Lick road but a friend of my just tore down an old barn also in Bath Co.  He let me take several pieces of some of the columns.  Most were old oak but one was wormy chestnut.  I have turned several tobacco stick pens from sticks stored in the same barn. 

Good luck on making the closed end pen mandrel.  I have used mine to make 2 pens and 2 more are in the wings.


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