It has been asked who makes a good retractable pen kit and I never heard a good answer.  When I was working I bought Zebra brand pens from Sam's Club and found them to be a top notch pen.  I used them for twenty some years.  I had a couple here so I dissected one and devised a way to put a wood sleeve over them.  I went to Sam's to get a pack and found they offered mechanical pencils too.  I got both.  The prices worked out to a little over a dollar each pen or pencil.

 

 

Here are the pen and pencil and their parts.

 

 

I removed the stainless steel tubes and cut them in two.  I then glued them into the pen blanks.  The blanks had to be long enough to cover the steel tube and the black finger grip.  The finger grip had to be turned small enough to fit inside the tube and I did that at the Unimat Hobby lathe and also cut the tubes at the lathe with a rotary tool mounted to the cross slide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blanks had to be measured quite exactly so that once installed the pen nib would be screwed on and hold the wood cover tight on the pen.

 

 

I also used the hobby lathe to turn the bushings needed to mount and turn the blanks.

 

 

 

Here is how they turned out.  The transition at the ends of the blanks isn't smooth like most pens but they can't be because of the tube pieces. 

 

 

 

 

 It doesn't take that long to make them.  Once I have one machining operation set up I do enough for ten or more at a time.  I enjoyed the endeavor and will have some Christmas give away items that I think people will enjoy.   

 

 

Very Nice! What sort of wood did you use?

beautiful Dan..

can I get in line for any strays that get out on the loose...

Neat stuff! The pens look good and I really enjoy your problem solving and engineering on them!

 

Steve

1 hour ago, Chips N Dust said:

Very Nice! What sort of wood did you use?

 

The lighter colored ones are Cherry and the dark ones are Black Walnut.

16 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

beautiful Dan..

can I get in line for any strays that get out on the loose...

 

Christmas is a ways off.

That is some sweet engineering, Dan.

 

Gorgeous Pens!

Good job on the tutorial and pens. Looks like fancier gifts this year.

3 hours ago, HandyDan said:

 

Christmas is a ways off.

My birthday is about three weeks ahead of Christmas if that helps...

 

Great job and ingenuity on your part. Even better since the pens/pencils have a SS body to use as your insert...no rust or corrosion.

I don't think I've ever seen seen the Zebra brand or I would have owned them for work also...7mm on the pen & 5mm on the pencil is perfect.

Thanks for sharing your idea and creativity. 

Very creative.  Nothing like the feel of a good pen in your hand.

Great job, Dan, I go to Sams club all the time, will have to look for the Zebras,good to know where to find a good pen. You sure dressed those pens up fancy, hard to believe how uniform you can make each one, they look like peas in a pod.

Herb

Edited September 8, 20178 yr by Dadio