Dip Pens

My mom is a very artistic person. She's created a lot of really nice things over the years in a plethora of media. So for this Christmas I decided to make her a set of dip pens. 

Dip pens are an older-but-still-relevant form of putting ink on a page. There are a ton of different types of nibs and inks available. They're incredibly versatile, with a dip pen you can use the exact combination you need to work in your style. Not only that, they're easy to swap out, easy to clean, and easy to maintain.

A dip pen is a very simple tool, consisting of four  pieces: the nib, the insert, and the holder (which is just turned wood and a brass tube). 

The insert is "inserted" into the brass  tube that's glued into the holder. You can buy the inserts cheaply online. The standard size will fit most nibs. It's just a round piece of steel with some claws on the inside to hold the nib. 

The nib is probably the most important part. The holder is about comfort, but the nib does all the work. Which nib does what, is a whole lesson that some one more qualified should teach you. Just Google for dip pen nibs and pick your favorite. 

The holder is where all the fun happens. This is the part we actually get to make our self. It was simply turned on a lathe, and a hole drilled into the end the nib insert will go. For the one pictured above, I wanted to try my hand was wire inlay. It was difficult. I used the very tip of a turning tool to make the groove. In hindsight, It would have been better to make a very narrow square gouge (As wide as the wire itself) and then use that to carve a square channel. I'll write a blog post about that if I ever get around to making one.

The groove ended up being triangular, which meant the wire would not stay in without force/glue. After muscling it around for a long time it eventually worked, and looked pretty decent.

Tak board

A friend of mine had a birthday recently, and I was on a roll working on things in the garage. I decided to continue that energy and build him something. 

I was pursuing around the internet, when I stumbled upon a website selling these fancy made tak boards for $700. I thought that price was outrageous, and gave me the idea to try and made my own.

Now mine isn't quite as nice as the $700 version, but it turned out better than I had hoped. The secret is having the right tools. 

Obligatory finish pour.

 The two big pieces were turned on a lathe. They're a little bigger than I would have liked. But you live and learn :)

The Tak board was constructed by ripping 6 strips of two separate types of wood. Gluing them edge to edge, then cross cutting at a precise width to make squares.

Since checker boards are difficult to get right, any minor mistake in the sizing of any squares will cause glaring errors in the surface where the four corners are meant to line up. I decided to add some flare between each of the squares. The idea was to lessen the visibility of the mistakes. Turns out, it really classes up the board and subdues the Ridgid square nature that is a checker board, into something more pleasing. 

In-between each strip during glue up, there is sandwiches three layers of veneer, two white woods, and paduk.

 

The board was framed to give it some body and substance. I thought about adding some form fitting foam into the game board to hold all the pieces. But I discovered too late that the frame was not deep enough to totally accommodate the larger pieces. My wife croche'd a bag instead and it was perfect.

The star of this project was the cross cut sled I built for my table saw. It is an invaluable tool for safely and accurately using a table saw. It prevents the working piece from moving, which reduces kick back. And makes it easier to cut exactly where you intend to. I used the sled to also cut 60 game pieces it a relatively short amount of time, and with near perfection.