Ben turning pens for a long time. Mainly wood,,,98%. Give them away to friends, Drs., Car Service directors, mechanics, etc. Always makes the next visit a bit more welcoming. .
One of the items in pen making is pressing the parts together after turning. I saw on Pottz intro he has a horizontal press, these work great. Years ago never saw one of the presses so I used my Drill Press to do the same. See attached. This is simply a 3/4" square x 2 inch long piece of plastic. Has a 5/16" rod in it. The rod is mounted in the drill chuck. The base is another piece of plastic. 2" x 5 1/2" x 1/2" thick. None of these measurements are critical. The base is mounted on a larger piece of 1/2" ply with two boards with V grooves in it to hold the parts. By lowering the chuck the drill press is used to press the parts together. A great deal of pressure is there if needed or can be controlled by how hard one pulls the chuck down. The plastic keeps the parts from being marked. The distance needed for the press is adjusted by simply lowering or raising the drill press table. The room provided by the drill press table allows room for assembly instructions if needed or the next pens to be assembled.
My way of pressing parts together. Not any better or worse than commercial presses. All the parts to make this were just scraps in the shop. The drill press is next to my old Delta Mini Lathe so it is convenient to use. Happy to answer any questions.
