Wine cork pen rest

This is as simple as it gets 

but 

DAMN if it isn't a well functioning solution.

i keep a LARGE bag of wine corks next to a 36" bench top grinder. every now and then i just pull one out and make a cork pen rest. the entire process takes a few minutes and the final result ends up being more refined then one might think. I appreciate many aesthetics but when it come to a pen rest i personally prefer a bit more of a clean look. after all in a way it is acting as a pedestal for a fine writing instrument.

the process is 4 simple steps:

1.   i flatten the bottom of the cork. i remove as much cork as i want the overall height of the final rest.

2.  i square up the sides. this removes the chewed up marks from the corkscrew and can remove wine stains if desired.

3.  with a dremel rotary tool and a small sanding drum i gouge out a notch for the rest. i do try to keep the marks i make crisp. because a cork is so curved i like the contrasting hard edges.

4.  i give it a quick spray of helmsmen spray. i like the clear coat slightly wet look. cork is so textured and this treatment makes variance more dramatic. 

different style of corks work equally well. for the more sparkling type corks i do not worry about squaring off the top and sometimes i don't square of either side.

Chronodex week 9,10 and 11 not always time for a photo

Taking that final photo of an image is my way of punctuating the chronodex making process.

however

as the past few weeks have shown that can not always be done.

upon review of this post i sort of feel as if i have failed at this endeavor. only 8 images to show for 19 working days. although photos do not take long to produce they are still an additional element that can consume just enough time during those periods when time is too precious. 

chronodex 2.23.2015
"star dangling chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards
twsbi mini
esterbrook no 20 clip
esterbrook cord clip
stainless steel sharpie

chronodex 2.26.2015
"three border fold chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards
esterbrook lj 

chronodex 2.27.2015
"magnified chronodex"
waltham fountain pen
morning glory red
doane pocket notebook
esterbrook clip

chrono 3.1.2015
"windowed border chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
esterbrook no 20 clip
sharpie stainless steel
esterbrook lj
eagle turquoise drafting pencil

chronodex 3.3.2015
"point of the page chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card
chavoz drafting pencil
twsbi mini
esterbrook no 20 clip
wine crate clipboard

chronodex 3.6.2015
"highlighted stripes chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
morning glory red

chronodex 3.12 and 3.13.2015
"simple chronodex"
kaweko skyline
eagle turquoise drafting pencil
esterbrook no 20 clip
doane pocket notebook

chronodex 3.15.2015
"fenix lit chronodex"
fenix
hl human pelican clip
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card
kaweco al fountain pen
chavoz drafting pencil
esterbrook no 20 clip

in fact, i am quite sure that there is a direct relationship with how many photos of chronodex i have and the ridiculous demands of my job at times. 

Polyolefin heat shrink tubing to cover a cracked Pilot Prera demonstrator fountain pen.

A cracked Pilot Prera fountain pen cap on an older, WELL used, writer is not much of a surprise. 

as much as i really like this pen, the fact is that it is one of my knock around work pens. 

this utilitarian prera is only going to get a real utilitarian fix.

before i go into the fix i had better briefly describe the damage: 

after a short drop, the crack started at the base's metal ring and reached out about 1/2 an inch. for such a little cap that really is a damaging blow. fortunately, the metal ring was holding well so i really just needed to stop the crack from spreading at the end and reinforce middle. 

NOTE: this repair is not for quality pens. when ink gets into the cap it can stain the glue.

i applied super glue through the caps interior into the crack. i did not wipe away the excess and positioned the inner sleeve over it. i was counting on adhering the sleeve to really help reinforce the crack (being a work pen i was counting on it falling on cement again). in about 2 minutes the repair was done. if this was a nicer pen i would have taken the time to completely dismantle, apply a proper epoxy to the crack and then buff out before reassembly.

but

it is not, so to cover the still visual crack in this demonstrator i cut some 1/2" polyolefin heat shrink tubbing to length. 1/2" is almost a perfect fit so it slid over fairly snuggly. just needed a bit of heat to tightly form around the slight taper.

this tight skin lasted for about a month before the polyolefin loosened up just a bit from the constant clipping in and out of a pocket. to fix this i simply applied a drop of super glue under the tubing before heating. since then it has stayed firm for months now. this tubing is also very durable and aesthetically blends in very well to the smoke accents on the pen. 

a drop of super glue under the polyolefin heat shrink tubing will keep it from  moving on the pen.