Equipment to make accessories

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
jwall459

jwall459

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2026
Messages
3
Location
Santa Maria, CA
I am new to the community and excited to learn from you all. I am curious if anyone has suggested tools to use for making accessories or advanced tooling or techniques beyond the bespoke pen basics. For instance I want to make my own clips, finial, center band, maybe nibs, plastics, engraving and stamping. What tools and supplies do you recommend for doing the extras?
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I don't have a metal lathe or mill, or the space to add one to my tool collection. I make clips from sheet material (stainless and titanium alloy). After cutting a couple of blanks using a jeweller's saw, I decided to get a hand-held metal bandsaw (this HarborFright Bauer model) and the SWAG Off-road Portaband table. It made cutting out the clip blanks much easier. (I drill them first using a step-drill mounted in my drill press.)

I bought a miniature belt sander. Between that and a rotary tool with mini sanding drums and buffs I can shape, smooth and polish them.

I started putting the bend in the clips using a vise and mallet. After a while I talked with Rick Herrell and he built a jig to hold the blank, it makes it much simpler to get the bends right (as in "bends, not creases or folds").
 
duncsuss said:
I don't have a metal lathe or mill, or the space to add one to my tool collection. I make clips from sheet material (stainless and titanium alloy). After cutting a couple of blanks using a jeweller's saw, I decided to get a hand-held metal bandsaw (this HarborFright Bauer model) and the SWAG Off-road Portaband table. It made cutting out the clip blanks much easier. (I drill them first using a step-drill mounted in my drill press.)

I bought a miniature belt sander. Between that and a rotary tool with mini sanding drums and buffs I can shape, smooth and polish them.

I started putting the bend in the clips using a vise and mallet. After a while I talked with Rick Herrell and he built a jig to hold the blank, it makes it much simpler to get the bends right (as in "bends, not creases or folds").
Click to expand...
I love it. Do you happen to have any pics of your clips? Also do you have a pic of the jig Rick Herrell made for you?
 
duncsuss said:
Pix of clips and tools in this thread: https://www.penturners.org/threads/new-jig-from-rick-easier-pen-clips.183355/
Click to expand...
Thank you for this. I was at the beginnings of knee replacement rehab when you posted that.
JWALL, thank you for this thread. I have been on this forum for 20+ years and missed the posts/thread by Duncsuss.

Duncsuss - I make spacers of brass for segment separators in my segmented pens that look similar in shape to the hole end of your clips. Only instead of sanding them round, the brass (and sometimes aluminum) turns round while in the segments. Thanks again.
 
duncsuss said:
I don't have a metal lathe or mill, or the space to add one to my tool collection. I make clips from sheet material (stainless and titanium alloy). After cutting a couple of blanks using a jeweller's saw, I decided to get a hand-held metal bandsaw (this HarborFright Bauer model) and the SWAG Off-road Portaband table. It made cutting out the clip blanks much easier. (I drill them first using a step-drill mounted in my drill press.)

I bought a miniature belt sander. Between that and a rotary tool with mini sanding drums and buffs I can shape, smooth and polish them.

I started putting the bend in the clips using a vise and mallet. After a while I talked with Rick Herrell and he built a jig to hold the blank, it makes it much simpler to get the bends right (as in "bends, not creases
Click to expand...

duncsuss said:
I don't have a metal lathe or mill, or the space to add one to my tool collection. I make clips from sheet material (stainless and titanium alloy). After cutting a couple of blanks using a jeweller's saw, I decided to get a hand-held metal bandsaw (this HarborFright Bauer model) and the SWAG Off-road Portaband table. It made cutting out the clip blanks much easier. (I drill them first using a step-drill mounted in my drill press.)

I bought a miniature belt sander. Between that and a rotary tool with mini sanding drums and buffs I can shape, smooth and polish them.

I started putting the bend in the clips using a vise and mallet. After a while I talked with Rick Herrell and he built a jig to hold the blank, it makes it much simpler to get the bends right (as in "bends, not creases or folds").
Click to expand...
I reached out to Rick Herrell and he does not make that poece anymore. Bummer. It looks like a cool tool.
 
jwall459 said:
I reached out to Rick Herrell and he does not make that poece anymore. Bummer. It looks like a cool tool.
Click to expand...

I used a couple other things before this jig. One was a pair of vise grips to hold the ring - I ground a radius on one of the jaws so when I hammered on it there wasn't a crease - but the jaws left a mark.

After that, I used a bench vise (the type that has a screw-clamp to hold it to the edge of a bench). The jaws have replaceable facing, so I made a set of jaws from HDPE, again one had a radius. That was better because the HDPE didn't mark the clip.
 
The tool Rick made looks very useful, but I don't quite understand the bar on the bottom. Do you mind taking a couple more pictures of it? Or perhaps a video of it in action?
 
Jarod888 said:
The tool Rick made looks very useful, but I don't quite understand the bar on the bottom. Do you mind taking a couple more pictures of it? Or perhaps a video of it in action?
Click to expand...

I can't get to it right now. Do you mean the bar with a slot next to it? If so, that's for making "the return bend" at the end of the clip. with the end of the clip into the slot, I bend it over the half-round bar till the end looks a bit like a ski jump.
 
duncsuss said:
I can't get to it right now. Do you mean the bar with a slot next to it? If so, that's for making "the return bend" at the end of the clip. with the end of the clip into the slot, I bend it over the half-round bar till the end looks a bit like a ski jump.
Click to expand...
Great! Thanks for the info. Whenever you get to it, if you wouldn't mind taking some pictures, I'd appreciate it. No rush!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom