Check out my Sapele Pen Display Case

It's been a minute, right? 

Among the many pieces I've been building lately - this is one of my favorites, although it didn't come without a few struggles and second-guesses. 

A few years ago, one of my students offered to help me with some legal work. When I found out that he'd started turning pens on the lathe, it dawned on me that a perfect thank-you gift would be a pen display case to hold some of his creations.

You know, it really does take a village - another student told me about an amazing store here in Las Vegas. I would have never known about this place, but it's been an absolute life-saver when building display cases. 

 Ralph Jones Display sells a huge assortment of padded inserts, perfect for the inside of cabinets that I've built. In this case, I'm using their padded ring mats, which work perfectly for displaying pens.

This Sapele case has an upper area which will be under glass, and a lower drawer for holding more pens. 

Once the case was built, the hardware became the next battle. 

These no-mortise Lee Valley hinges with a gunmetal finish are my favorite hinge to use on cabinets like this. 

But I was having a hard time finding a matching knob. I love these simple knurled brass knobs, but they were bright brass. 

A little research on metal patinization led me to some patinas that would turn the bright brass darker.  

And of course - again - it takes a village. The metal worker a few doors from my shop had a variety of patinas for me to test.  These solutions work quickly, 

and offer a variety of colors.  

The Dark Pewter was the winner, after a little experimentation. 

This sample piece of brass darkened after one dip in the solution. 

A quick dip turned the knobs a perfect color! 

Here's the finished display case - but my battle wasn't finished. 

Just as I assembled everything, I noticed a small crack in the glass. Luckily, I had another piece of glass.

 I haven't decided if I'll install a small chain or lid support or not. It won't be easy to install, so I might just make a fancy lid prop, like the one shown below.  

That wraps up another project, but I have a few big projects lined up, so it's going to be a busy summer! 

To be continued....