Here's something different. Vox pen box repair.

[Formulansx]

I decided I needed a nice pen box to keep my collection contained. I ended up settling on a vox 24 pen box but I wasn't going to throw down $300+ on one! I have pens to buy you know! I found one on eBay with slight damage to one corner so I bought it at a deep discount. Easy fix from the pictures. Once I received it though, the rosewood veneer had busted out of the back and the hinge was completely loose!! This was going to be some work! I contacted the seller with pics but it didn't really go anywhere. I decided to drop it and just fix the case. The problem was the box was not really made of wood but fiberboard. Pretty much just pressed paper. I was at least hoping for some cheap solid wood but nope, fiber board! What a pita to fix. I used a mildly flexible 3m epoxy called hysol to fill the corner using some clear plastic as a frame. Easy fix. The back though, I had to remove the chunk of veneer and fiber board and file it down. I put it back together with wood glue and clamped it over night. Then I went to work with the hysol and sandpaper! What a pos this box is! I would highly recommend staying away from these after the intimate experience I had with how they are built. Once the hysol set up, I went to work forming the corner and sanding the back of the box flat. The "foot" of the box was not even close to flush with the back of the box so I had to sand through most of it to get a flat plane. I was planning to paint the foot and back of the box gloss black so imperfections would show if the patch was not well finished. I lost track of how many hours I have into fixing this box. Eventually though I finished it using a duplicolor gloss black car wheel paint. Great paint!! Very easy to work with and very difficult to screw up if you put all coats down in an hour. I still need to color sand it out but overall it came out ok. Total pain though! I'll post some pics of the final box tomorrow. It's dark outside right now you savages!

The damage to the back

[Formulansx]

The chunk of pressed paper and veneer. Two small blocks of poplar or some business for the hinge screws to thread into.

[Formulansx]

Start laying down the epoxy patch. I would suggest something other than 3m hysol. Hysol is apparently harder to sand than anything else on the planet. This stuff is flexible over time but immediate sanding is just rediculous.

[Formulansx]

Wait a while and have a drink or three.

[Formulansx]

Few hours later, start sanding forever.

[Formulansx]

Re formed corner. This was the easy part. I'll post some pics of the painted areas tomorrow.

[Formulansx]

Here's a pic of the finished box. The corner needs to be sanded and polished. It's service grade right now. I put a ton of paint on there so I'll have a good amount I can remove before burning through.

[Formulansx]

The back of the box.

[Formulansx]

The bulk of my collection in one pic.

[Formulansx]

Fountain pens basking in the sun

[Bisquitlips]

Awesome job!!! I would never have believed it would have turned out that good judging by the initial photographs!

Wow!!!

[aekdb]

Amazing repair job!

[Lordofrolex]

Nice job. Also nice collection.

[Formulansx]

It was definitely a struggle but I was able to add another pen to my collection with the savings!! (Not pictured yet)

[Rogdogg]

Very nicely done. Good job. Your collection is very nice!

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by Rogdogg

Very nicely done. Good job. Your collection is very nice!

Thank you sir! I'm looking forward to some pics of your new watermark and the other fine pens you picked up on that order. I have a feeling it's going to hit my wallet pretty hard

[Bisquitlips]

How did you sand that epoxy down? Grit of paper and what kind of sander?

Again... just a beautiful job!

[Formulansx]

Unfortunately I sanded it by hand. I have a black and decker mouse that would have been good for the job but I haven't used it in years. Couldn't find it anywhere. I started with 120 grit. I would suggest using a softer epoxy. I went to a 240 grit and then a 400 grit paper. After that, lots of black paint. I'm going to finish it with 1000, 2000, 3000, and polish it out once The paint has had a long time to dry and the blisters have healed

[Rafael M]

Great work!
I wish I had the space for a small workshop.
No way in a small NYC apartment!

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by Rafael M

Great work!
I wish I had the space for a small workshop.
No way in a small NYC apartment!

It would have been a mess sanding the epoxy indoors but I did do most of the setup and epoxy work in my kitchen