Turn Bullets Into Pens

From Momentary Impact to Lasting Ideas

A few months ago, I was out for a walk with my new grandbaby and her mom when we passed an open garage. If you're a maker, you know the rule: an open garage is an open invitation.

Turns out the guy was a precision target shooter who was repacking rounds. Coincidentally, the night before I’d been researching how to turn bullet shells into pens. I’m part of a woodturning club, and we make over 2,000 pens a year for active and retired military.

He handed me a box of spent 6.5 Creedmoor shells and said have at it. Later that night, after the Gbaby was finally asleep, I went to work.

Along the way to this build, I realized the pen wasn't the most interesting thing I was building. The more interesting idea was about transformation and taking something that had one purpose and giving it another.

A spent shell is easy to overlook. So is a discarded piece of wood. So is a failed idea. Yet some of the most meaningful improvements in the world begin when someone sees hidden potential where others see nothing or worse an ending.

This project is a reminder that transformation isn't limited to materials. It applies equally to ideas, opportunities, skills, communities, and even ourselves.

What started as curiosity turned into over 80 hours of research, design, and testing, (since I had to make over 100 of them). This Instructable documents how I transformed a spent shell into a handcrafted writing instrument, but the larger lesson is about Recalibration: taking something with one purpose and elevating it toward another.

How this Ible Contributes to a Better World

1. Reimagines discarded materials as something valuable and lasting.
2. Encourages creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning.
3. Promotes communication over conflict through the power of writing.
4. Demonstrates that small acts of transformation can create meaningful impact.
5. Inspires others to look beyond what something is and consider what it could become.

Materials

1. Spent Bullet shells
2. Lathe Pen Kit
3. Wood blanks
4. Epoxy or CA glue
5. Fine sandpaper (400–1000 grit)
6. Polishing compound (optional, for a mirror finish)
7. Solder and flux

Tools

1. Wood and Metal Lathe
2. Centering drill bits
3. 7 MM drill bit
4. Step Drill
5. Vise or clamp (important for safety)
6. Copper tube expander (Keep find to make things easier)
7. Deburring tool
8. Safety glasses
9. Taper Punch
10. Doming Punches
11. Hammer

*links added for example products.

Every transformation begins with a shift in perspective.

I like to ask different questions about things people often discord and wonder what else could it become?

Before any of this build began, I spent hours studying how I could make this pen efficiently. When I'm in design mode I like to run simulations in my head on the best approach to use. My wife can often tell when I'm zoning out like this and she laughs.

But this time this project had a deeper meaning, it wasn't just about making pens to honor people but rather a representation of striving to make something better, creating a positive and lasting impact in the world.

The fact I was converting a bullet shell to a pen made it all more transformational since bullets can represent:

1. violence, lethality, force, and the fragile line between life and death BUT also
2. a way to express a general idea into something sharp and impactful. It implies a piece of information that is delivered quickly, hits a target directly, and strips away all unnecessary clutter.

A pen may seem like a simple object, but it represents the power of choice and that each mark we make has the potential to become something greater: an idea, an innovation, a song, a poem, or a solution. It’s a reminder (or better a trigger) that the marks we make today can help shape a better world of tomorrow.

Now on to the make.

This is a critical step since you want the pen kit brass tube insert to fit snuggle into the shell so the pen cap aligns perfectly.

1. Secure the shell in the metal lathe chuck.
2. Slowly drill through the shell primer pocket with a centering drill bit. This helps the 7mm drill accurately.
3. Slowly drill with the 7mm drill bit until thru the shell - it's around 4mm.
4. Polish the shell with 0000 steel wool.
5. Ream the hole to remove sharp edges.

This step was the most challenging part and if not done right, the nib would feel sharp against your fingers - not good and I'd be berated at by my club members. I can't tell you how many approaches I tried to get this to work efficiently.

My first attempts took over 30 mins - not good. So I used GPT to brainstorm how to make my process more efficient. I had no idea there was a tool that would allow you to expand copper tubing in a controlled manner. That and a doming tool punch was the trick! -- This is the best tip in the entire process.

1. Make a Nib tester to check for fit smoothness. (This is just a nib attached to the pen copper tube.)
2. Use a copper tube expander tool to slowly increase the diameter of the tip of the shell ever so slightly to fit the Nib tester.
3. Use the round doming punch to gentle create a slight curvature on the shell tip so it smooth meets with the pen nib.
4. Use the Nib tester to check if there is a smooth transition between the bullet and nib.

I went from 30 minutes per shell to less than 2 minutes!

Here is the copper expander tool, my neighbor's garage where he repacks shells, and also some pics of my other trial and error approaches thru various steps of the process

Now for the easy part. This is just normal lathe pen making - You can see my other Ibles for details. 1, 2, 3, 4

1. Mount wood for the pen cap onto wood lathe chuck and drill 7mm hole.
2. Apply Epoxy or CA glue on the copper pen tubes (scuff with 80 grit sand paper first to get good bond).
3. Insert copper tubes into the wood pen blanks
4. Lathe the pen blank cap to your desired shape and use bushings the to match the size of the bullet shell.
5. Apply wood finish of your choice ( I use my home made friction polish).

The fun part.

1. Put a few dabs of CA glue in the shell to create a snug fit.
2. Place the shell and the nib into a vise and compress the nib into the shell tip. (If you did it right, you have a tight fit.)
3. Add the pen twist cartridge to the shell top and compress it just enough until the ink cartridge appears.
4. Place the pen cap in the vise and compress the pen clip and cap.
5. Fit the cap to the shell and give a twist to see if the ink tip is at your desired length - adjust cartridge carefully as needed.

When I started this project, my goal was simple: Build a pen from a spent shell.

What I didn't expect was the lesson that emerged along the way. We often live in a culture that encourages replacement.

1. Replace the object.
2. Replace the idea.
3. Replace the person.
4. Replace the system.

Sometimes replacement is necessary but sometimes the better answer is recalibration.

Sometimes the greatest value comes from recognizing untapped potential and helping it become something more.

1. A piece of brass can become a treasured writing instrument.
2. A mistake can become a lesson.
3. A setback can become motivation.
4. An idea can become an invention.
5. A conversation can become understanding.
6. A small action can become meaningful change.

The world does not improve through a single grand gesture.

1. It improves when millions of people choose to elevate what is already around them.
2. To see possibility where others see limits.
3. To create value where others see waste.
4. To contribute more than they consume.
5. To leave things a little better than they found them.

This pen is only one small example. My hope is that it inspires you to find your own opportunities for recalibration. A better world is built one transformed idea, one transformed object, and one transformed person at a time.

Aim Higher. Make a Lasting Marks.

(PS, If you are coming to the OC Fair, you can stop by and watch me make these pens. Or tell me how you made the world better :-).