So, I finally got around to trying the pen holder I bought. It does work, but as the pen tip gets mashed, it loses contact and the drawing becomes less reliable (I was drawing on a rough piece of old plywood). since it is in a horizontal position, the weight inside, intended to maintain contact, doesn’t function as it would in a conventional vertical spindle. Finding a way to put a spring it might work, but I am looking elsewhere at the moment. Since I switched to a c-channel z-axis, I don’t want to have to remove the router to install a pen, so I am thinking that @LakeWorthB suggestions might be the way to go. $80 is a bit much, and I’d probably have to order the 3-d printed one for about $20. A little more google searching also turned up this:
http://www.davegardner.org/CNC_PenHolder.html
If I can find some 1"x1" delrin, I will likely try to make one. Failing the delrin (which I prefer for friction reasons) I can get some aluminum to make it. I like that it is fairly low profile.
Anyone else doing much drawing with their Maslow?
Edit another expensive option: 3/8 SHANK PEN MARKING TOOL PEN MARKING TOOL [3002-2500-2] - $112.00 : Cosmos Industrial LLC
Which might be easy enough to make if you have access to a lathe