My First Pens

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:47 pm

James,

I didn't purchase a starter kit, I just acquired everything I needed from Penn State one piece at a time. Therefore I wouldn't be a good source to answer your question. Your kit looks like a good deal to me.

Fred

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:29 pm

James
Check the Penn State Industries catalog. I believe that they have starter packages to acommodate people who have various levels of equipment. Their starter packages go all the way from a few bucks to packages that include lathe chisels and lathes.
Bill V

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:45 pm

When first beginning to turn Pens I bought a starter package from Woodcraft. Huge mistake over a period of several months I discovered nearly everything in the kit was useless. When my brother started turning pens I gave him a few of those items. He wasn't impressed either. Penn State is the place to start. A year or so ago I published a list of several links for useable pen turning items. This evening I am not finding that thread. Jim

getnby41 · Post by **getnby41** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:48 pm

I didn't mean to take over this thread. Thanks for all of your input.

littlec · Post by **littlec** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:45 am

Amazing work! You are doing great! Seriously, have you ever thought about turning this into your prime source of income?

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:13 am

littlec wrote:Amazing work! You are doing great! Seriously, have you ever thought about turning this into your prime source of income?

I was thinking that combining a pen with a letter opener in a nice little case would make nice gifts. Not sure what you could sell them for but the cost of producing them would be less than $10.00 I think. If the need arises and I find myself requiring extra income for that vacation trip of a lifetime making pen kits might be the answer. Has anyone on this forum ever tried to sell pen gifts for income and if so did you ever reach a point where it's not fun anymore.

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:20 pm

pennview wrote:Very nice pens, Fred. I'd expect that the third pen is some wood other than red oak, which has a coarse grain. Perhaps it's cherry, but then again it looks a bit too dark for cherry.

\

You are correct, it's Red Cedar not Oak.

camero68 · Post by **camero68** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:08 pm

Are you sure these are your firsts? No sign of being an amateur that is. No worries with flaws. Sometimes, flaws make a thing more splendid and stunning.

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:41 am

Ok, now the question is how much could I sell these pen/letter opener sets for to supplement my retirement if need be? It cost me about $10.00 for all the supplies and about 1 hour in total to construct.

[ATTACH]18047[/ATTACH]

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:59 am

Where I go for "Eye Doctor," the office has set out some custom pens for sale. They are made by the retired father of the eye-doctor. I think they are asking something like $30 for a nice pen. But I don't know how many they sell.