Shopsmith Forums

Hi Gang;
I just thought I would ad my two cents worth here. I just completed two laser cut inlaid pen kits and I would like to show them off. These kits are not cheap but they will make some fine gifts. The first is a bullet pen from Woodcraft with a pen kit from Rockler.
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The second is a woodcrafters pen with a Sierra pen and laser cut kit from Rockler
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I would NOT recommend these kits for a beginning pen turner, but if you have 10 or 12 succesful pens under your belt then should be OK. The woodworkers pen was a bit tedious to assemble. Tweezers would have been helpful
Bill V

Nice looking pens Bill. I especially like the woodworkers pen. I checked out the price at Rockler and see that it isn't cheap. I wouldn't mind turning one for myself. I see where the tweezers come in handy. My question is does this pen style require a special mandrel? I would suspect that it would require a specific size of bushing as well. I have only turned many 7mm slim style pens thus far but see that I am going to need to expand my styles.

RKH2
Hi Ron. The blanks turn on the usual 7mm mandrel with a set of bushings I also got from Rockler. The blanks come round so there is not a lot of material that has to be removed. I did sand down to about 6000 grit before using Hut products Crystal Coat finish. You are right they are not cheap although I did use a discount coupon from the current rockler catalog. Also the bullet pens from Rockler are also on sale at $6.99 compared to Woodcraft's regular price of 9.99 and the kits are the same.My son sells the bullet pens for $30.00 with only a plain wood top piece. Any kind of wood used on these pens really makes an impression.
Bill V

FYI - Added a project index by member name to the first post in this thread. As projects are added, I'll keep it updated.

We need to get more completed projects posted in this thread. You veterans must have some project photos in your archives. They don't have to be new projects. Even jigs and fixtures should go here.

Come on guys...lay 'em on. We do use these ShopSmith's for woodworking projects, right?

Ok MickyD;
here is my fixture for drilling pen blanks, a production run of cradles, an inlaid pen, and a cradle that was auctioned off during one of our toys for tots campaigns
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Mickyd
Here is the All American Hauler I made for my grandson.
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Bill V

Thanks Bill. The Hauler looks like an excellent toy. Great way to store those cars on the trailer. Looks like a rugged toy too. Thanks for contributing.

Here are a few items I still have pictures of that I made using my shopsmith. The bed for my grandson used the band-saw, horizontal boring, table saw, disc sander. The pens and baby rattle used the lathe mode.[ATTACH]10704[/ATTACH]

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Here is a project I did a couple years ago after I finished the basement. First I hung the TV on the wall then built the unit around. This is actually 4 separate pieces that are not held together with any fasteners. The top Crown molding is all one piece that slips over the 2 towers and holds it all together real tite. This was first time dealing with MDF which really paints up nice.

Mickyd
Here is a pic of some storage cabinets that I built in my garage. They 96" tall and 24" and 36" wide.
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Bill V