Shopsmith Forums

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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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.