Monthly Archives: May 2015

Pen Turners Workbook Vol 3 in Korean!

Now Available in Korean

Now Available in Korean

David Duk-Su purchased the Pen Turner’s Workbook from a book store, and thought it would be a good book to translate in Korean.
He approached me over a year ago, right after the third edition was published, and we started to work on the translation. David thought this would be a good book to translate into Korean since the popularity of pen making is rising, and you don’t need a lot of space to make pens. David approached a Korean publisher, and to his astonishment, he found out that no woodworking book has EVER been translated from English to Korean! There are Korean woodworking books, but this is the first woodworking book of any kind to be translated into Korean. Obviously, my Korean is a tad rusty, so I had to rely on David to do ALL the work. It took well over a year. We went back and forth on certain phrases because English does not directly translate in Korean easily. Now it has been published in Korean, and I am proud of the work David did to accomplish it – my many thanks to him!

Now, if I can only get him to send me over there for a free book tour!
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It Can Happen To Anyone!

Paradise City Arts Festival is coming up this Memorial Day Weekend in Northampton, MA. As usual, I am scrambling to get things finished.  This past weekend was a crazy busy weekend with all the “honey do’s”, taking care of the lawn, and I had to squeeze in making a few last minute pens (14 of them) and  (7) pepper grinders. (The photo is only showing 3 of them.)

Pens & Pepper Grinders for Show

Pens & Pepper Grinders for Show

As I was turning one of the casted abalone shell pen blanks, I chipped out one of the ends.  I lost my concentration and “ding”  it went!  I looked for the little chipped out piece for about 20 minutes, cursing all the time “how stupid and dumb” I was for letting it happen. But then I remembered what someone once told me, “it can happen to anyone”. Even the best of turners have a lapse of concentration, and can blow up a project.  So I took a deep breath and a few seconds later I found my little chipped out piece.

Now, what to do with the chip?

I used medium CA glue and glued it back in, and then for good measure added, some more medium CA glue around the entire chipped out piece.  I put it back on the lathe and this time paying attention, finished it without any further issues.  Once it was all done and polished, I put the repaired section underneath the clip, and you can see the results for yourself – no one will ever know – please don’t tell anyone about this, especially at the Paradise City Arts Festival!

Chipped Out Piece

Chipped Out Piece

Chip Glued Back In.

Chip Glued Back In.

What Chip?  Do You See A Chipped Pen?

What Chip? Do You See A Chipped Pen?

 

 

Lever Action Bullet Ballpoint Click Pen Kits: In Stock & Price Goes Up Tonight!

Lever action Bullet Click Pen

Lever action Bullet Click Pen

Lever Action Bullet Ballpoint Click Pen Kits are now back in stock, and will continue to be offered at the introductory price of $12.80 until TONIGHT – Thursday 11:59 PM EDT.  After that, they will go back up to the list price of $14.95 each. Act fast and order now, the price goes up TONIGHT! Offer Expired

These pen kits are THE fastest selling ones in a long time. They are a great addition to the line of bullet-style pens. These finished pens sell very well, and usually sell out, at every show. Just demo them at your booth or table.

We like to keep our promise that our blog and social media subscribers will be the first to know any important news or offers. An email blast will go out to our FULL list of customers & subscribers in an hour or two.  Customers on our  “watchlist”, and they have been notified that the Lever Action Bullet Ballpoint Click Pen Kits are now back in stock.

Don’t miss out, head on over to the ArizonaSilhouette website to order your kits while they are still available, and at the introductory price!

 

Atlantic Shore Woodturners Meeting & Answers To Your Casting Questions

Atlantic Shore Woodturners Meeting

Atlantic Shore Woodturners Meeting

Thank you to the  Atlantic Shore Woodturners for having me at your meeting last evening.  This was the third time in the past 12 days that I demonstrated for a group on making clear casted pen blanks .

 

Some of the same questions keep coming up, and I thought I would share them with everyone:

Is there a kit that has everything in it to make clear pen blanks?
Yes,  the Pen Blank Casting Kit from Arizona Silhouette.

What pen kit should I use?
I suggest using a larger pen tube kit such as a Sierra, Sierra Vista, Gatsby, Wall Street II of Wall Street III. They all use a 27/64″ pen tube which will give you a larger surface area to use.

What type of paint do I use to paint the tubes?
Any acrylic paint from your local hobby store will work.  Just make sure that you rough up the pen tubes first.

Do I need a pressure pot or vacuum chamber to cast polyester pen blanks?
No, if you are using polyester resin, you do not need vacuum or pressure to cast your blanks.  If you are using Alumilite then yes, you definitely *will* need a pressure pot, you do not need to deal with all the bubbles that form with Alumilite.

Why don’t I need a pressure pot?
The reason you do not need a pressure pot is that you are pouring the resin in 3 separate pours so if any bubbles do form they will come to the surface by themselves and break open into the air.  If you try and pour it all at once, then you run the risk of getting air trapped in your pour and ruining your pen blank.

What type of printer and paper do I need to make a picture or logo pen?
I use regular ink jet paper with an ink jet printer.  Photo paper is too thick, and will not wrap around the pen tube properly.  I paint the pen tube with white paint to make the photo brighter as well. Also, DO NOT use a laser jet  printer.  The laser jet ink will “float” off because the resin will attack the ink – so only use an ink jet printer!

Why don’t you see “lines” on the finished pen since you are pouring three separate times?
Good Question!  I am not a chemist, all I can say is that I have made thousands of pens using this method and NOT ONCE have I seen a pour line after it has been wet sanded and polished the pen blank.  So relax and enjoy your own creation!


Lever action Bullet Click Pen

Lever action Bullet Click Pen

The fastest selling pen kits on the market today, the Lever Action Pen Kits, once again sold out in less than a day!

A new shipment will come into our warehouse on Thursday morning and we will still offer them at the introductory price of $12.80, but only until 11:59 PM EDT on Thursday.  After that, the price will go back up to $14.95 – so act now – call us at 1-888-717-4202 to reserve your pen kits at the reduced cost.

Lever Action Bullet Pen Kits Are Back In Stock!

Lever action Bullet Click Pen

Lever action Bullet Click Pen

Lever Action Bullet Ballpoint Click Pen Kits are now back in stock, and will continue to be offered at the introductory price of $12.80 until Thursday 11:59 PM EDT.  After that, they will go back up to the list price of $14.95 each so act fast and order now, before the price goes up!

These pen kits truly are the fastest selling ones in a long time. The finished pens sell well, and usually sell out, at every show. You just have to demo them at your booth or table.

We like to keep our promise that our blog and social media subscribers will be the first to know any important news or offers. We are preparing an email blast to go out to our FULL list of customers & subscribers.  Almost *HALF* of this Lever Action Pen Kit shipment  is already spoken for because people have asked to be put on the “watchlist”, and they have been notified that the Lever Action Bullet Ballpoint Click Pen Kits are now back in stock.

Don’t miss out, head on over to the ArizonaSilhouette website to order your kits while they are still available, and at the introductory price!

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Mid-Atlantic Pen Gathering

Barry Gross demonstrating at MAPG

Barry Gross demonstrating at MAPG

The Mid-Atlantic Pen Gathering is in the history books for another year and all who attended gained some knowledge, shared their experiences and most importantly had fun! 😀

Kurt Hertzog offered his insights on pen making, Roy Robaldo offered tips on nibs, Charlie Wortman turned between centers, Bruce Robbins and Bill Walters showed how to thread and I demonstrated how to clear cast items on pen tubes.

Kurt Hertzog at MAPG

Kurt Hertzog at MAPG

 

 

Happy participants at the MAPG

Happy participants at the MAPG