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Anyone tried Pens of Color?
I hope this doesn't sound too much like an ad, but i found this place on Ebay
and they've been very good.. Just getting dragged kicking and screaming into turning pens, I went on Ebay to see what was up there for pens.. I found a pretty good deal on some red heart blanks and bought them.. the seller was very fast and very helpful.. also sent a "gift" with the blanks, 2 zebrawood blanks.. I then checked out the Poc web site and they became my pen turning supply place! http://www.pocwoodworking.com/ I've ordered from them 3 times in the last 30 days and their/her customer service is incredible.. also, her prices beat anyone else that I can find... The reason I HAD to post this is a recent mistake on my order: Part of my order was 3 purple heart bottle stopper blanks for $195 each... when I got the shipment, I found 3 purple stabilized blanks instead, which were $4.99 each.. I email Sheila there and told her about it, she asked me to send the blanks back and she's send my the ones that I ordered.. I found out that it was going to cost me/her $500 o send them back, sort of killing the $6 she had lost by sending the wrong blanks.. she told me to just keep the blanks, which was probably common sense... Today, I got an email from her saying that she had sent me the 3 original blanks that I'd ordered, at no cost... As much as I bitch about other vendors, I had to post this positive one... I would definitely recommend giving them a try, I'm very happy... Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
SNIP
also, her prices beat anyone else that I can find... SNIP Part of my order was 3 purple heart bottle stopper blanks for $195 each... SNIP I out that it was going to cost me/her $500 o send them back I don't know about how good the prices really are Mac. Seems the shipping back was almost as much as the $585 for the stoppers. Sure, I can see the $585 for three stopper blanks, but NOT $500 for shipping. ;^) Robert |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
Go to www.penturners.org. You will find all you need to know about pen
turning and other providers like P.O.C. Bob `S` In message , mac davis writes I hope this doesn't sound too much like an ad, but i found this place on Ebay and they've been very good.. Just getting dragged kicking and screaming into turning pens, I went on Ebay to see what was up there for pens.. I found a pretty good deal on some red heart blanks and bought them.. the seller was very fast and very helpful.. also sent a "gift" with the blanks, 2 zebrawood blanks.. I then checked out the Poc web site and they became my pen turning supply place! http://www.pocwoodworking.com/ I've ordered from them 3 times in the last 30 days and their/her customer service is incredible.. also, her prices beat anyone else that I can find... The reason I HAD to post this is a recent mistake on my order: Part of my order was 3 purple heart bottle stopper blanks for $195 each... when I got the shipment, I found 3 purple stabilized blanks instead, which were $4.99 each.. I email Sheila there and told her about it, she asked me to send the blanks back and she's send my the ones that I ordered.. I found out that it was going to cost me/her $500 o send them back, sort of killing the $6 she had lost by sending the wrong blanks.. she told me to just keep the blanks, which was probably common sense... Today, I got an email from her saying that she had sent me the 3 original blanks that I'd ordered, at no cost... As much as I bitch about other vendors, I had to post this positive one... I would definitely recommend giving them a try, I'm very happy... Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm -- Robert Strudwick |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
Mac, just havin' a little fun at your expense. Nothing personal as I
make typos all the time. Sometimes I post something that I have chopped out in the wee hours on the keyboard and even I don't know what I was trying to say. BTW, I think $1.70 is pretty good price for a quality slimline. I don't know why you are going "kicking and screaming" into pen turning. I turned and sold enough to pay for about $700 - $800 dollars of new lathe toys a few years ago. Even though I don't turn them now except rarely (currently working on lathe turned wood jewelry) they make excellent one-of-a-kind gifts. I know some turn their noses up at turning pens, but if I can sell it or make somebody happy with it, I'm turning it. Robert |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
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Anyone tried Pens of Color?
Prometheus wrote:
I figure that I've made the investment in expensive toys, and now it's my privilege to do whatever I feel like with them- irregardless of the general status quo. After all, if you're not having fun, what's the point? :) Amen, brother, amen. A lathe is simply a tool; no more, no less. It is no different to me than one of my nailguns or my drill press. It is provides a means to the ends I want. Robert |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
On 17 Mar 2006 19:37:01 -0800, wrote:
Mac, just havin' a little fun at your expense. Nothing personal as I make typos all the time. Sometimes I post something that I have chopped out in the wee hours on the keyboard and even I don't know what I was trying to say. BTW, I think $1.70 is pretty good price for a quality slimline. I don't know why you are going "kicking and screaming" into pen turning. I turned and sold enough to pay for about $700 - $800 dollars of new lathe toys a few years ago. Even though I don't turn them now except rarely (currently working on lathe turned wood jewelry) they make excellent one-of-a-kind gifts. I know some turn their noses up at turning pens, but if I can sell it or make somebody happy with it, I'm turning it. Robert Never any offence taken.. i know a fellow smart ass when I see one.. *g* I just wasn't into the small amount of turning time involved in pens, partly because I thought that the assembly would take a lot longer than 5 minutes... Still very little "turning" involved and a huge amount of sanding time.. I'm still not crazy about them and would much rather have shavings flying while turning bowls, but my wife and neighbors like them and I might sell a few.. I'm doing the "cigar" type now and like them a lot better.. more wood to turn and no "wasp waist" look as in the slimline kits that my wife got me.. Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 01:44:28 -0600, Prometheus wrote:
I turn whatever strikes my fancy, and while that hasn't yet included pens, I've made plenty of stuff that others may (or may not) turn up their noses at. (Last project was a bowl made of laminated scrap construction ply, just to see how it'd look) I figure that I've made the investment in expensive toys, and now it's my privilege to do whatever I feel like with them- irregardless of the general status quo. After all, if you're not having fun, what's the point? :) that's me, also... it's not that i think pens are low class or anything... just so little wood to turn.. Kind of like having a craving for a pint of ale and going to a wine tasting with those itty bitty cups.. *g* I'mm working out the design of a "pointy" stick pen though.. maybe a 12 or 16 inches should be long enough.. Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
Mac - after I learned how to make pens, I decided to make some money
with them. Since hand turned pens are everywhere now, it may or may not be possible. But if you want to turn out something that you could sell a few of and be proud, I studied how the others around me failed and went the other way. This is how I did it. I turned the best pen I could using the best materials available. Best kits, best woods. I used real ebony, real horn, and any eye catching piece of exotic wood that looked really unusual. I turned the wood pieces to fit the kit pieces, not to the bushings. So I turned to withing a couple of thousandths of the bushings, and then finished up turning the pieces with my calipers set to the actual piece it to fit. Anything that didn't pass muster went in the trash. I actually went back to WC and bought several bags of brass tubes so I could make sure I had more on hand in case a piece went to the circular file. I carefully finished each pen with a variety of finishes, making sure each was as good as I could get it. Then I went down to WoodCraft and bought their $1.99 box to put the pens inside. I carefully pulled up the bottom panel, and pulled it out of the box. I made some small cards out of 20# card stock with the type of wood, where it came from, and a description of the hardware (24K gold plated and hard black anodized) etc. Everything was on one side of the card. On the other side, I put a "Care of your new writing instrument" card in it. All the stuff of any wood project was there; wipe with warm cloth, never used detergents, and the fact that the patina will build from use. I put my lifetime warranty in writing, and told them which refills to buy, along with my phone number. I ONLY made the old 30's style Schaeffer pen, and that was the pen I was known for. Now, here's how they sold so well: I offered laser engraving for $15. A guy that does trophy engraving has an XY machine and he burns them for $5 a line. (Backfill that ebony with some super high end gold paint and you really have something.) So the pen was customized to a person, not just a nice piece of woodwork. I sold engraved pens to sweethearts, top sales guys, "in appreciation", you name it. One year when our local 2A baseball team won their Texas League Series and were champs, I made pens out of a broken bat. The pens were engraved: "San Antonio Missions - 1997 League Champs". I slabbed out the blanks from the bat pieces, then cut the slabs on 45 degrees to the grain to make the ash look more exotic. Clear coated them with 50% thinned urethane a couple of times then lightly buffed. I'll bet some are still in use. 9 or so years ago, my competitors sold their pens out of their shirt pocket or velvet bag, and the got about $25 to $30 (max) for their pens. I sold mine for $65, plus engraving. To let you know where the market actually was, I only sold a few pens that weren't engraved. So I made my market the gift/award/keepsake group. I sold about 60 pens or so, then quit because I wanted to do some other things with my turning. Plus... it was boring! I would be glad to get some fun money with that now, though. I have often thought of starting that up again. Robert |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
On 20 Mar 2006 09:57:01 -0800, wrote:
Mac - after I learned how to make pens, I decided to make some money with them. Since hand turned pens are everywhere now, it may or may not be possible. But if you want to turn out something that you could sell a few of and be proud, I studied how the others around me failed and went the other way. Very cool, Robert.. I printed this out.. This is how I did it. I turned the best pen I could using the best materials available. Best kits, best woods. I used real ebony, real horn, and any eye catching piece of exotic wood that looked really unusual. I turned the wood pieces to fit the kit pieces, not to the bushings. So I turned to withing a couple of thousandths of the bushings, and then finished up turning the pieces with my calipers set to the actual piece it to fit. yeah, i've found that the bushings are just a guesstimate... and not always accurate.. I'm new at this, but I've made a set of undersized bushings for both slimline and cigar pens and use them after the pen is roughed out... especially for sanding and finishing.. Anything that didn't pass muster went in the trash. I actually went back to WC and bought several bags of brass tubes so I could make sure I had more on hand in case a piece went to the circular file. hmm.. I can't be that extreme yet... The ones that I don't like get taken apart and reused... (I stocked up on tubes as POC) I carefully finished each pen with a variety of finishes, making sure each was as good as I could get it. Then I went down to WoodCraft and bought their $1.99 box to put the pens inside. I carefully pulled up the bottom panel, and pulled it out of the box. I made some small cards out of 20# card stock with the type of wood, where it came from, and a description of the hardware (24K gold plated and hard black anodized) etc. Everything was on one side of the card. On the other side, I put a "Care of your new writing instrument" card in it. All the stuff of any wood project was there; wipe with warm cloth, never used detergents, and the fact that the patina will build from use. I put my lifetime warranty in writing, and told them which refills to buy, along with my phone number. wow.. certainly the "extra mile" and hopefully made you stand out from the competition.. I ONLY made the old 30's style Schaeffer pen, and that was the pen I was known for. Now, here's how they sold so well: I offered laser engraving for $15. A guy that does trophy engraving has an XY machine and he burns them for $5 a line. (Backfill that ebony with some super high end gold paint and you really have something.) So the pen was customized to a person, not just a nice piece of woodwork. I sold engraved pens to sweethearts, top sales guys, "in appreciation", you name it. One year when our local 2A baseball team won their Texas League Series and were champs, I made pens out of a broken bat. The pens were engraved: "San Antonio Missions - 1997 League Champs". I slabbed out the blanks from the bat pieces, then cut the slabs on 45 degrees to the grain to make the ash look more exotic. Clear coated them with 50% thinned urethane a couple of times then lightly buffed. I'll bet some are still in use. Lots of market research.. something most of us don't do.. 9 or so years ago, my competitors sold their pens out of their shirt pocket or velvet bag, and the got about $25 to $30 (max) for their pens. I sold mine for $65, plus engraving. To let you know where the market actually was, I only sold a few pens that weren't engraved. So I made my market the gift/award/keepsake group. I sold about 60 pens or so, then quit because I wanted to do some other things with my turning. Plus... it was boring! I would be glad to get some fun money with that now, though. I have often thought of starting that up again. Robert Thanks again! (I posted a few experiments on ABPW today) Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
mac davis wrote:
I hope this doesn't sound too much like an ad, but i found this place on Ebay and they've been very good.. Just getting dragged kicking and screaming into turning pens, I went on Ebay to see what was up there for pens.. I found a pretty good deal on some red heart blanks and bought them.. the seller was very fast and very helpful.. also sent a "gift" with the blanks, 2 zebrawood blanks.. I then checked out the Poc web site and they became my pen turning supply place! http://www.pocwoodworking.com/ I've ordered from them 3 times in the last 30 days and their/her customer service is incredible.. also, her prices beat anyone else that I can find... The reason I HAD to post this is a recent mistake on my order: Part of my order was 3 purple heart bottle stopper blanks for $195 each... when I got the shipment, I found 3 purple stabilized blanks instead, which were $4.99 each.. I email Sheila there and told her about it, she asked me to send the blanks back and she's send my the ones that I ordered.. I found out that it was going to cost me/her $500 o send them back, sort of killing the $6 she had lost by sending the wrong blanks.. she told me to just keep the blanks, which was probably common sense... Today, I got an email from her saying that she had sent me the 3 original blanks that I'd ordered, at no cost... As much as I bitch about other vendors, I had to post this positive one... I would definitely recommend giving them a try, I'm very happy... Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm Mac, Most of what POC sells looks like tha same stuff they sell at Penn State Industries. Here is a link... http://pennstateindustries.com/ POC's prices look better on the pen kits, but PSI has a better price on tools. Always good to have more options to shop at anyhow. -- |
Anyone tried Pens of Color?
On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:30:03 -0500, "Dale R Dankulich"
wrote: mac davis wrote: I hope this doesn't sound too much like an ad, but i found this place on Ebay and they've been very good.. Just getting dragged kicking and screaming into turning pens, I went on Ebay to see what was up there for pens.. I found a pretty good deal on some red heart blanks and bought them.. the seller was very fast and very helpful.. also sent a "gift" with the blanks, 2 zebrawood blanks.. I then checked out the Poc web site and they became my pen turning supply place! http://www.pocwoodworking.com/ I've ordered from them 3 times in the last 30 days and their/her customer service is incredible.. also, her prices beat anyone else that I can find... The reason I HAD to post this is a recent mistake on my order: Part of my order was 3 purple heart bottle stopper blanks for $195 each... when I got the shipment, I found 3 purple stabilized blanks instead, which were $4.99 each.. I email Sheila there and told her about it, she asked me to send the blanks back and she's send my the ones that I ordered.. I found out that it was going to cost me/her $500 o send them back, sort of killing the $6 she had lost by sending the wrong blanks.. she told me to just keep the blanks, which was probably common sense... Today, I got an email from her saying that she had sent me the 3 original blanks that I'd ordered, at no cost... As much as I bitch about other vendors, I had to post this positive one... I would definitely recommend giving them a try, I'm very happy... Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm Mac, Most of what POC sells looks like tha same stuff they sell at Penn State Industries. Here is a link... http://pennstateindustries.com/ POC's prices look better on the pen kits, but PSI has a better price on tools. Always good to have more options to shop at anyhow. Yep.. they tell you on the first page that they're a PSI dealer... I buy pen kits (especially the slim ones for $1.70) and tubes, and some accessories there, but not things like tools.. Her focus is on pens and that's where her best deals are.. Great service, too... I put in an order a few weeks ago and got both an email and phone message saying that part of the order was out of stock and would be sent later.... on the same day that I placed the order.. Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
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