Girl scouts and their pens!

[alankulwicki7]

Hey all,
A few weeks back my daughters Girl Scout troop was looking for ideas for the girls to earn patches. I offered to help them by coming up with a few projects (pen, candle holder, pendant, etc) and letting them choose. They all decided on pens so I showed them the hardware and let them choose the blank. I gave them a few choices of wood blanks or something from my acrylic stash. They all chose acrylic which made finishing easy.
Due to time constraints, I did most of prep on the blanks but the girls did about 99% of the turning, sanding and polishing themselves.

Here's what they came up with!

 

[Buzzzz4]

Very cool. that's a lot of pens for one night. What did the girls do while not on the lathe? I've wondered about doing that with a small group of boys, but my fear is that they will be beating on eachother when there is nothing more to do.

 

[D.Oliver]

That's awesome of you Doug.:good: Is the gal in the pink and white striped shirt holding a pen made from Trustone? If she turned her first pen from that stuff she gets two patches!

 

[alankulwicki7]

Very cool. that's a lot of pens for one night. What did the girls do while not on the lathe? I've wondered about doing that with a small group of boys, but my fear is that they will be beating on eachother when there is nothing more to do.

We actually did this over 2 days in shifts of 2 girls at a time. I was concerned about too many people in the shop but it worked out well doing it this way.

That's awesome of you Doug.:good: Is the gal in the pink and white striped shirt hold a pen made from Trustone? If she turned her first pen from that stuff she gets two patches!

Nope, it was an acrylic blank. It does look like Trustone, doesn't it?

 

[Edward Cypher]

Nice job to all the young ladies. What a great way to peek kids interest.

 

[edicehouse]

Man that should have gone into the young turners...

 

[mikespenturningz]

That is an awesome thing you did. We are seeing more ladies here and that is a very good thing. You could have planted a seed for a few of these young ladies that could give them the confidence to become fine pen turners..

 

[kyaggie]

Great job by the girls! As the dad of an Eagle Scout, I congratulate you for being involved with the girls to keep their scouting experience fun and interesting! It's things like this project that will keep them involved all the way to their Gold Award!

Mike

 

[Jim15]

Great work. Pens look great.

 

[OZturner]

Terrific concept and delivery,
These Girls will always remember the time they Made a Pen.
Great pens, great effort.
Thanks to you Doug,
Bravo!, Bravo!, Bravo!, Bravissimo!, Bravo!, Bravo!, Very Well Done.
Brian.

 

[Hubert H]

Wow! Pens and girls look great - you are great also because you care. I'll bet you had fun even with all of the frustation that can go along with working with kids who are turning for the first time.

 

[QuiltinMom]

Great job by all the girls. All of the pens are excellent. It is wonderful to see that you opened your shop to the girls. I'm sure it was a lot of work on your part, but the opportunity you gave to these girls will stay with them a long time.

We are heavily involved in Cub Scouts, but occasionally we have Girl Scouts come too. Very rewarding to see the smiles on their faces as they leave with their project.

 

[Haynie]

Obviously a bunch of hoodlums and hooligans up to some serious hooliganizing. :biggrin:

Glad you survived. Nice looking pens too.

 

[alankulwicki7]

Thanks for the kind comments! This is the first time I've had the Girl Scouts in the shop and I really enjoyed it. Most of them were pretty hesitant at first but once I showed them that they wouldn't get hurt, they all relaxed and had a good time.

In the past, I have had open shop days for the Cub Scouts and helped many boys build Pinewood Derby cars. While that is rewarding also, I think I enjoyed making the pens more because the pen is something that the girls will have and use forever (hopefully)!

 

[Band Saw Box]

A group of really talented young lady's. Each made a great looking pen. It was wonderful of you to give then the time and training to make something they will remember making for a life time.

 

[kovalcik]

I wish my daughters troop was interested in things like this. Great job ladies! I hope this sparks at least a little interest in tools woodworking for you.

 

[Super Dave]

Great job ! Congratulations to all.

Dave

 

[Charlie_W]

Very cool! The girls did a great job on their pens! They will remember this for years.

Last fall, a fellow turner and myself did a "turning birthday party" with four girls about 10 years old. We chose ice cream scoops from Woodcraft and used colorwood for the handles. They too did a wonderful job making the scoops and memories.