Group of spiral pens

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Tom McMillan

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Here's a group of spiral pens I finished recently. I just got the pen kits---have had these ready for awhile---and finally got them assembled. Hand made spirals as usual (until the guys get the kinks worked out of the new spiral machine they're working on). The pictures not too great---the best I can do for now.
Left to right: Ebony & Kingwood; Maple & Bloodwood; Maple & Kingwood CB; Walnut & Yellowheart; Maple & Kingwood; and Ziracote & Redheart.

200522302828_spiralandantlerpens%20009.jpg
 
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JimGo

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Wow Tom, you certainly have given us something to aspire to! Now you see why we need the machine; I don't think I can cut that accurately by hand! Will you post a high resolution version in your album? I'd like to see 'em close up.
 

DCBluesman

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These are some of my favorite pens of all. The amount of effort and the ingenious design are impressive. These live up to your standards which are already quite high.
 

Tom McMillan

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Thanks everyone!!! And, yes Bruce---I do enjoy making these by hand a lot!! It takes patience and I think a pretty good eye---, but, I really think anyone can do it----just eyeball the rasp as it goes deeper and deeper---and they do even out----they seem a little off when I start---but do even out. And, Jim, I'll try to get a better photo, maybe of each one, to put in my album so you can see them better---but, may be a couple days. Currently, I don't have any outlets to sell my pens---and, I'll be working on that. I've been out of work for about six months, so I do need to get some income soon!! These are going to be tough to put a price on---I have quite a bit of time into each---maybe 2 hours or more?? Not really sure. Any ideas what they might sell for???
 

tipusnr

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Hopefully someone else can help you about pricing on them but you definitely need to go through someplace where people appreciate quality and expect to pay for it.

Great job! I wouldn't mind seeing a tutorial on that myself even if I think it's a little out of my league right now!
 

opfoto

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[:0] WOW... Great Craftmanship. I saw a class on spiral spindle turning once. If this is done by the same method, its quite a process. Wonderful Job.
 

JimGo

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Darby, if you look at the Spirals topic (has been hovering near the top of the Penturning forum), Tom did a nice job describing his approach.

Tom, I have yet to try to sell my pens, but from what I've seen others selling their pens for, and given the work involved, I'd guess these are probably $40-50 each. IMHO, this is probably undervaluing them given the level of effort, but you should be able to get this for them. If you're close to Seattle or another large(er) city, you might want to try to get them in a gallery or a shop that sells higher-end pens, where people will be buying them for the artistry, not just as a pen. Ultimately, they will be worth whatever the market is willing to pay for them; the trick is to identify the best market and position them appropriately.

Oh, and BTW, I look forward to the pics, but I'm not in any rush! I appreciate you accomodating me!
 

Tom McMillan

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I did explain a little more on my previous FP Spiral. Hope this link works: http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3564&whichpage=1#29279

Hope this link helps. Feel free to email me off line if you'd like. I have been thinking of doing a magazine article on this, and will be looking into that possibility.
 

woodpens

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Beautiful job, Tom. I think I may have an outlet for you if you are interested in selling through my site. Drop me an email if so. We can experiment with pricing if you like.
 

JimGo

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Tom, thanks for taking the time to take these pics for me/us! I don't think I can say more than Lou has already...so DITTO!
 
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