I have learned a lesson no doubt many of you here already knew. "DONT CHEAP OUT!!"
I wont mention any specific brand names but.....First I bought a cheap lathe to get started via "Craigslist" . Well, that turned out to be quite a "Bear" when the belt broke after a month or two on that lathe and nobody on the planet makes that belt anymore. So, my $200 lathe was now a $200 door stop. Went and got the variable speed mini lathe so many say has such a good reputation and it works soooo much better that my pen making was really "ready for takeoff".
Then I got a large order from a local store that wanted to stock my pens to see if they would sell, but one minor problem...they wanted them to be priced to their customers at $25. Well, on a consignment that still left very little room for my profit since they would get 60% and out of my 40% would come the cost of materials. So I found a good source for the hardware and went to another source and found a sale on a group of acrylic blanks they said would "line" up a lot of "fun" for a pen maker like me...AND....they were so inexpensive , my profit on these pens would be much better. So , feeling "well schooled" in the art of pen making I ordered the blanks from this "Institution" . I have turned 4 of them now...and they are just awful!!!! I painted the brass, yet you can still see the tube through the acrylic it is so transparent. There is no depth, the color washes out after you have turned some of the material away. I dont even want to give them away because I do not want to be associated with such poor work. So, I am tossing out the acrylics and starting over with decent material. I will have no profit..am late getting the order done and just feel discouraged. So...lesson learned...
Bottom line here is .....DO NOT CHEAP OUT! Dont buy a Grizzly off of Craigslist, save up your pennies and get a Jet or equivalent, use quality materials, not cheap crap Penn State Pens is selling out that they call "funline" all that means is they are laughing and making fun of you for buying it! , and sorry for all the silly puns , but if I dont make a joke of this debacle I will break something...
I wont mention any specific brand names but.....First I bought a cheap lathe to get started via "Craigslist" . Well, that turned out to be quite a "Bear" when the belt broke after a month or two on that lathe and nobody on the planet makes that belt anymore. So, my $200 lathe was now a $200 door stop. Went and got the variable speed mini lathe so many say has such a good reputation and it works soooo much better that my pen making was really "ready for takeoff".
Then I got a large order from a local store that wanted to stock my pens to see if they would sell, but one minor problem...they wanted them to be priced to their customers at $25. Well, on a consignment that still left very little room for my profit since they would get 60% and out of my 40% would come the cost of materials. So I found a good source for the hardware and went to another source and found a sale on a group of acrylic blanks they said would "line" up a lot of "fun" for a pen maker like me...AND....they were so inexpensive , my profit on these pens would be much better. So , feeling "well schooled" in the art of pen making I ordered the blanks from this "Institution" . I have turned 4 of them now...and they are just awful!!!! I painted the brass, yet you can still see the tube through the acrylic it is so transparent. There is no depth, the color washes out after you have turned some of the material away. I dont even want to give them away because I do not want to be associated with such poor work. So, I am tossing out the acrylics and starting over with decent material. I will have no profit..am late getting the order done and just feel discouraged. So...lesson learned...
Bottom line here is .....DO NOT CHEAP OUT! Dont buy a Grizzly off of Craigslist, save up your pennies and get a Jet or equivalent, use quality materials, not cheap crap Penn State Pens is selling out that they call "funline" all that means is they are laughing and making fun of you for buying it! , and sorry for all the silly puns , but if I dont make a joke of this debacle I will break something...