I have order a few things now from some of the members that also sell stuff. Here is my 2 cents worth.
JohnnyCNC: really good stuff (better than the big suppliers) and prompt shipping. His 60% live center really makes turning on a mandrel a lot better. His dead center and bushings now allow me to turn between centers. I'm still working at this but I think it makes a whole new ball game for getting sleeves the exact right size.
Issaccrapelje: the blank seller: I ordered 15 oversized amboyna burl blanks from him. They are all first rate and beautiful. Can't wait to turn them into pens. Including shipping; the blanks were about 1/2 what you would pay from one of the big suppliers. If you need blanks and he has them, buy them.
Exotic Blanks: I ordered about 25 blanks from them of all sorts. Even befor they have been turned and finished they look fantastic. I will never order a manmade blank from anyone else. Dawn (i think that is her name) sent me so many freebies along with my order I don't even know where to start.
Rherrell: Sanding mill. I bought two. They are so finely made you would think they came from NASA. He sent them so fast I just about got them before I bought them.
Easy Rougher: I don't know if this guy is a member or not, but I got his name from one of the posts in a forum. I have a terrible time sharpening tools. I have to have 3 sets because most are always in the shop being sharpened. With the easy rougher I can turn a blank round in under two minutes and if the blade gets dull, I just rotate the cutting edge and keep going. I even used it to finish a blank the other night and it worked fine. I would highly recommend his tools. As soon as he makes a mini easier finisher I'm going to get one. The only thing, if you are working on a mini lathe just doing pens you should probably get the mini version of the rougher. The regular one is as big as my car.
I think that is all the stuff I purchased from people on the site. If there are any people like these that sell pen kits I would sure like to know about them. Isn't there some kickass machinist or someone that can cast metal that could make us really fantastic parts for pens? That would really be great. Some of the better pen makers maybe could collaborate with them and come up with an IAP exclusive design we could all make. That would be sweet.
I just thought people that do such a good job deserved cudos, that's why I posted this long, long, long message.
JohnnyCNC: really good stuff (better than the big suppliers) and prompt shipping. His 60% live center really makes turning on a mandrel a lot better. His dead center and bushings now allow me to turn between centers. I'm still working at this but I think it makes a whole new ball game for getting sleeves the exact right size.
Issaccrapelje: the blank seller: I ordered 15 oversized amboyna burl blanks from him. They are all first rate and beautiful. Can't wait to turn them into pens. Including shipping; the blanks were about 1/2 what you would pay from one of the big suppliers. If you need blanks and he has them, buy them.
Exotic Blanks: I ordered about 25 blanks from them of all sorts. Even befor they have been turned and finished they look fantastic. I will never order a manmade blank from anyone else. Dawn (i think that is her name) sent me so many freebies along with my order I don't even know where to start.
Rherrell: Sanding mill. I bought two. They are so finely made you would think they came from NASA. He sent them so fast I just about got them before I bought them.
Easy Rougher: I don't know if this guy is a member or not, but I got his name from one of the posts in a forum. I have a terrible time sharpening tools. I have to have 3 sets because most are always in the shop being sharpened. With the easy rougher I can turn a blank round in under two minutes and if the blade gets dull, I just rotate the cutting edge and keep going. I even used it to finish a blank the other night and it worked fine. I would highly recommend his tools. As soon as he makes a mini easier finisher I'm going to get one. The only thing, if you are working on a mini lathe just doing pens you should probably get the mini version of the rougher. The regular one is as big as my car.
I think that is all the stuff I purchased from people on the site. If there are any people like these that sell pen kits I would sure like to know about them. Isn't there some kickass machinist or someone that can cast metal that could make us really fantastic parts for pens? That would really be great. Some of the better pen makers maybe could collaborate with them and come up with an IAP exclusive design we could all make. That would be sweet.
I just thought people that do such a good job deserved cudos, that's why I posted this long, long, long message.