August Meeting

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MartinPens

MartinPens

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The next meeting will be at my place in San Ramon in August.

The San Francisco Pen Show is the 28th - 30th of August, so that weekend is out. I thought I would start this thread as we consider which weekend would work for the most people.

Topics of interest gathered from last meeting: (please add a topic if you like)

Kitless Pens - 101 resources, getting started, basic concept and approach.
(I have collected a whole lot of information on the subject and have tried my hand at kitless pen making. It can be intimidating, but I hope to present something that will narrow things down and simplify the process.)

If you want to study up on the subject, the following thread is a great start
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f56/threading-using-taps-dies-131653/

We can have other things going on for those not interested in kitless... such as... (plenty of options - so chime in)

Turning spheres? (I have a jig)
Stabilizing with the Cactus Juice? (Curtis' invention)
Pen photography tips? ( I have a light tent )
Tips on getting published? (if you haven't already and are so inclined)
Marketing and website sales? (plenty of experience by members)
Making a watch part pen?

We have plenty of time to chime in on dates and interests.. so let the fun begin!!
 
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gketell

gketell

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The "normal" we chose was the 3rd weekend of the month. But, whatever makes the host happy is Perfect! :biggrin:

If people are interested in spheres, I could talk about the method I learned from BAWA Sphere Guru. By then LarryB may have gotten his training too so we might have two of us who've done it recently.

Gk
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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August 15th or 16th works for me. It seems like such a long way off.
If the 15th / 16th ends up being a terrible day for a lot of other people, we can shift it to another weekend.
I would be very interested in learning the sphere method from what has been gleaned from the sphere guru.
We can use the Powermatic for spheres and the Jet mini for learning kitless threads.

Is anybody interested in learning how to stabilize using Curtis' cactus juice stabilizer? I certainly have plenty of pithy maple to practice with.
 
B

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Martin,
I vote for the kit-less pen demo and I'd like to talk stabilization with Cactus Juice. The 15th of August works good for me to meet at your place. I like many of the other topics as well, so meeting every two months during the summer might be something we could discuss in the future. Thanks for the links to the kit-less reference material. This is a powerful resource for everyone. I also have some wood I'd like to process if you would allow us to "buy" into a quick demo of the stabilization process.
Bill M.
 
MartinPens

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BMellber said:
Martin,
I also have some wood I'd like to process if you would allow us to "buy" into a quick demo of the stabilization process.
Bill M.
Click to expand...

The stabilization unit I have is really small and we will only have time to process one time (10 blanks at most) during the meeting. I have time to order some cactus juice and check the stability of the unit since it's been in storage for almost two years.

Does anyone else have one of Curtis' cactus chambers?

I will have info, resources, and a setup for trying out tap and die threading. I think there is some interest in closed end pen turning as well. (making the jump to tap and die kitless is expensive. But closed end turning is not that expensive.)
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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It could be rather hot in August. For those in my area - what do you use to keep the garage cool. I don't want everyone roasting and miserable. I have good shade at my place, but it might be good for me to get a fan or two?

Also - see my other thread about the Mulberry tree wood.

Thanks
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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Well, it's 92 degrees in San Ramon today. The garage is uncomfortably hot and I will need to seek out options to keep things a bit cooler for the August meeting.
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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Let's start looking at choosing a date. August 15 or August 16.
I don't have a big preference. So whichever day works for the majority of the group.
I don't remember if it's traditionally on a Saturday or a Sunday.
 
ldubia

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ok Martin, Please PM me your address so I know where to go. I will bring some sort of pasta dish. Not sure what yet. I will "create" something.
 
gketell

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MartinPens said:
I will go through the thread and PM everyone with my address.

What is the normal starting time?
Click to expand...

Whatever is comfortable for you. I personally usually do setup at 10 or 10:30 and "start" at 11am. I never have an official end time but it most often naturally wraps up between 3 and 4. Although when we have cool subjects like this one, it sometimes goes longer. But as the host you get to dictate what you want to keep your day sane.
 
Last edited:
MartinPens

MartinPens

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PM sent to everyone in the thread.

10am works for me. If we want to get started earlier to get a jump on warm weather, I will be setting up as early as 9am.
I will cook on the grill for lunch and have chips and veggies. We can fill in the rest here on the thread. Hopefully the heat wave that is coming next week will be followed by some cooler temps the following week. We can at least hope.

The pop up tent is a good idea. My garage is small. I have 8 folding chairs, a couple tables and we can eat on the back patio where there is shade.

A couple fans would be great.

I have two weeks to get myself organized! Yikes!

If you haven't received my address info, let me know.
You can also email me at MartinPens@gmail.com

Looking forward to the weekend
 
gketell

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Larry mentioned ham so I'm resuming sandwiches. If so, I can bring a sliced-cheese variety pack and some sliced turkey.

I also have a small mobile A/C unit I can bring if you want me too, Martin.
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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I actually like the idea of building sandwiches instead of having the hot grill on. I will put together some additional lunch meats, cheeses and take care of lettuce tomatoes and other things one might want on the sandwich.

Perhaps someone could bring chips and a veggie snacks and I will concentrate on breads, meats, cheeses and other sandwich items and condiments.

Greg, I am open to the air conditioning unit for sure. I've been eyeing those at Home Depot and it would be interesting to see how it works in the garage - it might even help me decide whether not to spend money on the purchase of one.

I will compile a list of who's bringing what and post that in the next few days
 
MartinPens

MartinPens

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In celebration of my type A personality, here is the compiled list so far:

Marty O Sandwich meat, Bread, lettuce, tomato etc... condiments

Bill D Potato salad

Larry B Ham lunch meat

Cindy N Fruit Salad

Greg K Turkey lunch meat, sliced cheeses

Items needed by others not on the list so far:

Chips, Veggie snack, desserts, drinks


Topics we will attempt to cover:

Kitless Pens (just the basics - including tap/die threading)(see first post in this thread for resource links)
Wood Spheres ( I really don't like my jig - so we will focus on freehand techniques)
Stabilizing with vacuum using Curtis' Cactus Juice/Chamber (I have plenty of wood to use for this)
Photography (well, at least how I do it - and hopefully tips on how you do it)

Has anyone done a watch part pen? Does anyone have carbon fiber sleeves? PM me if you do.

Looking forward to it.
 
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MartinPens

MartinPens

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Ah, I did forget the pasta dish. Thank you


Cindy, that sounds good. I have watch parts and the tools to round the parts to the tube, but I don't have carbon sleeves. Maybe I'll see if I can order some over the next few days.

Thanks
 
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