Computer Circuit Board Sierra's

[W.Y.]

I have seen a few of these on a couple sites lately and decided to try a couple .

A parcel of various style pen kits and acrylic blanks and accessories arrived in the mail this afternoon and included were a couple of these Sierra circuit board kits . Of course I had to head to my shop and try them out right away LOL .

I did one in Gold and one in Chrome just to see how it goes. .

I have a few reservations about this particular kit .
For one thing it practically eliminates all the "hand crafted" aspect . The tube is already in the blank and all there is to do is to turn that piece and press in one piece of hardware. Assembly times takes less than a minute after the blank is turned.
Another thing is the price of the kit . Seems like a lot of money for a pen kit so the finished pen will have to sell for quite a bit more than my normal selling price of pens.
Third is that every one (apart from platings) is identical which might give it a mass produced look rather than a real hand crafted one like in wood where no two are ever exactly the same.

It would be a nice pen for a relatively new turner to make because almost any beginner could easily make this pen.

I might visit a few computer shops and see if there is much interest in them among the techies. Should be a market for some of them for anyone into electronics.
I probably won't make any more until I find that there is a market for them in my area.

 

[Rudy Vey]

William, I made five of them so far and sold them all out!! Today the last one, need to make more. All sold at the first showing. Two went to a wife and a mother of IT people.

 

[W.Y.]

That is good to hear Rudy.

Hope they go that good in my area.

Time will tell.

 

[altaciii]

As was once said, "Ask and ye shall receive." Any item will sell in time. These circuit board pens are not just a novelty, its all in the way you market them. I have had 3 and sold all three. Granted they did not sell right away and they do have a tendency to stay in your inventory for a little longer than any $35-$40 pen, but when they sell you will get your ROI. It all depends on you, the seller, to market the pen as premium priced pen. I took all of mine and put the higher end Sierra kits (black ti two tone) and priced them at $100. The wait was well worth it. I'm not saying the ones you posted are worth less, they are both real nice. What I am saying is, if the seller doesn't believe the price should be in the $80 to $100 range then he will never sell them for that price.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hey Rudy, don't flood the market in our area. I want to sell a few of these too. HE HE

I find the kit to be a very nice kit and is well put together. Unless you sell alot to people who know each other than who cares if they are generic. Even then they are a conversation piece and I think they will stay around a long time because we are in the computer age and only getting bigger. A Sierra is probably the simpliest kit out there and that is why I do not know why everyone tells newbies to start with slimlines other than the price for them. Need to get more of these.

 

[bitshird]

They are a nice novelty pen, but I liked them better when Bruce was making the blanks.

 

[bruce119]

They sell very well even the new style as you say they are all the same design. But when selling them only put 2 out at a time. And you can change the look some also swap the ends. Change the position of the clip. You can even use different kits if you are careful. Then use the Vista kit you got with the blank for something else. They are a well made blank and well worth the price.

Check my site for ideas how to use other kits for different looks.

Bruce

 

[W.Y.]

Thanks Bruce.
I did notice they could be swapped end for end . I chose to place mine the way I did just for trial on the first pair of them. I kinda liked the more gold colored part of the circuit board showing at the bottom instead of partly covered by the band. .

Are they actually real circuit boards ? or just a paper or plastic replica of one imbedded into the blank ? Being all identical and sold by so many distribtors now makes me think that they might be mass produced as a look-alike circuit board. Any circuit boards I have seen are quite brittle and would not bend around a tube like that . But then I have never checked circuit boards of real small electronic gadjets lately .
I like to be honest with my customers and let them know if it is real or a facsimilie if they ask and I have a feeling that a few are going to ask..
If they don't ask . . I'll never tell . . :wink:

 

[bruce119]

Thanks Bruce.
Are they actually real circuit boards ? or just a paper or plastic replica of one imbedded into the blank ? Being all identical and sold by so many distribtors now makes me think that they might be mass produced as a look-alike circuit board.

They are made with a process that real boards are made and they do have real components. If you are not careful wile turning and turn too small you will find that out when you hit a component.

You can just look at them and tell it has real components. Yes they are mass produced. And they have the same pattern that is why the cost is low. Some of the others you may have seen that are different are my originals that I made from a very time consuming and labor intensive process and I just do not have the time rite now to make them. These sell real good at shows and you can honestly say they are made with real components.

 

[W.Y.]

Thanks Bruce.
That is great information.

 

[Ligget]

Great work William!

 

[Mather323]

Nice looking pen.