Four happy kids

[woodscavenger]

I started turning pens about 2 weeks ago. My kids saw them and wanted their own custom pens. Off to the woodshop. I took them out on a Sunday afternoon and they picked out their wood blanks, watched me drill and glue. The older ones had some hands on time with the gouge and even had some "hands off" time of their own. I finished the shape according to their specs andthen they did some of the sanding and handed me parts as I pressed the kits together. All in all a pretty good Sunday afternoon in the shop.

The last photo are four cigar pens I am making for my mentors at the hospital as gifts when I leave this summer. They are paduk, ambrosia maple, walnut, bocote.

 

[Tom McMillan]

Wow, Shane---You started 2 weeks ago??? Extremely nice work!!! Great to see the family involvement too!!!!

 

[PenWorks]

Hi Shane, Welcome to IAP [] Yep, that sounded like a fine Sunday afternoon [:I] Very productive as well, Fine looking family you have there and pens to go with it []

May I suggest, a lower lathe or a bigger step stool, I wood hate to see Jr. take one to the chops [B)]

Nice cigar pens to....your well on your for for just two weeks of pen making. []

Anthony

 

[dougle40]

Welcome Shane . Nice to see a Dad get his kids involved like that. Sounds like everyone had a good time .

 

[jwoodwright]

Thats great we just got 4 more members![] Welcome and looks like you had a great day.[]

 

[knottyharry]

Wow, that is great that your children wanted to get involved.
And they got the pens they wanted. Very nice looking pens, and your family as well.
Obvisously you do other turning as well. But very nice work.
Welcome, if you have any questions ask. Lots of great people here that are more than willing to help.
Harry

 

[Gregory Huey]

You have done something that your kids will remember the rest of their life. I am in my senior years and still have fond memories of going to the shop with my grandfather and being aloud to help build something. Very nice work hard to believe you have only been turnen 2 weeks.

 

[C. Scott]

Great going Shane. I been blessed with 4 children also, but in reverse, I one daughter and 3 little monkeys [] It really is a thrill to watch our children grow.

 

[Fred in NC]

Welcome to the group, Shane and family! Involving the family is great, and you did nice work!

 

[goldentouch]

Welcome to the group Shane. You did something your kids will remember for the rest of their lives. Keep up the good work and keep them involved. I am always amazed at the ideas kids come up with. Some nice work has come from that.

 

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for the comments. I have been turning bowls, boxes and such for about 4-5 months in my spare time from the hospital. My residency training gets crazy and the wood is a great place to go and let things even out in my head. Good advice on the stool. I have one but the boy seemed more stable with his feet on the ground. I opted for feet stability vs. good height.

 

[Daniel]

Shane,
Your Kids are even better looking than your Pens. and that
is saying something cause they are pretty sharp themselves.
If your children are anything like mine there will be plenty more moments like this coming up. pens are like Ruffles. you can't have just one. my oldest daughter has nearly 20 of mine now. my son helped me make over 100 freedom pens this last year. and also has over a dozen of my pens including the first one I ever made. my youngest daughter is the other artist in the family. so she would rather make her own pens than get one from me. and she still has a couple of them.
thanks for sharing your family with us. I like it when I get a glimps into the members lives. yours lookes very busy. those smiles tell the whole story though.

 

[woodscavenger]

Funny you should mention the multiple pens. My seven year old...the one with the stellar turning technique seen above just came up to me and asked how many pens we were going to make today. I think I am going to place another order with the guy in arizona for the slimline pens. $1.50 a pen is a lot of good fun!

 

[Daniel]

Can't hardly get a good 5 minutes at a gumball machine for $1.50.
One other idea that came to mind. P.S.I. (as well as Pens of Color)
have a small set of turning tools for $29.95
here is a link to POC.
http://pocwoodworking.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/42/products_id/147you can also get the tools individually.
here
http://pocwoodworking.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/42/products_id/192
I think these would fit the little guys hands. you can ask Sheila to make sure.
you can get the slimline kits there as well. these are tha P.S.I. version. and a few cents higher.
http://pocwoodworking.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/23_35/products_id/94
an alternative is to see if Bill from Arizona has a small gouge like the one above.
Just an idea that crossed my mind. I am actually going to order the little set for myself. I have two lathes in two different locations now. so gotta have two sets of tools. Isn't that terrible. He, He, He....

 

[J. Fred Muggs]

Good looking pens! Good looking Family! Good thing your'e in Winston-Salem! The local Klingspor boys might cut you a supper deal on Four Jet mini lathes and some tools. [] What I see in the pictues above is four new turners.[^]

 

[jkirkb94]

Fantastic way to spend time with the kids! Welcome to our forums! The pens look great and I bet they had a blast making them! Kirk [8D]

 

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for the idea on the smaller tools, but for now I like him using the heavier, longer gouge. I think it protects him against a nasty catch. I like the idea of the four lathes......hey grandpa and grandma....are you listening....these are great Christmas ideas for the grandkids........