Metal Blanks question

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yorkie

yorkie

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I have a customer who bought a Mokume pen from me for $150 and asked if I could make 50 more but within a $50 per pen budget.

I told him how much the blanks were so clearly not possible, but was wondering if there is something similar out there for a much more reasonable price that I could make for him.

This would be 50 Polaris pens.
 
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No clue, but on the face of it that 50 pen order sure sounds enticing. Although if they can spring 2500 on pens they can probably go more. Or would be willing to choose a cheaper blank.
 
I say it is doable if you are good with your saw. Buy 5 1&3/8 x 1&3/8 x 6 blanks at 85 each. Get 1 free. Then buy 1 3/4 x 3/4 x 6 blank and you have enough for 50 Polaris pens @ 9.26 a blank. Throw in 10 ea for the pen kit and you make 30ea. I would do that in a heartbeat.
 
So the guy KNOWS what you normally charge for that pen but wants 50 more for 1/3 the price? Or dose he want the same blank on another kit?

Im just trying to understand why he thought you'd be willing to take 1/3 of your normal price on any pen no matter how many he ordered! I can see giving a good customer a volume break but 66% seems steep! I think I'd show him what he can get on a polaris for $50 and go from there.
 
You can simulate Mokume with polymer clay - a much less expensive medium. Material cost would be less than $1 per blank. Yes there is labor involved, but that's a trade off.
 
The one I sold him for $150 was a platinum Statesman pen. He probably forgot how much he paid for it as he buys a lot of my pens.

Jeff, don't leave us in suspense.
 
Thank you yorkie

I keep giving myself a head ache visualizing Hewunch's cutting patern. I think I'm a bit slow today.
 
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Rick P said:
I keep giving myself a head ache visualizing Hewunch's cutting patern. I think I'm a bit slow today.
Click to expand...

Ok, basically, you would take a 1 3/8 x 1 3/8 x 6 blank and rip it down the middle length wise. Then rip the two new pieces length wise on the wide side. If you use a blade that is 1/8 kerf or smaller this will yeild (4) 5/8 x 5/8 x 6 blanks. Cut each of those in 1/2 and you have 8 polaris sized blanks. Do that 6 times and you have 48 blanks. So you need one more 6" blank.

If you add up the cost of those 7 blanks you get $462.50 (right now they have buy 5 get one free). Divide that amount by 50 and you get $9.25 ea. Add in the kit cost and you are in the neighborhood of $20 for each pen in materials. And like I said, I would take $30 profit on a polaris ANY DAY!

For that matter, if you bought 20 3/4 x 3/4 x 6 blanks and got 5 free. Cut each of them in half. You only have $15 per blank and the kit cost you are still making over $20 per pen. And that ain't bad... especially for a good customer
 
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Well, the work could always be outsourced ;) ! As Hewunch said, that is not a bad deal... Especially considering what you could do with the blanks to get it done. It would be a matter of a few days of cutting and drilling, and a few days of turning, and maybe a day of assembling. It isn't cheap, and it is a lot to invest, but I think it would be well worth it. It is an offer I would do backflips over... Also remember you would be getting a discount because of quantity
 
Assuming it is the twist, at penn state you are looking at $9 per kit, there are other suppliers that sell them cheaper, but you cannot get the quantity.

As far as the blanks, buy the 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" for $37.50, and cut it in half. That is 3" per blank and the kit is only 2.84", plenty of space.

$1387.50 invested, $2500 gained, that is a profit of $1112.50 or $22.25 per pen. In my opinion, that is a great deal.

If you aren't interested, I could always take that order off your hands ;)
 
Hewunch, Mapster.

Thanks a lot, I am actually pursuing your ideas as they should work just fine. Once I get all the details on paper and approved I will let you know.

Thanks, guys.
 
Bear Tooth Woods has a variety of plating options for these kits, with only the Ti Gold more than $10 -- all others are $7.35 or less.

http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_53


or check out Berea:
http://www.bereahardwoods.com/pen-kit/supplies/pk-carabara-ballpoint.html

and Arizona Silhouette (scroll about 1/2 way down page):
http://arizonasilhouette.com/Berea_Hardwoods_Pen_Kit_Images_2.htm


And there's always the Woodcraft store in Matthews, but they wouldn't have that many in stock at present anyways.

Good luck.
 
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yorkie,
hewunch and mapster seem willing to do it for just about 20$ profit per pen.
contract it out to them, pocket the 10$ difference without lifting a finger!
 
hewunch said:
Rick P said:
I keep giving myself a head ache visualizing Hewunch's cutting patern. I think I'm a bit slow today.
Click to expand...

Ok, basically, you would take a 1 3/8 x 1 3/8 x 6 blank and rip it down the middle length wise. Then rip the two new pieces length wise on the wide side. If you use a blade that is 1/8 kerf or smaller this will yeild (4) 5/8 x 5/8 x 6 blanks. Cut each of those in 1/2 and you have 8 polaris sized blanks. Do that 6 times and you have 48 blanks. So you need one more 6" blank.

If you add up the cost of those 7 blanks you get $462.50 (right now they have buy 5 get one free). Divide that amount by 50 and you get $9.25 ea. Add in the kit cost and you are in the neighborhood of $20 for each pen in materials. And like I said, I would take $30 profit on a polaris ANY DAY!

For that matter, if you bought 20 3/4 x 3/4 x 6 blanks and got 5 free. Cut each of them in half. You only have $15 per blank and the kit cost you are still making over $20 per pen. And that ain't bad... especially for a good customer
Click to expand...

Thanks! for some reason I had it stuck in my head that the barrel of a polaris was longer then 3 inches.
 
I did a test cut last night by making a piece of wood 1 3/8 x 1 3/8 x 6 inches and cutting into 8 polaris sized pieces on the band saw. It's tight, but it works.

I will post pics when I'm all done.

Thanks a lot, guys.

Also, I'm making 16 polaris in all gold with gold leaf blanks for a TV station for $75 each.
 
The beauty of my way is
1. it is cheaper thus higher profit
2. there is less material to remove, thus it is faster.

The draw back is.... you better drill it right!
 
You're right -- blanks will be close. The Cabara/Polaris/Atlas/Patriot tube length is 2.84", and the max bushing diameter is 0.51". I've never turned the mokume blanks before and not sure how prone to breakout they are when drilling, so you may need to glue a waste block on the end before drilling, since you'll only have around 1/8" extra length total. You'll be ok on your diameter with a 5/8 - 11/16" blank with good drilling. It might be worthwhile adding a good 3/8" or "v" drill bit to your tool inventory if you don't already have one, or even a drill doctor for sharpening. Probably a good time to make sure your saw blade is sharp too, and in good alignment.

Congrats on the order, and good luck!
 
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So, all made!

I did order the blocks from M3 Metal blanks HOWEVER, they called and told me cutting them up would not work, as the pattern is designed per blank and cutting them up will remove the pattern somewhat and will not give a good end result.

So, they cut me a deal and I ordered all in 3/8x3/8x6" blanks and did the project. Little room for error in the drilling though.

Sold 21 of them for $35 profit per pen, so am happy with that.

Not the easiest thing I've ever turned and I found plastic polish works as well or better than the metal polish.

Will post picture soon.
 
Here are the pictures.
 

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