What do you ABSOLUTELY have to have?

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PenMan1

PenMan1

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
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Location
Eatonton, Georgia
I had a friend and a new turner in the shop today. He is new to pen making and wanted to see the shop. GRANTED, I have a bunch of "stuff" not even REMOTELY necessary for pen making (for example, a commercial ice maker), and another whole bunch of "stuff" just to make my life easier.

I do a good bit of "production work" and have a bunch of machines that are NOT necessary for pen making, except that they help me make a more precise product, FASTER (such as a dedicated router station for "rounding over" pen blanks, computers, etc).

Finally, he took a deep breath and said " I just want to make a few pens to relieve the incredible stress I feel from my job. Other than the lathe, WHAT TWO THINGS do I HAVE TO HAVE?"

After a long, thoughtful process (as he asked, imagining my shop were burning and I could only rescue 2 things), I said that I MUST HAVE MY WOODCHUCK PEN PRO AND 1 SET OF CALIPERS!

In the spirit of the 9th Anniversary of the BASH, what two things (OTHER THAN SAFETY EQUIPMENT) must YOU have to make a pen?

I look forward to the creativity of this amazing group!
 
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I would rate the Pen Pro and Calipers as essentials also. But the blank still has to be drilled. Have to add a Jacobs chuck and drill bits to your list of two.:rolleyes:
 
In the spirit of the 9th Anniversary of the BASH, what two things (OTHER THAN SAFETY EQUIPMENT) must YOU have to make a pen?

I look forward to the creativity of this amazing group![/quote]



A pen kit and bushings. :rolleyes::biggrin:
 
THANK YOU, HARRY! You are my Huckleberry!

With calipers and a quality pen tool, DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE A KIT AND BUSHINGS?

I'm picking on you because I think that this group is slowly proving that you don't need kits or bushings to make a pen.....JUST LIKE MY ICE MACHINE....kits and bushings DO make it easier!
 
you get one more, Paul! Lathe is a "given" in the problem. What OTHER tools?

It's a trick question! What are your two favorite things?
 
Culprit said:
Glue of some variety to glue the tubes in the blanks, and a way to square/trim them.
Click to expand...

Just being the jerk that I am..... If you decide to make a pen WITHOUT tubes, do you NEED glue?

If you don't use tubes, is there a reason to square the tube to the blank?
 
Randy:
If you eliminate tubes, what needs to be pressed?

Just trying to get everybody thinking "abstractly" here.

I saw a video of a guy who made his own lathe from a piece of bamboo and turned it with his feet......THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX:)
 
Smitty37 said:
:biggrin:Paypal and an email address...."make" the best pens you ever saw:biggrin:
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ROTFLMAO....SMITTY! glad you are feeling better!

According to my Grandmother..."Money isn't everything....but food sure tastes better on a pretty plate" :)
 
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Look at the other question that was just repeated again about what beginners need. Same basic question. No there never will be just 2 things to turn pens Can't be. You should know that.:smile:
 
I don't think a pen can be made with only a lathe + 2 other items.

I use a lot more than two other items to make a pen. I can think of four (either a drill press or jacobs chuck, drill bit, sand paper, buffing wheels) that I use on every pen, regardless of material type and component or kitless pen. I need several other items, but they change depending on the type of material and type of pen that I am making.
 
I see now (after learning to read) that a lathe is assumed -- Along with my turning tools I really love beautiful Wood blanks -- some knock my socks off... Right now I am wood rich and cash poor!
 
jttheclockman said:
Look at the other question that was just repeated again about what beginners need. Same basic question. No there never will be just 2 things to turn pens Can't be. You should know that.:smile:
Click to expand...

John. As much as I love your work and creativity, I respectfully disagree.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT what beginners need. It IS about what you ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE to make a pen.

When I started, the "voices of the internet" said i MUST HAVE a tube insertion tool. I bought one. FINALLY, I spun it down into a dart and put feathers on it. It's ALMOST useful.

My goal here is to GO OUTSIDE the box and get the pulse of what people's "most important" items are.

I KNOW what I need! my goal is to see others MINIMUMS.

Respectfully submitted.
 
PenMan1 said:
jttheclockman said:
Look at the other question that was just repeated again about what beginners need. Same basic question. No there never will be just 2 things to turn pens Can't be. You should know that.:smile:
Click to expand...

John. As much as I love your work and creativity, I respectfully disagree.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT what beginners need. It IS about what you ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE to make a pen.

When I started, the "voices of the internet" said i MUST HAVE a tube insertion tool. I bought one. FINALLY, I spun it down into a dart and put feathers on it. It's ALMOST useful.

My goal here is to GO OUTSIDE the box and get the pulse of what people's "most important" items are.

I KNOW what I need! my goal is to see others MINIMUMS.

Respectfully submitted.
Click to expand...


Well I respectively don't get your question. You have to have a multiple of tools to do a pen. Certain types of blanks made need more tools such as my router jig. If you do kitless you need a whole other set of tools.

Anyway I am out of this conversation and I hope you find what you are looking for. :biggrin:
 
FOLKS! There IS NO right or WRONG answer to this question!!!!!!! I long for that "What if we sliced the bread before we sell it answer".

THE SOLE REASON for this question is because some us OLD DOGS get it set in our minds that there is ONLY ONE WAY DO to do things! I AM AN OLD DOG!

In 1491, BEFORE COLUMBUS, the world was FLAT! Today, it was just proven AND VERIFIED, that the world is 3D!

No matter HOW LONG you have been making pens, I EAGERLY await your response!
 
jttheclockman said:
PenMan1 said:
jttheclockman said:
Look at the other question that was just repeated again about what beginners need. Same basic question. No there never will be just 2 things to turn pens Can't be. You should know that.:smile:
Click to expand...

John. As much as I love your work and creativity, I respectfully disagree.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT what beginners need. It IS about what you ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE to make a pen.

When I started, the "voices of the internet" said i MUST HAVE a tube insertion tool. I bought one. FINALLY, I spun it down into a dart and put feathers on it. It's ALMOST useful.

My goal here is to GO OUTSIDE the box and get the pulse of what people's "most important" items are.

I KNOW what I need! my goal is to see others MINIMUMS.

Respectfully submitted.
Click to expand...


Well I respectively don't get your question. You have to have a multiple of tools to do a pen. Certain types of blanks made need more tools such as my router jig. If you do kitless you need a whole other set of tools.

Anyway I am out of this conversation and I hope you find what you are looking for. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

OH, REALLY?.......Let's see. I know what I need. You know what you need. I'm hoping to learn something.
 
PenMan1 said:
THANK YOU, HARRY! You are my Huckleberry!

With calipers and a quality pen tool, DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE A KIT AND BUSHINGS?

I'm picking on you because I think that this group is slowly proving that you don't need kits or bushings to make a pen.....JUST LIKE MY ICE MACHINE....kits and bushings DO make it easier!
Click to expand...

Andy: I think you are on the right track! The ice machine is a must!!! For item #2, how's about a good smooth single malt bourbon? Heh, NOTHING ELSE NEEDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can get into my wifes drawers and find some emery boards. With enough of the single malt, these emery boards may have that blank looking smooooooooooooooth!!! Of course, if I look around in those drawers long enough, I may not want to do any more turning tonight! :)
 
PenMan1 said:
FOLKS! There IS NO right or WRONG answer to this question!!!!!!! I long for that "What if we sliced the bread before we sell it answer".

THE SOLE REASON for this question is because some us OLD DOGS get it set in our minds that there is ONLY ONE WAY DO to do things! I AM AN OLD DOG!

In 1491, BEFORE COLUMBUS, the world was FLAT! Today, it was just proven AND VERIFIED, that the world is 3D!

No matter HOW LONG you have been making pens, I EAGERLY await your response!
Click to expand...
I might take issue with the "old" part of that:biggrin::biggrin:Also - that would be "...A OLD DOG."
 
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PenMan1 said:
Culprit said:
Glue of some variety to glue the tubes in the blanks, and a way to square/trim them.
Click to expand...

Just being the jerk that I am..... If you decide to make a pen WITHOUT tubes, do you NEED glue?

If you don't use tubes, is there a reason to square the tube to the blank?
Click to expand...


What tubes?????? :)
 
Smitty;
I agree with EVERYTHING you said EXCEPT, DOWN HERE... AN is ALWAYS used before any word beginning with a vowel or "H" (an implied vowel). I KNOW THIS IS DIFFERENT "up yonder"...... BUT, it IS Queen's Englsh, and we still observe it, here.

DOWN HERE.... It's ALWAYS AN old.man.. AND AN honorable man.. Anything else WILL get the Hersey beat out of you. notice I left OUT the second h in Hershey.... That was purposefully. DOWN HERE, Hersey was an an honorable Walsh family .... Hershey is synomous with drifter, scalawag, or other reprobate.

We don't care how y'all spell it or say it up there:)
 
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Last September, wife and I were on a tour in Italy with a bunch of what turned out to be really nice folks from Australia and New Zealand.

I was chatting with one of the Aussies who had recently retired, and we agreed that at this point in our lives, we really need to downsize and simplify. But also jokingly commented that there were still some tools that I need for my shop.

But as I think back over the last year, one of the things that I have come to recognize is that almost all of the tools that I have added to my arsenal have been tools that I have made myself, and that I get as much pleasure from the process of designing and making those tools as I do from actually using them.

So for me, the answer to the question is not what TOOL I absolutely need, but rather that I absolutely need the challenge of problems that need solving, whether they comes in the form of making specialized tools, or finding ways to mount blanks, or designing of new turning projects.

It's not so much the stuff as it is the process.
 
mredburn said:
crap I only have one of those.
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Oh, Sir! I beg to differ! You have more talent than most. AND. At night, in my peaceful dreams, I IMAGINE that I can pour beautiful lost wax silver and gold pen parts! Then I wake up nursing burned fingers and another VERY EXPENSIVE puddle of melted wax and metal goo :)
 
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