Best advice for new penturners on here

[edicehouse]

I was given some advice when I first got on IAP by someone, and it is something to remember. I think all new members need to remember when asking for advice.

There are people here with a lot of knowlege on most degree's of pen turning. So when you ask for advice, remember you might get help from someone that makes slimlines. The next person that offers advice might have the money in 1 pen that the person that makes slimlines spends on pens in a month.

Not saying either is wrong or right, but remember there are 40 ways to skin a cat.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Wrong, there are 41 ways to skin a cat. :biggrin::cat:

 

[Hula daddy]

Wrong, there are 41 ways to skin a cat. :biggrin::cat:

There maybe 41 ways to skin a cat, but after reading WAY too much, I found out there is at least 101 ways to apply a CA finish.

 

[Gilrock]

Wrong, there are 41 ways to skin a cat. :biggrin::cat:

There maybe 41 ways to skin a cat, but after reading WAY too much, I found out there is at least 101 ways to apply a CA finish.

The more I do CA finishes the more I hate them. I've got two sets of pen tubes set aside waiting to be finished where I've gone a round or two of thinking they were almost done and sanding through several grits and micro-mesh all the way up to 12K only to hold it up to the light and find imperfections that will probably require re-doing the whole process again.

 

[Justturnin]

I don't think it matters 99% of the time. The other 1% are mostly kit specific questions. When someone asks about drilling a blank does it matter if the person answering turns Slimlines or Majestics? The fundamentals and goals are the same. The quest for the perfect F&F, grain matching, sanding, whatever your question is; they all apply to almost every pen that you turn.

That said, if I ask a question I would love to have 40 folks give a different answers. Now I have options. I bet if we stood next to each other and both turned the same cheap kit we would do each step differently, but if we finished that pen and moved to a high end kit each of our steps would be the same as the cheaper kit we just finished, and that is the beauty of the craft, no one does it the same. We have fat pens, skinny pens, carved pens, dyed pens......hundreds of different styles and processes and the best part about it is that 99.99999% of us will share their ideas and processes and the small amount that don't likely spent hundreds of hours and dollars perfecting it and have found a niche, and if I found one I would not share it either. However, that same person that wont tell you how to do one thing will help you with hundreds of other things.

 

[dogcatcher]

Wrong, there are 41 ways to skin a cat. :biggrin::cat:

There maybe 41 ways to skin a cat, but after reading WAY too much, I found out there is at least 101 ways to apply a CA finish.

And a 102 ways to get it wrong.

 

[George417]

How many people are on Penturners? Well that is how many ways to apply ca glue and that many ways to get it wrong.


:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[mredburn]

MY best advice to beginners is to quit now while your ahead and run the other way!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Proud2Turn]

MY best advice to beginners is to quit now while your ahead and run the other way!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Run before the addiction takes hold, and while you still have some money :wink:

 

[Rick P]

MY best advice to beginners is to quit now while your ahead and run the other way!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Run before the addiction takes hold, and while you still have some money :wink:

IM sorry man but pentunring, penturning is a affordable addiction try motor sports some time!

I find the whole CA finish thing very amusing! So many WAY over think the process.

As many have already said lots of answers give you lots of options and I think most folks can weed out the advice of the boastful newbie vs the old salt. Besides there explorations and new ideas OFTEN spur new ways of doing things, they don't know the dimensions of the box yet!