Practice Kits (Plenty of Blanks, Low on Kits)

[QuillandQuiver]

Hey there, just getting introduced to the IAP but I've benefited a lot from your input thus far in my pen making journey. Here's a question I have:
I've got about 150 blanks worth of oak, ash, walnut, and cherry and want to get some good practice in before making sellable/giftable pens. However, I don't want to break the bank on buying kits that cost $10 or more a pop! Any recommendations on cheap (but not junky) kits that I can buy in larger quantities so I can practice?

 

[southernclay]

Hey there, just getting introduced to the IAP but I've benefited a lot from your input thus far in my pen making journey. Here's a question I have:
I've got about 150 blanks worth of oak, ash, walnut, and cherry and want to get some good practice in before making sellable/giftable pens. However, I don't want to break the bank on buying kits that cost $10 or more a pop! Any recommendations on cheap (but not junky) kits that I can buy in larger quantities so I can practice?

Welcome to the forum. I'm working on narrowing down a bunch of kits I'll be selling, many of which I've gotten from buying out other turners through the years. If interested send me a message, a lot of them will be less expensive slimline/7mm type kits and if you're looking for 50-100+ kits these will be fairly priced.

 

[magpens]

Hi there, Cale !! . Warm welcome to IAP !! .

As for kits ..... what do you want ? . . Slimline ?

Other than slimlines, if you have to buy retail, have a look at the Carbara and Cigar kits from ....BereaHardwoods.com (and other vendors).

For quality with pricing at around $7 per kit (in quantity) these would be my suggestions.
If you are lucky enough to buy some of these kits as surplus from other pen-makers, the pricing could be even lower.

I am a big fan of the Berea Cigar kit ... very good quality, very handsome pen styling, and you will learn a lot from the challenges of making them. . . There is also the Ultra Cigar but that one is priced quite a bit higher to match the exquisite features it has in the same basic design.

 

[egnald]

Greetings from Nebraska! I completely agree with Mal on the Berea Cigar kits. Not only is the Cigar style (10mm tubes) typically the next step from Slimlines (7mm tubes) for new turners, it makes a more substantial (aka heftier) pen than the Slimlines and for not much more money. Cigar kits, not necessarily Berea, can be found for as little as $5.50 and they are available in lots of finishes. Despite it's low cost, the Cigar continues to be my favorite style of pen.

In my opinion they are also much easier to make and are more attractive than the Slimline as there is a little more (thicker) blank material left after the pen has been turned. That being said, it is simply my personal preference. I too started with the Slimline model and still have many kits in my stash; however, I rarely turn them unless I am making a pen for someone that prefers the thinner slimline style.

Benefit #2, again in my opinion, is that the Cigar uses a Parker style refill instead of the Cross style that is used by Slimline pens. There are more options available for Parker refills where Cross styles are pretty limited.

I suggest that you look through the offerings from Exotic Blanks as they have a vast selection of Cigar kits from Berea, Dayacom, and others. Most use the same Cigar bushings and a 10mm drill except for the Olmsted kits that are a little smaller and require different bushings and a Letter O drill (just a tad bigger than 8mm).

Best Regards,
Dave

 

[Bats]

If you're looking for practice, you can't get much more for your money than slimlines. They're available dirt cheap (especially if you're not picky about getting the best plating - you can find Chinese sellers like Strongink that'll go down under $1.50/ea in quantity), they're just fiddly enough to get right that you have to focus and really nail your dimensions (unlike, say, a Gatsby), and if you ditch the center band and/or make your own, they can be made in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Cigars are nice enough pens if you like 'em chunky, but they cost 2-3 times as much (which really adds up if you're looking at 150 of them) and don't have nearly the same versatility to keep you from getting bored.

Of course, I'm saying this as someone who's probably turned less total pens than you have blanks ready, so administer grains of salt as needed.

 

[Jans husband]

Hello Cale,
Nice to have your input.
I started pen turning 7 years ago (having not seen a lathe for over 50 years) with the slimline starter kit from my local woodturning shop.
I quickly moved on to the Cigar pen, and I have stuck with it ever since, -great to make and always turns out well-,although when I see some of the different pen kits and blanks displayed on the Forums here I buy the ones I think I will like, but only in ones or twos, and decide whether to buy/make them again based on how I find them.
The Atrax and Sierras for instance always look good and are very good value, but if I have a special blank-usually acrylic-I go for the Levenche or Mistral both from Beaufort Inks. I regard them as "top end" for the amateur.
So I suppose my philosophy would be practice repeatedly on cheap 7mm slimline kits and as you become more confident you will find yourself being confident to spend a bit more to buy a kit.
The main thing is to enjoy the hobby!!
Turning pens dedicated for sale is a different matter, and I have no experience in that direction.
Mike

 

[GaryMGg]

You can also buy tubes by themselves and make up lots of sets of turned blanks.

 

[QuillandQuiver]

Thanks guys for all the encouragements! I do like the idea of several options as far as more affordable kits are concerned. I've definitely been perusing Exotic Blanks already and am familiar with places like Berea. Ultimately, I do like the tubes idea because I've already had the chance to do that a bit- it just means I'll have finished pens ready to press hardware on and go!

I'm partial to cigar pens too for their feel and not having to go through SO much material but I've only been able to practice comfort-style. Obviously, the style determines the diameter of the tubes, but what about tube lengths? Are they relatively standard for those respective styles (cigar, slimline, sierra, etc)? (the reason I ask is that if I get a batch of tubes, I want to have some confidence that they'll fit a decent array of hardware for a particular style). I'm sure someone's got a handy chart somewhere .

 

[QuillandQuiver]

Thanks guys for all the encouragements! I do like the idea of several options as far as more affordable kits are concerned. I've definitely been perusing Exotic Blanks already and am familiar with places like Berea. Ultimately, I do like the tubes idea because I've already had the chance to do that a bit- it just means I'll have finished pens ready to press hardware on and go!

I'm partial to cigar pens too for their feel and not having to go through SO much material but I've only been able to practice comfort-style. Obviously, the style determines the diameter of the tubes, but what about tube lengths? Are they relatively standard for those respective styles (cigar, slimline, ? (the reason I ask is that if I get a batch of tubes, I want to have some confidence that they'll fit a decent array of hardware for a particular style). I'm sure someone's got a handy chart somewhere .

 

[wolf creek knives]

You might to want to also check out Penn State on some of their "starter" kits. Good pricing on the kits, usually always have the bushings included and some kits come with the drill bit. Check out their "Specials" section on their web site, you can get a 12 pack of Trim line kits for $28.25, doesn't include bushings though. I've been able to do pretty well with the starter kits but the other suggestions above are all valid too.

 

[Bats]

Obviously, the style determines the diameter of the tubes, but what about tube lengths? Are they relatively standard for those respective styles (cigar, slimline, sierra, etc)? (the reason I ask is that if I get a batch of tubes, I want to have some confidence that they'll fit a decent array of hardware for a particular style).

Slimline tubes will fit most *line pens (although there are some outliers like the Slimline Pro that actually use 8mm tubes), but Sierra gets into dicey territory. There are Sierra-ish pens (some of which may even be called "Sierra") that use a variety of different tube lengths and diameters. Also, if you use bushings, those will vary from kit to kit too (they're also different depending on whether you're turning a conventional slimline or a comfort slimline).

(edit: I haven't turned a lot of cigars, so I can't comment on the situation with those)

I'm sure someone's got a handy chart somewhere .

Why, yes! Free with your membership to IAP (only 99 easy payments of $99.95), we also include, absolutely free, a tour of the scenic Bushings & Tubes section of the IAP Library, which has massive tables of (as you may have guessed, if you were paying attention) bushing & tube dimensions for the majority of kits from the majority of big vendors. For instance, here's the one for Exotic Blanks:

(B&T) Exotic Blanks Bushings and Tubes - Revised: 7-2-2023

Please notify Library Manager of Required Updates. Revised Exotic Blanks Bushing and Tube Charts 7-2-2023 Click on the image below to begin download of PDF. Author: Wayne Racinowski

www.penturners.org

 

[PreacherJon]

You can always just buy extra barrels/tubes for pen styles you want to make. And practice with them. You don't actually have to have a kit.

I can't afford a lot of kits, but I'll buy the barrels. Turn them... and then when I can afford a few kits... buy them... put the kits together with the already turned barrels. Then... turn some new barrels that came with the kit and start the process over.

 

[magpens]

@QuillandQuiver

Cale, don't count on any tubes fitting a pen kit that they are not intended for.
Usually, every kit uses tubes of different length, even if the diameters match.
That's just a fact of life in this business. .

There are a few exceptions, but not many.
One exception is that the Sierra Twist tubes do (at least closely) fit the PSI Gatsby Twist and the Woodcraft Wall Street Twist.

 

[PenkitsMall]

Welcome to IAP. You could start with slimline twist pen kits or fancy twist pen kits. Search for them thru etsy.com.

 

[penicillin]

Our club buys the Penn State "Funline" pen kits in bulk. They are the cheapest pen kits I've seen. They sell 30 pen kits for $50 for us ordinary folk. I don't know how much discount the club gets below that for buying in much larger quantities. Note: Penn State is currently out of stock: https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSLFUN99.html

In addition to being low cost, they are two-part pens = more turning practice. Don't expect great quality, just a basic pen and good practice.

-> I donate my "dud" pens to the local library. They appreciate any working pens they can get, regardless of looks or mistakes.

 

[WriteON]

Slimelines.... The best way to get started/experienced. After getting the hang of SL's the 3/8th (and some 8mm)are a real pleasure to produce....and sell.

 

[mikespenturningz]

Hi there, Cale !! . Warm welcome to IAP !! .

As for kits ..... what do you want ? . . Slimline ?

Other than slimlines, if you have to buy retail, have a look at the Carbara and Cigar kits from ....BereaHardwoods.com (and other vendors).

For quality with pricing at around $7 per kit (in quantity) these would be my suggestions.
If you are lucky enough to buy some of these kits as surplus from other pen-makers, the pricing could be even lower.

I am a big fan of the Berea Cigar kit ... very good quality, very handsome pen styling, and you will learn a lot from the challenges of making them. . . There is also the Ultra Cigar but that one is priced quite a bit higher to match the exquisite features it has in the same basic design.

I agree cigar kits are a great way to learn. They are big enough to be fun and you can even do a little segmenting on them if you like. Sierra kits are also a great starter kit..

 

[Jans husband]

Our club buys the Penn State "Funline" pen kits in bulk. They are the cheapest pen kits I've seen. They sell 30 pen kits for $50 for us ordinary folk. I don't know how much discount the club gets below that for buying in much larger quantities. Note: Penn State is currently out of stock: https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSLFUN99.html

In addition to being low cost, they are two-part pens = more turning practice. Don't expect great quality, just a basic pen and good practice.

-> I donate my "dud" pens to the local library. They appreciate any working pens they can get, regardless of looks or mistakes.

Another good idea is to recycle any tubes which don't work out when practicing by turning them down to the basic brass tube and use again
Mike

 

[QuillandQuiver]

Finished my first (walnut burl) second (cherry) and third (red oak) pens for the trifecta of cigars. (sorry, they're right to left). Updates that you didn't need but that come from someone finally feeling like they have some sort of "hang of it".

 

[qquake]

Those are nice, but they don't look like cigar pens.

 

[QuillandQuiver]

My bad, they're just rollerballs