Prettiest blank/pen contest from the Christmas offer blanks

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jennera said:
robutacion said:
jennera said:
George, here are the photos of the goblins pen. I will have her post later. She has limited time on the lathe until robotics season ends so any free time she gets she spends in the garage.

If I remeber correctly, this is from a norfolk pine with a knot.

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Yes, that is the Norfolk pine knot special blank, she really did a great job with it...!

I'm very sorry to point out that, I have allowed/requested that each participant would post a single pic the best you would think shows the pen the best, these rules are there for a reason and while I love to see lots of pics, I decided to ask for a single image, everybody else has been complying so, I had to make this remark with respect for all other participants, I'm sure you will understand what I mean...![emoji3]:wink:

Does Rebecca manage to sell some of her pens at school, or the kids have no money...?[emoji3]

Cheers
George
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Well, I grew impatient waiting for her to post a photo so blame it on a very proud Mom. :-) She has received more than one prize from you over the past year so maybe someone new can be introduced to all the great blanks you have to offer! Rebecca (Pen Goblin) highly recommends the olivewood gems.

Yes, she has sold some pens to her friends but she has also been gifting them one on their birthdays. I can tell which friends she likes the most based on how much care she spends selecting a kit and blank for them. If they are really good friends, she will ask me to order something special. She is already planning something for two twin brothers who have birthdays in May!

She has been asked not to bring anymore gun or bullet pens to school. I guess they want to be cautious so she has pictures on her phone she shares if anyone asks to see one.

She has turned some really nice pens lately but I am not posting anything until she decides which ones will be entered into the BASH. Last year, I got in trouble for posting one I did not know she had planned to enter.

I am still hopeful the hairy banksia pod pen she recently finished will turn up. It did come out very nice but was stolen at school before I was able to take any photos. She was reasonably happy with it but did not want me to take photos until she had a chance to make a repair of some sort. I will get her to fill you in on that...it looked fine to me but she is being a little more critical of her work now that she has more experience.

Thank you again for all your contributions to the IAP and encouragement of a new pen turner!


Jennifer

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You know, you have every reason to be a proud Mom, and I understand full well your excitement to share her work with the world, we also all love to see her work and how fast she is developing in the pen turning world, however, you may have to "tame" your excitement and make sure Rebecca is aware of your intentions otherwise, "issues" may raise unnecessarily, off-course...!:biggrin:

I like to share my woods/prizes/vouchers with as many IAP members as possible, however, I do not play favourites with anyone, prizes are awarded following a transparent and public system/set of rules, those that are awarded are so based on their own merits, luck, knowledge, etc., nothing else matters...!:biggrin::wink:

On the other hand, when I see young people getting involved and participating in woodwork activities, I seek the opportunity to be a mentor and supporter if parents are happy for me to be so, it gives me great happiness to assist them in any way I see possible and within my own means.

Kids need to be rewarded for their good actions, they will never forget it and they also grow up understand the value/meaning of appreciation.:smile:

"Young" people on IAP are the future of what this organization represents.

Cheers
George
 
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AMAZING PIECE OF TIMBER!

Ok George, This thing turned out way better than I thought. I have turned about 100 pens now and had fallen in love with hybrids and burl scraps, but this piece of (#9) Colonial Red Gum Burl is GORGEOUS!

I hope the pictures do it justice. It has dimensions and depth like crazy.
Truly beautiful piece of timber. Thanks.

This is dressed in a gold and gun metal Kojent ball point twist from woodcraft. The highest end twist kit I had in stock and also used almost the entire blank.

Thanks for the opportunity George. This was fun.

PS: Here is a video of it spinning so you can actually see the grain popping.
Make sure you play it in HD.
https://youtu.be/cXIMYrU6yy0
 

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giardinm said:
Ok George, This thing turned out way better than I thought. I have turned about 100 pens now and had fallen in love with hybrids and burl scraps, but this piece of (#9) Colonial Red Gum Burl is GORGEOUS!

I hope the pictures do it justice. It has dimensions and depth like crazy.
Truly beautiful piece of timber. Thanks.

This is dressed in a gold and gun metal Kojent ball point twist from woodcraft. The highest end twist kit I had in stock and also used almost the entire blank.

Thanks for the opportunity George. This was fun.

PS: Here is a video of it spinning so you can actually see the grain popping.
Make sure you play it in HD.
Click to expand...

Hi

Yes, it did turn out stunning but I have to correct you on something, the #9R means Colonial Red Gum Root, the root and the burl are different in grain and colour. One of the aspects of the Red Gum root/stump that blank come from is that it was a very old and enormous tree, hundreds of years old, there is an interesting story about it from some time ago...!

Anyway, I thank you for your efforts and participation in this contest...!

Cheers
George
 
[QUOTE3909.jpg[/IMG]

George, my entry is the Norfolk Pine blank on an Artisan Clicker. I needed a long kit in order to keep the knot intact. Beautiful piece of wood. Thanks again for your generosity and creating a fun contest.

~ankur[/QUOTE]

G'day,

It seems that the Norfolk Pine "knot special" pen blank was the most used in this contest and I'm very pleased with that, thank you.

The kit certainly shows the full blank well and you have done a great job on it, congrats...!

Thank you also for participating, most appreciated...!

Cheers
George
 
Here is my entry. It is #18 spalted Golden Wattle on an antique bronze Knurl GT. Very easy to turn with great color and grain. CA finish. I don't know what I like more, shopping on your webstore or reading the stories about how you acquired the wood! Thanks for the Christmas present.

Dave

golden wattle.jpg
 
christygiardino said:
George,
Would love to know the story of the tree! (The Redgum Root that @giardinm turned.)
Christy
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You know, I have looked and looked for that thread/post and I simply can't find it, some folks on IAP are pretty good at finding my older threads/posts so I hope that someone can find it.

I found the original pics of the removal, slicing and transportation to my storage paddock, this was the last gigantic Red Gum stump from trees that once existed in this area.

Sorry...!

Cheers
George
 
drise said:
Here is my entry. It is #18 spalted Golden Wattle on an antique bronze Knurl GT. Very easy to turn with great color and grain. CA finish. I don't know what I like more, shopping on your webstore or reading the stories about how you acquired the wood! Thanks for the Christmas present.

Dave

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G'day Dave,

Beautiful pen mate, great work...!:wink:

I think that a combination of the two make a lot more sense and allows you to have first-hand knowledge of the woods that you see on the web-store.

Is obvious that those stories are getting few and far in between, in pair with the fact that, the number of new woods is increasing very slowly as I'm getting older and less capable of hunting trees/woods.

I may not write much of new stories but I have enough of the old stories to entertain folks for some time to come...!:biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
Getting closer to close-up time

Hi everybody,

Unless there is someone in the process of finishing the contest pen (some got the blanks later than most), I will be closing this contest in the afternoon my time, there will be the 1/2/18 for me.

If there is anyone that needs a few more days, I need to know, I'm not in a hurry to close the contest but, the contest closing time was marked for the last day of January 2018, when the contest conditions were mentioned on my OP (Opening Post).

There will be 2 to 3 judges to determine the 3 prizes (1th, 2th, 3th) I offered, winners will be announced as soon as I get the results.

Cheers
George
 
Here is my entry, George. Took a chance and went with one of the Unknown woods you have. Paired with an Antique Brass Big Ben, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The blank had some softer wood that surprised me about 1/3 of the way down, more prominent towards the area where I cut the blank into, but ended up fine. The color transition and light spalted look along with the grain make this wood beautiful.
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Sadly so far this year I have not been in my shop to do any turning. The only thing I have done is go in and get tools to fix busted water pipes, and things like that.
 
MRDucks2 said:
Here is my entry, George. Took a chance and went with one of the Unknown woods you have. Paired with an Antique Brass Big Ben, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The blank had some softer wood that surprised me about 1/3 of the way down, more prominent towards the area where I cut the blank into, but ended up fine. The color transition and light spalted look along with the grain make this wood beautiful.

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G'day mate,

Unknown woods...??? yes, I have a few that I haven't yet identified but that one looks to me to be the #52spt Australian Walnut spalted, the soft spots are from the spalting process, some black lines may appear among the softer wood areas.

I may be wrong, would not be the first time.

I like the deep finish, you may need to look at the bushings you used on the top and bottom part of the pen unless the pic is tricking me, they look a little thin...!

Your participation in this contest was most appreciated...!:wink:

Cheers
George
 
BarryE said:
Platypus Gum Burl on a Jr Statesman Fountain Pen. It seemed appropriate to finish with Aussie Oil.

Thanks to George for the making these great wood blanks available.
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Hi,

I haven't seen one of those blanks in a pen for some time and you have done a good job with it, the finish is also quite glossed which I like to see...!

Your pen may be the last entry in this contest and I'm OK with it, the contest produced fewer pens than what I was expecting but was not bad.

Thank you for your efforts...!

Cheers
George
 
edicehouse said:
Sadly so far this year I have not been in my shop to do any turning. The only thing I have done is go in and get tools to fix busted water pipes, and things like that.
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G'day Ed,

Is a lot more "dramatic" to have you saying that you seem to lack workshop time than not having a pen turned with one of my blanks in this contest, work always seems to get in the way of fun and that is just a reality for a lot of people...!:frown:

My blanks offerings do not come with a "compulsory" have to participate/make a pen requisite, I'm sure when the time is right, you will select one of my blanks to make a pen with, that is enough for me...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
This contest in now officially closed...!

Hi peoples,

Well, I have received no request to keep the contest open for a little longer so, I'm officially closing this contest...!

We had 19 entries, nearly 50% of all those that received the Christmas Gift blanks (42) and that is quite good so, a special thank you to all that participated, there will be 3 prizes (AU$150 AU$100 and AU$50), the winners will be selected by vote among a couple of selected non-participant members, the results will be announced in the next day or two so, hang in there...!:biggrin:

Thank you,

Cheers
George
 
And the winners are...??

Hi peoples,

Ok so I got the results from the judges and they are as follow;

The 3th place/prize goes to post #16 pen from Rounder congrats, you have the AU$50.00 voucher from me.

The 2th place/prize goes to post #22 pen from Mike8850 congrats, you have the AU$100.00 voucher from me.

And finally, the 1th place/prize goes to post #8 pen from mrgator congrats, you have the AU$150.00 voucher from me.

Now, you have some credit in my store to have fun with, plenty to choose from...!:biggrin:

Congratulations to all winners and once again, thank you very much to all that participated, I enjoyed all 19 pens shown.

My thank you also to the great group of IAP friends that accepted the task of selecting the winners to all 3 places :wink::smile:

That's all for now folks,

PS: Winners will receive their vouchers very soon...!

Cheers
George
 
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WOW! With all of the beautiful pens, I didn't think I would be anywhere near the top. Thanks George for the great opportunity and I really do appreciate the $50 voucher. I an sure I will get some beautiful wood from you. THANKS !!!
 
Congrats to the winners! The only thing better than George's blanks is George himself. You have not only won a great prize, but I expect you will shortly be making a friend with wonderful experience and expertise.


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robutacion said:
MRDucks2 said:
Here is my entry, George. Took a chance and went with one of the Unknown woods you have. Paired with an Antique Brass Big Ben, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The blank had some softer wood that surprised me about 1/3 of the way down, more prominent towards the area where I cut the blank into, but ended up fine. The color transition and light spalted look along with the grain make this wood beautiful.

Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app
Click to expand...

G'day mate,

Unknown woods...??? yes, I have a few that I haven't yet identified but that one looks to me to be the #52spt Australian Walnut spalted, the soft spots are from the spalting process, some black lines may appear among the softer wood areas.

I may be wrong, would not be the first time.

I like the deep finish, you may need to look at the bushings you used on the top and bottom part of the pen unless the pic is tricking me, they look a little thin...!

Your participation in this contest was most appreciated...!:wink:

Cheers
George
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Looking back at my log and the blank end,I had entered it as "unknown" because I couldn't make the number out. The softer spalted wood made it harder for you to write on, also. Lol. Should have asked you about it. Now I know the number, I can almost make the number out.

The ends are definitely thin, my issue. Picked this kit because I had been turning it so well and missed on this one. Nib end the brass tube looks thicker than the wood, nearly ran out.

Congrats to the winners!


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I have to second Rounder's comments! Everyone's entry was top notch! With all the talented folks submitting pens, I am truly speechless to have finished so well. Thank you George for doing this and for the awesome selection of blanks!

Erik
 
Once again thank you...!

One thing that I mentioned before the end of the contest was that, at the close time of the contest, I would be asking for the last time if there is anyone that paid for the shipping to have 1 lot of the Christmas Gift blanks but never received the parcel.

There was one case where the address was incorrect and the parcel was sent back to me, and the shipping amount was refunded with an apology, however, there were a few members that were letting me know they parcels were yet to arrive and this was just after most folks started receiving their packages, I recall that some days later some of them reported back advising me the parcels finally arrived but, I can remember it ALL endup receiving their blanks and I haven't heard anything more as the contest was coming to an end so, if there is anyone that paid shpping but never received the package, I need to know who they are so that I can refund whatever the amount they sent me in the first place, and give my modest apology, hopping next time all parcels get to their destinations in time.

Let me know.

Cheers
George
 
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