Thought Question ??

[jttheclockman]

Ok slow day and was sitting here thinking so I said lets get others involved in my thoughts and see what makes others tick. We are a weird breed us pen makers. We spend money and time on our hobby which is fine but why do we go above and beyond? You are asking what the heck is he talking about? Well let me explain and then you tell me if you are not one of those weird breed members.

We have the people who do this for a living and they either make pens to sell or make blanks to sell or both. And boy do we have people making or cutting up wood or casting resins into pen blanks to sell. See new members here just about every day join just to do this. Now we do not have people selling finished pen here which is understandable because that is like selling ice to an Eskimo. These are not the people I am referring to.

No it is you. The hoarder, the I do not have enough blanks or pen kits person. Yea I am talking to you and you know who you are. Why do you see a pen blank you like and next thing you are buying 10 times more than you need. Same with pen kits? Next thing you know you are back here asking how does people store their pen kits, how do they store their pen blanks, how do they store their bushings and so on. Also now they are looking for ways to send BOBs to others to lighten the load but then this feeds into the sickness of others and they volunteer to take these BOBs. We perpetuate this sickness now. Same with pen kits. You see a kit someone made and you say you would like to try that kit. Next thing you are buying 10 times what you need and the tragedy continues. We wind up with more blanks and pen kits than we could possibly use in 3 lifetimes. But we have to have them. Take good look around your shop and tell me if this is you. Then explain to me WHY? I would like to know.

OH yea my Name is John and I have a problem. I just looked around my shop and I do not know WHY?

 

[TDahl]

I think it all started with toilet paper during the pandemic. When we see something we like or need, we want it. If it is out of stock, or difficult to get, we want it more, and more of it. Then throw in the quantity discounts and reduced shipping cost per item, and you get.......a hoarding issue. And that is just for blanks and kits. Don't get me started on the numerous tools and jigs purchased for pen making and never used.

The Swedish have a philosophy called "Lagom" which translates to "just the right amount" or "not too much, not too little". Outside the shop I practice this philosophy with some moderate success. Inside the shop.......well.......that's a different story. I went so far as to build a special wall cabinet to house all of my blanks. I have everything I need, and then the next shiny new object (kit or blank) comes along, and I just have to have it and try it. Circle back to the "toilet paper" conditioning psychology, and you get.......hoarding.

To answer your first question......Yes John, my name is Tim and I have a problem.

Now if you will excuse me, I have an order to place with Exotic Blanks.

 

[leehljp]

It is not just pens for me. It is my nature! I have begun downsizing somewhat over the last 2 - 3 years with pen cache/stash because of age, but at the same time, when I get something new, I buy peripheral items so that I can use something to its maximum if I decide (and don't want to WAIT on it.)

I do believe part of this penchant you mentioned is the "wanting to get the job done without having to wait for more purchases later" if the desire or motivation hits.

A For instance - buying more than needed for me - can be seen in the recent threads on "Oily Glue." I noticed in research that some mentioned "High Temp". First I decided to try the oily glue. Second I decided I wanted to try the "high temp" also. I ended up buying 4 versions. So far, I have been happy with the high temp. I have had mug handles and soup bowl mug handles break before. No glue holds up for them once placed in the microwave or dishwasher. Well, so far the High Temp has done well. I have not had this success before. It might fail in the near future but it has handled the microwave and dishwasher several times so far.

This is often the reason I buy more than needed, and it gives me the immediate options that would not be available otherwise, or find the solution that "one" that would not have provided.

I think this is only one part to that question.

EDIT IN:
FOR a real creative mind or mindset, one wants to cover all the bases with extra purchases, while many people want to accomplish just one item. My wife is one who wants to accomplish one finished pen; I want all the variables available to go in the direction I "feel like" at the moment. That makes me buy more than the minimum.

 

[Humongous]

When asked about my hobbies I like to tell people that I collect exotic wood and make expensive sawdust.

 

[SteveJ]

Not sure I can relate. In all my pen turning I have only bought blanks for specific orders. I've got a number of kits in the shop, but those too are almost always to fill an order. I do usually order an extra kit or an extra blank for each order, which means that over time I've accumulated a modest amount of kits, probably no more than 25 of different types.

My problem is that I can't seem to find it in my heart to throw away anything. I've got five small boxes of cut offs mocking me with their presence. On top of that I've got way too many boards which I inherited from my dad over 30 years ago which I keep storing in the hopes that inspiration will jump up and get me to make something from them.

And as for blanks, I made the mistake of winning the Superbowl pool a few years ago (and because of that I am obligated to enter each year). Almost all of my blanks are from that dumpster load of packages. I'd be glad to lose this year just to offload some blanks! (Only thing is, spending $10 for a SFRB seems a bit excessive just to get rid of some blanks!

 

[Kenny Durrant]

My response to your first question is that I might be a "Wierd" person that just so happens to frequent here. As far as hoarding, if I see something I'm interested in I'll by a few just so I won't be spending more on shipping than the product. Since I started casting I've found I can build a blank cheaper that I can buy a pen kit. I'll have or get an idea and try and build a blank. When done I'll check it out and send pictures to my buddies. If I have a person in mind I'll turn it and give it away. If not I'll toss it in a box to collect dust with the others. That's pretty much my story as of now. When I first started turning I'd purchase kits because they were cool. The same with wooden blanks. I was good at messing them up so I always bought extra. I'd also buy boards to cut up into blanks so that gave me plenty at a time to store as well. Now that I have my go to styles I only buy those few kits to keep on hand. As far as old kits that I've moved on from when someone wants to get started I'll give them some of those. I've also gotten into other small projects so my wood stash has grown to larger pieces. Talk about feeding the problem!! I have a small fire pit on my back patio. I have a friend that works at a local Woodcraft. Woodcraft has a woodworking class about everyday. Rather than throw the cut offs in the trash they put them in boxes. The box gets full and they're rotated around 4 guys for free firewood. Since it doesn't take large pieces for what I do I go through the box and pick out what I think I might be able to use. Needless to say sometimes I keep more than I burn.

 

[Fine Engineer]

I've done pretty good in avoiding the hoarding problem. Having limited shop space helps provide motivation to avoid too much clutter. I buy kits in small batches, generally to give as gifts. With two exceptions, all my blanks are from wood that I have on hand, or have run across, and I saw them up into blanks. I realize I have lots of blanks now (~100 or so), and so don't need to buy any for a while. I need more kits to use the blanks I already have.