Inspired by the skill and craftsmanship demonstrated by y'all on this site, I decided to stretch my own abilities and try using a band-saw in the design process. I carefully worked out templates and guides, not really knowing what I would ultimately be creating. Both cap and body were laid out with care. I cut, built, glued, and assembled. Then I mounted the assembled blanks on the lathe and turned. Curious, excited, and yeah...kind of "full of myself". The cap pretty quickly had problems that showed my idea was flawed. Once I started on the pen body, I proved it without any room for doubt. Disaster in soooo many ways. After some bad words, worse thoughts, and a stiff snort of humility, I re-thought out the pen body, turned the mess down to the tube, and took it in a much simpler and totally different direction for a "save". The kit is a new one to me, "Tapa Traveler" from Finley Gallery. Beautiful design, well made components, generous detail. I highly recommend it. Real value for the price. Thanks for your thoughts and any words you leave behind here. Hope y'all enjoy.