What is/was your biggest order for pens??

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KBs Pensnmore

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Having turned pens for nearly 2 years, and made about 100, nearly 1/4 were swapped for Pen Blank Material, I was surprised to get a phone call on 11/11/11 from a company, that were given a couple of my pens by one of their Franchisees, asking if it was possible to order 110 Pens. Thinking this was a joke, I said "CERTAINLY" unfortunately the joke backfired on me, I now have 110 pens to do by 9th Dec, 2011:frown:, after ringing the person that placed the order, it was confirmed as a definite.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
Just wondering has anyone else been given a large order for Pens????
Kryn
 
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Congratulations Kyrn on this order. A few of us have done large orders. Perhaps if you give us some details on the type of pen then we can pass along some tips in efficiently completing the order. Darrell Eisner
 
My biggest order has been for 100 cigar pens - and boy did I hate them by the end. Please be sure to get at least half of the money upfront.

On the plus side, I got LOTS of practice doing my special plexiglas finish, got to be good friends with my local engraver and provided my daughter with some extra cash for her two-color fill in the logos.

It was a good learning experience and a good income project.
 
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Congrats on the big order....my condolences on the quick deadline...based on my past similar experience you will be sick of turning pens for a while after completing such a big order on such a short lead time.

I hope you took a substantial deposit...hate to see someone change their mind before you deliver and get paid...happens more than you would think

Good luck and remember to stretch the back !
 
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Get a 50% deposit and set up a production line.
Cut them all ( plus extras)
Drill them all
Glue them all
Square them all
Turn them all
Assemble them all.

Maybe even enlist some help with gluing and assembly.
Then enjoy the fruits of your labor!
 
I agree with the assembly line idea. I have received 3 orders totaling 250 (2-100 @ 1-50) from the same company. I was somewhat overwhelmed at first. Then I used the assembly line concept and it went more smoothly.Boy,was I tired of cedar slims after that.
 
If the style of pen is flexible, convince your buyer to go for a single barrel style...even if you have to take a hit on the cost of kits vs sell price. You will LOVE the fact that you are turning 110 barrels, not 220!
 
KBs Pensnmore said:
I now have 110 pens to do by 9th Dec, 2011:frown:, Kryn
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Wow, that is a real short turnaround time. I recently had three orders to completed over a two month time span, totaling 140 pens. Fortunately, the three orders were a good assortment of different pen – Euro, Streamline, Churchill, Elegant Beauty and JR Gents – so boredom of making a single style of pen wasn't a factor. But , time was… with working a 60 hour work week at my fulltime job, and turning in the evenings, it didn't leave very much time in the day to do other things. I was sure glad to finish the three orders. The money was good but, I don't think I would accept an order or combination of orders for that many pens again. By the end, it wasn't much fun regardless of the extra cash.

Good luck!

Wade
 
I've had a few like that too. I don't like to see them anymore. Lol. It really takes the fun out of my HOBBY when it turns to work like that, but it is some nice $ before Christmas. When I have people ask about pens now, I tell them I'll get a variety done for them to pick from. That way I still get to make what I want and keep it fun.
 
I had a 50 pc. order with a 30 deadline. I did 6 at a time because of working space. I would drill 6 and glue them. Then drill six more , then turn the first 6. That way I could jump right in without any wait time. Got them all done about a week ahead of time. The hardest part was having to wait a week before I could deliver.
 
I'm almost done with a 250 pen order, I gave them a free upgrade from Slimlines to Sierras. Take less then half the time to make as they are one barrel to turn and only one piece to press into the tube. Well worth the extra couple of dollars in kits as far as I'm concerned. If you can't hit the deadline, get out of the deal before you look real bad.
 
Large orders are not fun. If one is making pens as a full time job then I suppose making 100 pens is no different than doing brake jobs all day. It is just a job. For those of us who make pens for fun and a little extra $$ to fund our hobby or additional income then making 100 of the same pen, or even different pens takes the fun out...but not the $$$. I am currently working on a pen and pencil set order (10 sets) and I am hating it already, especially with the other orders for gifts. I stopped taking Christmas orders this weekend. The stress and hassel is not worth it. LIke John, I have quite a few pens already made and if a customer can't find one from that selection (this close to Christmas)then they are out of luck and I suggest they go to Office Depot.

Good luck with your order. You have received a lot of suggestions on how to make the order go smoothly. Some may work and others may not. Figure out which suggestions work for you and which don't so next time you will be ready to take on the challenge.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
The largest I have done is 12. To me to get a large order would be a love/hate thing. I'm lucky, the guy who sells my pens just calls me and tells me how many he wants and lets me run with it.
 
"Assembly line" is a great idea, but limit it to 10-12 at a time. PARTICULARLY the FIRST 10-12. If you make a mistake and duplicate the mistake 100 times, you're really "up a creek".

Making 10 wrong is no fun, but it is ten times more acceptable than 100 wrong!!
 
Still waiting on an order of any size. I'd freak to get an order that big and on such short notice. Would definitely have to enlist some help and assembly line techniques to pull it off. Good luck to you!
 
its_virgil said:
Large orders are not fun. If one is making pens as a full time job then I suppose making 100 pens is no different than doing brake jobs all day. It is just a job. For those of us who make pens for fun and a little extra $$ to fund our hobby or additional income then making 100 of the same pen, or even different pens takes the fun out...but not the $$$. I am currently working on a pen and pencil set order (10 sets) and I am hating it already, especially with the other orders for gifts. I stopped taking Christmas orders this weekend. The stress and hassel is not worth it. LIke John, I have quite a few pens already made and if a customer can't find one from that selection (this close to Christmas)then they are out of luck and I suggest they go to Office Depot.
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Back you up 100% Don. My biggest was 52...then 15 and that was it! I love making pens and although I love what I do for a living, I don't want to make pens for a living. I cover my costs and even bought my Jet 1642 and Griz 0555 from pen sales...because I wanted to!!! I love giving pens to people for the desire to do it. Most are cherished and some are lost. A big order will help you hate making them for awhile...then you'll love making them for yourself and never do a large order again! Good luck and push thru it!
 
i just did an order for 20 pens. i thought that was alot. this is something i came up with. don't know if it helps but made my order easier, neater and i didn't drop any or mix any up. its just a piece of plywood and some 1/4" dowel. mine holds 20 pens (40 halves) you could build one to suite or do them in batches.

and yes. you will hate them when you are done. if time will allow, throw in one nice pen in the middle just so you don't go nuts.
 

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Did an order for 50 mesquite cigars one time and hated it. Then I took an order for 35 Jr. Statesmen "Original Cactus Pens"™ with boxes. That was a $7,000 order. The money was nice but I hated every single minute of it! The pens weren't too bad but the boxes ate my lunch.

Also, I drilled, reverse painted, and glued 25 sets up and then had a friend from here turn them round for me. Something went wrong with the paint and I had gohsting inside the blank on all 25. Had to toss them and start over so heed Ed's advice above and don't do too many at one time. If you have an error, you WILL be starting over! Hard $500+ lesson learned for me!
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement, Ideas and YES I am HATING IT!!!:frown:
Fortunately, I do have a background in setting up production work so that makes it a lot easier.
The Pens are a comfort pen 2 Pce with out the rubber grip ( anyone want 100+ rubber grips), made from recycled plastics, and CA finish.
Marc, that was the first thing I did, was to make several boards with 3/16 dowel to hold them, 30 on each, cut to square and length, Drill (Thank god I made a set of grips similar to PSI drill chuck for my Nova), cut to finish size, trim and glue. To break the monotoney I did do them in groups of about 15-20 as I have a jig that I made for trimming to the correct length, plus having 5 mandrels also helps as the CA dries on one, I turn another, give a coat, put it in the rack coat another till 5 are in the rack with at least 10 coats, then sand off the shine till 600 grit and then onto a rack for MMing.
Once again thanks everyone for the support, encouragement and ideas.
Kryn
 
congratulations and good luck with the quick turn around.
as my better half keeps telling me when i get a decent order, (no 100 items yet); "be careful what you wish for"
so true some times
 
Good luck with your order. I have only had 2-4 set orders. Haveing an assembly line and a production line will help a lot. I am still waiting for my big order. Cheers to you. enjoy the bounty when you are done relax and take time away otherwise you will no longer like doing it.
 
Got an order in at the first of November for 50 pens. The parts just came in on Saturday. Spent all weekend making Cigar pens. They were all cedar so it moved very quickly. Was turning out a pen every 15 minutes. Of coarse I had already cut and center drilled the blanks last weekend. I have a nice setup with a drill chuck on my lathe, so as to get a perfect center every time.
 
If I was going to take a order for a large number i would hope it would be for pens like this. I have done 12 euro pens and 10 slimlines and those were enough. At least with jr statesman you make decent money.



MesquiteMan said:
Did an order for 50 mesquite cigars one time and hated it. Then I took an order for 35 Jr. Statesmen "Original Cactus Pens"™ with boxes. That was a $7,000 order. The money was nice but I hated every single minute of it! The pens weren't too bad but the boxes ate my lunch.

Also, I drilled, reverse painted, and glued 25 sets up and then had a friend from here turn them round for me. Something went wrong with the paint and I had gohsting inside the blank on all 25. Had to toss them and start over so heed Ed's advice above and don't do too many at one time. If you have an error, you WILL be starting over! Hard $500+ lesson learned for me!
Click to expand...
 
I just finished an order for 100 in 10 days. Besides for a sore back and knees it was a great experience. I did start singing ( 100 pens on the wall).
 
Largest I've had to date is six Slimline pen and pencil kits + three Baron fountain pens all for one customer....... I had a week to make them so not too much hassles involved main concern was that they left the coice of blanks and finish to me. What i do now is ask the customet tochoose the balanks they want used and the style be it Baron Polaris whatever then make 'em up so far so good!!!
 
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