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nightowl

nightowl

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
323
Location
Lexington, Virginia, USA.
The closest woodworking store I have access to is the Woodcraft store in Roanoke. It seems that every time I go the prices on the Acrylic blanks has gone up. I bought two blanks today. They are now $4.99 each. I told them that it was getting to the point that I couldn't afford them any more. I order my pen kits online but I usually like to see my blanks before I buy. I may have to change my attitude about that also. Are other Woodcraft store's prices the same. I have been to a Woodcraft store in Richmond and there blanks are a little cheaper.
 
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cost of blanks

the acrylic blanks are 4.99 at woodcraft in Saginaw Mi Like you we have only
one choice unless you go online.
 
Same price in Columbus, OH I like the better selection online anyhow exoticblanks has so cool ones and they are big too.
 
Since Woodcraft is a franchise store and most if not all buy from a main supplier they work on a SRP so most will be the same with only a small difference in price from store to store . The vendors here on the IAP sell some of the best acrylic blanks available . www.exoticblanks.com is a fantastic place to buy acrylic blanks of all kinds . Ed and Dawn are wonderful people to buy from , they only carry the highest quality imported acrylics and Dawn is an amazing artist when it comes to polyester resin plus they also carry some fantastic partner artists like Jeff Powell and others plus pen kits and supplies they are truly a "one stop shop" for almost everything penturning . Also they always send fantastic freebies which include high quality blanks not rejects .
There are many other vendors in the classifieds who also sell fantastic acrylic and wood blanks .
Best of all these vendors support this forum and help keep the place running so we all have a place to come and learn .
 
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+1 for exoticblanks. I know it's nice to see what your buying but also I have NEVER been disappointed with one of their blanks. And try getting a freebie from Woodcraft!
 
If you watch woodcraft they have periodic sales on pens and blanks. I recently bought the several for somewhere around 3 bucks or so.
 
You'll find they keep raising the prices until we stop buying, then they'll come down
to the price where we were still buying.

Definitely go to Exotics. Not only do they have good service, they carry items from
other vendors.
One Stop Shopping
Combined shipping

.. and Yippies!
 
I try to buy from woodcraft only on clearance for the pen blanks. Troll their website, print it out and take the sheet into the store. Mine will match the prices almost all the time.

But if you do the math at 25+ blanks per board foot or plastic materal, at $4.50 each that works out to $112.50 a board foot!

There is no acrylic that is that much. Woodcraft corporate, and the local store have some hefty markups on those.

I've heard dayacom sells blanks around 2.00 wholesale. Perhaps a group buy of assorted styles could be arranged!
 
nightowl said:
The closest woodworking store I have access to is the Woodcraft store in Roanoke. It seems that every time I go the prices on the Acrylic blanks has gone up. I bought two blanks today. They are now $4.99 each. I told them that it was getting to the point that I couldn't afford them any more. I order my pen kits online but I usually like to see my blanks before I buy. I may have to change my attitude about that also. Are other Woodcraft store's prices the same. I have been to a Woodcraft store in Richmond and there blanks are a little cheaper.
Click to expand...

Well I'm not big on acrylic blanks anyway, ...I can buy a good looking, cheap, plastic pen anywhere if that's what I want....wood on the other hand ya don't find at Staples or Office Max. I do have some acrylic and a few corian blanks though in case I ever want to use them I bought them at closeout for $.99.
 
Exotic Blanks has very good stuff for much less. And, don't forget Ernie at Bear Tooth Woods. His acrylic "sand" and "mountaineers pride" outsell all of my other acrylics and they are priced below the Woodcraft/Rockler pricing.

The customer service at Exotics AND Bear Tooth Woods is unsurpassed!
 
I love Exotic blanks. NO DOUBT.

FYI: The WC near me (Downingtown) usually has several different blanks marked down. Almost always something I want... :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Making your own blanks is the cheapest way to go over the long haul but certainly not in the short run. It requires a fair bit of investment and you have experiments to perform that can sometimes result in trash. I have been casting for quite a while now and I still sometimes have blanks that end up in the trash. If you are just going to make pens for friends, buying blanks is the way to go. If you are going to make hundreds of pens and sell them, then casting makes the most sense...it's all depends on how much acrylic you want to do, and even then, you will still purchase some blanks because there's so many different types that you just can't make yourself no matter what. I cast blanks and I still buy some.
 
nightowl said:
The closest woodworking store I have access to is the Woodcraft store in Roanoke. It seems that every time I go the prices on the Acrylic blanks has gone up. I bought two blanks today. They are now $4.99 each. I told them that it was getting to the point that I couldn't afford them any more. I order my pen kits online but I usually like to see my blanks before I buy. I may have to change my attitude about that also. Are other Woodcraft store's prices the same. I have been to a Woodcraft store in Richmond and there blanks are a little cheaper.
Click to expand...

I haven't looked at acrylics at my Woodcraft in a while... but seems to me back in my hazy memory that's up about a $1 over what I used to pay... however, since I always take the wife with me when I buy acrylics (She'll buy more than I will:biggrin:) I don't really pay too much attention to the individual prices.. just the bottom line.. it usually costs me close to $100 to get out the door at Woodcraft... :smile-big:
 
So, since petroleum is down, plastic pen blanks should be down too....if your reasoning is sound. More likely, they think the bubble that popped is being glued back together....not. $5 for a plastic blank is robbery, unless it is one of the wood/plastic composites sold in the classifieds here...which are phenomenal. Since some burls are available for $5, why would anyone want plastic? Maybe I don't love art :biggrin:.
 
Smitty37 said:
Well I'm not big on acrylic blanks anyway, ...I can buy a good looking, cheap, plastic pen anywhere if that's what I want....wood on the other hand ya don't find at Staples or Office Max. I do have some acrylic and a few corian blanks though in case I ever want to use them I bought them at closeout for $.99.
Click to expand...

On the other hand when was the last time you saw a wood pen from Namiki,Omas,Mont blanc,Pelican,Sailor,Tibaldi and the list goes on:biggrin:. Remember acrylics don't necessarily equate to cheap!
 
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