Acrylic pens.... Easy Xmas gifts?

[Divided he ad]

Don't really do wooden ones.... It splinters and shatters in my experience! Probably cause I use a metal lathe?


The two I have made, one was finished with bees wax. The other was a stabilised buck eye burl.

Meaning it was resin impregnated and baked till the resin set. Makes the thing much easier to turn and polish using my metal lathe.


I use emery tape in lowering grits on all the ones I polish. The wood stopped at 400 grit for me. The stabilised one and acrylics all go right through to 1200 grit wet n dry.

Then a couple of runs with micro mesh to 12000 grit!! 


Lots of videos on you tub with hundreds of different techniques to see 





Ralph.

[ddoyle]

Don't really do wooden ones.... It splinters and shatters in my experience! Probably cause I use a metal lathe?


The two I have made, one was finished with bees wax. The other was a stabilised buck eye burl.

Meaning it was resin impregnated and baked till the resin set. Makes the thing much easier to turn and polish using my metal lathe.


I use emery tape in lowering grits on all the ones I polish. The wood stopped at 400 grit for me. The stabilised one and acrylics all go right through to 1200 grit wet n dry.

Then a couple of runs with micro mesh to 12000 grit!! 


Lots of videos on you tub with hundreds of different techniques to see 





Ralph.

Yeah...and I've probably watched 95% of them .   Hate to hear about your difficulty with turning wood on your metal lathe, because both kits I ordered I got wood blanks for them....and I am going to be turning them on a 7x10 Mini Lathe(metal).  What do you used as a tool rest on your lathe when doing the pens?  I got a 1' x 1/2" square bar that I was gonna put in my tool holder to try doing it.  Any pointers or suggestions before I get started would be HUGELY appreciated.

[efrench]

Don't really do wooden ones.... It splinters and shatters in my experience! Probably cause I use a metal lathe?

I turn wood occasionally on my metal lathe, but I usually use wood turning hand tools.  If you're using regular metal cutting bits held in the toolpost, then you need to experiment with the shape and how the tool is presented to the wood.  In other words, plunging the bit straight in on the centerline will give you a scraping cut which tends to tear out a lot. 

One way to minimize tearout is to apply a coat of shellac or boiled linseed oil before each cut (depends on how deep it soaks in).  The boiled linseed oil doesn't have to dry or cure for it to affect the cut.

p.s. See the tangential tool thread for a possible solution.

[ddoyle]

Don't really do wooden ones.... It splinters and shatters in my experience! Probably cause I use a metal lathe?

I turn wood occasionally on my metal lathe, but I usually use wood turning hand tools.  If you're using regular metal cutting bits held in the toolpost, then you need to experiment with the shape and how the tool is presented to the wood.  In other words, plunging the bit straight in on the centerline will give you a scraping cut which tends to tear out a lot. 

One way to minimize tearout is to apply a coat of shellac or boiled linseed oil before each cut (depends on how deep it soaks in).  The boiled linseed oil doesn't have to dry or cure for it to affect the cut.

p.s. See the tangential tool thread for a possible solution.

I too will be using wood turning tools, hopefully that will make the difference

[texta]

very nice pens mate , it gets addictive and you will be constantly trying to come up with a new style or material .one thing i have learned is dont make them all to suit what you like cos i have made a few that i hated and some one else loved em .i have been making pens for quite a few years , must of sold 5 or 6 hundred of em i would think . the wife used to keep an exercise book with all the sales in but she gave up half way through the book and no longer keeps a record of them .
try some celtic knot type pens , they are a bit of a challenge .

johno.

[texta]

whoops sorry about the size of that pic .
couple of smaller ones .

[Ginger Nut]

Who'd of thought pens on this forum. Some real nice work in whats shown.

So I shall join in if its ok.

Recent birthdays of Grand daughter age 5 and grand son age 7 they both have iPods so a Stylus was in order.

Being as sweet as she deserves a little bling as well.

[AussieJimG]

Oh I do like the idea of making it into a stylus as well, how did you do that?

Jim

[texta]

most of the mobs that sell the pen kit hardware also sell kits to make the stylus ones .

johno

[Ginger Nut]

Oh I do like the idea of making it into a stylus as well, how did you do that?

Jim

Jim a mate got these for me as he had the acrylics I wanted also.
You can get them the Sierra Stylus comes as a kit so does the Slimline but you can buy just the stylus.
I buy from 043turning.com.au Mark has both stylus separate if required need to phone him as they are not on his website, very reasonable price.
Gary Pye only part of the kits
or from Timberbits.com.au David only has the Sierra ones
There is a new player also http://www.perfectpensandpencils.com.au/ .

Jim just going through Perfect pens n Pencils check the project kits section he has the Stylus sets/kits in there.

[AussieJimG]

Thanks Ginger Nut, this might be the year for starting early on the Xmas presents (and perhaps finishing by Xmas)

Jim

[Divided he ad]

Yeah, sorry guys. Should have made it clearer.

I'm using the toolpost with super sharp carbide. (CCGT and the likes) I don't trust myself with chisels!


Some mighty fine looking pens there too.... That Celtic Knot looks like a pain to build up..... It's hurting my head trying to figure out the pattern needed to cut n glue it all 


Never intended this as a business.... Hundreds!!!  I just like creating shapes    




Please show your results on here (this thread or start your own might be better  )




Good to know it's a well liked subject though 




Ralph.

[texta]

here's a couple more of the celtic knot one's i have made .
johno

[Divided he ad]

Some fine work there 


I have a question, some may call it Crass or uncouth but.... Money.....

 How do you fair in sales of the pens? When the kits and materials cost so much that by the time you have spent a few hours crafting them the costs (if realistic) would well outweigh the labour put in 

I.E. Some of the kits I could buy cost 20 GBP  Add the acrylic/wood/trustone blanks and that can easily bump upto 30 before any labour has taken place.

Do you guys find it easy to sell your pens (if figures above were used with say 2 hrs for labour) for somewhere around  70-80 GBP ??



Don't feel you need to answer this in public (PM if willing to answer) I'm just intrigued. I have no real want or ability to make such things for a living. I would hate to turn an enjoyable hobby into a "must do" work thing.




I know... It's just my head thinking again    





Ralph.   

 

[Ginger Nut]

Some fine work there 


I have a question, some may call it Crass or uncouth but.... Money.....

 How do you fair in sales of the pens? When the kits and materials cost so much that by the time you have spent a few hours crafting them the costs (if realistic) would well outweigh the labour put in 

I.E. Some of the kits I could buy cost 20 GBP  Add the acrylic/wood/trustone blanks and that can easily bump upto 30 before any labour has taken place.

Do you guys find it easy to sell your pens (if figures above were used with say 2 hrs for labour) for somewhere around  70-80 GBP ??



Don't feel you need to answer this in public (PM if willing to answer) I'm just intrigued. I have no real want or ability to make such things for a living. I would hate to turn an enjoyable hobby into a "must do" work thing.




I know... It's just my head thinking again    


I am not sure what you guys in the UK pay for kits ours here in AU start around $2 for slimline and top line kits reach $80. I limit my buying to Sierra around $6 to $8, Bolt Actions around $16, for Fountain pens and roller balls about $20 each tops for me.

Acrylic blanks range from $1 to $6 some I get free. ALL my wood is either off cuts or FREE even some exotic such as Wenge, English Oak, Black Palm. Of course Burls etc we find on the ground or some past on from other turners off cuts. I have bought some Mango blanks thes worked out to about 60c each.

I have a 55lt tub of off cuts for pen blanks or cutlery or finials I cull this about every 6 months usually give them away. A mate is into resin casting of pen blanks and he is doing some special wood n acrylic for me ATM.

Latest pen an Executive Clicker Gun Metal kit with QLD Mango polly finish.



Ralph.

[texta]

Some fine work there 


I have a question, some may call it Crass or uncouth but.... Money.....

 How do you fair in sales of the pens? When the kits and materials cost so much that by the time you have spent a few hours crafting them the costs (if realistic) would well outweigh the labour put in 

I.E. Some of the kits I could buy cost 20 GBP  Add the acrylic/wood/trustone blanks and that can easily bump upto 30 before any labour has taken place.

Do you guys find it easy to sell your pens (if figures above were used with say 2 hrs for labour) for somewhere around  70-80 GBP ??



Don't feel you need to answer this in public (PM if willing to answer) I'm just intrigued. I have no real want or ability to make such things for a living. I would hate to turn an enjoyable hobby into a "must do" work thing.




I know... It's just my head thinking again    





Ralph.

my price varies depending on the degree of difficulty and materials . cheapset pen would be 22 bucks and my dearest would be 100 bucks .
i try to charge twice what they cost me in materials plus a bit depending on difficulty and or material rarity.
i dont think you could charge by what the time spent is . i dont think there is a hobby out there that realy makes much of a profit , but if it pays its way and makes a little bit extra to go towards a machine or something then all is good . probablly most pens i sell would be in the 32 to 55 dollar bracket .
acrylic pens are very easy and i can turn and polish one in under 15 minutes once they have been drilled and the glue has cured of course , and the same goes for plain timber ones .
hence they get boring to make after a while and i tend to go with harder to make ( more time ) antler and celtic knot or more challenging material like corn cob's steel braid banksia seed pods buffalo horn those type of things and even some types timber that have a mind of their own .but easy to make pens do get to boring after a while . i never started making pens with the intention of becoming rich from it just cover costs and make a few extra bob on each one .so a pen that costs me maybe 20 in stuff to make it i would sell for around 50 time i dont figure into the equation mostly , although a pen that is a real bitch to make and sometimes requires a couple of failed attempts to get it right i will charge more for .

johno

[Divided he ad]

Thanks for the replies guys 


Much the same as me then.
I don't exactly sell a lot of them but always wondered what others sell for and how they work out what they do. Now I know 



Ralph.