New lathe

We just got a brand new lathe! It's one of the Rikon mini lathes. They are very nice. We bought it on sale at woodcrafters for $200! That was 20% off! We bought this one because our 2hp Grizzly doesn't use standard threads! Right now it's set up for pen making but may possibly be a nose cone station! I'm actually considering making pens to make my money this summer instead of a normal job!

Way cool! I just read a review of the Rikon mini lathe in Wood magazine - very positive. Sounds like you are going to have some fun.

Before you put all your eggs in the pen-making basket, get an estimate of what your hourly wage would be, being sure to account for all expenses and, just as important, what the actual market will bear in terms of quantity. It's easy to saturate the local market with some craft items, and to wind up working for only a few dollars an hour after you figure in all the time you spent getting materials, advertising, selling, etc. in addition to the actual construction time.

Eh I'll only be 15 this summer and I'd rather do somethine that I love than something that I hate. Plus I work from home and set my own hours. But we were talking to the man at wood crafters and he sells his at a gallery I believe and he says he can sell them anywhere from $40-$200.

Here is a pen that I made tonight. Total cost is about $10.

I saw that lathe in their sale flyer and it sure looks nice. I have a cheapo $99 lathe and it takes morse taper #2 (or was it #1?) attachments, and that's an odd ball size. Anyone buying one of these mini lathes should make sure the headstock and tailstock can take the 'standard' sizes.

I'll give you $8 for the pen. No really what is the pen made of.

Bigander said:

We just got a brand new lathe! It's one of the Rikon mini lathes. They are very nice. We bought it on sale at woodcrafters for $200! That was 20% off! We bought this one because our 2hp Grizzly doesn't use standard threads! Right now it's set up for pen making but may possibly be a nose cone station! I'm actually considering making pens to make my money this summer instead of a normal job!

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Hey why not do all a favor and turn cones instead of pens. Not to compete with BMS necessarily, offer some different shapes from hardwoods. I for one would love to see something besides cones or ogives in 29 thru 76mm.

pyrovette20 said:

I'll give you $8 for the pen. No really what is the pen made of.

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The pen is for me ! That is actually made from acryllic. Woodcrafters has around 130 different patterns in acryllic.

penmaking is cool! one kid made one form deer antler! took him about a week to slowly shave it down.

Ben

Bigander said:

The pen is for me ! That is actually made from acryllic. Woodcrafters has around 130 different patterns in acryllic.

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Ok so add acrylic cones as an option.

Making money from pen turning can be very fun but for the more expensive pens you're going to be spending more in the kit and turning blanks so the profit made from each one is about the same. ($3 from a $10 pen or $10 from a $150 pen)

What would really set your off (and kick the price that you could charge for them) would be to engrave something into them (burned or cut/grind) before sealing it....maybe even an inlay like engraved and then inlayed with gold leaf.

Good luck with the lathe but rememeber, if it stops being fun....stop doing it. Whats the point if you're not having fun too?

-Aaron

My idea was to turn the blanks with the tubes but not to assemble the pens. Then at the show people pick and choose what color and style they want to go w/ the tubes.

brings back good memories. I was really into woodturning about 10 years ago. Had a Oneway lathe (Canadian). Excellent lathe. I still have a little Record mini-lathe which is not bad but just a pain to change the speed - requires moving the belt on a different pully.

i had a couple contracts with a local company for pen making and made a very good profit (cost $500 - sell for $1200). used mostly mesquite and other local woods since the company was giving them as gifts to their customers that were from up north. mesquite turns pretty nice anyway and i had plenty of it on hand from land development clearing trees.. after i got the upper blanks turned, i took them to a laser engraver. they only charged about $3 each to engrave the company's logo. I eventually passed the business on to another turner who really appreciated the business. he did a great job. have fun with the lathe. it is very therapeutic to just turn a spindle down to nothing sometimes. bowls and vases are another fun and in demand item. worse case, give them as christmas gifts and use the money you save from buying gifts and buy yourself another rocket.

gw.

Cool, pen making sounds really fun. I saw penmaking on the show 'How it's Made' and it looked interesting, and it also sounds like a great way to earn some money.

Hmm well i'm up in Atown so i'll let u know if i'm ever down at a show in the Philly area. I do like the engraving idea. Hmmm this may be going somewhere. Oh and the best part is my mom is an accountant so I don't have to pay anyone to keep the books straight!

ben said:

penmaking is cool! one kid made one form deer antler! took him about a week to slowly shave it down.

Ben

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I hollowed out a set of antlers for a flute stand amd the heat from the drilling made it stink for a bit:surprised:
Mr Bob

checkout www.penturners.org you may or may not be able to make a profit I know in this area I have a hard time selling mine for what they are worth. I had one lady offer me 1.00 for one of these https://https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Pen_Making___Rollerball___Fountain_Pen_Kits___Emperor_Pen_Kit___emporer_pen?Args=
and she was dead serious. it is fun but be careful I have 2500 in pen kits sitting here I am slowly using them but thought I would have been thru them by now. Here are some of my pens ask questions about any that you have questions about. https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v220/hazegry/wood%20working/

How do you prefer to turn the acrylic? I had a rough time the first time using it. I knocked down the corners with a gouge and then i went and used a round nose scraper as I was having a hard time going after it w/ a gouge.

what do you mean by hard time? make sure your tools are sharp how are you sharpening them? also make sure your tool is hitting about center or a bit above the blank. I turn at 1800 on my rikon. the inlace acrylics I turn at the next higher speed.

It might have been that the gouges were a little dull. We're investing in slip stones in the near future.

This is my new preferred place to buy kits, you can see buy some of the great prices. www.woodturningz.com

careful I have had problems with some of his slimline kits. other than that he is a good source.

hazegry said:

careful I have had problems with some of his slimline kits. other than that he is a good source.

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Nope i got almost all cigar kits, 3 gold cigars, 3 black chrome cigars, 2 gold cigar pencil kits, and the classic rollerball pen.