WHAT'S ON SALE THIS MONTH

 

For Our Newsletter Subscribers Only: Get 10% Off The 5 Roll Sanding Set (ASR2). Enter "SAND10" In The Coupon Code At Checkout.

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Zircote Pen Blanks Just $2.89 Each

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Holly Pen Blanks Just $2.05 Each

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Cocobolo Pen Blanks Just $1.05 Each

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Special Intro Price On Our New Red Velveteen Pen Pouches

1-9

10-49

50-99

100+

$.74

$.69

$.65

$.62


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Our Pen Blank Drill Centering Vice Reg. $59.95 Is On Sale For $52.95

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Micro-Mesh Sof Touch Variety Pack Save $2.45, It's Just $14.50

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Faux Granite Powder To Mix Into Polyester Resin Is $5.00 Each

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Fleur-De-Lis Inlay Blank Is Featured For $13.50, A Savings Of $2.00

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Buy A PR Resin Casting Kit Or PR Resin Refill And Get An Extra 1/2 Ounce Of Catalyst Free (Limit One Free Catalyst Per Person)   

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September 2011

Greetings! 

 


Dink says, "Having had surgery on my knee has laid me up for a while. I'll be out of this BS time out and up to my antics next month, you just watch and you'll see and then you'll know what a good boy I am. Chewies and toys in massive quantities would make me feel much better though I'm sure they would".

What, $400-$600 for a shop air cleaner and then another $100 for replacement filters to fit it!

     Unless you have an industrial size mega shop and no dust collection system installed, you do not need an expensive room air cleaner. I made an air cleaner with a $14.00 twenty inch box fan, $21.00 for 20" X 20" filters and another $15.00 worth of plywood and wood screws.

     With a few simple measurements, a couple of cuts on the table saw and a few strategically placed wood screws I made a plywood box which holds the fan and filters snugly. I use a 99 cent pre-filter to catch the big stuff on the gozinda side and a $20.00 3M oober filter to do the real work on the gozouta side. You can use any kind of filter you prefer but remember, we are trying to get rid of the super fine particles which can cause us to cough and sneeze and are not good for us.

     This home made model will not cycle the air in the room as fast as the $500.00 one but it does move air very well and is extremely quiet. One disadvantage, it's not remote controlled, you will have to actually walk across the room to turn it on and off. You could plug it into a remote switch and then you'd are back in the remote business. If you plug it straight into the wall, you will never have to tear up your shop hunting for the remote only to find it days later, chewed up by the dog or exiting the discharge of your lawnmower and whizzing across the backyard at warp speed.  

     We have the one above in our office area and the one below made with a squirrel cage fan for the wood shop to cycle the air quite a bit quicker when generating dust on from the shop tools. The shop fan was around $125 to make due to the higher cost of the beefier fan and a bit more plywood. It still beats the heck out of $500.00 and I have no doubt it is just as effective. 

 

 

 

Tracey's Two Cents Worth

 

We are always happy to add to your internet order when you put a note in the comment section  or send and email  however....please be aware that we have opted for the highest security on our website payment set up for both your protection and ours.   What that means is that your payment information does not pass along to us when you place an order.    There are two options.    

 

1.)We can send you a Paypal invoice (You don't have to to have a Paypal account to make payment)  

 

2.)You can give us a call and we can put a credit card on file for you so we'll have it for future orders. 

 

  When you want to add things you can  indicate in the comment section to send you a Paypal invoice or Bill the card you called and put on file with us.

 

   If you just put a comment on your order or send an email  and we don't have a card on file, I will send you a note back and generally wait a couple of days.  If I don't hear back I'll send out your order without the add ons and a note on your sales slips.  I don't like to wait too long because I know that the speed of our shipping plays an important role in repeat business. 

 
TECH TALK

     When I put my Laser Inlay Blanks together and turn them,  Once in awhile I can see a thin brass line between the inlay pieces!   Based on discussions we had with lots of folks before Tracey started doing the Inlays the most common comment was  that there  has to be a happy medium between parts which are  too tight and difficult to assemble  and parts being easier to assemble but being able to see the occasional thin brass line between the pieces.   Tracey spends hours and hours and hours  working on her Inlay designs in an attempt to come up with the best of both.    Since I  get to turn her prototypes, I have come up with a solution to the problem which now makes every single inlay I turn look great with nice clean crisp dark lines between the parts.
    I use the following option.   I slide the main tube onto the blank (minus the inlay pieces). After centering the main blank into position, I apply a very small dab of thin CA to hold the blank in place. Once the glue sets up after a few minutes, I use black acrylic craft paint and paint the exposed brass through the blank. Don't worry about getting paint on the outside of the blank, that will be turned off anyway.
     I allow the paint to dry for about twenty minutes and then set in the inlay pieces, secure the pieces in place with rubber bands.   Once the pieces are all inserted and secured with bands, I pick up with the instructions that are enclosed with the kits.      
    I apply thin CA so that it flows down in between the inlay pieces. Allow a few seconds for the glue to flow freely before applying a shot of accelerator. Be sure to use a good quality glue and accelerator so as to not have a cloudy appearance. The Stick Fast products are the best I have found and that is why we sell them. You may have a light haze on the surface after using the accelerator but it wipes away cleanly.
     After applying several coats of CA glue, you can trim the ends with a disk or belt sander using a holding jig and a trimming sleeve adapter. Do not use a barrel trimmer, the trimmer is too aggressive and will break the blank.
     Now mount your blank onto the mandrel or turn between centers using a sharp skew.
    Note: For those of you that have purchased our Inlays you know that Tracey pre-fits and rubber bands most of the pieces.   This would require you to disassemble and re-assemble the inlay.    I've tried painting the tube and sliding in but it seems to scrape the paint off. 

     When I sand my inlay blank, the colored dust gets into the lighter colored wood and ruins the blank, are you using "defective wood"? No, we are not using "defective wood" to make the blanks. We use a combination of natural hardwoods which are color dyed and stabilized with resin and some unstabilized natural color exotic and domestic hardwoods with tight grain patterns.

     The real problem is that you are using sand paper. Learn to use a skew properly and you will have a finished blank which is smoother than you can achieve with standard sandpaper. You should not be sanding the blank until after you have applied your CA finish and then you should be using either Micro-Mesh or buffing on a soft cotton wheel charged with diamond dust.

     As stated on the Inlay Turning Blanks page under the "VERY IMPORTANT!!" line at the top of the page in bold and in quotation marks, If you cannot use a skew, inlay blanks are not for you. I have asked Tracey to put that note inside a flashing neon sign but she says that would be overkill. Inlay blanks are not for new turners. 

     Get yourself some scrap sticks of wood and mount one between centers on your lathe and start practicing with your skew. You can watch YouTube videos to get the basics down and then start busting up some wood. It won't take long before you are a skewin, scrollin, beadin, covin fool.

     One final tip; The smaller the skew chisel, the harder it is to use. Use a one inch oval skew to learn with. If you have a square blade skew you should sand off the sharp corners so that is slides more smoothly on the tool rest. Also make sure that your tool rest is smooth, paint and dent free. The new paint looks pretty but it is not your friend when using a skew. You want shiny smooth metal to smoothly slide the skew on.  


WHAT'S NEW

     Wow, there are four new inlay blanks this month. For all the military buffs whom are active duty, retired, or otherwise just military collector types; Tracey has made two US Army Division insignia patches. The Big Red One and the 1st Calvary.

     We have had a considerable number of folks asking for a razorback hog blank, well it's here now. After making the #1 Dad blank back in June for Father's Day we had many of you write to us and ask "what about a #1 Mom blank. It is now available in several color choices.

     We have some great new Acrylic Acetate Blanks which came in early last month. Also some really cool Polyester Resin blanks featuring Stainless steel braided cable jacket and some that are akin to snakeskin but not as pricey.

     Uncle Tim has done it again, check out his new Banana Cream Pie PR blank, really cool stuff and each blank is a one of a kind suprise inside.

     The Carbon Fiber PR blanks are here, Pictures do not do it justice.

     I have relinquished to the hordes of requests received to sell the little brass bushings I use in the front of my 30 cal. rifle cartridge kits to center
and secure the brass tube in the cartridge. I had some made up from brass stock and now sell them separately. I use to make them on the metal lathe from slimline centerbands but found someone who will make them from brass stock on a screw lathe. A little pricey but a huge time saver. These beat the heck out of solder and are way better than shrink tubing or soda straws. If you are using them on the 30-30 cartridge, you will need to use three of them. The bushing will flair the brass slightly and will leave an unsightly bulge. If you put three together then the flair will be all the way down the muzzle of the casing and will flair the casing out to accept the slimline pen tip perfectly.

     We have added a new color choice for the Velveteen Drawstring Pen Pouches---Wow, a red one---Cool. 

Click "HERE" to go to the What's New Page on our website.


COMING SOON

     We have had a huge demand for ten inch log brass tubes to fit the 27/64" Monet/Sierra type kits. We have ordered them and they will be here around mid November. We also have a new finish coming for the Monet kit which is totally unique.
     The Secret Pill Box Keychain kits are temporarily out of stock but will be here with our next order from the manufacturer in November. 

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Thanks for subscribing and moreover thanks for reading our little newsletter. I hope I have been able to shed a little light on your day and make things brighter. Hang in there, I think cooler weather is just around the corner.

 

Have a Great Day,

Tim Nicholas

Wood-N-Whimsies

800-820-1099