What's On Sale This Month
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For Our Newsletter Customers Only,
30% off our Unlabeled South American Exotic Pen Blanks. This is not something that will be repeated on a regular basis, so take advantage now!
Use "EXWB30" in the Coupon Code Box at Checkout.
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We are still closing out the Dymondwood but the supply is dwindling quickly
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Poly Pearl Pen Blank of the Month:
"Summer Melon"
1-49 $2.36 each
50+ $1.99 each
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Inlay Blank of the Month:
"Angel"
$17.50 each
Don't be intimidated by Inlays, watch Tim's video and you'll feel very comfortable
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Specialty Acrylic Blanks
AA06 & AA67
Candy Apple Red Crushed Turquoise
1-9 $2.85 each
10+ $2.75 each
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Cigar Circuit Blank
$12.00
Wow!!, that's a 25% savings
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Leatherette Pen Pouch
$1.80 each
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Pen Insertion Tool
$6.95 each
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Since there is quite a bit of Breast Cancer Awareness activity this month I will also put the Breast Cancer Awareness Inlay on Special
$15.50 each
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Click Here to Visit our Specials Page
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As most of you know I had surgery on my left
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Dink says, "See, I am bigger than something. I am bigger than a 10" pepper mill.
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Achilles last month and I have been a bit out of commission. The surgery was called a Left Achilles Tendon Debrisment. My Achilles tendon was separated from the heel bone and all the extra (spur/bone material) was surgically chipped/scraped out. The tendon was reattached with a couple of screws and some rubber bands, maybe I will be able to jump higher now. The recovery process (10 weeks) is coming along very well and I expect to be back at full scale scampering by the middle of November.
I managed to squeak out a pepper mill for one of Tracey's Nephews as a wedding present the Sunday before I had the surgery. It is pictured to the lower left and Dink is posing with it in his picture to the upper right, What a ham he is. When pictures a
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Macassar Ebony Pepper Mill.
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re being taken he usually gets pretty serious, he wants to make sure that we get his good side which is the one with the most dirt and debris usually. There is no telling where that beard and mustache have been. He has an acre to play in and can get into some pretty serious exploring treks.
We have a new employee, Curtis Nicholas. Curtis is my son who has moved here from Jacksonville, Florida and will be trained to work in the production shop cutting blanks, drilling brass rifle cartridges, making polyester resin blanks, answering the phone, and pulling/packing orders. He is a quick study and should be up to speed in a couple of months. If you call here and he answers the phone, please be patient and remember, Rome wasn't built in a day.
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TECH TALK
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I often get customers who call or email whom want me to give them my opinion about tools like the "Easy Wood Tools" and the "Robert Sorby Turnmaster" series tools. In my honest opinion they are really no better to turn with than a good quality standard roughing or bowl gouge. They do pretty much the same job but may be a little easier to use once you get past the initial learning curve in their proper use. I own one of the original "Easy Wood Tools". It is not something I prefer but that is just my turning choice.
They are not a one tool does it all miracle, I can turn anything, answer. They are essentially scrapers or shear scrapers depending on your angle of approach to the wood. I have both personal friends and customers alike that swear by them and think they are the greatest thing since an electric motor was attached to the lathe. I suppose it is just a matter of opinion in the end. With that said there are definite advantages and disadvantages to both. With your traditional chisels they are easy to sharpen and if made from a good quality high speed steel (HSS) will hold an edge for a good while. With the carbide tips you replace on the Easy or Turnmaster tools, it will give you a substantially longer wear life but cannot be resharpened with a traditional grindstone. If you are turning something like Truestone, those expendable tips can get pretty expensive. Also the carbide edge will not give you as smooth a cut as the HSS due to the molecular differences in the metal. I have  | |
This video is only about 9 minutes long. the last 5 minutes just display a logo.
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included a video link to both tools so that you can see the differences and make a decision based on the information provided by the respective manufacturers. I have never used the "Robert Sorby" Turnmaster series so I cannot give you any personal opinion on them. They look as if they were designed to turn wood on the space shuttle though. | |
Easy Woodturning Projects 3:
The Beaded Rim Bowl
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Craig Jackson's version is a bit more straight forward and is a good sturdy quality tool if that is your preference. We have been approached by both companies to carry their tools but I cannot in good conscience really sell something that I do not use myself, if demand for them increases then we may have to adjust our inventory accordingly. Besides with the wholesale price at what it is, it makes it difficult to compete on an equal playing field with the sales that WoodCraft has on them on a regular basis.
Please watch the videos and see for yourself. Give them a try and form your own opinion.
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WHAT'S NEW
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I have been in the shop making some new Poly Pearl blanks. I have to stay off of my bad foot so the process is a little slow going but I manage. The blank pictured to the right is the new Summer Melon, which is the featured blank this month. Be sure to check the site often for new products, we add them quite often and sometimes forget to mention them in the newsletter.
Tracey has been trying to get ahead (without much  luck) on the inlay blank stock in preparation for her trip to Connecticut for her nephew's wedding. She has not had a lot of time for extra creativity this month. She does have some new ideas but just needs to find the time to put the theory to practice.
She tries to come up with at least one new one each month. This month is the First in a series of Angels. It is the featured inlay this month.
She still has her very long (and growing) list of requests that she is working on so keep watching the site for the inlay that you've put on her list!
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FEEDBACK
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 Check out and see what Joe has been up to in his shop working with Dymondwood in the photo to the right. He has quartered the blanks and re-glued them back so that the grain runs in four different directions. How cool is that? Good Morning, I am writing this note to tell you how impressed I am with your company's outstanding customer service. I am a retired auto technology instructor, and a shop owner / consultant who started pen making as a hobby. Over the years I have dealt with many suppliers, and quite often been called upon to give recommendations based upon my personal experience(s) concerning different suppliers. Recently, an error was made on a small order I placed with your company. I called on 9/4/12 and spoke to a very pleasant gentleman. After explaining the issue, he agreed to send me the correct bushing set at no charge. Frankly, although I was hoping this situation would be handled in just this manner, however, based upon recent experiences with some internet based companies, I was concerned that the situation might not be handled in such a professional manner. Because of these concerns and past experiences, I only placed small orders as a trial with new companies until I feel confident about their product quality, business practices, and customer support. It is so refreshing to find, and do business with, a company whose policies, standards, and personal, still understand and practice good old fashioned "Customer Support". Rest assured I will be re-ordering and I will also be highly recommending your company. Thanks and have a great day.
David
Hello David, Thank you for your kind words and we look forward to taking care of your pen turning needs in the future.
We get lots of emails like the one above from David, we also get the occasional nasty gram from someone who feels we are not doing such a great job; We are glad to say, we do not get those very often. The nasty grams usually come from someone who has had a bad experience with another company and was not able to resolve their issue. They tend to presume everyone is the same and jump right in with bad stuff before contacting us to help them resolve things.
If you ever have any problems with the supplies or service we sell or provide to you, please give us a chance to set things right with a civil phone call or email. We are pretty flexible but we are not pushovers. If we made a mistake, we will fix it, guaranteed. If you made the mistake, we will work with you to get it resolved.  | |
Creating Thunderwood
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Mike Anderson makes some really interesting pen blanks with the use of high voltage. You must see this video showing him making the lightening bolts on a wooden bangle. Click the video link on the left to see an amazing technique. Before I get bombarded with a hundred emails asking for the details of how he does it, I'll tell you now. I don't know, but it's cool and probably involves the professional use of a neon light transformer and some kind of electrolyte as a conductor. 
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