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WHAT'S ON SALE THIS MONTH
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For our Newsletter Customers Only, Use the Coupon Code "CASE10" At Checkout for 10% off our New 24 Pen Portfolio Cases.
__________ The PolyPearls Of the Month Are Old Glory (POLY01) And The New Fairy Princess (Poly40) __________ Inlay Specials Are The Bass for Just $17.00 Each And The Golfer For Just $14.75 Each. __________ The Celtic Knot Inlay Blank Is $10.75 Each. __________ Secret Pill Compartment Kits |
1-9
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$3.60
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10-49
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$3.25
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50-99
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$2.95
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100+
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$2.75
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__________ Replacement Shaft For Adjustable Mandrel $5.75 Each. __________ Jobillo Pen Blanks are Only $1.50 Each. __________ Chakte Viga Pen Blanks Are On Sale For $1.39 Each. Click "HERE" To Go To Our Specials Page. These Sale Prices Expire On June 30 2013. |
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Summer is coming on quick and that means it's a great
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Dink Says "Wazup dude".
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time for making your very own unique polyester resin (PR) pen blanks. I'm pretty sure that we have the best price on the resin that you will find anywhere on both quarts and gallons. Please remember that our gallon price includes the
Priority mail shipping cost. Any extra shipping costs charged to you at check out will, as always, be refunded to you when we do the final processing of your order.
I often get requests for pen blanks that are made from PR that are available on our competitors websites. The names of the material vary widely but the bottom line is that they are all made from PR. Not to be confused with Acrylic Acetate or Urethane. These materials although having their own unique appearances, do not project the ultra deep lustrous and pearlescent effect you get from PR.
Another casting medium I get requests for is Alumilite, which is a 50/50 two part urethane resin. I have tried this resin in the past and although the company claims it dries clear, I have never been able to get a crisp clear casting. It always has a slight cloudiness to it. You also have to use special dyes sold under the same name to color it. The cloudiness coupled with the limited dying options and a very short working time add up to a no-go to this product for me.
Many folks do not want to be bothered with the smells and efforts to cast their own blanks but some would prefer to make their very own color combinations such as the ones used in their local schools and companies. I get requests all the time for custom blended colors. We can accommodate custom requests but there are minimum quantity requirements due to the cost/time associated with producing the blanks. We can't do for a quantity of a few, but if you are interested, give us a call and we can quote you the pricing and minimum quantity requirements.
There are tons of videos out on YouTube to show you how to make your own PR blanks. Check them out, It's easy!!! Experiment with different ideas and see what you can come up with.
 The colors can be made from a wide variety of coloring agents that we have available on our website. The most popular coloring agent is Pearl-Ex Powder, a tiny bit expensive but the end effect is absolutely phenomenal. You can also use oil based artist paints but be prepared to do a lot of stirring to get all the paint to dissolve completely in the resin. Stir it into small amounts of PR and then add the colored PR to your batch for casting. Water and acid based dyes will not work in PR. Remember, a tiny bit of Pearl-Ex goes a long way so do not over dose your casting, more is not better. It will not make it look any different than using a smaller quantity.
If you are using the alcohol inks, you must have the pearl-Ex already stirred into your resin before you add the alcohol ink. If you put the ink in first, there is nothing for the solution to bond to and it will just stain the mixing vessel instead of coloring the resin.
We have had several customers want to know if we can get the Pearl-Ex Powder for them in larger containers than the .5 and .75 ounce sizes we carry on our website. The answer is yes, but since it is not a regular item we carry in our inventory, it will take some time to get it to you.
If you are interested in acquiring the larger 4 ounce or 1 pound container, please let us know. We have minimum size orders that we are required to make. For this reason we will only be able to order the containers on an occasional basis, usually quarterly unless you have an unusually large order.
In the larger size containers, the price varies by color. Prices are as follows:
JAC1641 through JAC1674 the price is $16.98 for the 4 ounce size and $39.98 for the one pound size.
JAC1640 and JAC1680 through JAC1693, the price is $32.50 for the 4 ounce size and $99.98 for the one pound size.
Prices are set by the manufacturer and are subject to change without notice.
These prices do not include shipping from Wood-N-Whimsies to you.
Our next Pearl-Ex Order will be made on June 28th, 2013. If you are one of the customers who would like to get your Pearl-Ex in the larger sizes, please contact us and have your order with payment to us for your purchase by no later than June 26th, 2013 in order to allow me time to finalize the order. It takes about a week for us to receive the shipment and then we will forward the individual orders out to the customers via USPS Priority Mail. Since this would be a special "custom" order, all sales will be final, there will be no refunds allowed on your purchase of these larger sizes.
A final note on Polyester Resin (PR). It is best to use a skew, bowl gouge or fingernail gouge to turn blanks made from this material. If you get too aggressive with the blank, it will break off like glass and break the blank very easily and quickly. Some other names for PR blanks are Mica Pearl, Micro Pearl, Poly Pearl, Inlace Acrylester, Inlace, Acrylic Poly Resin, or most any blank that has something cast inside of it like snakeskin, denim, macaroni, wrapping paper, cereal or coffee beans...the list goes on and on, is almost always PR.
Approach it with caution and don't get too aggressive with it. Small bites and a steady hand are the best tools for success when turning PR.
Tracey's Two Cents Worth:
Sorry folks, no new Inlay this month. I'm heading to Georgia with my mom to visit my oldest son. I have been busy stocking up on inlays to help Ryan (my inlay making backup) out. I'll only be gone for a week. When I get home, I'll get to work on coming up with some great new Inlays for July along with working on my ever growing wish list from all of you. Keep an eye on Inlay page!
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TECH TALK
I want to go through the process of how to turn a bottle
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Click the image above to view the video.
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stopper and also teach you how to fill the occasional hole that you may find in a Polyester Resin blank.
For the video this month I will go through the process of turning a bottle stopper that is made from Polyester resin. I will also go through the setup of a bottle stopper mandrel which fits in a Jacobs Chuck.
We have purposely cast a blank that has a number of really bad air bubbles in it so I can show you how to make them disappear from the surface of your turning without a trace. The process of filling the holes can be used in any polyester resin blank be it a pen blank, a bottle stopper blank or even a call blank; the process is always the same.
As you will see in the video, some of the supplies you will need are thin and medium CA glue, paper towels, CA accelerator, and the sanding medium of your choice. I will be using Abranet and Micro-Mesh.
Click on the picture above and let's get started!!!
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WHAT'S NEW
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COMING SOON
We have been asked to carry replacement tips for the soft rubber stylus that we sell to fit the Slimline. This is the stylus that works with the Ipad and on smart phones. They will be here soon with our next shipment of stylus assemblies. We will have to wait and see what kind of duty is assessed to them before we can establish a price for them. Just wanted to let you know that they are on the slow boat scheduled to dock soon.
Another product we are stocking very soon is the ANCHORSEAL 2 ® Green Wood Sealer. The sealer of choice for over 30 years. ANCHORSEAL 2 ® creates a wax barrier that protects against end checking and costly degrade in freshly sawn turning blanks and lumber. Known in the forest products industry as the best quality and most stable wax emulsion end sealer available. The ANCHORSEAL 2 ® we will carry has an anti freezing agent in it so you don't have to worry about your unused product being ruined due to freezing.
We will carry it in one gallon cans and the price will be $17.99 per gallon plus shipping. We use this product extensively here at Wood-N-Whimsies and it has saved us thousands of dollars in wasted bowl and spindle blanks/lumber due to end checking during the drying process. It really does make a huge difference.
There is no guarantee that your blank will not crack, we have had a few that checked a little with the Anchorseal. The chances of checking are greatly reduced.
If you like to pre-turn green wood and then set it aside to dry out before the final turning, you can paint this product onto the end-grain to reduce the chance of your project checking.
We have had a lot of inquiries about where our customers can acquire a dead center so they can turn blanks between centers. We will soon have both #1MT and #2MT dead centers in stock.
We are constantly adding new items to our website. Every time we add a new item, Tracey puts it on the What's New Page . Please check the site often to see what we have come up with.
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Thank you for reading and we will be back again next month with some more great info and turning ideas. We welcome your feedback concerning this news letter. Please send us an email and tell us what you think.
Sincerely, |
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Princess. In order to have this blank look really nice, you will need to paint your tubes white before gluing them into the blank. The blanks are translucent in order to get the colors to shimmer through each other with greater clarity.