Since I know not a single thing about making pens, I figured I'd better ask some of the worlds best pen turners out there  about this pen. I am thinking about having 2 made for Christmas presents and need to know what all I would need to buy and is there anyone willing to make them for me? Also using this blank can it be made in another style? http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2081318/35735/pen-inlay-kit--mason...

 

---

Greg
Scroll Saw forum host



http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

Greg, If that blank already has the inlay/engraving in it and it just has to be turned and polished(if polish is desired) any one of us pen turners should be able to make it happen and I am throwing my hat in the mix to do it.

However, If the inlay/engraving has to be done to the blank, I am not able to do engraving

---

Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

Ok since the darn thing didn't take my edit even though there was over 3 minutes left, I was trying to say that depending on the position of the engraving, may determine what type pens it can go on. It looks like the engraving/inlay is at the center of the blank, so a 1 piece pen is all that can be done unless we know what material and exact color the blank is made from, then we may be able to get a 2 piece pen from it.

---

Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

Greg I am going to bow to Arlin on this one, he has put these togetehr before whereas I have not so at least he knows what he's looking at for time. Good luck

Arlin Eastman said:

Greg

 

I have put together alot of those kinds of kits some are moderatly hard and some are very hard to put together meaning it can take hours to put together.

The American flag is OK to do and only takes about 3 to 5 hours to put together.  The Mason one looks to be pretty hard to do.  On a scale of 1 to 10 on hard to do I would put that one at a 7 where the American flag is a 5.  I put together a kit that was about an 8 and do not want to take 8 hours to do that again.

 

Also the kits needs to be done with a skew and nothing else or no sanding which will cause cross color mismatch.

I would say that masonic kit will take about 4 hours to put togher, however, the glue and wait process will take about 10 hours.

If you have the time I would do them for you, but I need the bushings for the pen and 3 of the kits.  That is what I always do is order one extra for parts that might not fit or might break.

 

Arlin

PS - Their Bald Eagle kit is just awesome to do and look at.

I agree with Arlin. I've turned many of these laser cut kits and they do take some time depending on the pieces supplied. It's hit or miss depending on the manufacturer. The flag kit for the Jr. Gent was fairly straight forward except for the stars, the Whale kit went smooth. to name a few, I made one for my wife's Dr. that was the Caduceus and that was very troublesome because the wood wasn't cut correctly and I wound up having to shim the pieces. In some cases I don't think the kits are worth the premium price they ask. But done correctly they are striking. I haven't seen the Eagle kit. I'll look at it in a few.

PS These blanks are made for specific pen kits so when you order the pen kit make sure it matches the blank. Also check out Arizona Silhouette, they usually have good prices and have great customer service.

Thanks for all the input everybody, this is something i'm thinking about for my Grandson and myself for Christmas so we got a little while yet. I just happpened to see this in the Woodcraft catalog last year and liked it. I'll check around for some other Masonic kits. 

---

Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

Arlin I would love to see the civil war pen if you have any picture of it.

Arlin Eastman said:

Mike

 

Is that the Killer Whale?

 

I have seen the kit and loved it, just have not had the money lately to buy all the ones I like.  4 months ago I did the Penn State Civil War Pen with the Flag that goes with it.  You know it was harder to do then the 50 star flag.  it was a real pain in the neck.

 

I really like the teddybears Wood-N-Whimsies has.  Matter of fact I like almost all of them and they make some out of aacrylic parts which make it outstanding to see.  here is a link  http://www.woodnwhimsies.com/inlay.html

I bought the Elk, Butterfly, Puppy Paws, Bass, EagleHead and Flag, Horse head, and Humming Bird.  It is the humming bird which had taken 8+ hours to do without glue time.

One more thing about these guys is they make their own inlays and will make one for you too.  They even have a monthly news letter with alot of info

 

Arlin

That's the one Arlin. It was a Christmas present for my wife. Thanks for the info on the other site I'll check them out.

Arlin Eastman said:

Mike

 

Is that the Killer Whale?

 

I have seen the kit and loved it, just have not had the money lately to buy all the ones I like.  4 months ago I did the Penn State Civil War Pen with the Flag that goes with it.  You know it was harder to do then the 50 star flag.  it was a real pain in the neck.

 

I really like the teddybears Wood-N-Whimsies has.  Matter of fact I like almost all of them and they make some out of aacrylic parts which make it outstanding to see.  here is a link  http://www.woodnwhimsies.com/inlay.html

I bought the Elk, Butterfly, Puppy Paws, Bass, EagleHead and Flag, Horse head, and Humming Bird.  It is the humming bird which had taken 8+ hours to do without glue time.

One more thing about these guys is they make their own inlays and will make one for you too.  They even have a monthly news letter with alot of info

 

Arlin

Greg you should check out the site Arlin provided. Their prices are very good and they can custom make one if I understand their ad on the site. They look to be quality kits. Thanks Arlin!

After watching the video on this website I found that the inlayed kits come pre-assembled to a degree in that the pieces are installed and not loose like in other blank kits. You still have to apply CA to lock the blank pieces to the tube but this approch takes some of the frustration out of the assembly of the blank. I also like his technique for turning and applying the CA finish. Very simple and worth trying. It works.

I'll check out Arlin's link. I checked out the one you suggested, and they had one but it was missing the letter G in between the square and compasses, and the latter G has a very significant meaning in masonry. I did find someone in SC that has some already made, they have what looks like a wooden inlay, and the pen body is made of acacia wood, which again has a very significant meaning in masonry. They are only asking $35 for the pens so I may end up going that route. 

Mike Dillen said:

Greg you should check out the site Arlin provided. Their prices are very good and they can custom make one if I understand their ad on the site. They look to be quality kits. Thanks Arlin!

Greg I was in Woodcraft today and saw the Masonic pen blank. It looks to be very nice. 

I'll check them out Arlin. Thanks!

Sounds like a great idea. I'm trying to get my supplies re-stocked. I haven't turned anything since last year and I really need to get back to turning. I'm looking at getting the Stick Fast finish system they sell at Wooden Whimsies. They have good prices. How fast are they at shipping?

I have turned quit a few inlay kits as well.  The hardest I have done was a long stem rose.  I bought the kits from Lazerlinez.  Constant even replaced one of the roses that I clearly messed up.  Lazerlinez more than likely supplied the blanks you linked to. 

Mason pen blank

Yep that's the same one. 

Greg Coleman said:

I have turned quit a few inlay kits as well.  The hardest I have done was a long stem rose.  I bought the kits from Lazerlinez.  Constant even replaced one of the roses that I clearly messed up.  Lazerlinez more than likely supplied the blanks you linked to. 

Mason pen blank