October 24, 201015 yr I have not turned pens and probably never will for several reasons. However I am wondering how humidity effects the wood. From what I can see, the actual wood is very thin and glued to a piece of metal tube. If someone makes one in a very dry climate and ships it to a humid climate(or vice versa).................does the wood stay in place without cracking?
October 24, 201015 yr Author I don't turn them because of that. 1 You have to invest in the equipment 2 If you don't sell them, you can only give so many away, it gets expensive. 3 I'd rather create something of my own Lastly, A PEN IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOSE OR SOMEONE TAKES.
October 24, 201015 yr I don't turn them because of that. 1 You have to invest in the equipment 2 If you don't sell them, you can only give so many away, it gets expensive. 3 I'd rather create something of my own Lastly, A PEN IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOSE OR SOMEONE TAKES. As Josh said IF you already have a lathe the equipment cost is is less than a medium quality router bit. Kits are as little as 2 bucks each. Most of the wood or other materials can be free. I am turning 12 pens now from corn cob I picked up in a field. You can give away as many pens as you make. That is a true statement. I could give away as many sofa tables as I can make also. I do sell some pens. Most of the ones I sell is for what I have in them. I enjoy turning them and I enjoy giving them away. I have even sold a couple out of my pocket. Someone admires it and I will jokingly ask "What will you give me for it?" If its over what I have in it I will say "SOLD". I have a pen in my pocket now. I own it as much as I own the table that my coffee cup rests on. Hopefully if someone at church admires it as much as I do THEY will own it this afternoon. As far as cracking from humidity changes it can happen. I finish my pens with at least 2 coats of thin CA and BLO as a base then up to 5 more coats of medium CA and BLO. It is sorta like encasing them in plastic. The only crack I have had is from deer antler. It cracked because I left it in the cab of my truck in August. I am guessing the tube expanded more than the antler and it cracked in the bark. So far I have never lost a pen. I guess it is kind of like sunglasses. I lost many pair until I bought an expensive pair. I never lost those. Granted they are not prescription so I can't wear them now. With pens I pay more attention to one that I made than the gimmee pens I used to carry. One thing about pens I can't understand though. My bank chains the cheap Bics to the counter but leaves the vault door wide open. Go figure.
October 25, 201015 yr I guess they have all pretty well answered the cracking part. I also finish mine with the blo/ca formula. As Greg stated it does encase them and gives them a pretty hard cover. I do sell several. At the craft show I go to, when I sell a pen I donate 10.00 for each pen I sell to the BMDMI (Baptist Medical/Dental Mission) to purchase bean and rice for there mission trip to Honduras. Some of the kits I purchase cost me 6.99. For me purchasing a lathe was actually for turning table legs. Pen making just became something to do to satisfy my need for instant gratification. I wanted to do something and see if complete immediately. Once I had the lathe, the cost of turning pens wasn't a huge investment. It also help me to hone my other turning skills. There are some pretty in-expensive pen turning systems you can purchase if you just want to get into pen turning. For a few hundred dollars you can get a lathe and all of the pen turning items needed to get going. I have certainly sold more pens and made almost as much money as I have made selling tables.
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