allen levine
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- 12,344
- Location
- new york city burbs
so Im not a big turner, but Ive made Id guess around 40 pens over the last year and half. 95% of them came out ok as far as Im concerned.
my home infusion nurse, a very religious woman, noticed 2 of my pens and my pen wallet 2 weeks ago while she was infusing me, and questioned me.
Ok, she thought it was great. we know better than that, but I couldn't convince her I really make only mediocre pens.
She insisted I make her some after she looked through the penn state catalog that arrived that day.
She picked out the chrisitan fish blanks, and the cross blanks.
I was already trying to bow out because I knew if I ruin a blank, its 6 or 7 bucks in the garbage, and I don't know what material the blank is, and well, that's that.
Im not making excuses here, not at all, and Im sorry for just not posting my work without the background why I did it.
I suggested to her Ill contact my buddy(meaning Dan Noren, as Ive purchased a pen from him) and ask him what he'll charge her for 6 pens. Figuring maybe he will take 10% off since they are for a good cause, 2 pastors, 2 church elders?(women who run things) and 2 other gifts for helpers in the church.
I did not want to do it.
I don't want to have to get involved charging people for work, especially, if this woman thought I cheated her, or didn't do great work, uh vey, she hooks me up to IV system 6 hours a day for 3 days every month, not someone I want to be mad at me.
If I pass out, I want to make sure she hits me with the epipen, not say, well, I didn't like his pens too much, maybe let his throat swell up and break out in hives for a few more minutes.
ok, all kidding aside, I JUST DONT Want to get into making anything for anyone I don't consider the product a gift.
Now what am I going to charge her. Even though I was warned not to charge her my cost, I cant charge her more than that simply because its going to pastors of a church, and I need all the points I can get when my time comes, and Ill take them from anyone and anywhere.
enjoying this nonsense yet?
When she picks them up, Ill shoot a picture of her, as shes my real first pen client. (I turned down the metropolitan life insurance executive, informed him I could direct him to other more qualified pen makers as well, everyone is looking for a bargain, no one wants to pay full price, and I wont get involved)
I don't make pens one at a time. I drill out at least a dozen blanks at a time, since I don't want to move things around more than once, and take out all the pen supplies.
I used to use 2 2x4s with notches cut in them and clamped together to drill out my blanks.
I couldn't find them, so like an idiot, I just held the blanks with a pliers, and drilled them out.
Never had a problem in the past, ever.(not the 40 or so pens Ive made)
naturally, the 2 cross pens I made, I drilled the blank crooked, and normally, this wouldn't matter too much, but with the cross, it now tilts to the right. Not once, but both blanks.
So the blanks were ruined, I went ahead and made the pens, used a dutchess kit, since it was for 2 women.
She chose the purple blanks.
Im not charging her above my costs, so if she doesn't want them, that's that.someone will want them.
The other purple acrylic is hers also.(dutchess, womans pen)
now on to the Christian fish pens for the pastors.
so what way does the fish face, up or down?
I looked it up on internet, seems mostly fish swims right to left, but this one is up or down.
Cant believe I spent 20 minutes on internet trying to figure this out.
I decided after looking at pictures of pens online, the fish should face down on the pen.
I finished the first one, came out really nice. Was assembling it, a piece of the bottom cracked off. I had already popped the top in the tube, so I figured I can crazy glue it on, then refinish on the lathe.
Carefully, I attempted to remove the top from the tube, (Ive done this before with presimo pen kits, successful 2 out of 3 times) the pen cracked the entire length. Lucky for me, I ordered 3, and decided I had enough today.
I have a lot of blanks drilled out and tubed for tomorrow, so I should move along and finish her pens and a few more.
Overall, not a very good day, not really fond of the material its made of. Not a hard acrylic, soft, easy to scratch while turning.
I used flitz paste and tried some hut wax, couldn't get that bright shine as I do on other acrylic or inlace acrylester.
Here, have a good laugh, courtesy of my stupid mistakes, a crooked cross.
(Im making all acrylic blanks this bunch, next bunch is all wood. Im waiting till I get to the show next month to see what kind of wood blanks I could pick up cheap)
my home infusion nurse, a very religious woman, noticed 2 of my pens and my pen wallet 2 weeks ago while she was infusing me, and questioned me.
Ok, she thought it was great. we know better than that, but I couldn't convince her I really make only mediocre pens.
She insisted I make her some after she looked through the penn state catalog that arrived that day.
She picked out the chrisitan fish blanks, and the cross blanks.
I was already trying to bow out because I knew if I ruin a blank, its 6 or 7 bucks in the garbage, and I don't know what material the blank is, and well, that's that.
Im not making excuses here, not at all, and Im sorry for just not posting my work without the background why I did it.
I suggested to her Ill contact my buddy(meaning Dan Noren, as Ive purchased a pen from him) and ask him what he'll charge her for 6 pens. Figuring maybe he will take 10% off since they are for a good cause, 2 pastors, 2 church elders?(women who run things) and 2 other gifts for helpers in the church.
I did not want to do it.
I don't want to have to get involved charging people for work, especially, if this woman thought I cheated her, or didn't do great work, uh vey, she hooks me up to IV system 6 hours a day for 3 days every month, not someone I want to be mad at me.
If I pass out, I want to make sure she hits me with the epipen, not say, well, I didn't like his pens too much, maybe let his throat swell up and break out in hives for a few more minutes.
ok, all kidding aside, I JUST DONT Want to get into making anything for anyone I don't consider the product a gift.
Now what am I going to charge her. Even though I was warned not to charge her my cost, I cant charge her more than that simply because its going to pastors of a church, and I need all the points I can get when my time comes, and Ill take them from anyone and anywhere.
enjoying this nonsense yet?
When she picks them up, Ill shoot a picture of her, as shes my real first pen client. (I turned down the metropolitan life insurance executive, informed him I could direct him to other more qualified pen makers as well, everyone is looking for a bargain, no one wants to pay full price, and I wont get involved)
I don't make pens one at a time. I drill out at least a dozen blanks at a time, since I don't want to move things around more than once, and take out all the pen supplies.
I used to use 2 2x4s with notches cut in them and clamped together to drill out my blanks.
I couldn't find them, so like an idiot, I just held the blanks with a pliers, and drilled them out.
Never had a problem in the past, ever.(not the 40 or so pens Ive made)
naturally, the 2 cross pens I made, I drilled the blank crooked, and normally, this wouldn't matter too much, but with the cross, it now tilts to the right. Not once, but both blanks.
So the blanks were ruined, I went ahead and made the pens, used a dutchess kit, since it was for 2 women.
She chose the purple blanks.
Im not charging her above my costs, so if she doesn't want them, that's that.someone will want them.
The other purple acrylic is hers also.(dutchess, womans pen)
now on to the Christian fish pens for the pastors.
so what way does the fish face, up or down?
I looked it up on internet, seems mostly fish swims right to left, but this one is up or down.
Cant believe I spent 20 minutes on internet trying to figure this out.
I decided after looking at pictures of pens online, the fish should face down on the pen.
I finished the first one, came out really nice. Was assembling it, a piece of the bottom cracked off. I had already popped the top in the tube, so I figured I can crazy glue it on, then refinish on the lathe.
Carefully, I attempted to remove the top from the tube, (Ive done this before with presimo pen kits, successful 2 out of 3 times) the pen cracked the entire length. Lucky for me, I ordered 3, and decided I had enough today.
I have a lot of blanks drilled out and tubed for tomorrow, so I should move along and finish her pens and a few more.
Overall, not a very good day, not really fond of the material its made of. Not a hard acrylic, soft, easy to scratch while turning.
I used flitz paste and tried some hut wax, couldn't get that bright shine as I do on other acrylic or inlace acrylester.
Here, have a good laugh, courtesy of my stupid mistakes, a crooked cross.
(Im making all acrylic blanks this bunch, next bunch is all wood. Im waiting till I get to the show next month to see what kind of wood blanks I could pick up cheap)
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