Above and Beyond - Kudos

Vaughn McMillan

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ABQ NM
I ordered a buffing extension and two 2 1/2" faceplates from Don Pencil back when I ordered my lathe. The package arrived soon, but instead of the two faceplates I ordered, there was only one. I sent Don an e-mail, and mentioned that since he was shipping the second faceplate to me, I'd like to also order one of his center finders, and to let me know how much to PayPal to him. He promptly responded, telling me to do nothing...it would be taken care of.

A couple weeks or so later, I'd still not received the missing faceplate, so I sent him a polite nudge. No response. Another week or so later, I did the same thing, and got the same thing back. Nothing. Another week later, same thing again. By now, I'm getting a bit concerned. Not so much for the $20 faceplate, but I'm hoping Don's alright. He's always been good to deal with, and it was unlike him to drop off the face of the earth.

Finally, about a week ago I sent another nudge, and sent it not only to his personal address, but his general sales e-mail address. This time, I did get a response from him, saying lots of goodies were shipping today, and a tracking number was included.

Friday, this arrived at my door:

Don Pencil Facepletes 800.jpg

That's two full retail 2 1/2" faceplates, two "blem" 2 1/2" faceplates, and another blem 3 1/2". Plus the center marker and a stick each of tripoli and white diamond compounds. All this because an earlier order was short one faceplate.

I still don't know what caused the holdup, or indeed if Don is alright (and I do hope he is), but I consider this to be way above and beyond what was necessary to make me happy. He's definitely still on my "will do business again" list. :thumb:
 
Congrats Vaughn! I just added Don's website to my favorites so that next time I will be sure to check him out as far as a vendor. You may want to politely inquire about his health when you email back how happy you are with the shipment.
 
Don is a cool guy.:thumb:

His supplies are available to the students of Cerritos College woodturning program at a discount. I have purchased a lot of stuff from him in the last four years.

Last month, at our woodturning class end-of-semester brunch at the Long Beach yacht club, I had the opportunity to sit next to him at the table. He loves to talk about woodturning and woodworking in general.
 
I've never dealt with Don Pencil but after reading this thread I have no doubt that I will in the future. It is nice to hear from someone with good things to say about a woodturning supplies dealer for a change.:thumb: It always seems that the only time someone has something to say is if it is a negative comment. Thanks, Vaughn, for some good news!!:wave::thumb:
 
Don's face plates are top-notch. And I highly recommend his Scorpion and/or Stinger as a primary hollowing system. I got mine through his "Seconds and Blems" and I couldn't find a thing wrong with it. They're great tools.
 
Don's face plates are top-notch. And I highly recommend his Scorpion and/or Stinger as a primary hollowing system. I got mine through his "Seconds and Blems" and I couldn't find a thing wrong with it. They're great tools.
Man, you're right about the "Seconds and Blems" My Stinger bars and several of my previous faceplates were blems, and I still haven't found the blemishes. One of the things I like about the aluminum faceplates is they don't rust. I've left wet blanks on a steel faceplate overnight, and the end results are not pretty.
 
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