Pen Kits........?

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Well, I got a bunch of pen blanks to turn, more by the day it seems :D

I'm just about out of kits, I want to buy a bunch, like 50 or more of two styles, the slim line and the Mont Blanc.

Where is the best place to get good kits and good prices, that will ship outside of the US...?

TIA.

Cheers!

[Mike Vickery]

What brand kits do you like?
Personally I will not use PSI so that leaves Berea and Craft Supplies USA. No one resells CSU so you would have to go directly to their site http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/ . For my Berea kits I use arizonasilhouette but they do not ship international so my next choice would be http://www.beartoothwoods.com/ not positive that they ship internationally but you could give it a try.

[George Conklin]

Hi Stu,
I think Woodcraft is having a 30% off all pen kit sale.
www.woodcraft.com (http://www.woodcraft.com)

[Ron Ainge]

Stu

Try the web address that i am attaching to this note I think that you wil will like there products as well as there service. I have bought from them twice and I am very happy with the product and the shipping was done in two days from Arizona to Colorado it may take a bit longer to get to you though.

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

[Parker Nicholson]

Second on Arizona Silhouette. Shipping is fast and their prices (particularly the internet specials) are good.

[Mike Vickery]

Stu

Try the web address that i am attaching to this note I think that you wil will like there products as well as there service. I have bought from them twice and I am very happy with the product and the shipping was done in two days from Arizona to Colorado it may take a bit longer to get to you though.

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>

Don't tease him AS stopped shipping internationally several months ago. Many non US turners have lamented the fact that they can no longer get their Baron kits.

[Ron Ainge]

Sorry I did not know that they did not ship out of country,:mad:

[Ken Salisbury]

Berea Hardwoods (http://www.bereahardwoods.com) - best prices - best service

[Bernie Weishapl]

Stu look up Woodturningz.com on the net. They ship fast.

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

I would HIGHLY recommend Beartoothwoods.com. Ernie is a great guy and has great prices. He also really appreciates your business. He sells Berea kits which are good quality and I believe he does ship international. He also accepts Paypal and ships the next day. Great service, great prices, and great products.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks guys, I guess I have some shopping to do!

Cheers!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Berea Hardwoods (http://www.bereahardwoods.com) - best prices - best service
In my limited experience, the service from Berea wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be, based on SMC recommendations. The lady that took my order didn't seem real interested in making sure I ordered everything I needed as a new pen turner. This was despite the fact that I told her up front that I didn't know what I needed, but that I'd been told Berea would take care of me. She offered no real guidance on what kits to get, and just seemed kind of short with me on the phone. (And I later realized I needed a barrel trimmer, but went to PSI for that instead of crossing paths with the Berea lady again.)

Two weeks later, when the order still hadn't arrived, I called and got the same lady. She did some online checking and found that my package was being held by UPS because no "suite number" had been included in the shipping address (my work address). I explained to the lady that our office has no suite numbers, and that our UPS driver had made similar errors on other packages to people in the building. I also assured her that I knew the error was the UPS driver's, not hers. She still became defensive and tried very hard to convince me that I was the one who was wrong, and I should have given her the correct suite number in the first place. No amount of coersion would convince this woman that our building has no freakin' suite numbers. We own the building...I should know. I've done a fair amount of telephone tech support, and I have pretty good phone skills, but I don't think I could have convinced her the sky was blue that day, so I gave up. I eventually got in touch with someone at UPS who could get the package delivered, but I'll think long and hard before calling Berea again. They may have great products, but from what I've seen they should work on their people skills a bit. YMMV.

- Vaughn

[John Hart]

It's unfortunate that Vaughn had a rough time with Berea. I've only had good experiences....but then, I've never ordered anything over the phone because they are in my neighborhood and I drive there. Jim and Larry are extremely helpful and love to walk you through the intricacies of pen turning. I know the lady to whom Vaughn is referring, but I've never spoken to her.
Stu...if you have trouble getting an international shipment, let me know and I'll pick the stuff up for you.....but then, you'll have to deal with my lousy schedule.:( :o

[Corey Hallagan]

If I buy PSI kits I buy them thru Wood Turnings or Packard Woods. If I buy Berea kits, i like both Arz Silouhette and Ernie at Beartooth Woods. Both are fast. CS USA is very fast two, I just don't like there selection of kits as much as the others. I buy slimlines and comfort pens made by PSI, nothing wrong with them at all. The rest of my kits are Berea. Berea dealers are cheaper than the Berea store from my experience.
Corey

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks for the offer John, but it is not that I'm having trouble getting the kits, as I got some from Lee Valley, it is just I'm looking for a good deal, and international shipping.

I'm off to Austria in a few days, so I think I'll wait until I get back to order.

BTW, I bought a set of 7mm slimline bushings, will these work with all of the various 7mm slimline sets from various makers?

I also bought the Mont Blanc bushing set, I see a very similar kit call "Designer" etc, they sure look like the Mont Blanc sets I got from Lee Valley...?

Cheers!

[Frank Fusco]

Stu, from what you say about your needs, I'll double-ditto Ernie at Beartooth Woods as the place to do business. Use the others for reference but buy from Ernie. True, the owners of Berea seem to have a superiority attitude and can be hard to do business with. If you are just getting into pen turning, be sure to check out the confusiing differences in styles, drill bit requirements, etc. And you might want to consider joining a penturning only discussion forum like
http://www.thepenshop.net/