I caught the bug ...

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

from looking at all of Ken's posts ... and attended my pen turing class today at Woodcraft at Willow Lawn. It was a lot of fun. I haven't been in the turning hobby, but just a few months, and wanted to try different things to see what I enjoyed doing. Thanks to Bill Grumbine, mostly, I enjoy turning bowls from green wood. Now, thanks to Ken, I'll embark on fine tuning my pen turning. Here's my first walnut pen. Nothing fancy, but #1 has to come sometime. Thanks again to Ken and John for their help and good advice. We may not talk directly, but it's like my momma told me when I started coaching youth sports teams, do things the right way all the time, 'cause you don't know who'll be watching.

[Joe Tonich]

the Black/Gold clips. Makes it look "business" like. Another pen turner is born! Now all you have to do is try to catch up to Ken!!

Joe

[George@Colonel's Workshop]

Good Evening Ron,

It looks beautiful. I've made a few for the last couple Christmases. One last year was especially nice, and I kept it. It was made from tiger maple. It went thru the washing machine and clothes dryer. I'm never going to make myself another nice one. It was so nice that it ruined a couple hundred dollars worth of my sons' dress shirts, and my daughter's favorite blouse. Pen turning caused grievous upset to my whole family, got me in serious trouble, cost a fortune, and made me unwelcome in my own home. I tried to blame Ken but it didn't work. I had to abandon turning and do flat woodworking. I built a nice dog house in the back yard, which I occupy. I don't even qualify as a pet. Be Careful.

[Ken Salisbury]

An Excellent first effort.

[Bill Murphy]

Hi Ron,

That's a nice first effort. I keep promissing myself to pick up pen turning......one day I think I will.

Bill

[Bill Murphy]

Hi George,

That was a funny post...thanks!

Bill

[Ron McNeil]

Hi Ron, Congratulations on your first Pen it looks great. I took the Pen turning course at Woodcraft myself back in December. I'm learning. I've made a total of 27 pens all European Style and I've even managed to sell a few of them. It's really neat seeing the look of different woods as they become pens. I hope to turn a bowl or two but turning isn't my main objective. I want to get really good with flat work.

[Ted Shrader]

Originally posted by Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA
from looking at all of Ken's posts ... and attended my pen turing class today at Woodcraft at Willow Lawn. It was a lot of fun. . . . Here's my first walnut pen. Nothing fancy, but #1 has to come sometime.

Ron -

Looks great! Many more to follow, I assume.

Well done,
Ted

[David Rose]

It is a dangerous bug, and we've seen many never recover. For example look at Ken. You won't see him without a beer in his hand and pen parts in the other. I doubt he could make a board flat if he had to. I suspect he sees things only in cylindrical shapes.

Use your will power and don't look at anything that isn't flat. Not saying that will work, but... You should have done as I did when Ken brought his lathe to our part of the country. I refrained from even looking at it much. He cajoled, he prodded, he called me things, well you can imagine the tricks he tried. I am proud to still be a flat wood person! Ken, stay away!

But since you are infected, that is an attractive pen. Dad has done some in satin silver recently which I like better than gold on a dark wood. Just personal taste of course. Play around. There is some pretty hardware out there to go with your nice work.

David

[Ken Salisbury]

David : "This isn't round" - There is a major misconception going on here -- believe it ot not I actually spend more time making flat stuff than round stuff.
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[David Rose]

Hey! That's a nice looking piece. Who made it for you? I know you do other stuff. But to keep spirits up and soaring, every forum needs someone to pick on and I elect YOU!!!

David