Good things I have discovered with the Internet recently - part 2

Computer users like other things have cliques. PC or MAC, IOS 7 or Windows 20xx etc. In the early days there was a subculture of Amstrad PC8256 owners. I had one of these great machines that had built in word processing software and a dedicated printer, but sadly proprietary software that ended up like dozens of other non Microsoft/apple products.

Luckily I could see the writing on the wall and sold it to a bloke who used to be a mate and finally bought a real Dos based XT computer.

The point of the story....

I am learning about woodturning and have been amazed to discover the woodturners equivalent of Linux (but probably not Amstrad) - pen turning.

Yes -  I had seen the odd bit of wood turned into something nice in souvenir shops and the like, but it is much more than that. I recently went to the Working with Wood Show in Melbourne and had a very interesting time, but what struck me the most was the amount of interest and products supporting the turning of wood and acrylic pens.

This is a huge subset of woodturning that has just amazed me - there are thousands of pen turners out there doing some amazingly beautiful work.

If you don't know anything about this then do a quick google search and check it out. I bought some of the basic tools required but I am not sure I want to get into this myself (my first turning was 600mm across) as it could be one of those crack type orgasm hobbies - you know - once you start you can't stop!

But the supply of timber blanks got me interested. I have made a few tentative inquiries and pleased to report that I have been sending wooden pen blanks all over the countryside by the box full.

I have Fijian Mahogany and Beefwood blanks ready to go.

Fijian Mahogany 

Beefwood

Give us a call if you are interested in them, they are also for sale on ebay and I will be on the lookout for more interesting featured timber to cut into blanks.

One of my customers has a great set of videos on the whole process of pen turning and can supply everything you need to get started.