LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Pen Turners' Swap - Round 3

38K views 268 replies 31 participants last post by  gfixler 
#1 ·
Getting started and verifying info.

Hi Lumberjocks,

Well, it's about that time - Round 3 will be starting very soon! I'm getting the list together and trying to verify some info. We've got a BIG group this time so we'll need everyone's help to make sure this goes well and as quickly as possible. As of right now I've got 19 confirmed for Round 3. Even if we hold the box 2 days and it takes 3 to ship it we're looking at a minimum of a couple of months to get this completed. Since Round 2 took 4 months with half as many people… ya' know?!

I've had a few requests from folks on shipping, themes, what to include, etc. With all the feedback we've accomodated everything the best we could.

We want to keep this casual, if we get too structured it will lose some of the fun-ness. But… we've had a few things come up in the first 2 round we'd like to try to avoid in Round 3.

Some notes/requests/etc.: If you don't read the rest of the blog please read this!
  • Puh-lease make sure to move the box along quickly! Have your stuff ready to go in when you get the box and that will make this much easier.
  • If you are able, please trade a finished pen - lots of folks would like to see more finished pens. Anything with alternative materials, unusual kits, interesting turnings will be appreciated. Celtic knot anyone??? :)
  • Make sure to blog! We want pictures! We won't all get to see what everyone puts in personally, but the posts and pics let us all enjoy it - and maybe even get a little jealous of you…
  • Identify your goodies. Let us know what type of wood it is - mark it on the wood, or what your pen kit is - finished or not. On the kits let us know where the kit is from so we can get instructions and bushings. Put your username on your stuff, too.

That's about it for the "rules" - I don't want to make it too structured.

List of traders for Round 3
arwo1
bigguy
CanadianWoodChuck
itsme_timd
jeffthewoodwhacker
jimp
Karson
kenn
me2cyclops
Napaman
NedB
rb765
Rikkor
ryno101
scottb
ShannonRogers
SteveN
trifern
woodtreker

I know, I know… a long post, but it had to be done. If your name is not on the list above then I don't have you on for Round 3. I've sent PM's to a few folks but have not heard back. I'm shipping the box out on Thursday so if you want to be included please let me know!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Tim
What did you decide about shipping to Canada. I know its expensive for the shipper and I'll likely get dinged with duty and GST when it comes in. If its too much hassle let me know and I will bow out, it would be fun to be included but not at the expense of another lumberjock. Keep me posted.
Bruce
 
#4 ·
That's a lot of folks alright, but for those of us who don't turn (yet), it just adds to the enjoyment of watching the travels. And I'll echo what Tim said, PICTURES. This is fun for us watching too, and pictures make it easier to watch. So, have at it folks, the eyes of LJ are upon you.
 
#5 ·
soory…I added to the bandwagon…but I havwe been "a-watchin" for too long…just excited to be able to take part…

Thanks for organizing all of this tim…

is the list of jocks the order of the journey??? or is that not the order?

matt
 
#9 ·
Yep, 19 is a lot… I contemplated splitting into 2 groups but if everyone keeps a tight schedule we should be able to make it happen. We'll see how this one goes…

Matt, that's not the order - I think it's alphabetical (or close to it!) I should be able to post the order soon.

Karson has made a special request to get the box first, trust me - everyone we'll be OK with that! :) After that we'll probably go geographically - at least for the most part.
 
#11 ·
Karson can go first as long as I am second…HAHHAAHA….just kidding…I just hope Karson gets some goods…so will the remaining part of Trade #2 be in the box to start if off??? That way Karson and all the people going first have stuff to choose from…but if people dont take a lot out--the box will get really heavy!!!

Just out of curriosity--APPROXIMATELY how much is it to ship it on to the next person?
 
#12 ·
And here we go!!!!

Here we go - Round 3 is underway!

First, here's the map.



I've go the stops numbered but it might be hard to see on here. The trip will start in Georgia and go 1st to Karson in Delaware, drop south throw Virginia and Florida then bounce back up to Georgia as we cruise through Kentucky and Illinois. After that we jump back east for stops in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and New York. From New York we head north into Canada with a stop in Ontario. On our departure from Ontario will skip over to Minnesota then out the Pacific Northwest through beautiful Washington and Oregon. After this we'll be tuckered out so we'll slide down through California and slingshot back to Tennessee and finally back home to Georgia! WOW!

FYI ON POSTAGE - We're using a large flat rate box to ship. We can go anywhere in the US for $12.95, and if you buy and print the postage online it's only $12.50. Quite a bargain!

Now here's the box as it looks leaving here - already STUFFED!



My takeaways from Round 2 are posted over on the Round 2 Blog, here's what I added before starting Round 3.

My blanks include some Brazilian cherry, a stabilized and dyed corn cob (makes a cool pen!), some Dogwood I cut from a branch out of my friend's yard, a piece of lacewood, a CSUSA acrylic called 'Toucan' and a piece of cherry that I glued some pickguard material in as an accent - I tried to make it interesting! I also added a satin nickel patriot kit - my kit selection was limited…



I picked a couple of my favorite finished pens and added those in as well. A black chrome patriot kit with a red and black swirl acrylic and an elegant American with grey fleck acrylic.



And Bob's your uncle! (I love that saying…)

The box will leave Georgia tomorrow, actually just before I do with some travel to Chicago and Indy.
 
#13 ·
cool, it looks like i've got just enough time to finish up the yard work before my free days have me disappearing downstairs. I've got several blanks ready to go on the lathe, but not sure what Interesting blanks I have to trade with just yet.
 
#36 ·
2 Down, on our way to Florida

Hi Everyone,

We've made stops and Karson's and SteveN's place and got some great stuff added to the box. We've got a couple of challenges going on now - let's see what we can do. The box is on it's way to Florida now to spend some time with brewtang. Here's the latest map…



Now here's another challenge for those that participated in Round 2… let's see some pens! We had some great materials come around in that batch as well and we want to see some pens! If you post a project with some pens please feel free to drop a comment in the blog here. Maybe we can use the tag 'PT2' for any pens from Round 2 and 'PT3' for this round… Any thoughts are welcome.

Thanks,

Tim
 
#37 ·
That would be a neet way to keep track of the pen work. But remember to put in challenge391 also if you are making pens from my wood and challenge391b if you are using Steve's spalted willow.

Tim I sent you a reply to your message and it was correct. Sometimes other e-mail survices think bigfoot.com is a spammer site and they block e-mails from it.
 
#46 ·
Is the grass REALLY blue???

Hi there fellow Lumberjocks!

I've got the latest update on the pen box for everyone. I looked at a spreadsheet wrong and thought Woodtreker was next in line. Oops… The box made a stop at me2cyclops's in Georgia and is NOW on it's way to Woodtreker's in Kentucky. We're on track now, I promise… at least I think… no, I'm sure - we're on track now.

We're moving along nicely on this one and getting some great stuff. If you missed the post from me2cyclops take a look here - he added some great alternative materials like antler and shell casings. Cool!

Keep your eyes open - we're going to post a separate blog for our challenge pens, we're still working out the details but hope to have something soon. Thanks again to Karson and SteveN for giving us some great challenge materials. I've made my 391 pen and after taking a bunch of pics it's now my new favorite and daily usage pen!

Thanks everyone!

Here's the map…

 
#54 ·
It's your 'turn', Trifern!

I'm not sure if everyone's aware of this or not, but just wanted you all to know that I don't get paid for coming up with these catchy titles - nor do I have a team of writers turning out these masterpieces. It's all me and it's all free… just so you know. :)

The map…



Any-how… the box is on it's way to visit Trifern in IL. Looks like some fantastic stuff heading his way. No doubt he'll make good use of it! The box is moving along well, we're keepin a nice flow here - thanks everyone.

CHALLENGES UPDATE! OK, everyone knows that we've got a couple of challenges presented to us from this round of the pen trade. We're working on the best way to do that now but keep your eyes open for a separate blog post for these and more details to come!
 
#66 ·
Bel Aire or Bust!

Ta-Da-Ta-Da-Ta-Da-Ta-DaTa-Da-Ta-Da… (FYI, that's a drum roll.)

The map:


The box is on it's way to ShannonRogers now, packed with goodies from (most recently), Trifern! The postal clerk commented to Trifern it was the heaviest flat-rate box he'd seen! ;-) That's the spirit of Lumberjocks for you - make the most out of what you've got! I'm sure that Shannon will enjoy his bounty…

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I would like to say that I am always thankful for… pictures. :) Please do share pics with us of the box, snap one of what you take and one of what you send at least, if you're inclined to do more then please do. We've been a little thin on pics this round… I ain't trying to be the heavy here, everyone was warned about 'The Enforcers' ;-) and I'm just trying to keep it flowing as planned. The pics keep everyone else interested and excited about the swap, and let's others know what's on the way to them.

Any-how… I seriously want to wish everyone here in the states a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a great day of food, football, family and friends! And for our friends outside the US please feel free to roast up a turkey and join us in spirit!
 
#80 ·
Pens for Kenn...

Here we go again!

The map:



Out of the hands for Shannon it's just a short hop to Kenn in PA with the pen box this time. I can't wait to see what Kenn does with our treasure chest.

If he hurries he can still get some Christmas gifts out of it!!!
 
#104 ·
Yes, ScottB, there IS a Santa Claus!

Scott made the prediciton a while ago this wouldn't make it to him by Christmas. Looks like Santa was listening and his helpers kept this moving right along. You get an early Christmas present!

A little visual aid, a/k/a 'The Map':


Enjoy Scott, looking forward to seeing what you do with these goodies!
 
#117 ·
How much wood would a CanadianWoodChuck chuck???

We're about to find out!

Man, I really got discombobulated on this last trip, The box made it from Scott to Ned without me updating the blog and then I forgot to tag the last entry as part of the series so you can see Ned's update here.

Now, the box should be on it's way to CanadianWoodChuck, in Canada, of course! I think the timing on this couldn't have been better as I know we'll all be busy around Christmas and the New Year so it's a great time to send this across the border.

Here's the map:



Thanks again for everyone's participation. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and is able to spend some time away from the commercialization to reflect on the true reason and meaning of Christmas. However, I'm sure that will all be forgotten after enjoying the true meaning of New Year's Eve. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
 
#133 ·
Wherefore art thou, Pen Trade Box?

<sigh> Looks like I'm bearing bad news today… here's the scoop:

No pen trade box has make it to CanadianWoodChuck.
35 days ago NedB said he'd ship the box out the next day.
NedB hasn't been on LJ in 27 days.
I've emailed, PM'd and left a voicemail for NedB with no response.

Last time we sent a box to Canada it took a while, over 3 weeks if I recall. However we are now over a month on this and we've not seen it in Canada yet. I assume the box is history but will wait until the end of January to call it as such. I PM'd Ned again today, hopefully I'll hear back - I do hope everything is OK with Ned.

Thanks for participating everyone - I'll update again if I hear anything or at the beginning of next week if I don't.
 
#134 ·
Thanks Tim I was thinking I'd not heard anything in a while. Hopefully Ned is all OK and that the Box finally shows up.
 
#170 ·
Back in business, he pen trade box is on the move!

Great news for those that didn't see the previous entries, the box is safe and sound in Bruce's (CanadianWoodChuck) hands and will be on the way to Rikkor in MN soon.

We're all glad to see the box back in action and even more so that things are mostly OK for Ned. Make sure to keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

The map!



Canada Post told Bruce he should make it over to Rikkor in about 8 days, that's not too bad at all and gives him some time drool in anticipation!

Thanks again everyone - her we go!!!!
 
#177 ·
So glad that Ned is ok and nothing went on there. Glad to here the box is back in action. Hey maybe those spalted blanks I put in there are only prettier now with age!
 
#198 ·
Heading west!

Rikkor's had his way with the pen trade goodies now and he's been nice enough to repack in a new box and get things moving to arw01 in Washington state! Looking at the pics shows us there are a lot of great pens, kits and blanks in there.

PLEASE READ Since this trade is taking a while we have had some Jocks that have had to step out. We may have others that are no longer active so when you're turn is up please send a PM to the person you are sending to before shipping the box. We may need to make some minor adjustments. If I know for sure that someone is stepping down then I'll PM the person that would have shipped to that person.

THANKS!

And here's our latest map:
 
#210 ·
Just a hop and a skip!

We didn't even need to use a jump to get this one to its next destination! A quick trip across Washington state and the box will be in the hands of jimp. Jim is ready and waiting…

After that we drop down into wine country to visit Napaman, then to rb765 in SoCal before heading beck East to jeffthewoodwhacker and dropping back to Atlanta! We'll get this thing completed after all. :)

Here's the map!
 
#211 ·
Wow…it's getting closer. I hope you don't mind Tim, but I offered a couple local turners a chance to get in the trade with me. We will meet and do the trade as a group. Thanks again for doing this.
 
#238 ·
Here we go to Fresno!

Wow! We had a super-quick turnaround from Matt and some really cool stuff added.

He did a great write up on his takes and puts as well as some projects he did for the swap. If you missed it check that out here. I'm looking forward to getting my grubby hands on some of the wine barrel wood, I really enjoy turning wood with a story to it!

~ Le Map ~



For those counting the dots, we didn't miss one… bigguy had to drop out due to some other commitments. We're on to jeffthewoodwhacker next and then back to ME! Woo-hoo!

Hmm, is there enough interest for a Round 4? Let me know!
 
#251 ·
On to Jeffthewoodwhacker, the last Jock on the tour!

Wow! Jeff's got the box!!! Check out his blog entry here to see all the great stuff that was in the box.

~ Das Map


After Jeff the box comes back to ME! Woo-hoo! ;-) I can't wait to get this in and dig through this treasure chest. I looked back and saw the first post was 160 days ago - we've been 'on tour' for almost 6 months! Pretty cool.

~ STAY TUNED TO THE BLOG FOR MORE INFO ON UPCOMING SWAPS AND SWAP-RELATED EVENTS! ~

If you have no idea what all of us crazy pen turners are up to but want to know more then check out:
What is the Pen Turners' Swap and how does it work???
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top