Thanks David for the comment and the question, well I still have 4 or 5 more blanks so I'll certainly turn those, I like the bright colorful colors and all, but I do like wood, and when the weather gets a little warmer here so I can get back out the the garage I'll be doing more experimenting with wood. I have to say though the acrylic turned easier than I expected.
Wood is my favorite also, but I have accumulated a lot of plastic blanks. I started out with Inlace Acrylester which is extremely hard and brittle. I think it must be the most difficult material to turn that is out there. One step down in difficulty are the Rhino Plastic blanks which are still pretty hard and are prone to catches, but not as much as the inlace. My Acrylester have all wound up in a container stored with my bulk stash of wood, but I keep my Rhino on a shelf along with a few other kinds for easier access. The blanks made from Alumilite seem to be the easiest to turn for me and since it is used by almost everyone that pours their own blanks, it is fairly abundant in the marketplace. I really like and highly recommend the DiamonCast series made by Tim McKensie. He uses Alumilite and industrial diamonds to make the blanks.
I looked at the DiamonCast series that William Wood-Write has not sure if they are from Tim or not but they are not exactly cheap at $20 a piece, might be something to look at for a higher end pen kit, but most the higher end kits I have done with a nice wood so many choices to pick from, but it's all good fun I guess, and if you can afford it then why not.
Those are from Tim McKenzie. They are gorgeous. He uses a special patented process to incorporate the diamonds. The blanks come with a COA.
Thanks Darrin for letting us know about the origin of the blanks, the pictures of the blanks online most likely don't do them justice. My comment on the price was me saying that if you are very new to any type of acrylic these perhaps are not the ones to practice on
I am sure they are well worth the $$ if matched up with a nice kit.
I don't know about the cost of shipping to Canada, but I usually get my Diamond Cast blanks from Turner's Warehouse. I get the thick 0.8" x 6" pen blanks for $10 and the slim 0.6" x 6" blanks for $5. Even the long kitless 0.72" x 9" blanks are only $15 and depending on the kit I can get anywhere from 2 (2 barrel) to 4 (Sierra type) pens from each one. - Dave
Hi Dave, well I am in Canada so my dollar is only 0.79 cents to your dollar, I think I looked at some pen kits from turners one time and if my memory serves me right the shipping was crazy high like $35 USD which is like $44 of canuck money. Shipping is nuts everywhere though, When I order anything from William Wood-Write I order $100 plus so I can get the $6.95 shipping rate via postal service, otherwise it would be $25 plus for shipping from Ontario to me. I can order some stuff from Lee Valley and anything over $30 is free shipping but their selection of pen kit's etc. is limited and their prices are a little higher. Normally if I order a blank I really want for a pen I order a minimum of 2 in case something goes terribly wrong. Being on a fixed income just means you have to be smart with your money, but the retirement part of fixed income I wouldn't trade for the world.
I hear you! I've been retired now for 2 years and 4 months and I wouldn't trade it for the world either! - Dave
Nearly 2 years for me Dave, I retired end of June 2020 and thanks to COVID we really haven't left home in over 2 years, and now we are just waiting for the damn weather to warm up so we can get outdoors and do some outdoor things besides moving snow !
