This project is working great, but my ability to credit folks is substandard. Rest assured, I appreciate you and your splendid work.
The troops will love them.
I'm sure you all are as busy as I am and the stress is substantial. I had a good day with $500 in sales today alone. My lathe and other tools will be busy restocking.
I make pens for the troops each year with the Antelope Valley Woodturners Club. We manage to make fifty pens every year and get them to people in uniform serving our country.
My idea is to get some help from YOU to do something similar. Yes, I know you may have done this and may do it again this year, me too. That said, let's make 100-120 pens from IAP or at least some of us. I just bought 120 Nutmeg colored Spectraply pen blanks today to do this project. I live near Edwards Air Force base, Know a retired colonel from the Air Force, a flight surgeon nurse, a current pilot/instructor and a retired engineer who regularly goes to Edwards. They will make sure our pens get to the right people on the base.
The kits are an issue, but I can buy those too if you cannot or will not. I hope you will at least be willing to turn them and press them into finished pens. If you want to participate and know of a local base where you want the pens to go, that is fine too.
The idea could be as simple as you stepping up via email or a message to me. I'll send the blanks via a small flat rate box at least and if needed the kits. Slimline or Saturn or a similar pen style from CSUSA sounds great. The design is yours. If you want them to go to service people at Edwards, send them back. If you have a local base, you will be responsible for delivery. Please know for sure that any pens returned to me will be donated from all of IAP, not me.
These pens arrived today from Eric Nitz. The description was: (L-R): Bolivian rosewood/platinum, bloodwood/platinum, vintage cellulose acetate/gunmetal and vintage cellulose acetate platinum. Wonderful stuff.
Yesterday I confirmed our Edwards Air Force base pilot will handle pen distribution. Only service people will get them. They have about 1,000 pilots and we will make over a hundred of them happy with a great new pen. Thanks to all and keep them coming.
The Air Force pilot who agreed to be our distribution contact at Edwards Air Force Bass has asked for a short paper describing how the pen gift came about and I drafted this. Let me know if you like it and if you are sending pens from a state no listed.
Congratulations
You have received a pen made just for you by a small group of members in IAP, the International Association of Penturners. The penturners are from many states around the nation including Ohio, Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia, California, Montana, Colorado, and New Jersey. Their only wish is to provide a small thank you for your good work in the Air Force.
To see the post on the IAP website follow this link:
I make pens for the troops each year with the Antelope Valley Woodturners Club. We manage to make fifty pens every year and get them to people in uniform serving our country. My idea is to get some help from YOU to do something similar. Yes, I know you may have done this and may do it again...
www.penturners.org
Your pen can accept a refill cartridge by gently pulling it apart in the middle typically. There are a variety of pens, but they all use Cross or Parker style refills.
Mark, I like the note. I do have one suggestion, after "your good work in the Air Force" add "and for your dedicated service to our country" Just my 2 cents.
The Air Force pilot who agreed to be our distribution contact at Edwards Air Force Bass has asked for a short paper describing how the pen gift came about and I drafted this. Let me know if you like it and if you are sending pens from a state no listed.
Congratulations
You have received a pen made just for you by a small group of members in IAP, the International Association of Penturners. The penturners are from many states around the nation including Ohio, Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia, California, Montana, Colorado, and New Jersey. Their only wish is to provide a small thank you for your good work in the Air Force.
To see the post on the IAP website follow this link:
I make pens for the troops each year with the Antelope Valley Woodturners Club. We manage to make fifty pens every year and get them to people in uniform serving our country. My idea is to get some help from YOU to do something similar. Yes, I know you may have done this and may do it again...
www.penturners.org
Your pen can accept a refill cartridge by gently pulling it apart in the middle typically. There are a variety of pens, but they all use Cross or Parker style refills.
Mark, I like the note. I do have one suggestion, after "your good work in the Air Force" add "and for your dedicated service to our country" Just my 2 cents.
I like what you've written here Mark. It's very fitting and I also like Dan's (WarEagle90) suggested statement. Will you be doing this throughout the year? I'm hoping things slow down and I can do more in the very near future. Thanks again for putting this all together.
I like what you've written here Mark. It's very fitting and I also like Dan's (WarEagle90) suggested statement. Will you be doing this throughout the year? I'm hoping things slow down and I can do more in the very near future. Thanks again for putting this all together.
I will gladly continue to do this as long as I take breath. They have over 1000 pilots and or other service people I have heard so more pens would help. I am close to other bases like the Marine logistics depot in Barstow. Heck CA has lots of bases...
I will edit the statement as suggested and I appreciate your suggested great pens. As an intermediate pen turner I have much to learn and lots of room for improvement. I like giving stuff away as much as selling it.
Completed kits will very shortly be on the way to you Mark.
Mark is out of pen kits he has been mailing to folks to complete and return back to him.
Though he does still have blanks if anyone has kits to go with them that they wish to donate. I also have blanks I could ship for the same. Contact Mark or pm myself with your address for blanks if needed for this.
If anyone needs Marks address to ship completed pens to its in the post above this one.
If anyone has some spare kits they wouldnt mind donating please chime in if you want.
Thank you all and Thank you Mark for overseeing this drive.
Completed kits will very shortly be on the way to you Mark.
Mark is out of pen kits he has been mailing to folks to complete and return back to him.
Though he does still have blanks if anyone has kits to go with them that they wish to donate. I also have blanks I could ship for the same. Contact Mark or pm myself with your address for blanks if needed for this.
If anyone needs Marks address to ship completed pens to its in the post above this one.
If anyone has some spare kits they wouldnt mind donating please chime in if you want.
Thank you all and Thank you Mark for overseeing this drive.
Please keep this alive Mark. I'm swamped right now but I'm sure I can come up with more pens and blanks. If anyone is looking for Walnut blanks I've got several hundred board feet available but I'll need to cut it, but just for this project. I will be switching to trim lines as I finally figured out why I stopped doing slim lines. Also, I'd like to see some go to the Marines as they hold a special place in my heart. Again, thanks for doing this and if I can help please don't hesitate to ask, I'll do what I can.
I just received these ten great gold slimlines from Frank D Mazur. He and several other IAP contributors included velvet pen bags with his pens.
Mine will ready soon and by the end of the month I plan to deliver what I have to the base or a service person who works there. I will still accept pens, share the photos of their work and be sure they get to the base and people serving.
as a little aside, having the chance to do pens "not for sale" means the pressure is off, so personally my work has taken a quantum leap in quality.
i am looking at what i do and how i do it. thanks
New pens arrived recently from R. George of Ennis Texas. They are varied in material, kits and will all be cherished.
In a side note I have been slow at this project lately due to over 14 incidents of TIA (think small stroke) for my wife including three stays at hospitals. She is fine now and finally has a diagnosis and will get a confirmation diagnosis at UCLA soon. Life has been anything but turning pens in the shop.
Fear not, the pens I have in hand next week will be delivered to the base or if I'm not allowed on base to a pilot who works on base. I'll include the letter of explanation shown above with each pen plus any velvet bag or plastic tube. I've requested photos of people getting pens.
I'll continue to accept and pass on pens as I receive them documenting them as you have seen.
Here are my pens at last. The wood ones are a Spectraply called nutmeg. There was high variability which made them all a bit different. After seeing the wide variety sent in by other IAP contributors I exchanged some chrome for other finishes and added some acrylic acetate pens to fill up the rack.
Keep them coming, I'm set to deliver the first round next week. The pilot lives less than a mile from me so when other pens arrive they will easily reach Edwards Air Force Base.
I received four very nice slims today from "Gary Green..." who lives in Sebastian, ? housed in four small black boxes. The post office placed their label over your return address.
They look great and the troops will love them. Thanks.
I have 75 pens in hand. If they arrived in velvet bags or black boxes they will be delivered as such. Others are housed in plastic tubes. The above statement of thanks goes with each pen. I deliver shortly depending on the pilot's schedule. Thanks.
As more pens arrive I will repeat the delivery to the base.
I am hoping to get mine going this weekend. My arthritis in my thumbs decided to flare up about a week ago and I haven't been able to do a dang thing. It's amazing how much you use your thumbs for....
Delivered to a pilot for delivery to the base by Monday. He wants each of his crew to get one first. He stated that getting photos of the actual pilots would be a problem due to security, but he will get photos of the planes they pilot or service.
He said THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE and DONATED PENS. " Wow, Mark! I just finished going through all the pens. The craftsmanship, quality, attention to detail and overall effort that went into all of those is nothing short of impressive. They'll be well received."
He said THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE and DONATED PENS. " Wow, Mark! I just finished going through all the pens. The craftsmanship, quality, attention to detail and overall effort that went into all of those is nothing short of impressive. They'll be well received."
