Gift for beginninng pen turner

[Woodchipper]

I had previously told of my grandson making pens for his parents for their birthdays. My wife came up with an idea for his birthday. Give him a pen kit and blank for a birthday present. I thought this was a great idea. Her best idea was to marry me 45 years ago. Back to penturning- I thought of doing a bit extra. We could take him to Woodcraft and let him pick out the kit and blank. I would also buy the bushings, if needed, and would likely use them on a later project.
Good turning to all!

 

[OZturner]

That's a Great Way to Go, John.
With his picking the Kit and the Blank, he will have complete Ownership, and it will be worth that much more to Him.
Anything to encourage the Youngsters, Time spent on the lathe is of more benefit than in front of a Screen.
Regards,
Brian.

 

[thewishman]

What a great idea! I wonder how big his eyes will get when he sees the pen blank display.

Can't wait for my grandkids to be old enough to do the same thing.

 

[Herb G]

That's a good idea, but there are other things to consider.
Like his choice of materials for the blank.
You don't want something rare & expensive to start out with.
Pick something easy to turn, and cheap.
Buy 2, in case he breaks the blank or whatever. That way, you already have a back up without going back to the store.

Try to help him match up whatever he picks out so he starts learning how to match pen to blank. Just some friendly advice to consider is all.

 

[howsitwork]

great idea and you can watch his progress. You could also watch what he's interested in amongst the tooling for future present ideas.

Ian

 

[Woodchipper]

He will enjoy a pen kit and doing most of the work himself. Thanks for the good words.