looking to automate pen blank drilling...

[Chasper]

LOML is in the thick of a group of selling shows, the selling tables are going to be set up for 8 consecutive days in three locations; 39 hours of showing. Saturday evening she made a list of what I needed to make ASAP. 6 olive wood low end pens, 4 antler cartridge pens, 4 antler low end pens, 6 bottle stoppers, 10 key chains, 3 Jr. Gents/Barons; total of 33 items.

Starting 4:00 am Sunday morning I picked out the wood and matched it with the kits, cut them down to size, drilled, glued, trimmed the ends, etc. At 9:00 am I had everything to the "ready to turn" stage and 8 items were finished. Between 3:00 and 8:00 pm I fininished 16 more. Last night in 4 hours I finished the rest of them. Total of 33 items in 14 hours, average of 25 minutes and 30 seconds per item. That is as fast as I can make them, and nearly a third of them were quick to make keychains.

That adds up to 1000 items in 53 eight hour days. If I allow a 50% time cushion so I can go slower and make more higher grade pens I should still be able to make 1000 in less than 650 hours or 16 hours per week for 40 weeks per year. That is not allowing any time for ordering supplies, repairing tools or cleaning shop. My sense of the time requirement is that I can't quite make 1000 per year and still enjoy doing this.

 

[wolftat]

You can always try talking to the woodshop instructors at the local high schools. They are always looking for a little extra cash for the shops and it helps keep the kids occupied and at the same time teach them how boring something can actually be.

 

[Rifleman1776]

As long as you can maintain quality and have customers, who are we to question what you are doing? Even if your quality is lousy but you are making a profit, that's still free enterprise.

 

[GouletPens]

amazed...

Wow...I'm impressed at the sheer number of people that have gotten involved in this post...and the number of views! It seems that whenever I have some sort of practical question, it always ends up turning into a philosophical discussion of some kind....

I think it's evident that we all have WAY too much time to think when we're standing at the lathe....

 

[Daniel]

Brian, Don't take it all to seriously. There is a pretty prevalent idea here that faster and more is not better. It is also pretty much assumed that faster and more equates to lower quality. it is more the quality that is the issue than the volume. If a way to make a 5 minute slimline was developed that made a pen with the same quality as one that took an hour, it would pretty much across the board be rejected here. penmaking is something most want to spend time doing. There are those like you that want to make a business of it and so time savings is important and relavant to your goals. My advise is listen to those that seem to have your goals not theirs in mind. otherwise you know what they say about opinions.
And the issue that anything can become a philosophical discussion. Yep pretty much wit this bunch but that is not personal either. just artists.

 

[JohnLifer]

alpha....I completely agree with you....yeah and I didn't really think it through that I literally am surrounded by my pens in my picture. What a jerk I must seem like! I apologize to everyone.

It is a slippery slope, and I may not end up automating anything. The general feedback I've gotten about CNC and automation is that it's not easy, cheap, or fast. That would be the only reasons I would do it! We always have to try to push the boundaries of what's been done before, if not, then we'd all be peddling our lathes by foot.

The real question is....at what point does something stop being "handmade"???

When you buy them off of the Chinese already made

I tried the Taig lathe thing a few years back and didn't like it. Not handmade in my opinion.
Best advice has been given, to a batch.. If you are selling 50 this month, drill all 50, glue all 50, turn and finish. I found in past this was the best way to get quantity made. In the early 90's when this was relatively new phenomenon, I sold several thousand a year for a couple of years. ALL slimlines and all friction finish. Sanded to about 1000 grit depending on wood. I could turn and finish 10 an hour depending on how small the square was and the wood. Wasn't a lot of fun after several hundred a week done after work in the evening in a cold shop. I do just a few at a time right now and enjoy it more. But no money as none are sold. If you are doing higher end pens, take your time and enjoy at least the turning.
Cutting drilling glueing are kind of mindless tasks. Enjoyable if you've had hard day at work and need to unwind.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Take it in waves. Set aside one day to measure, cut, drill and glue 50 - 100 blanks. The next day true the ends and turn.

I agree with Scott also... I generally always work in batches... I'll set up from 10-20 pens in one session, match the blanks to kits, then mark and cut to tube size, then drill and glue the tubes.. each step takes from 30-60 minutes, depending on how dedicated I am to the task.. I prefer for the tubes to set up overnight after I glue them, even with CA. It usually takes me longer to decide on the matching of the blank to the kit then the rest of the process.

I do this even with peppermills, If I'm doing multiple woods/glue ups, I glue up all I'm going to work with, let them set overnight, then cut to size, rough round the blanks, then drill the blanks and set aside to turn... I turn them to shape and set aside until all are done, then start the finish process. I generally work in half dozen increments on the PM's as my drying rack only holds that many mills.