New to Pen Turning.. Funny story....

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GPDMTR25

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Well I thought I'd share this funny story. As the saying goes, sometimes life is funnier than fiction.

My parents are getting older, mid 70's, but they were looking for something new to do. They saw the pens I've been making and I told them it isn't that hard so they decided to take a pen turning class. It's been several months since I talked to them so the other day I stopped by.

Well I guess they really got into pen turning but I shouldn't have shown them how to purchase things from the Internet.

The funny thing is they have purchased all sorts of different drill bits, all different kinds of pen kits, and all different kind of pen stuff. The problem is they're only making slimline pens. So they don't have bushings for most of the pens kits they have. They said they liked the looks of the pen so they figured they would get around to making it sometime. I had told them awhile back that the plat and titanium pens are the best so even though they are new at this, they only purchased titanium and platinum kits. They said they thought they would eventually use the drill bits so every time they purchased something they bought pen drill bits and other things. They even had fountain pen stuff. They also had something that you use on a bandsaw to cut the size of the blanks down but as I told them they first need a bandsaw.

So I'll soon be selling some of these items, including a PSI duplicator. I don't know if anyone on this site would be interested in a duplicator though. The bandsaw blank cutting tool and some chisels. They want to keep the misc. pen kits they purchased even though they don't have the drill bits or bushing because some day they might use them.

Well next week they're going to scroll saw class with Woodcraft so who knows what is next. :eek:

Angela
 
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That's a pretty good story, at least they are having fun!
I can imagine the oh my look on your face, and the look of pride on their faces when they showed you their new toys.:biggrin:
My Dad is early seventies, and anytime the "bug" bites him on new things, he goes way overboard..I guess if ya got the money, and want to, hey!
 
LOL .. that's great!

On a good note .. bushing fit VERY nicely in a Christmas stocking..

And you can always get them some Emperor kits with a note that says:
"Some Assembly Required"
 
Well at least your dad didn't do like mine did once, er, several times. He had seen a friend of his operating a small farm tractor and making a mess so what does he do ... he buys a used International bulldozer. He then proceeds to rebuild the beast in my mother's backyard. I do believe there are still large chunks of metal in the grass some 25 years later.

They both are gone now, but I still remember mother telling him exactly how he had lost his mind and wasn't going to help him find it.

Later on down the road was the front end loader. That was the straw that nearly broke my mother's back! And that's another drama atory!

Good thing she wouldn't come down into the section of the basement where I was busy turning threads on barrels and such ... she probably would have 'borrowed' one of the weapons and gone postal on him!

I say let'em do as they can and keep a close eye on them - especially if they are computer and Internet savy. We (mother and I) had to disconnect the telephones when we were away as dad would be calling everybody that had anything to sell pertaining to tractors and such. It was always real scary when we would come home and find a tractor trailer parked out in front of the house! :eek:
 
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Instead of selling the stuff get them set up so they can make the proper pens for the kits. Then introduce them to a craft show so they can have fun talking to people and showing their stuff!
 
My Dad will be 84 in January. He's a retired shop teacher (with a PhD!). Dad now has 3 lathes and built a "pen hut" out back. Momma has to go outside to get him some nights because he's too busy having fun.

Dad came for a visit a couple of summers ago and had one of my sons teach him how to use eBay (without my Mom finding out). Now Dad surfs eBay looking for the next "necessity". But the best thing was he bought a 10kw generator on eBay for $15 with shipping. He told my Mom to expect a real big box coming soon. He told Mom he had "found a real good deal" on eBay and ordered an emergency generator for the house.

Mom about fell over laughing when the Generator arrived packaged very carefully in an old check box. Yep - dad bought a scale model of a generator for a model railroad layout.

Mom went out and glued it to Dad's workbench in his Pen Hut and told him "there, if the power goes out - use this to keep making your pens".

Gotta love them.

Oh, Dad just discovered the local craft show circuit - God help the poor people who stop and talk to him ......
 
I wish my parents did that. I would go there and say eh these other kits arent really good. Here let me trade you some of my slimlines for all of these. lol
 
It was my dad's retirement dream to buy some tools and set up a small woodworking shop. He constantly talked about making little stools, and cabinets, and boxes, and picture frames and all kinds of other stuff. Funniest part of all, He had ZERO woodworking experience.

Unfortunately, My dad passed before he could ever realize any part of his dream. In fact, he died well before i ever even got into the small amount of woodworking i do. I can only hope he is up there looking down on me now.

The moral of that story... Be happy your parents have the physical and financial ability to check out new things! I would give a collection of my own fingers for the opportunity to hang out with my dad in my shop today.
 
I think that it is great that your parents are continuing to learn and experience life to it's fullest. Get them the bushings and help them set up a shop that works for them. Get them a small bandsaw off of CL and let them go for it.
It is more often that people stop doing, growing and learning as they age. They are breaking the barrier. Yeah for them.
 
love it! maybe you can point them here now that they know how to use the internet. I'm sure many here would love to show them new things.
 
I always tell my dad that when he goes we are backing up a 30 yard dumpster! He keps adding the crazyiest crap to his impressive collection- the latest is a new table saw because he was replacing the basement stair treads, the stairs are pine into an unfinished basment go figure

on a separate note- you seem to live close enough to just drop in and you wrote in the begining that you went a couple of months w/o talking to them ????????????
 
Angela,
Encourage your parents to keep it up and to try new and challenging projects. Too often people retire with no clue as to what to do with their free time. They often sit around doing nothing and their health quickly decays. But , those that have hobbies and interests that engagae them physically and mentally usually live much longer, healthier and happier. So, encourage them and help them learn new things.
 
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