Going through a large rack of Jarrah boards, I found a short length of Jarrah full of leopard spots. I like making boxes out of Jarrah because its beautiful to work and I enjoy the fragrance of Jarrah when its machined. I also like to use the Baron Pen Kits with these boxes that I... Continue Reading →
In this video I prepare some blanks for some Barons for glue up. The way I prepare my pen blanks is I always try to match the grain of the pens when I’m assembling my pens. I go through a few steps prior to cutting and drilling the pen blanks. 1. I mark the blanks... Continue Reading →
Having completed the cot - which may I add, was a cot which got high praises from all the friends and family members, I continued to keep building furniture. One piece at a time, 2 hours a day for weeks if not months at a time. Rather than sitting in front of the idiot box... Continue Reading →
When I first started making pens I was always frustrated by the fact that we didn't have any pen kits specially designed for the Australian market. Putting Australian timbers on the pen kits was always a selling point for the pens that was sold at the timber galleries. Yes they were hand turned on a... Continue Reading →
What a fantastic pen this kit turned out to be. The pen blank is Burl Tasmanian Myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii). I didn't think much of the blank but decided to make it because there was a defect in the blank which meant that I didn't want to sell it. As I approached the final cuts with... Continue Reading →
This year's Timber and working with wood show - Sydney was on over the weekend. I attended the show again as a customer with a pocket full of cash, rather than as a exhibitor. I have been thinking long and hard about whether to exhibit or not. I will probably try to participate next year... Continue Reading →
Were the first in Australia to introduce the 7mm streamline pen kits in Titanium gold. Titanium gold is a durable, long lasting gold coloured plating that will outlast the standard 24ct gold or 10ct gold platings. Widely used in the upmarket brand name pens that sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars, you can... Continue Reading →
Just completed a JR Victor Fountain Pen in Tasmanian black wood over the long weekend break. Blackwood is beautiful to turn along the grain, I really like the fiddleback pattern on this timber. Fiddleback black wood is highly prized by the Luthiers because of its musical qualities. Tasmanian Blackwood is very similar in its properties,... Continue Reading →
I often get asked what's the difference between upgrade gold (also known as tree gold or rack gold) plating and normal gold plating. My last trip to Taiwan, I went sight seeing to all the different factories to see how the pen kits that I sell are made. The plating factory was one of the... Continue Reading →
Burl Brown Mallee Majestic Rollerball. This desert timber is hard and dense, beautiful to turn with a nice pleasant Australian outback smell. After sanding it to 1,200 grit the timber takes on a really nice glow. This timber is magical - the grain and birds eye pattern really makes it something special. The Majestic pen... Continue Reading →
