Need advice on Pen supplies

[Badabing]

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope the holidays are truly wonderful this year for you all.

I've made a big hit with my pens and bottle stopper gifts this year. So much so, that I think I'll keep making them :eusa_danc Since I'm new at this and just getting the hang of it, I could use some good advice.
Where is the best place to buy supplies? Does everyone carry the same kits? It sure looks that way from what I've seen but I've been told otherwise and that I'll need to buy the matching bushings for different manufacturers' kits.

I've been getting everything at WoodCraft and I know there has to be a less expensive alternative online. I just want to be sure I'm getting quality stuff. Some of the WC kits are not as good as I expected. For example, I made a click pen and the mechanism jams every third click :-x. I'm pretty sure it's nothing I did wrong and just a lousy kit.

So any recommendations would be greatly appreciated :-D

 

[DaveO]

Dang it, I just had a long narrative on the different kits and mis-clicked picking up a link and lost it all.

PSI - http://www.pocwoodworking.com/
http://www.woodturningz.com/SlimlinePenKits.aspx

CSUSA - http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/

Berea - http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/
http://www.bereahardwoods.com/new/

Hut - http://www.hutproducts.com/

Those are the main players in the market. It has been said that PSI is the bottom in quality, I've used many of their kits and have found them to be fine.
CSUSA is generally regarded as one of the best.
I get most of my kits from either the two PSI re-sellers I linked or AZ Silhouette. Depending on the type of kit I need. AZ Silhouette always rocks with a freebie blank. Ryan from Woodturningz is very helpful and they ship faster than Santa delivers presents.

It's generally not a good idea to interchange bushing between different manufactures kits, they may work, they may not. But the bushing is only a guide to get you close. Calipers are the only way to get perfect fitting pens.
I think that WC carries Berea kits.
There isn't a good click pen out there...or so I've read, I've never tried them.

I am sure that you will get a dozen of different opinions/thoughts on this subject...Eagle, you out there??? I have only been turning pens for a little over a year, so I could easily be incorrect with my information.

Dave

 

[Wildwood]

I‘ve made click pens from both Berea Hardwoods & Craft Supplies USA.

Click pen from CSUSA was easy to make, and no problems with clicker, limited choice of plating’s.

Button click pen from Berea, gave me fits, no problem with clicker, limited choice of plating’s.

Sierra click pen from Berea, supper easy to make, no problem with clicking, best choice of plating’s.

I like Berea Hardwood Kits, and deal with them vice their re-sellers. Have also bought some supplies from HUT, but very little they are a re-seller of Berea products. Nothing wrong with other Berea suppliers just didn’t see any savings in time or money dealing with them. Also like some of CSUSA kits, think they’re a little high, and plating choice limited. Also dealt with Packard Woodworks and Woodturningz both are re-sellers of Penn State Industries Kits (PSI). Have not had a bad experience with any of these suppliers buying mail order.

Can tell you PSI bearings don’t always fit on a Berea mandrel. Had no problem with CSUSA fitting on a PSI mandrel. Might just depend upon the kit you order too.

Would get a catalog from Berea Hardwoods, Craft Supplies, and PSI. That way can see which re-seller has the best prices on their web sites. Web sites often list sales not in the catalogs. Don’t think Craft supplies has a re-seller for their products, pretty good catalog anyway.

 

[WoodWrangler]

I had the same question in a previous thread and got some great feedback ... check it out ... http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9816&highlight=pen+supplies

 

[Eaglesc]

I have very little experience with CSUSA sort of boycotting them due to their prior shipping and handing charges.
FOr the most part their components and platings are too fancy for my tastes and I believe they will detract from the blanks I make.
There is a fine line between classy and trashy.In my never humble opinion one of the biggest mistakes many make when selecting a blank/kit is to put an expensive figured piece of wood in a kit that has very busy multi plated components.
I do use their Full sized Gent for my larger pens.

Woodcraft Rocklear and Hut are resellers of Berea kits and are usually overpriced.The selection opf platings is bottom of the line and I would not buy them unless they have Tn gold Chrome or rhodium.
I am leery about powder coated fittings and their ability to last in the long run.
Beartooth Woods and Arizona silouhette are my choice for Bearea kits though the baron in better platings is only offered by Arizona Silouhette.
There is no sense putting time into a pen and then putting it into a cheap plating.
For simple slimlines any of the suppliers is ok but I normally get mine from WOodturningz.
I can't see paying the big guys 3 dollars or better for a kit that I Can buy for less than two.
Tha brings me to PSI.
THey are trying to get into the better plating market but in some cases they have their heads up their a$$e$.
THier TN gold kits have the engraving of Tn on the clip.
It looks like the pen belongs to Tommy Newsom from the Johnny Carson show of days gone by.
THey have recently come out with a Sierra "lookalike" that is far less expensive than the Berea version.How the plating holds up remains to be seen.
They have also copied the Baron with minor changes it to has the same engraving on the clip for the TN gold but the Rhodium does not.
It is a shame they also copied the stupid hex shape nib holder on that design both in the roller ball and the fountain pen.
If I am buying any PSI kits I deal only with Woodturningz (1888-p-e-n-k-i-t-s, tell them I Sent you:-D) The main reason is the service but the prices are better from them than from PSI, go figure.
HERE is something in the works
Daycom the supplier to the big three has recently entered the market and quite possibly will create a price war in the pen kit market.
Those of you that get the AAW magazine will see an ad from them in an upcoming issue.
I have seen a few of the prices posted on another site.Daycom is looking for distributors in the U.S> and it appears they will be offering the same kits that the Big three are selling at a plower price, only time will tell.

 

[Wildwood]

Just read a thread over at IAP, "woodturningz, not selling PSI kits." If you go to the web site will see a note: "Please note that kits previously sold with part #’s similar to PSI’s part #’s are not PSI’s kits."

Apparently there are quality issues with woodturningz kits. Other PSI re-sellers (woodnwimshies) are also selling the lessor quality kits too. You can also find these lessor quality kits on E-bay.

Am not sure if PSI, or re-sellers themselves have decided to sacrifice quality with a cheaper supplier of kits. Would definitely ask about return policy and who pays for return shipping before ordering. It should not take parts from 3 kits to make one pen!

So will stick with Berea & Craft Supplies kits until more is known.

 

[Eaglesc]

I am quoting the latest post from the IAP, by a member named JArhead.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] I just got off the phone with Jeff at Woodturningz and he told me that this is mostly bull. They are still selling everything that PSI sells and the stuff that is on clearance is Rhezhing. They will always carry from PSI and the only things that will be from the other place will be things that PSI does not carry. It only takes a phone call to find out what is fact and what is fiction. Rumors are a nasty subject and happen all too often in this world. The phone for Wood turningz is 1-888-736-5487, call for yourselves and find out the facts.
(p.s. no language communication problems with Jeff or Ryan)[/FONT]

 

[lottathought]

I have found that Wood n Whimsies carries the best prices on the Rhodium pen kits.
I am not the expert that some are here but I think that these kits are pretty nice and well worth the money.

 

[Wildwood]

Have no axe to grind with any pen supplier, if quality on economy kits is down, the word should be passed. Also don’t want to play he said or who said what. Please go to that forum and read all the post in the woodturningz thread, under penturning. There are pictures of the mess being sent out. Think you’ll find folks are being fair and honest in what they say.

http://www.penturners.org

Also check the note and part number listed at:

http://www.woodturningz.com

Misunderstandings Not!

 

[Eaglesc]

Have no axe to grind with any pen supplier, if quality on economy kits is down, the word should be passed. Also don’t want to play he said or who said what. Please go to that forum and read all the post in the woodturningz thread, under penturning. There are pictures of the mess being sent out. Think you’ll find folks are being fair and honest in what they say.

http://www.penturners.org

Also check the note and part number listed at:

http://www.woodturningz.com

Misunderstandings Not!

(In a very calm voice)
I read the entire thread and all comments up to the point I posted here.
I have received kits with trannys that spun in the tube not activating the refill from CSUSA.
I received a brand new mandrel and adapter from Bill At Arizona Silhouette that wobbled like a cork screw.(A Berea B mandrel) Which many times is too short for the kit,Berea said it was too expensive to remanufacture.
No one is perfect
I have dealt with Fritz(3+ years) long enough to know that I trust him.

 

[Wildwood]

Eagle, still many loyal customers over at penturners.org. Most will stop buying their Slimline kits from them but, still buy higher end pens kits. To my knowledge woodturningz has made things right with folks that have had problems. Until woodturningz gets the quality issues worked out would not recommend buying pen kits from them.

Back when AZ sold $1.50 Slimline kits. I bought my Slimline kits from woodturningz for a few cents more. Heeded the advise of others and ordered those fancy kits for $2.00. Didn’t like the quality so just stop making Slimline kits. I have never had a problem with customer service at woodturningz.

Have never bought anything from AZ. You can still get the internet special, Slimline, plain clip, 24K kits in packs of 5 for $1.75 each from them. Or pay regular Berea prices for Slimline kits there too.

You can also go to Pens Of Color, and get the basic (PSI) Slimline kit for a $1.80.

Have never had any issue with Craft Supplies kits. Have had problems with Berea’s Button Click kits. Some of those problems were of my own making. Have also had a mix up on my order from them. In both cases Berea made things right.

Bottom line mistakes and yes quality issues can and do happen regardless of where you buy your pen kits. When quality of kit components become an issue from any supplier, the word should be passed along. To heed or ignore that information is always an individual's choice.