Timberbits!

OK, so I love playing with wood, and one of my favourite items to make are pens.  Whenever I am in need of pen kits my first port of call is always the Timberbits website.  If I'm honest, I look at this site weekly to see what new stock or specials are on, its always a good time to buy more stuff!  Anyway recently the crew at Timberbits had a Facebook competition, just like their page for a chance to win a $200 gift pack.  Already a follower I made sure I was entered, and then completely forgot about it.  Luckily they did not forget and guess who won?  Yes I was as happy as a wood turner in a forest!

Now the hard part, choosing.  With $200 to play with and Timberbits always low prices you can get a lot of bang for your buck (in this case their buck!).  I only placed my order yesterday but by this morning this was waiting at the post office.  I shouldn't have been surprised, the people their are fantastic and the delivery is always prompt, in fact fantastic service all the time!

I was very keen to get home and see my goodies, as you can see I did manage to squeeze it quite a bit for the money.

Included were Sierra, Streamline, Slimline with stylus nib, Executive clicks and European pen kits.  Add in some new bushes, glue, some great acrylics and a new stand to show off the finished pens and it was a full box.

Now I guess a few of you will look at this and say I'm getting a kick back to write this but no, until I post this they will have no idea.  In this day and age of poor people relations its good to be able to plug a small family business.  I can't wait to go and play with some of these acrylics.  If you are into pen making and wood turning check out the web site www.timberbits.com The service is always great, the prices low (I don't know how he gets them so low) and the postage rate fantastic even overseas. 

Where do you get great service?

The Tiger Moth Project

It started as an advert on a woodwork forum. Somebody was selling a piece of wood from a Tiger Moth wing spar. Now I am a Tiger Moth fan, I love them. I was lucky enough to spend a few hundred hours of flying these vintage aircraft and have very fond memories of them. I quickly replied to the advert but he had sold the wood, but he had more. the wood had been reclaimed during an overhaul of an aircraft and few fine cracks meant it was not air worthy. In fact the wood was the original spar from a machine built in the early 1940's as a trainer for the RAF. A few days later the wood arrived and I was excited, but how to combine my hobby with a past love. I wanted a pen, so that's what I made, one pen, for me, to keep. The wood is spruce and not inheritantly featured, so I thought why not get it laser engraved? If I was going to the bother of that I thought why not get some more done to sell, if they sell?

Sell they did! They guys at work were keen to own part of aviation History. In the end I made several batches and sold twenty pens. I was quite a happy little chappy. The pens are called Sierras though I also made some nice fountain pens for a friend too.

With so many pens out there mine was no longer unique so with some leg overwood I made a quick clock. The wood had some holes which were from how it was held within the frame. I madva quick decision to leaves these unfurled as it is part of the woods story. I can't wait now for a new desk to put my clock on.

I do still have a little wood left and am thinking what else to do to keep this wood alive.