Rockler Adds New Inlay Pen Kits

I have been turning pens for about three years. My wife gave me a lathe for Christmas a few years back and I have been turning since.

I have experimented with several different types of wood an acrylics but found I got the most satisfaction from building my own segmented blanks. Segmenting is the art of gluing different material together. In pen turning, this is an approximately 1 in. x 1 in. x 6 in. blank from which a pen can be created. The combinations are endless and only limited by the imagination of the turner.

But there is another type of blank that I would like to be able to build, but do not have the power tools (expensive) or the patience to use hand tools to do. That is inlay.

Inlaying provides another dimension to pen making. I have seen many beautiful inlayed pens and envy the abilities of the turner that made them.

But as with most things, there is an alternate way to get what you want. Rockler Woodworking has just come out with a new line of inlay pen blank kits. Each of the kits has all of the parts to make a unique (to the receiver) pen. Some of the kits are:

• Betsy Ross flag with alternating red and white stripes and blue field with white stars
• Barber pole
• Star of David
• Kokopelli
• more …

If you are into pen making you will want to check out the new line of inlay pen kits from Rockler.