Posts from — December 2009

I sort of feel bad about this – but on the other hand, it’s just sort of how things worked out.

In an effort to find ways to acquire some of the more exotic woods in a budget conscious manner, I’ve taken to looking at auctions of pen blanks on eBay. They’re about the right size and since it’s an auction you can set the limit on what you’re willing to pay and then just stick with it.

Sometimes you get a deal, sometimes you have to wait until the next time.

This time I got a deal. 3 Jatoba and 3 mahogany pen blanks, 6″ long. That’s about 7 or 8 cubes for me for each stick. The auction started at $0.01 and only had a few hours to go. I put in my max bid and the initial bid was put in for $0.01. No one else bid. I won for a total of $2.96 with shipping.

Why do I feel bad? It’s to go toward her first lathe.

Should I feel bad? That’s a different question entirely. It’s not like I cheated her in some way. After all, she set the opening bid. I do find it interesting that another auction, the same offering, starts at a higher minimum bid. Maybe she’s running a test, I don’t know.

At any rate, I guess what I’d take from here is that it’s OK to depend on the marketplace, but make sure you can get a reasonable return on what you’re offering to start with.

I just got word of an opportunity for our puzzle business.

Some time this week or next I should be getting some poplar in the mail.

So, I hear you saying – it’s poplar, what’s the big deal.

This poplar came from a tree that grew outside of Monticello. You know, the place where Thomas Jefferson lived. This is a tree that he had planted when he lived there, some of his writings mention it.

A bit earlier this year (or maybe last) the tree had to come down as it threatened the house. It was 12 feet in diameter, about 22 feet around. It had gone hollow inside and it was feared it just wasn’t strong enough any more. The wood I’ll be getting comes from a couple of limbs.

What, you ask, am I going to do with this? Make puzzles, of course – and my contact with the wood thinks they can get these puzzles into the Monticello gift shop. It’s not clear right now how much wood will be delivered as I’ll be getting the stuff that’s left over from his work that’s too small for him to use in the pieces that he’s making.

Even if the puzzles don’t get accepted for the gift shop – having puzzles made from a tree planted by a future president over 200 years ago will be an amazing thing.