Did you know that there are certain styles of pen turning kits that use less than a "full" length pen blank? The Carbara or the Sierra-style kits both take less than a full blank, and there are several reasons why using them might be to your advantage. (And check out your chance to win two of these kits below!)

Do you have pen blanks or remainders that are less than the proper size? The Carbara kit uses a blank less than three inches long.

Available in three beautiful platings (Gold, Chrome, and Titanium, shown above), the Carbara pen is both easy to make and comfortable to write with. It features a well-balanced design and accepts premium Parker refills (including popular gel refills).

Is cost an issue? Maybe you sell turned pens at craft shows or online. The Sierra pen kit allows you to use only one-half of a normal blank, thus reducing the overall cost of producing the pen. The Sierra Kit comes in several beautiful styles and finishes (below and upper right):

And for something unusual, check out the brand-new Sierra Circuit-Board Pen Kit (pictured, left), which includes a blank made from a non-functional circuit board! Available in attractive gold and chrome finishes, it makes for a fabulous, unique look.

Both the Carbara and the Sierra kits are also a great way to use up scraps of exotics/specialty woods that you may have tucked away in a corner of your shop! Try them out today!

Pen blank / Pen Kit Giveaway:
NOTE: Contest has ended! Subscribe to Buzz Saw so you don't miss our next one!
Follow these directions for your chance to win!

1. Post a link to this blog post on your blog or website (Sorry - tweeting doesn't count.) Use this url: http://www.rockler.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/11/11/Short-on-Pen-Blanks--Try-These-Pen-Turning-Kits
2. Then come back here and post a link to your blog or website in the comments below.
3. That's it! The first ten commenters who have linked back to this post will win five free wood pen blanks. And on Monday, November 16th, one lucky commenter (chosen at random from all the commenters who linked), will win their choice of two free pen kits. Choose from the Carbara or Sierra lines!

The gang over at the Woodworker's Zone runs online classes in their WoodWiki section that are really interesting and fun to follow along with. The current class happens to be on making a screwdriver, using the 4-in-1 Screwdriver Kit from Rockler!

Instructors Jim and Steve (or router-jim and stwoodie as they're known on the Woodworker's Zone site) do a really good job of going into great detail on the how-to of turning the handle, and yet still allowing for plenty of creativity on the students' part.

Students are encouraged to set up their own progress logs in the forum, and then post their finished work in the gallery. It's really interesting to read through these logs to see the incredible array of designs, and how each one was made. Here are just two of the many finished examples to be seen there:

And did the instructors turn a few themselves? Jim laughs that he might have gone a bit overboard (see his fabulous set of screwdriver samples below!) but he wants everyone to know that they make excellent Christmas presents! Jim says, ''The kit is a lot of fun because it allows infinite design possibilities.'' (Which he has clearly shown!)

Steve has also posted numerous iterations of the handle, but he saved his pièce de résistance for last, and we got to see it first! (See first image, upper right). And yes, that is the front and back of ONE piece. I'm still trying to figure out the gluing-up on that one!

We obviously couldn't post all the gallery pictures here, so be sure to head on over to the Screwdriver Gallery at the Woodworker's Zone to check out the results from this fun online turning class!

Note: Our fabulous 4-in-1 Kit was designed by renowned turner Alan Lacer, who also designed our awesome ice cream scoops! The Screwdriver Kit is on sale right now, so pick up one (or several) and try out the online class at Woodworker's Zone for yourself! With Rockler's Alan Lacer Hardware, the detailed instructions from the class, all the support and camaraderie from the forums at the Zone, you'll truly be able to Create with Confidence!

We heard from Russ Alexander of Big Bear Lake, California last week on our Clamp Handle Grips. Russ gives 'em five stars and says:

I have around 50 Bessey clamps, most with the older style small handle. When the new style came out I asked Bessey if there was a way to adapt the new handles to my older clamps and they recommended the Rockler grips. They fit nicely and contour to the handles when you push them on. I am very pleased with them and my arthritis really appreciates the larger gripping surface.

Russ' mixture of old and new Bessy Clamps is pictured, below left. Thanks for sharing your review, Russ!

Other reviewers on the Clamp Handle Grips agree, saying: They "provide a great grip and it is more comfortable in your hand" and "...the grip is significantly better." Try out the Clamp Handle Grips, and see if you don't agree!

Did you know that Rockler.com has over 15,000 customer product reviews on our site? Whether you're trying to determine the right tool for the job, or just want others' opinion on how something works, come to Rockler and let our product reviews guide you in your decision-making. It's another way Rockler helps you Create with Confidence.

It's always interesting to mix things up a little bit, and with that in mind we thought we'd begin offering up some posts from guest bloggers!

First up: Shannon Rogers, of Rogers' Fine Woodworking. Shannon blogs as The Renaissance Woodworker and is well known to the woodworking community on Twitter as RenaissanceWW.

Shannon has submitted his post in the form of a video review of the Rockler Dust Right system, and it's a good overview of many of the features of our integrated dust collection system. Take it away, Shannon!

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Our new Photo Gallery has been turning up some really interesting projects! One of my favorites is shown here: Running Table by David T. from Cypress, California. How fun is this? Check out the gallery to read the story of how David made this console table and turned it in for his college English project, and find out why the table ran away! Incredibly creative!

We love to see our readers' projects. The Rockler Project Gallery is a great source for inspiration. you can upload your own completed project, or visit today to browse the more than 200 projects that have been sent in so far... but be sure to catch them before they run away!

Adding Rockler.com to your browser's search bar

Now you can use your browser's built-in search box to search Rockler.com! If you use Internet Explorer or Firefox you can now add Rockler to your list of search options. This enables you to search right from your browser without going to Rockler first. Best of all... it's easy!

Internet Explorer:

First go to www.rockler.com (necessary only to get this set up). Allow a few seconds for the page to load completely. After the page has loaded your browser's built-in seach box should change from

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Five stars all around for this little gem! We'll let our customers tell you about the Thread Detective:

"These make sizing an unknown screw or bolt a snap."
"Ingenious product!"
"Very simple to use so just buy it you won't regret it!"
"Will get frequent use"
"Age old problem now solved"
"Must-have tools for your workshop"
"So clever and useful"
"They make misidentification nearly impossible and a problem of the past."

And our Review of the Week this week by Mike Miller, of Noblesville, IN:
"Another Rockler winner! Saves time and easy to use. I have both the SAE and metric versions and they are great. Thanks, Rockler."

The Thread Detective comes in both standard and metric, and every size has both a male and a female tester. We have to agree: Ingenious!

The woodworking world lost another Great last week, when James Krenov passed away at age 88. Krenov was revered as a master of simplicity in design, and is credited for rekindling the popularity of fine furniture-making with his 1976 book ''A Cabinetmaker's Notebook''. In 1981 he created the Fine Woodworking Program at the College of the Redwoods, and he taught hundreds of eager students over his twenty years there.

Many in the woodworking community have shared their thoughts on Krenov over the last few days. Here are some quotes and links from around the web:

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We are very excited to announce the opening of our new Customer Project Gallery! Rockler.com now has a spiffy new place for you to share your talents with thousands of other woodworkers.

It's easy to upload a project to the Gallery. Give it a try here. We look forward to seeing lots and lots of creative pieces from our talented customers.

If you don't have anything to upload right now, browse through the projects in the Gallery for inspiration. There are currently eight categories, including sections on Furniture, Cabinets, Carving, Turning, Jigs/Shop Projects, Kids' Furniture/Toys, Outdoor and Small Projects. We've already got some very interesting pieces on display!

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback. You're welcome to come back here after visiting the Gallery, and leave your comments below this post. Enjoy!

Rockler's Bench Cookies have turned out to be such a big hit, that we had a little party last week to celebrate the Cookies and our "Boys in Blue" - the Product Development team that created them!

The delicious (and perfectly-themed!) Cookie Monster cake was made by Roxanne Kielbasa, the caterer wife of Joe Kielbasa, Rockler's V.P. of Merchandising.

Pictured below, right, are the "Boys in Blue," Rocker's very talented Product Development team. (Left to right: Dan Wenning, Jim Fry, Steve Krohmer - V.P., Product Development - and Dan Banasik). (Not pictured: Category Manager Jim Carroll, who also played a key role in developing the Bench Cookie). These guys are responsible for the fabulous Rockler Innovations that you've come to know and love in your shop. As someone at the AWFS show said, leave it to a bunch of guys from Minnesota to come up with a hockey puck that'll do the job for you!

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