Colarr 12 Pack Woodturning Pen Kit Twist Ballpoint Pen Kit with Refill Copper Turning Supplies for DIY Making Classroom Supplies, Teacher Student Gifts(Mix Colors)

better quality than expected.

Second update: pens came together nicely, changed to 4 stars in lieu of 5 due to lack of info. I bought the "name brand" pen kits as well, definitely a difference in finish and sturdy clip, but not enough for price difference for pen (my opinion) - I've bought another round of these and will likely get more as I go through them. Example of lower quality, pen tip becomes ever so slightly warped in pen press when applying sufficient pressure to close the gap, pen tip would get stuck when twisting. Simple fix, use a nail and just round back out (slight slight slight, but a necessity). Pen clip also (in comparison) can bend left/ right rather than straight on pen where as the name brand solid and straight, but price point as stated significantly higher.First Update : The pen comes pre-assembled, but the twist mechanism wasn't fully pushed into the cap which appears to be the length delta noted above and in pictures. I adjusted the twist mechanism insertion into the pen cap to have the brass tube fit into the pen, seems to be good - I changed the rating to 3 stars and will edit once again after turning, anticipating a 4 star only die to missing guidance on how to address the problem I ran into and project delay that was planned for this past weekend.Original review : Before going through the process of building the pens and turning blanks, I seem to be missing how they will fit together and seeking some guidance.The blank will be turned to same length as the brass tube, I have the drill bit and bushings, but the length seems to need to be shorter for the pen itself or longer for the brass tube (and turned blank).I don't want to consume time and materials and jeopardize ability to return, I also want to use if I'm just missing something obvious. I didn't see a way to contact vendor, so trying via review and will update if I learn more.See pictures which show brass tube size compared to pen size and large gap when assembled

Just when I thought I bought the worst thing on Amazon…This pen set has no directions, the barrel is too short, no way to turn anything for it…if I could it would be a zero…run away from this and go to your local wood craft store (lesson learned) never again. DO NOT ORDER THIS!!!!

The pen kits are different this time around. The tubes were not pressed on to the pen. Disassembly was easy and after the blank was turned it was easy to assemble the pen kits.

Since no bushings were included in the purchase and not being able to find the correct size on line, I had to make a makeshift adapter by using 1/4 inch self adhesive copper foil used for stained glass work and wrapping it around the bushing until I reached near the correct size. Not good for repeated use. Until a right sized bushing is available I would not purchase more. UDATE: I have since found that the brass tubing has thinner than normal. Hence, the bushings fit .014 ID tubing fine. The only problem there is that the standard tubing must be reamed out to fit the pen parts. I found this out by messing up a couple of original tubes My bad. I hope this helps rather than creating more confusion.

I was not familiar with this product brand, but they are absolutely high quality and much less expensive than the big name brand.

Re: Bushing size for Colarr 12 Pack Woodturning Pen Kit Twist Ballpoint Pen KitThe tip outer diameter 12.0mm to be flush with the lower metallic embossed ringThe top outer diameter 12.0mm of the black trim (behind the double trim ring - double rings measure 12.9mm)12mm = 0.472441 inchSame diameter bushings as:Rockler Serria BP 30467Woodcraft Wall Street II 146579Penn State Gatsby BP PKGABUCraft Supply USA Classica BP 486-2021

I’ve been a customer of PennState for years, and I like their variety and quality products; but as I have been ripping off the endless small plastic envelopes that protect each component and tossing away countless instruction sheets I’ve often thought “I’m paying for this, there must be a cheaper way, especially for someone like me that typically buys 10 or more of a particular pen style.” Well, this is it. The pens come essentially fully assembled, each in a plastic sleeve; you simply unscrew the bottom to pull out the brass tube to glue into the wood blank you choose to turn. But this brings up the first caveat: Your not supposed to be able to “pull away the tube” from a fully assembled pen! So when you’ve finished your pen you might want to use CA glue in the cap end (or thread Loctite if you think you’ll want to disassemble it later.) You will also notice that the clip assembly prevents the finished tube from resting flush against the cap end, so you’re left with a small, unavoidable gap (it might be possible to fix this by leaving a little extra wood when you trim the blank ends, but I haven’t tried that yet).The other caveat is the complete lack of instructions, drill bits and bushings, so I’ll try to help you with that now: The tube is 10.5 mm and a 10.5 drill bit works fine. But as another reviewer pointed out, if you have a Gatsby kit from PennState you’re good to go. Even though the Gatsby has a 27/64 drill and tube (slightly larger than 10.5 mm), everything works fine (you might want to use a gel CA glue to fill the slight gap if your using the 27/64 drill bit). Simply use the tube to measure out the right wood length, drill, glue in tube, make the ends flush with a trimmer or sander, and turn using the Gatsby bushings.I enjoy making pens but have no interest in selling them, so I look for opportunities to give them away to friends, family, or anyone who I think has “earned” one. This is a nice pen, and will make a good, less expensive gift.