Penn State Industries

My name is Shawn Jensen I am the instructor here at Reagan H.S. in San Antonio, TX. I teach Manufacturing Systems, Construction Systems, And Research and Design. In the classes students are taught how to build furniture, cabinets, pens, and other kits from Penn State. During the year I use the pens as a starter project before they start to build their piece of furniture for the year. I have also used the lathe safety to promote making a pen. I usually do a demo on how to use the lathe safely, and during that demo I produce a pen that will be used for a fundraiser so that my students can compete in woodworking contest at the end of the year. It is amazing how interested the students become in making a pen after a demo is completed. Students who thought they could never make something all of sudden in a hour have a beautiful pen that is finished and ready to be used. In the past I have also had groups of students working together to produce pens as if they were a company. In this group setting students have to perform quality control of the pens and then market and sell the pens for a fundraiser. In the past I have had several students purchase their own equipment so that they could have their own business to make some money. These students that have done this have been very successful and in some cases have bought more shop equipment for home use. In fact one of the students is in the pictures that has done this and on average can sell a pen for around $50.00. I really enjoy receiving your catalog and finding new things for the classroom. I can’t wait till I receive your lathe duplicator so that we can make chess pieces and copy table legs on it.

Thank you,
Shawn Jensen

Hi Pam,
Recently I demonstrated how to turn pens on a lathe to members of the Paris Boys’ Club. You’ll see in the photographs the enthusiasm of the participants.

Ted Weiberg
Richardson North Junior High School
Richardson, Texas

“Here are a few pictures of my student, Peter Jacobson, working on his skateboard. The kids love these skateboards! I have one myself!”

Luke Podmers
Technical Education Teacher
Valley View Middle School
Minneapolis, MN

Dear Pam Levy,
My name is Jason Rue and I would like to tell you about myself,
and how I started Roo’s Hand-Made Pens and Pencils.
I am fourteen years old and live in Orange Park, Florida.
I am a Freshman at Clay County High School where I am a member
of the National Junior Honor Society, am enrolled in honors
classes, and on the Clay High Junior Varsity football team.
I enjoy fishing, playing golf, and working with my pen business.
Last May I was looking through a stack of magazines and came
across your Penn State Industries catalog. My Dad and I talked
for the next few weeks about starting a business, did a little
research, and agreed this sounded like a good idea to create
a business. Besides, it sounded like a lot of fun and it has
turned out to be just that.
We called in and ordered a Carba-Tec4 Mini Lathe and everything
necessary to get started. The videos were very helpful in
figuring out how to get started. At that point, we just jumped
in. After a few weeks, I was turning out pens that were so
great looking they surprised everyone. One thing led to another
and my business was off the ground. After four months, I have
made about 60 pens and sold 46 of them. I have paid off my
initial investment and am actually making money. It’s
great because I can make pens at my own pace and make my own
hours. I am also learning how to run a small business. I am
really enjoying making pens and want to get started learning
how to do other projects like turning bowls. I would truly
recommend this as a hobby or a business to anyone.
Sincerely,

Jason Rue

Dear Pam,
Thank you for providing catalogs and kits for my pen-making teacher in-service sessions. I did a couple of presentations recently at the Texas Summer Professional Development Conference for Technology Educators in Houston. The title was: “How to make a pen on a lathe; Hands-on learning.” This was a joint in-service of the Texas Education Agency and the University of Houston.
With the help of several veteran teachers we set up the woodturning ‘module’. Attendees were asked to sign in as ‘Experienced’ or ‘New’ to making pens. After a 10 minute introduction I simply asked the newbies to find an oldie and have them guide them through the process. The remainder of time was used for hands-on learning. My list showed a total of 75 educators attended my sessions and all 100 of the handouts were picked up. I brought enough pre-drilled, pre-glued, pre-trimmed blanks to make 50 pens or 100 key rings. We used some of your super blanks to get a lot of production packed into a small time slot—sounds just like school. Not a single piece went unused. The machines included a couple of Delta Midi lathes I purchased in March from Penn State Industries with an Educational Opportunity Grant from the American Association of Woodturners. I also borrowed some Jet and Carba-Tecs from Andrews H.S. teacher Gordon Russell. Thanks again for all your help.
Sincerely,
Kent Crowell
Goddard Jr High School
Midland TX 79705