Watch out for metal roofing... It's nasty stuff...

So, everyone tells me that metal roofing is very dangerous if you don't have gloves on. Of course you believe them, sort of...

However, when you're right in the middle of a project, stopping and running in your house to get some gloves can be rather annoying.

So, Here's what that nasty roofing did to me. Cut me right across my knuckle down to the bone. About a 1/2 inch cut from the top of the knuckle to the below the side...

Had to wear this cast thingy cause' it was right on the top of my knuckle. Couldnt' bend it for a few days...

Yup, that's me, just slapped a band-aid right on and forgot about it.

Here it is after a few days of healing. Not too bad actually.

So, my word of caution: It's worth getting out some gloves when you're working with sheet metal. Of course you know what I did right after I cut myself? I threw a band-aid on and without gloves walked right back outside and started working again.  Will I ever learn?

Regards,

777 - Tyler Dahl

How to get better pictures of your pens -The "Pen Box"...

So, I'll just say this up front: This original idea is not mine. I got it from a friend.

All that aside: When I first began repairing pens I discovered something very important. When selling a pen photography is almost everything. Yup, if you have horrible pictures (blurry, discolored, darkened, etc.) then people will not be as interested in your pen. I'm sure this applies to most things.

So, I decided I needed a way to photograph my pens so they really looked good. I'll show a before and after picture of my pen photography:

Here's one of my old pictures. Notice the poor florescent lighting. It creates bright spots on the pen like the one right by the lever where the light is really shining. It's not a "bad" photograph but it's not good either.

Enter the photo box: We see a huge improvement here. Even lighting, correct coloration, and it even shows of the gloss of the pen better!

So by now I'm sure you're dying to know: So how do I build my own light-box? Well I'll tell you. First, as I was told by my friend when he gave me these instructions, read cheap. This should not cost you more than around $20.00 total which includes buying a tripod. That's why I like this method so much!

The easiest way to show you how to build one is with pictures. Here it is folks: 777's camera set-up...

Here's the box sitting on top of a stool. I use the stool to get a lower plane of angle when shooting my pictures.

The box is just a rubbermaid that I got from wal-mart. Around $5.00 or so.

Inside the box, I placed tracing paper on all the sides except the top. The top part gets a piece of poster board. What this does is stop the direct sunlight from entering the box. The tracing paper on the sides let just a little soft light in. This makes the perfect combination for shooting pen photos.

Here's a wal-mart place-mat for about $1.50. Works well as a backdrop.

And one of the most important pieces is a tripod for your camera. This is really essential to getting good clear photographs. If your camera doesn't have a "mount" for a tripod attachment then rubber-bands will work to secure it to the camera to the tripod. I've done this before with great success.

So there you have it. My DIY picture box. Here's a list of all the "parts" you need:

- Plastic box (mine is about 12" wide which works very well) - Around $5.00.

- Tracing paper for the sides of the box - Around $1.50 for a whole pack of it.

- Poster board for the top of the box Around $1.50 for five sheets.

- A cheap or expensive camera tripod (mines cheap - ebay for $10.00).

- Most importantly: Sunshine! You can take photos on a cloudy day but nothing beats the sunlight for good photos...

That's all there is to it! This has been a huge help for me in getting good pen photos. I hope it's able to help you out too.

Regards,

777 - Tyler Dahl

A great way to store your tools - My homemade pen-repair tool station...

Hello guys and gals!

If you're looking for an easy, inexpensive, and professional way to store your tools I've got the answer!

I got this original idea from somewhere (I can't remember right now) and modified it to my taste. In the simplest sense it's just a wooden block to hold my pen-repair tools. This is version two. Version one had very little storage space because I didn't need it back then. So, I decided I needed more space and came out with this version. It has space for lots of tools and is custom made to fit my needs. I'm not a great wood-worker but I can do it if I have to...

Anyway, enjoy and hopefully this will give some inspiration to others about repair-tool storage. It's really easy to make your own. You just need some wooden blocks, screws, drills, and an electric screw-driver.

Here it is! As you can see, I left some extra space in the middle for any new tools I might get.

Here's the back of it. Nothing to fancy!

I've got my knock out pins right here for easy access. Makes pen repair a whole lot easier when your tools are readily accessible.

Here's some more tools. Picks and sac scrapers...

Here's how I make it. It get the tool and find the closest drill size. Then I drill it to fit.

here's a hole made just for my nib burnishing tool.

I even made a special slot for my vacumatic wrenches!

Here's the real deal! Say goodbye to spilled shellac! Yes, I have spilled shellac before... All over my carpet... Not anymore though! With this "invention" I'll be free of messy spills!

Here's the wonderful hole that's saving me from certain doom... Fits the shellac bottle just perfectly!

I hope you've enjoyed looking through my tools and my little storage block. I also hope this will help some new repairers out there who are wondering how to store their tools for easy access during repairs.

Please, drop me a comment and let me know what you think of this. The comments keep me going on my Blog. They're a huge help!

Best Regards,

777 - Tyler Dahl

Ink Review: Iroshizuku Kon-Peki

Here's an ink that I've always enjoyed, but in a different way than my other inks. Most of my inks, I love the color and I think Iroshizuku Kon-Peki is a nice color, but that's not exactly why I like it. Here's what I love about it: Mainly, it has a feeling of quality that's evident in every aspect of the ink. From the packaging, the bottle shape, and the ink itself it all seems like an extremely well put together package. The ink is so extremely well behaved too! That's why I love it. I can always count on this ink to not give me any flow problems, drying issues, skipping, etc. It just works. On top of that the color isn't bad at all. It's a very true shade of blue which is perfect in all settings, business and home alike.

My only gripe with this ink is that it costs around $25.00 a bottle! Ouch! Yea, those of us who enjoy Noodlers at $12.00 for a 90ml bottle will be pretty bummed about the Iroshizuku 60ml for $25.00...

Anyhow, here goes my handwritten review of this ink:

I love the packaging on these inks. It's really superb.

And the back of the box is just as cool as the front. Stickers are even in Japanese for the most part.

There's the bottle! Gorgeous! This is a bottle you will want to display on your desk for all to see.

Another shot showing the instruction pamphlet. The whole thing is in Japanese so you don't get the pleasure of reading it unless you can speak and read the language... Oh well, it looks really cool anyway!

I  hope you've enjoyed this review of an ink I really like. Please, leave me a comment below and tell me what you think about this ink and this review.

Best Regards,

777 - Tyler Dahl