My name is Bill Van Wie, and I have been interested in woodworking for a few years now. Scrollsawing has been a way for me to relax without sitting in front of a PC screen, and it sparked my interest in other forms of woodworking as well. While surfing the web, I came across some woodturning information and it looked to be a great way to create something without the huge ‘time investment per project’ that scrollsawing was taking me. I liked the idea of being able to get from start to finish in a matter of hours or days versus the weeks or months it was taking me to scrollsaw. (I think I may have bit off more than I could chew on some of my scrollsawing projects!) I spent more time researching woodturning on the web and eventually decided that it was time to add a lathe to my assortment of tools in the basement.
Rikon Mini Lathe 70-100
On March 1st, 2008, I came home from our ‘local’ (1.5 hours away) Woodcraft store with a Rikon Mini Lathe, a 3/4″ roughing gouge, a 3-piece penturning tools kit, and what WC called a beginner’s penturning kit (a box including some pen kits, blanks, sandpaper, a book, and a finish). I had actually gone there intending to purchase a different lathe that they had on sale, but their knowledgeable sales staff talked me out of it. I bled those guys for knowledge for hours before actually making a purchase. (Great guys, by the way!) Little did I know how expensive that $405 purchase would turn out to be in the long run!
Like all good woodworkers, I hid the toys (and receipt!) in the basement so that my wife wouldn’t find them. 
I set the lathe up on a small folding table and went to work. Several hours later I handed my wife a slimline pen as a present and told her that I had made it. “No way” was her response, but I assured her that not only had I made it myself, but it was likely the most expensive pen she’d ever seen! Looking back at that pen now, I can see just how much more work it needed before I handed it to her. It was the first one I made though, so I let it stand as the rough draft of something I want to constantly improve.
I do have some help in the workshop at times. My daughter Kaitlin is my Quality Control. As a 6-year-old, she doesn’t yet realize that it is sometimes polite to lie. Until that time, I can count on her honest replies of “Daddy, that feels like it needs more sanding” and “I don’t like it”. When I get an “Ooooh” from QC, I know I’m done. 