Hello from Glenrothes

[naxie]

Welcome to the forum Mike! :waver:

From another southerner, a wet and wild Devon ( at the moment anyhoo).

 

[Mike Dempsey]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know I am part of a welcoming and sharing community of like minded people from all over the world. Over the next few weeks I will post some photos of the log milling I have done over the last few years. Unfortunately it is quite hard to take photos of myself in action so most of the shots are of my mate Bob who I do the big ones with, or of my gear in place with smaller logs (I call a big log anything over about 30" in diameter) If anyone is interested in the laser engraving I can post up photos of finished articles as well. Unfortunately I cant post photos up of a lot of the things I do for the whisky industry due to customer confidentiality and having signed non disclosure certificates, but there are some things that I can post which members here might find interesting.

Mike

 

[Terry]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know I am part of a welcoming and sharing community of like minded people from all over the world. Over the next few weeks I will post some photos of the log milling I have done over the last few years. Unfortunately it is quite hard to take photos of myself in action so most of the shots are of my mate Bob who I do the big ones with, or of my gear in place with smaller logs (I call a big log anything over about 30" in diameter) If anyone is interested in the laser engraving I can post up photos of finished articles as well. Unfortunately I cant post photos up of a lot of the things I do for the whisky industry due to customer confidentiality and having signed non disclosure certificates, but there are some things that I can post which members here might find interesting.

Mike

Please do Mike there will be plenty of interest!!!!

 

[Grump]

Welcome in Mike, good to have you here, another useful member who's brains we can pick.
This place is a mine of information helping each other.
I have a feeling I have heard your name before but I go to sleep and forget everything.
Did I buy some whiskey blanks from you, years ago before they became popular?

 

[bluntchisel]

Hi again,

I reckon you're a bit flash, Mike,

"I call a big log anything over 30" in diameter"

Personally, I call anything bigger than a pen blank a "big log"! LOL!

Regards,

Bob.

 

[Mike Dempsey]

Hi Grump
Are you a mate of Jon Ramsey from down Hull way? He visited the workshop at new year a couple of years ago and I may have given him some for you. I think there might be something to do with knives as well. Forget now. Think I might even have spoken to you on the phone.
Bob, when you have seen some of the trees we have planked in the last ten years or so, you would call under 30" a small tree. For example one outstanding oak we have to do has a trunk of over 4' in dia at the base and is like a gun barrel for at least 60'. It tapers to about 2.5' at the crown. It came down on a private estate about 3 years ago about 3am in a storm. The nearest house is about 100m away and the owner said he thought that another big tree was coming in on his house because it was that loud. We got about a year's worth of firewood as well from this one tree.
There are another 15 beech, ash, oak and sycamore not far off that size to do as well. Keeps me fit though! Funnily enough the oak was growing in pure sand and I don't honestly know how it lasted that long. These days I try to go milling at least a couple of days a month as I find it therapeutic as well as financially rewarding. Its also a good chance to have a blether with my logging buddy as I don't see him too often as he lives about 25 miles away. I am fortunate as I do most of my logging within about a 5 mile radius of the workshop so even a couple of hours is quite rewarding

 

[Jim]

Is it a business Mike, or a hobby? Look forward to seeing some of your "stuff" BTW ..

 

[bluntchisel]

Hi, Mike,
Thanks for that reply - very interesting!
Bob.

 

[Grump]

Mike yes I know John and yes Damascus steel knives and Burr Elm scales but I am going back further than that about 8 -10 years maybe.

 

[Mike Dempsey]

Its run as a business - Pens of Distinction. Should have called myself something generic as pens are only about 10 percent of the business now. Too late to change now as I have being going for 12 years and I am pretty well known. Mike, I cant remember giving you whisky casks about ten or so years ago, but there again my kids think I have dementia and take the piss out of me so maybe I did give you them!
Just got to find out now how to upload photos.

Mike

 

[Grump]

No mate you didn't give me anything, I bought some whiskey barrel pen blanks long before John got any casks.
And Pens of distinction dunnalf ring a bell from somewhere too init?

 

[Jim]

Just got to find out now how to upload photos.

This may help you Mike ... http://www.penturners.co.uk/tips-how-use-these-forums/3-adding-image-your-post.html

 

[Mike Dempsey]

Trying it again. This is a £3500 bottle of 1971 single cask malt. I made the oak plinth and the stopper is made from the cask and has the cask no laser engraved around the perimeter of the stopper

 

[Jim]

I have made bottles for this Company Mike ...

 

[bellringer]

I have made bottles for this Company Mike ...

ye empty ones

 

[Buckeye]

That's very tasty Mike.

Peter

 

[Penpal]

Mike welcome as far south as this forum goes here in Australia I know nothing about malt other than in milkshakes but can appreciate fine woodworking. Welcome in to the forum indeed , I have friends who mill timber in the sizes you have mentioned in huge Aussie timbers amongst the toughest in the world who I admire tremendously as well.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[bluntchisel]

Very impressive, Mike!
Bob.

 

[Mike Dempsey]

Now that I have the hang of posting pics I will start a new thread about some out our milling over the last few years.

Mike

 

[paulm]

Welcome Mike, it would be interesting to see some pictures of your mill/pens