Messages

226

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: My latest craft show

« on: December 11, 2014, 05:35:28 pm »

The hardware is not the hard part and If you are turning them on a lathe, I'm no longer interested.
My brother has turned hundreds of them on the lathe. I thought it was a  new design using the scrollsaw.

Rog

227

The Coffee Shop / Re: This one is for Chelcass

« on: December 10, 2014, 11:34:08 am »

Well Judy, I'm sure there was some pain involved but, when I had part of my hip replaced, it felt better right away. 
You see, I fell off of a ladder and broke the ball of the joint of my hip off. THAT WAS SOME PAIN!
The surgery was a piece of cake in comparison. 
I was up walking around the next day (with a walker at first) and home walking within the week. That was six years ago this December 8th and I feel great!

And Marge, tell your neighbor "That which does not kill us makes us stronger" She may not realize the trouble she could have had if she let it go too long. Hind sight has a way of making things feel better.

Rog

228

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: My latest craft show

« on: December 10, 2014, 11:13:11 am »

Glad to hear about your success.  Sounds like you made out like a bandit! 

Moreover, I'm interested in seeing and finding out about your "key fobs with a hidden compartment". Can you show a picture of one (maybe you will have to make one if you "sold out".  ) Or tell me where you got a pattern or the idea. Sounds like something I would be in to.
 
Rog

PS If you DO have to make more of the key fobs, would you mind spending some time to take a few pictures of the process and posting a tutorial down in the Tips, Tricks and Tutorial section? It would be greatly appreciated by a lot of people on this site I'll bet.

Rog

229

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Blade for table saw

« on: December 10, 2014, 11:00:28 am »

I agree with Bill. A zero clearance insert does make some difference in cut quality AND it keeps small, thin pieces of wood from falling down and caught up in the blade causing kick-back also.
I have a two piece set of Freud blades (24 t ripping blade and 80 t crosscut blade) that I bought at Lowe's for  $50.00 - $75.00 I think. Not all that bad for some good blades that will last you for quite awhile.

Rog

230

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Blade for table saw

« on: December 09, 2014, 09:45:57 am »

Technically speaking you are using a ripping blade which works great for cutting WITH the grain of the wood but, is terrible for cross cutting.
A crosscut blade has many more teeth and makes smoother cuts ACROSS the grain. At least 80 or more teeth work best. The thinner the wood, the more teeth are needed. Some blades for thin wood and plywood have as many as 100 teeth.
It is a pain to change blades all the time and I admit that I don't always change back and forth as I should when making just a few small pieces.
Universal or general purpose blades are available and do work (60 or so teeth) but, do not make a real smooth cut like you want  but, work great for what they are made to do.
The tape suggestion works well too but, more importantly, make sure you are using a SHARP blade. Just like scrolling, nothing is more frustrating than trying to make a decent cut with a DULL blade!

Rog

231

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Thank you

« on: December 07, 2014, 11:16:39 am »

Thank you for your post Mr A it is very encouraging to most of the people on this site.....Even me! 

I didn't take things to a show but, I did sell some. I had given one of my "picture book"  frames to a friend and she ordered five more for Christmas gifts. I took the time (even though I didn't want to) to make them for her and she paid me $110.00 which covered most of my materials and a bit more. She didn't have to do any shopping and I made about $1.00 an hour for my "labor"!  A win, win situation if I ever heard of one! 

Rog

232

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Cupped Home Depot Red Oak Craft Boards (Clearanced Check for them)

« on: December 04, 2014, 09:56:10 am »

Try wiping them down with a wet rag (DON'T SOAK THEM!) and stand them on end so that air circulates on all sides. Lean it against a table or something at a very slight angle as close to vertical as you can get it.
Sometimes laying a damp board on a flat surface lets the top dry faster than the bottom and it will cup.
I've heard of laying a cupped board on the lawn cup side down and let the sun dry out the top a bit will help too.
I saw a video of a guy using a propane torch to dry out the damp side too but, I wouldn't try that if I were you. 

Rog

233

The Coffee Shop / Re: Stop the earth from turning. I want to get off.

« on: November 24, 2014, 03:28:58 pm »

I made some can crushers quite awhile back only mine weren't automated and only did one can at a time.









I ended up making about 25 or 30 of them. Sold about 12 of them @ $50.00 each and gave the rest away to family and friends.
The nice thing about them is that you simply put the can into the crusher, pull the handle down and it crushes the can and it drops out of the back into a bucket or trash can below.
They looked nice enough that people wanted them to put on a deck or patio or game room.
They have held up very well. I have one of the first ones in my shop and it has been going strong since 2008 or so. It gets used 5 or six times a day every day.

Rog

234

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: How much machinery is too much

« on: November 24, 2014, 09:33:53 am »

If you tools are bought and payed for, I wouldn't get rid of ANY of them! You just never know when you might need them. If not for yourself there may be a time when a friend or family member might need a bit of help from a tool that you have.
When I was in the mobile tool business selling automotive tools, I don't know how many times I sold tools to a mechanic who told me that he had a full toolbox at one time and sold them because he thought that he would never need them again.
I had customers try to sell me all of their tools because they were getting out of the business and a year later want to buy new tools from me because their son or nephew was wanting to start as a mechanic and need tools.
The only time I would consider selling ANY of my tools is if I had to pay extra for a storage place or, when they finally decide that I need to move into "The Home" and I won't have room to keep them!

Rog 

235

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Yet another picture frame

« on: November 21, 2014, 12:32:58 pm »

I'm posting this because it is another style frame that might be of use to scrollers.

Sometimes when you have a thicker cutting, like 1/2" or 3/4" thick it is hard to make a frame for it. Most people will just glue strips of wood to the sides and call it good but, of course I have a bit more difficult yet more finished way of doing it.
A friend came in with an oil painting and wanted a frame for it. As you may know the canvas is stretched over a wooden frame on an oil painting so it is a bit more difficult than framing a thin photo or 1/8" scroll saw project because of the thickness.
As it turned out, the painting would look fairly good in a rougher, rustic looking frame, and who is better at sloppy wood working than me? 

The painting was about 5/8" to 3/4"thick and measured 12' x 16". I had a stick of 1" x 1-1/2" fir 8 foot long which actually measured 13/16" x 1-5/8 so that should work! 
First, I cut the stick into two pieces 19" and two pieces 15" long intentionally using a hand saw for the "rough" look. I'm not a good hand saw cutter and really didn't want a nice square smooth cut anyway. 






Next I went back to the power tools, the router table in this case, and cut a stopped grove into the side of each piece. It is 1/4" deep and 1" wide and just over 16" long  (or 12" long on the short pieces).


 


I squared up the rounded corners left by the router bit with hand chisels.



I didn't realize until after the fact that this was a totally unnecessary step!  The half lap joint notches removed all of my hand work. 


I measured, marked and cut the notches for the half lap on the table saw by nibbling out the waste and checking for fit as I went. Remembering that notches on the short side are cut on the bottom edge and the long side notches are cut on the top (or front) side all went well. However the reverse probably would have looked better.  Hind sight is a wonderful thing. 



Next, it was just a matter of glue-up. It is just straight forward put on the glue, slide the notches together and it comes out almost perfectly square BUT, I check it for sure anyway.  Oh! and make sure it fits the oil painting before glue-up too! 




Now, slap on a bunch of stain and we are GOOD TO GO! You can beat it up with a piece of chain  or a hammer or what ever if you have a sick mind like mine.




It is a nice, rustic but, very strong frame and NO miters or splines to mess with. 

Hope this might help someone some time.

Rog
 
 

236

The Coffee Shop / Re: We're All Gonna Die !!

« on: November 16, 2014, 05:39:26 pm »

That's OK with me. I would rather go out in a blaze of glory than just waste away like I'm doing now.
We all gotta go some time, some way, why not get smashed by an asteroid or lit up by a lighting strike. It's quick and not much pain or suffering.
I get so tired of the media using scare tactics to get sponsors or sell more news papers and the internet is just as bad or worse.
I remember quite a few years ago, just before Thanksgiving it was announced that cranberry sauce caused CANCER! And then later, milk was suppose to be BAD for you!
GET REAL!!

Rog 

PS Maybe it has something to do with global warming.

237

Brag Forum / Another bowl

« on: November 16, 2014, 05:24:35 pm »

A few weeks ago DWSudekum posted a small bowl using solid wood and plywood.
I really liked the idea and just had to try it.
Mine isn't nearly as nice as his but, IT'S BIGGER! 

I used cherry and plywood to make it. It measures 8" x 12" and is 3-1/4" tall.
I call mine a candy bowl....I really LIKE candy.






Thanks for the inspiration DW! 

Rog

238

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Had to start over

« on: November 12, 2014, 07:48:44 pm »

My puter went south a few weeks ago but, I got it fixed. 
Longest three days of my life! 
I didn't realize how addicted I was until then. 

Rog

239

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: My First..and..Only Craft Show is Over.... :+}

« on: November 12, 2014, 10:16:48 am »

Danny,
You have hit the SWEET spot.
There are a lot more collectors of $1.00 to $5.00 items than there are collectors of $20.00 to $50.00 items.
The choice is, if you want to go for volume of items to pay for your time, or quality and types of work people are looking for to buy.
It is a very tough decision to make and we all must decide which way to go.
It is nice to have a mixture of both, and craft shows are a better judge of that flea markets are.

Rog

240

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Fonts for name plate

« on: November 08, 2014, 10:13:15 am »

Have you downloaded Steve Goods "Stencil Printer" yet? If you haven't, I would HIGHLY recommend you do so.
It has so many fonts in it that it is unbelievable! And you can adjust the size of fonts and spacing to how ever you want to.
It may take a bit of learning and time but once you figure it out, you can make almost any lettering you want and print the pattern right off  the computer. Also you can save your pattern (lettering) to your computer for future use.
Sometimes you may have to make two or three different print outs of different words because the most you can do is two lines. I quite often double space between words so that I can cut them out of the printout and arrange them any way that fits the project.
Also, not all the fonts are EXACTLY compatible  for scrolling as there may be floaters but, just a bit of "red pencil" editing will make most of them work.
I use this all the time for inlaying names on box tops etc.







Hope that helps

Rog