How to go about "signing" your work?

[kmmcrafts]

15 minutes ago, Bill WIlson said:

I personally have no interest in CNC or laser machines for my woodworking.  Sure they are cool and do some pretty neat stuff, but adding that arrow to my quiver, just doesn't appeal to me.  I have nothing against it, per se, so I don't really have a dog in the fight.  However, I do recall discussions that we had in the early days of our scroll saw club.  It was the position of the founding members (most now either deceased or no longer able to be active in the club) that computer based machines, that could mimic scrollsawn work, were not to be part of the club's interests and activities.  I think most of the resistance to this technology was rooted in the fact that laser made items were showing up at craft shows and competing directly with "hand made" scrollsawn items.  Usually at a much lower price.  The casual observer didn't necessarily know the difference as the laser cut vendors weren't necessarily advertising how their items were made.  THey would tell you, if you asked, but it wasn't like they had a sign in front of their booth proclaiming such.  Many of our club members thought this was dishonest and was unfair competition for the traditional scrollers, especially considering the fact that these items were mass produced and generally imported.  Not exactly in keeping with the spirit of the small town craft show ethos.

Since then, the technology has advanced and become much more affordable and accessible to the adventuresome hobbiest.  I think this has changed the dynamic a bit and helped computer based machines be more accepted in the crafting community.  Like I said, no dog in the fight.  Just wanted to offer that perspective.

I understand the thought of those club members.. But as I've said.. it's just their "thoughts" of these taking over the scroll saw scene and they really only speculated.. Lot's of people see in their minds of just throwing a board at it.. push a button and it's cranking out production of 20 pcs a minute.. My laser is quite powerful one for home shops.. I can still out produce the laser using my scroll saw by stack cutting.. I can stack 5-6 at a time and cut a stack in 20 minutes leisurely cutting and if in a hurry can knock off 5 minutes... My laser can cut 4 of the same ornaments in around 20 minutes.. not too far off from scrolling.. but definitely not out producing a "good" scroller.. Lasers back in the day was pricey.. mines just a cheap $350 one.. Cost to run a laser also isn't cheap.. more power needed... laser tubes don't last forever.. and are almost the same price as a new laser.. I feel like laser / cnc work is a close comparison as far as running times for pieces and cost to keep up machines are a fairly close match.. 

I have to be honest and say.. I was in the same thought process as those club guys.. until I got my machines.. I learned real quick they are not really production machines.. I thought heck yeah I can up the ante with my selling.. I can scroll and run both the laser and the CNC while I scroll.. kind of like having a couple employees.. sadly that's not how it works.. I try to inform others but most just have that idea ( throw a board at it.. push button ) stuck in their brain and will not for any reason be talked out of that.. they just "KNOW" that's how it is.. and they will argue till they're blue in the face.. Can't open the mind just a little bit and see what the cnc / laser stuff is about.. they don't want to hear it they don't care.. And that's okay.. but if they knew they might change how they feel about them and possibly have one of their own.. They'll never replace a scroll saw.. Unless you get a few commercial units that you can lay 5 sheets of plywood on each one and run production.. imagine the cost of that machine though.. plus a computer for each one. etc. etc..   These machines are a nice addition to my business because it gives me the power to engrave... something the scroll saw can't do.. so they have their spot in a shop... but never will replace a scroll saw..   

[Rolf]

Bill Wilson,  I have been in a few shows (not recent)where people were selling laser cut ornaments and I seriously kicked their buts in sales. They were selling some for 2-3 $ mine were 10 -12$ and nicely presented. At one of the shows the vender came to e at the end of the day offering me his ornament at "wholesale prices" so that I could mark them up and resell. I politely declined and said that I only sell items that I had personally cut on my scroll saw. After I left he talked to my sister, who also had a booth, asking if he had offended me. LOL 

So I really don't think that laser cut items are a threat, certainly not to me. The bogus copyright Intarsia from overseas on the otherhand is an issue. I like to ask them if they personally made them and if they have permission to use the Disney designs and watch them squirm. If they were in juried shows I would make the organizer aware.

 

[BadBob]

If I had the room and the time to mess with it, I would have a laser and a CNC Router.

I make toys. Occasionally, I need to make wheels. After you have made a 1,000 wheels, making wheels gets old. I find the idea of having a CNC Router cut 100 wheels while I'm doing something else very appealing. Not to mention carving some fancy wheels that I could not make on a scroll saw.

I've have done extensive research on CNC Routing, and I know it is only a cutting tool. You still need to prepare the wood and do all the sanding and fining work. They don't make things for you that don't need any work. CNC routers precisely cut parts. When making toys, I see precision cut parts as a great thing. I can cut 100 parts and have all be the same size. If I did my prep work well, they would fit perfectly. If I cut 100 parts on a scroll saw, no 2 of them will be the same. I can get them close but nowhere near perfect. I think that this would eliminate a lot of sanding.

There are things that I can't see any way you could make them on a CNC router. Puzzles, for example.