Had Such a Great Day Yesterday.

[Scrappile]

The only thing better than having a few scrollers who call me once in a while and have long, great conversations is to have one (or more) come to visit.  Yesterday @MarieCcame by.  I think we had a great visit.  My wife and I almost talked her almost to death and made her suffer through another one of my burnt barbequed hamburgers.  After lunch, we went down to my shop, and she showed me some things about my Hawk I was not sure about.  And we talked about scrolling for quite a while.  The last time she came, @heppnerguy was able to come, also.  Marie and I both agree the only way the time could have been better would have been if Dick could have been there too. But it was a great time. 

 

[rjweb]

That's great, enjoy it, RJ

[MarieC]

Yes, it was great fun and the hamburger was much less burnt!  ....Was a special time.  Yes, and having Dick @heppnerguy there would have been even more special.   Tell Patti thank you.... Do let me know if you get a better knob for your Hawk.  And I did check my clamp area and it is rock solid...no weird movement like yours was doing.  The arm pops up easily as well....again thanks for a great time!

[barb.j.enders]

Sounds like it was a great day.

I wish there were other scrollers near me.  I always feel quite isolated.  Thankfully there are all of you here!

[RabidAlien]

2 hours ago, barb.j.enders said:

Sounds like it was a great day.

I wish there were other scrollers near me.  I always feel quite isolated.  Thankfully there are all of you here!

heh.  Same here.  I just get folks walking by and staring into my garage, nobody ever stops.  LOL  The Amazon gal did chat for a minute a year or so ago, so I guess that counts?

[Scrappile]

Guess next time Patti and I will have to take you to lunch and you can order a good hamburger, hold the bun!  By the way  @MarieC that punch I showed you that I like so well, I returned them this morning.  It quit working and the second one never started working.  I am going to try to find some good ones.

[MarieC]

 

8 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

Guess next time Patti and I will have to take you to lunch and you can order a good hamburger, hold the bun!  By the way  @MarieC that punch I showed you that I like so well, I returned them this morning.  It quit working and the second one never started working.  I am going to try to find some good ones.

I love your hamburgers!  Always well done ...Let me know where you get your punch when you find a good one....mc

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

Guess next time Patti and I will have to take you to lunch and you can order a good hamburger, hold the bun!  By the way  @MarieC that punch I showed you that I like so well, I returned them this morning.  It quit working and the second one never started working.  I am going to try to find some good ones.

Paul, I've got a couple of those automatic center punches and at times they frustrate me when they don't punch when you want them to. So I take them apart and clean and lubricate them. Then they work. I use dry lube on them now and have had no more problems. I hope this helps.

 

[Scrappile]

5 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

Paul, I've got a couple of those automatic center punches and at times they frustrate me when they don't punch when you want them to. So I take them apart and clean and lubricate them. Then they work. I use dry lube on them now and have had no more problems. I hope this helps.

 

yes, I was able to do that but this last time I could not get it working again. I had a two-pack, so tried the spare one, It did not work from the get-go.  So being tired of receiving junk I just sent them back.  And, Amazon makes it so easy to return things.   I see Starrett has one, of course much more expensive, But after reading reviews and seeing the same problems mentioned and also made in China, like the others I had. I did not want to chance it.  When I read reviews I always start with the 3-star reviews.  I feel they are the most accurate.  No tool is perfect.  Less than 3 stars are usually just complainers or they are complaining about the shipping or something, not the actual item.  5 Stars, I figure they are so easygoing they would even rate me high. I 4 stars do not want to make anyone feel bad, but something definitely wrong.  They just do not want to mention it.

But I will try again one of these days, because I really like using then for what I use them for.

[Dak0ta52]

Sounds like a great time was had. There are several members in North Carolina but unfortunately, at least for my situation, meeting up would be hard to do. I still work full-time, tend to my property (mow 8-acres), take care of honey-dos, and care for my 92 y/o mother with dementia, my calendar stays full. Additionally, my own health is failing. Already had 2 heart attacks and scheduled to go into the cath lab again next week. On top of that I was told by my company's clinic nurse yesterday that my blood work indicates I now have diabetes. Ain't life grand!!!

[Scrappile]

I wish you the best, @Dak0ta52.  I let 3 of my five acres go back to nature.  Not only because I was getting too old to keep it up, but we were getting Deer showing up,  Gave them a nice safe place.  I tried to take care of my Mother with the same problem but there came a time when it was a 24-hour-a-day job and I just could not do it.  Finally had to move her to a care facility.  For her safety also. Very hard disease to deal with, and very sad for the person and the family.  If your diabetes is not too severe you can control it with diet.  My wife has been able to for many years now.  Getting old is not all the fun I used to read about.  I have been very blessed.  Two strokes, and still up and around and pretty functional.  Shows I never used much of my brain to begin with, I suppose.  Quit a portion of it is now unusable.

[Scrappile]

On 4/16/2025 at 5:14 AM, barb.j.enders said:

Sounds like it was a great day.

I wish there were other scrollers near me.  I always feel quite isolated.  Thankfully there are all of you here!

She lives around 150 miles from me. But lucky for me, she has a friend in my area, who she visits, and when she does, she tries to stop by to visit me and Patti.  We always enjoy it.

[OCtoolguy]

On 4/16/2025 at 12:34 PM, Scrappile said:
yes, I was able to do that but this last time I could not get it working again. I had a two-pack, so tried the spare one, It did not work from the get-go.  So being tired of receiving junk I just sent them back.  And, Amazon makes it so easy to return things.   I see Starrett has one, of course much more expensive, But after reading reviews and seeing the same problems mentioned and also made in China, like the others I had. I did not want to chance it.  When I read reviews I always start with the 3-star reviews.  I feel they are the most accurate.  No tool is perfect.  Less than 3 stars are usually just complainers or they are complaining about the shipping or something, not the actual item.  5 Stars, I figure they are so easygoing they would even rate me high. I 4 stars do not want to make anyone feel bad, but something definitely wrong.  They just do not want to mention it.
But I will try again one of these days, because I really like using then for what I use them for.
I also have a larger bodied punch made by General Hardware. Very durable but might be too powerful for wood. To do what you are doing I used a pin vise with a small Dremel countersink bit. It makes just enough of an enlargement in the tiny holes that its easy to insert the blade. I also like to use a Sharpie fine point to mark the holes.

Edited April 18 by OCtoolguy

[Dak0ta52]

20 hours ago, Scrappile said:

I wish you the best, @Dak0ta52.  I let 3 of my five acres go back to nature.  Not only because I was getting too old to keep it up, but we were getting Deer showing up,  Gave them a nice safe place.  I tried to take care of my Mother with the same problem but there came a time when it was a 24-hour-a-day job and I just could not do it.  Finally had to move her to a care facility.  For her safety also. Very hard disease to deal with, and very sad for the person and the family.  If your diabetes is not too severe you can control it with diet.  My wife has been able to for many years now.  Getting old is not all the fun I used to read about.  I have been very blessed.  Two strokes, and still up and around and pretty functional.  Shows I never used much of my brain to begin with, I suppose.  Quit a portion of it is now unusable.

I've thought about letting a portion of mine go back to nature but I primarily mow the 8-acres to help spot snakes. My land butts a 4300 acre tract of pulpwood land and the rattlers are plentiful. I have a 5-acre pasture I let a friend keep a few cows. (Keeps me from having to mow that also.) The rest of my 25 acres is wooded and also a haven for deer. Wife feeds them corn every evening.

I'm hoping I can control the diabetes with diet. I've been borderline for years and recently put on about 20 lbs. Like your wife, I think if get that weight back down I'll be alright.

Mom has been adamant that she doesn't want to go to a facility. Unfortunately as her condition declines it may become inevitable. She lives about 40-miles from me and my job is 40-miles in the opposite direction. I have an older brother but he couldn't deal with her sundowners and essentially has washed his hands of her. I move her in with me but between her and my wife, there would be a killing.

Yeah, getting old isn't fun, but, what can you do... I guess creating sawdust at the scrollsaw will have to do for now.