JTTHECLOCKMAN

Scott what I would wish you would do is ask the people who paid with credit cards if they would have made the purchase if you did not accept cards??? I hear this alot and I have not run into it as much. people must go to shows with the idea that not all craft vendors do cards. especially when you are talking a small show such as 1000 people or less. They usually stop at the atm machine before or also bring a check book if they are serious shoppers. Taking cards is another added expense that must be passed on to consumer or you are defeating your purpose too. It is a different world we live in and sell in these days that is for sure.

Kevin this is a good idea. Maybe you could do it here so it can be saved and you always can copy and paste to other sites if you find you need to. I was the one who brought up the poor sales returns I am seeing in shows that I use to do tremendous. So I am one who may be making a change and joining the online sales. I have no experience with this because I do not do it but it looks like the time has come to change with the masses. I do strongly believe it is the Amazons and other retail online platforms out there that are destroying the craft show circuit. Nothing much can be done about it. Those that are still seeing decent returns on shows, ride it out and hope it continues. I have done and tried all the tricks in the book because I have been doing this for over 25 years so changing stock, raising and lowering price game, offering deals has been tried. There maybe a trend of east coast VS middle states and even west coast when it comes to sales. So when following everyone who is doing well and who is not, pay close attention to their origin. Makes a difference . Happy Scrolling.

I use a branding iron also. Buy it once and lasts forever.

I was watching a show that I love to watch and is called Handcrafted in America. On there was a gentleman that makes watches by hand. It showed a quick glimpse into what he goes through to make all the components and painstaking labor to put it together and work flawlessly. The (pun) time and effort is tedious to say the least. It got me thinking of what we do here and that is scrolling. Even if you are relatively new at it or an old timer such as myself there always are those highs and lows that come with the artform. The longer you do it the more of these you get to be part of. I thought it would be fun to list some of these highs and lows and I am sure we all will say oh yea I agree with that. What we do is tedious also and time consuming and you grow into the love of it or else we move on. It is a hobby not for all. Patience plays a huge role and at some times it can test our inner selfs. Lets say a high is just like having ******* a candy bar (what did you think I was going to say) and a low is like denting your car. Here are some examples to get things rolling and hope others will jump in. Highs Sawing along and you decide you need to change the blade. The first cut with the new blade is like heaven. Picked out a pattern that had so many cuts you thought you would never finish but you make that final cut and stand back and you are proud. Had someone compliment your work and go on and on about how well it looks and maybe even buys a piece. You find that perfect piece of wood to work with in both looks and in cutting ability. Not all woods cut well. Lows Put hours in on a piece cutting many frets and when done accidently drop it and it breaks into a million pieces. Now that is the low of lows to me. (we all have been there) Spend many hours making things and go to a show and nothing sells. Cutting an intricate pattern and within the board are hard grain lines that constantly throw your blade off course. Had this with oak boards because of the heavy grains. Cutting fine details and suddenly you sneeze and there goes a fine cut. OK that should get things rolling. There are many many more and we all have lived them. Lets see what you come up with. Hopefully all our highs and lows even out and we continue promoting this great hobby. Happy Scrolling.

WE did lose a great one. He was a master at the puzzles and how he can take a Christmas card and turn it into a puzzle. I am sure his puzzles are all over the world. I too have one of his original stamp puzzles. He used to send them as a business card. There was a small group of us that really talked scrolling back in the day and Mike Moorloch of FD blade fame was part of that. He will be missed. Rest in Peace and condolences go out to his family and friends.

LOts of good advice here. First let me say welcome to the scrolling world. You will have to be patient if you want to become an accomplished scroller. Scrolling is slow and is designed to do so because you are cutting intricate work. Yes the blade you are using is probably too course of a blade. The jumping up and down will disappear when you get the feel of how much to hold the wood down and still be able to spin it. Allowing the blade to do the cutting will also help the jumping because if you push too hard you do not allow the blade to clear the kerf of the cut from saw dust. Some woods are more prone to cut tougher and that goes for simple pine too. A good sharp blade will mean a world of difference. As far as the saw jumping you need to secure it to something solid. Some people add a layer of rubber between the saw and table to absorb vibrations. Maybe a photo of your setup would help us to add more comments. But for the most part do not be in a hurry because scrolling is not a fast way to cut wood.

I have not cut copper but have cut my share of brass. Copper could be a bit more gummier when cut. At least that is what I found when I turned it on a lathe as compared to brass. Here is a project that required cutting of brass. I used Jewelers blades to make the cuts and placed blue masking tape on the top and placed a thin wood on the bottom or else the cuts would scratch the table top too much. No need to sandwich it. Good luck.

They all look very nice but I will point something out that has become an interest because of the society we have turned into and that is sue happy. One thing I have always tried to stay away from is items that take some thinking and some common sense to use. Such as toys and puzzles, candle holders, lights weather battery operated or electric, and anything that can become a hazard in some way. I should not have to state the obvious problems that can arise with the use of these items but if misused and unfortunate things happen, people look to pass blame very quickly. Over my lifetime I never wanted to become a target. Yes you can carry insurance but is it worth it. With toys you need to be aware of paints, size of objects so not swallowed, fingers getting injured and so on. Same goes for candles. Have to watch the finish used, proximity of candle to wood and so forth. Batteries can leak. Electric sockets need to be wired correctly following codes and the wires must be UL rated and unable to be easily pulled and the list goes on. Yes people have gone on to make products like those mentioned and never ran into problems but there are cases, some never make the news that have gone the other way. This is not to discourage you but to make you aware of possibilities. Good luck in your ventures. Happy scrolling. My suggestion is to make those into sun catchers with colored plastic behind them.

I could never lock myself into one project. Need to have multiple things going to keep sane. I turn pens and also scroll. When I turn pens I like to make my own blanks so that gets interesting and no two are alike. This winter I do want to try my hand at some record cuttings also. If you take one of those projects on I hope you have a place to put it and make it portable. Good luck we will be watching.

I do the exact thing. Prep ahead of time and save agony latter. I can not figure out how you people use a mop sander on flat finished work and if it has delicate fret work. Never used a mop sander. 220 grit on a palm sander and all fuzzies are gone and any adhesive from tape is gone.

sand with a palm sander

Fein is a very very good brand and is a great dust collector with many features and the turbos are right there with Festool. 67db is quiet for a shop vac. It is designed to come on and off as with sanders and other saws. But with a scrollsaw and the amount of on and off I would choose to leave it run. The electronics in it for the soft start and continuous run could prove to put a burden on it. Would save wear and tear in my opinion.

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Never been accused of using wise words

Can not get that link to open. Have another link or just place the name of the company and i will google. Thanks 1-7/16" inserts are not all the same. Sloans still sell Seiko inserts and they are some of the better ones. The ones I shown are not that size, they are a bit larger and I usually buy in 2 different sizes. I like to use 2" inserts also. Just a note on the 2-3/4" inserts and larger made in China. and also ones made in the USA. I have seen this many many times, the clocks are basically kits that are interchanged with different faces. You can many times unscrew the plastic bezel. I say this because I have had clocks come to me where the hands are not seated just right. They may touch the glass or bent too much and scrape the facing or too loose and skip time. The motors work fine but it is the hands that either stop it or fall off. Can easily be fixed by taking the top off. Have seen this on both USA and China models. That is why I suggest a trial period before installing. Here is the old thread that has some info in it www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/23097-large-clock-insert-fit-ups/

yes bought a sanding belt for my drum sander from them. No problems https://2sand.com/feed-belt-performax-16-32-drum-sander

Again not for me and would be too prohibitive in my opinion but if it works for someone then go for it.

Kevin I have bought some and have tried to buy others but they do not make the ones I want to buy any more. We had this discussion in that last thread I mentioned. You told me you bought USA inserts and they still were bad. I mentioned clockparts.com as a dealer but again you told me you tried them. I do not know how to repost that thread so I can not refer back to this same conversation. I use to buy many of my inserts from Wildwood Designs but they too have changed ownership and do not live up to their warrenties and I am not a fan of them any more. If you found a supplier that is offering better quality motors and better insert, I believe it would help us all if you tell us who it is. We can send more business their way. I am a huge account and am sure others can be too. I have actually bought inserts direct from China and have great success with them. Went through Alibaba. Use to buy these and many more from a UK distributer but shipping got too much. Buy them from China now. These are dead on accurate. Bought a ton of Skeleton clock motors from the UK vendor too. Bought many inserts from these people also and they use to make to order for me. But again shipping became outrages. www.clockparts.ca/index.php?cPath=7

I never use plywoods. I always use hardwoods of various species but mostly red oak. I have a full work shop with woodworking tools to dimension lumber and buy mine from local wood sources. If you buy on line the shipping can be more than the wood is worth. Maybe take a look for local dealers.

I probably have made more clocks than most of you here and have to say I have been doing this for over 25 years and have never had a clock insert come back to me even though I always tell my customers they can send them back to me and I will replace free of charge. I have a couple customers try to tell me that I sold them one and they bring it back and I can tell right away it was not one of mine. I may offer a free replacement if a return customer or offer a sale for a reasonable price. I have not bought many new inserts because I at one time bought so much bulk that I am still working off them. I do know that just about all vendors get their inserts from the same sources so all is a matter of price. There are some top of the line inserts but they are expensive and this all came up in that thread that I mentioned. What I would highly suggest you people do if you are selling clocks for shows and for profit, is to buy them and stock them and run them for length of time to test them. Yes you will go through more batteries but a small expense as opposed to the trouble of replacing. I have bought from many places and in another thread I mentioned that KLOCKIT and Wildwood Design have changed the clocks they sell and they are more hit and miss and are tougher to get replaced because of different ownership. Good luck. The idea of selling a clock without a motor or insert is not a good one in my opinion. People do not want to have to buy a clock insert that have no idea what size or what or where to get.

Over the many many years that a scroll saw has been on the market and all the different style saws there are there has never been to my knowledge a fence of any kind that was specific to a saw. The reason is a scroll saw is not meant to be a precision saw as much as a table saw or band saw is. Not to say that precision work can not be done but all cuts will have flaws in them no matter how good you are free hand cutting. Can a fence be made sure it can. Take a straight piece of aluminum and double side tape to it and stick it to your table to match the drift of your blade and there is your fence. Good luck with that though.

In the search box top right corner, type in where to buy clock inserts and you will see a past posting on this topic that maybe of help. Good luck. It would also be helpful if you note what type inserts you are looking for in size and style.

Amazing how times have changed. I still hold onto the patterns because you never know when this will take a walk backwards

Boy I remember back in the early 90's I use to make many of these and sell them very well. Then when the 2005 and later rolled around I think people did not even know what they were. How many of you remember what these are???

Thanks. I started my scrolling career with the likes of Rick and Karen from the Berry Basket days. Did sooooooo many of their patterns and expanded on them as well as this happens to be one. Made many different mirrors over the years. The heart mirror was huge seller.