JTTHECLOCKMAN

No dust is good to breathe.

Thanks Iggy. I would not have guessed Unicorn. My guess would have been dogs because many people can relate with pets. Do you find those numbers to hold true year to year or does it vary?? Maybe a certain kids movie comes out and drives sales differently?? Do you keep things generic or can you get specific say like Batman or Disney character?? I bet you get stories from the customers so what is your best story?? Has a grown up said the puzzle was for them, maybe as a fidget thing at work.??? What is your least sellable puzzle?? Do you have one puzzle that is either time consuming or you just hate making but need to because it is requested?? I know lots of questions but thought this would be a good time to get some insight into the Puzzle Master here. You mention many times here you shows and the making and selling of these. I know I find it fascinating that one has taken a simple scrolling idea and ran with it and has become a great success. I think at one time you mentioned a local paper did a story on you and your artform, is that true?? Do you display this at your shows proudly to let people know you are a celebrity?? You are our celebrity and wish you continued success.

Enjoy and hope you make lots of saw dust with it.

They do not make that saw any more so I could not find any specs on it to see if there is a way to tame the aggressiveness of the cutting action. All saws will rock back and forth with some being more aggressive. that is what you are seeing. You can try the above suggestion but just do not know how to correct it if it can be.

I don't use a dust collector on my scrollsaw either and in fact I use nothing. Clean up at end of day with vac. Been doing that for years.

So in the end what is the bottom line??? From this point forward will you be using one saw as the primary saw??? I do not see an advantage changing from styles of saws because each one cuts differently as you have proven. I know you did this as a test for fun. I have a Dewalt, Hegner and a 220vs and 226vs RBI saws. My every day saw is the 220. The Hegner is my bevel cutting saw, the 226 is my large project saw and the Dewalt sits and collects dust, not makes it. Have to say that is a way to spice things up cutting the same project that many times.

I love this idea. May I use it??

Good luck with the shows. Looks like the economy is holding true and should be prosperous. If you had to guess or maybe you already know what is your top seller and does it change from year to year?? Would you happen to know how many you have sold of your top seller?? if you have a photo that would be nice too.

Larry you are not alone. There have been many people who have made their own to suit their needs and they made out of wood or plastics As I had mentioned there are many videos on the subject out there. You did a nice job with those and saving the air is big deal if you have powerful equipment. Scrollsaws not so much. I used metal duct but did use the plastic gates and I was suppose to change to metal ones but never made it high on the list of things to do. Still on the list though.

Do you have an example?? Love to see in action.

Ray I know 3 people who have started pen turning as a hobby and converted into a business and in fact 2 have developed a brand name and are seen at all large pen shows right there with the Mont Blancs of the world. Charge over $2000 for a single pen. That comes with name recognition. You are not getting that with scrolling fret work. Nobody said and for sure not me, that every business attempt was successful. The point I said was every business started as a hobby. Maybe I am not making my point clear so I will back off. But Ray ask yourself this how many business are started another way and how many businesses are failed because of some reason and list the reasons in your head. I never said that everyone is cut out to be a business man. It takes drive and sometimes luck. Kevin is right about income and being able to live comfortably on it. Many factors come into play when a family is in the mix. Place you live is also a factor. Ray to me you are think scrolling and that is it. There is no way you could know what hobbies turned into business because hobbies take in so many different activities and not just scrolling. Of course you have to like doing what you are doing to take it to the next level. Have no other way to put it but every business started as a hobby somewhere down the road. I am done.

There are some videos out there of people making them from plastics and some from wood. My point was before many people start cutting the backs off to try one and see if you like it before you start doing a bunch.

That is good. Have to ask then why have they not made gates like this with the back end open?? Debris is something that plagues just about all gates systems. The best gates are ones with rounded corners.

No fighting or fireworks, just a discussion. It is a discussion that sidetracked the original post which many times does. Others can disagree with me and that is fine. That is what the world is full of opinions. I have to disagree with your take too Blake in that we are or at least I was talking about hobbies and businesses. Gates had a hobby of tinkering with the electronic world and it went from there. Why because he put forth the effort. I bet he ran into a whole lot of problems. A career is different which can grow from that business yes. You mention innovation, that can come from various sources such as a hobby, a career, or from a business. Innovation can grow a business but the root of it started with someone tinkering as a hobby. I go back to your opening statement about scrolling. yes it has been around many years but look at the businesses that grew from it. Pattern making continues to grow with different designs and people starting business based off that. But businesses like that need to expand and grow to be sustainable or else it goes by the waste side and becomes stale. Kevin needs to constantly change his product line or else he becomes stale and left behind. this requires work effort. Not many people are willing to make these commitments and thus the business fails. Another example is inventors. that is their hobby and it leads to things we eventually see. Maybe the word hobby is being misused. But I will bet every business started with someone tinkering in a shop somewhere.

Be careful when you cut the ends off like that air is lost and any lost air affects suction. Those plates are not exact fits in the slots. Just my thoughts.

Way to go. Glad you had fun and picked up a few dollars doing it.

Ray you can disagree and I will disagree with you and my reason is you did not want it to be a business nor did your friends If you want to take your hobby to the next level of a business then you do what it takes to get it there. Half hearted attempts will get you 0. They made a half hearted attempt plain and simple. Did not want to do the work and blame government and anything else. How did Gates get started. How many businesses started out of a basement or a garage because they were driven. This hobby is not self sustaining enough to become a full time business. There is not enough customers to make it a business. Yes people like Kevin can make some money doing it but it is not sustainable. Those customers coming back over and over far and few between. He is constantly looking for new customers. I use him as an example because he is the only one here who has made an attempt at a business and that said he is a one man business. I stand by my thought every business was at one time someone's hobby. When I said I did scrolling and had a business it was similar to what Kevin is doing now but I knew and could see over the years the decline for the work we do. Not even close today what it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. I had a good job that I did like to go to every day but did enough scrolling on the side that I was forced to call it a business. yes it was work and yes the gov. had their hands in the till but that is life. I got out because as I said it was not sustainable and if someone says it is they are kidding themselves. yes you can make a few dollars if you push yourself. It will not fall in your lap.

What are you talking about?? Every business starts as a hobby. I took scrolling and made it into a business at one time. I doubt that astute person. Have another discussion with them.

I use those gates and at one time was suppose to change to metal ones but never did. What happens is dirt and debris get caught in the corners causing them to not close all the way. You need to clean them out with a thin piece of wire now and then. As far as not sliding well use some dry silicon lubricant and they will close easily. Same stuff you put on tablesaw mechanics. Not the most efficient set-up on the run of that system for sure. Alot of suction power lost.

That organization never lived up to its potential and wishes. Never joined. Hype about nothing in my opinion.

Very easy to check. Lay a machinist square next to the blade and move the arm up and down and watch the space between. Also take a block of wood and draw a straight line on it and place behind the blade and again move the arm up and down and watch the blade. These are the basic checks for all saws. If they are out move the table or move the set screws. Most likely the table got bumped. Most tables pivot on a single point so easy to move out of alignment.

Wonder what it actually was built to cut?? Anyone with an idea??

Kevin I have always used screws on my projects and never had a return or breakage that I know of. Any droppage usually means broken pieces other than where they are attached. I have seen this because I have done it and had accidents at a show. Once you start sawing fret holes in a piece you weaken that wood. The idea when using screws is to have enough material to screw into and to use the right screws. Also drill for pilot holes. That piece needs to sit flat on the base. Just can not see how it would break. As I said fret work is not designed to be dropped. Apply pressure when gluing is not easy and you do need to apply some pressure to take out air pockets. You can look at all my projects I have shown and if it has an upright piece it has been screwed in some fashion. You make many small clocks like I do hat have only 2 small areas to glue so what is the difference between glue and screws. Same holding power. Your examples http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/32330-several-new-clocks-made/ I had shown all my latest projects back in Dec that I made and everyone has screws in them and they are just as strong if not stronger than any glue. Just look at all thread that have the words projects in them and my name. http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/forum/28-bragging-rights/?page=19 I always finish my projects before I assemble them becuae it is so much easier when flat. If I did that then there is no way to get a good glue bond because the oil would prohibit that. But screwing them no problem with bonding at all and as I said I would stand behind the use of screws in a project if done right any day of the week. Mortise and tenon work is used in woodworking all the time but slots and tabs to me are a waste of time and never used them. One other thing I have noticed as difference from me and you is that I make my bases wider than you on my projects so tipping over is virtually impossible. Plus visual reference in my eye tells me how wide to make them. I have no standard meassurements and most plans are used as suggestions and not as solid need to follow ideas.

Just a note here and take it for what it is worth. A drill press is designed for downward pressure and not sideward pressure. Some drill presses use cheap bearings that do not have the radial pressure loads ratings as some of the better ones do. You can damage the quill and chuck if doing alot of hard sanding on a drill press. This can do one of two things. Loosen the chuck from the quill and it can fall out and cause harm or you can bend the shaft and it does not drill accurately again. If you are going to use a drill press as a spindle sander. Note that the sanding is done on one section of the paper as with an oscillating spindle sander it moves up and down the paper. Also keep the chuck at its highest point in the quill and do not lower it to sand. Move the table up and down, not the chuck. As I said just some tidbits. Do as you wish.

It is just the designers way of making the pattern. I never use the tab and slot system. I always screw the piece to the base. I would do the same with that cross. Now there are times I will increase the bottom of the piece so that there is enough material to screw into. To sit there and try to fit a tab into a slot and then if the slot is slightly large you see the edge of the slot is not a good look. Why would you want to take it apart?? if you ship it in 2 pieces and the wood swells and does not fit you have a problem from the customer. One other thing. I never glue my piece to the base for two reasons. One is movement because of different grain direction and if I need to replace the piece because of breakage I can still reuse the base.