Dan

Looks great DW.

Looks great Jim! Good job.

Hey Brett, keychains look great. As for ideas for Mother and Father's Day, maybe refrigerator magnets. You could even adapt the keychain idea. Just add a thin backer of different color and a glue on a small magnetic strip. I also noticed that a lot of people are selling (and apparently buying) pendants. So maybe a scroll sawn pendant of a couple of different woods. Drats! Now I've got myself thinking again. Dan

Thanks everyone. Sorry, but no pics. Forgot to take the camera. I had a 3' x 6' table in a hall for $25. If I would have been in the gym it would have cost $50 but I would have had twice as much room. The sled is about 6" long. I think people would have paid $10 but I don't think I'd raise my price if I had more to sell. There was a lot of jewelry, and stocking stuffers, and yard ornaments. Only a few woodworkers, which was a plus for me. The show was one day for 5 hours and there was a rush in the last 45 minutes. My wife did some shopping for an ornament for my sons and said I was underpricing my stuff, but in the end, we were both very happy with the sales. My wife painted a few ornaments that were made from plywood and I thought for sure those would sell, but people really loved the hardwoods. I'll try to get some pics tonight of some of the things I had left. Everything I did (with the exception of the sleds) were very simple to cut and sand.

I did my second show. This one at a local high school with over 100 vendors, no scroll saw or pens except for me. I got in late and got stuck at the end of a hall. I had great company and we did get lots of visitors. Lots of "ooohs" and "aaahs" and sold quite a bit. The best sellers of my scroll saw work were these sleds. I don't remember who made the pattern (it's from one of the scroll saw magazines from a few years back), but I made a simple modification to the runners by putting in the year. I only had 10 of them made and sold out very fast. Lots of folks said they would be back next year for a 2011 sled. Next year I'll have 30 or 40 on hand. I think I could easily have sold 30 at $8 each. Some said the price was too low. What are your thoughts? The picture was a casualty of sale. The lady buying it unintentionally flung it onto the floor. One of the runners came off. I was feeling charitable and said I would take that one home and fix it and she could pick another one. Well, when I got home, I found one of the runners broken. Oh, well. I also sold lots of hardwood ornaments. Nothing fancy, but I did spend lots of time sanding and finishing them. I think it was worth it. Best of all, we had a great time and met many friendly folks. I'll definitely do more of these shows. Dan

Hey Phil, welcome aboard. I know nothing about Porter Cable saws but there should be no side-to-side movement of the blade when running. There's usually some way to make minor adjustments in the lower blade clamp. I guess if the tension is too loose, you could get some sideways movement, also. Wish I could offer more advice. Dan

Great wok there Clayton.

Good job! I like the snowflake tree. Dan

Wow, great job Matt. I'm sure your brother will love it. And, welcome to the village. Dan

Way to go Kevin!!

Yea!!! Got my Secret Santa gift yesterday. Thanks Santa I love it. Dan

Thanks all. I made the pattern 4" in diameter but when I stacked the wood, only one piece was the full 4 inches, the rest were slightly less and those became kindling (bummer). I made the pattern in Inkscape so it is easy to resize. If you make it smaller, you may want to leave out some of the detail or it will be real fragile. An alternative, for you wood burners (or pyros) is to cut just the outline and burn the details. I hope to have the pattern posted to the library soon. I think I may make one for the Air Force then we'll see about the Army and Navy. Thanks again. Dan

I turned a EGA (eagle, globe, and anchor) pattern I made a few months ago into an ornament. Found some scraps of 1/8" and this is one of the ornaments. It still has some fuzzies but I think it came out pretty good. It looked like a lot of cutting, but it turned out to be fun. I used a number 63 drill bit to drill the blade entry holes and a FD#3 UR to cut the five stacked blanks. If I make more, I'll be more careful and hide the blade entry holes a little better. I'll post the pattern in a day or so. Dan

Awesome job!

Nice work! Love the shape.

Yes, make sure the table is square to the blade. Like Mike said, don't push to hard or the blade will bend to the side and cause the top-to-bottom of the cut to not be perpendicular. This happened to me several times (and still does occassionally). Also, use quality blades and tension them well.

The FD Ultra Reverse and Olson Precision Ground are the only two brands that seem to cut straight for me. The FD seem to last longer and Mike is super fast in shipping.

The only issue I see is when you are cutting large projects. Will the work bang into the gauge? I never trust the gauges on the machines for accurate readings. If you look at them from a slightly different angle it may appear to be aligned but may actually be off a degree or so. Just my two cents.

Thanks everyone. I always wanted to try a show but am too picky about my work. My wife talked me into it. The booth was only $25 and I made over $300. But to see the customers' faces when they gave compliments was the best part. I still want to do better and this inspired my to put more time into the finishing.

Thanks guys. Brett, I'll have to check on the pattern. I think I adapted it from someone elses pattern and turned it into a puzzle. I can't take credit for the original design. If I can find out who originally made it, I'll see if I can get permission to give it to you. I make the puzzle about 5 years ago so I need to clear a few cob webs in the attic.

Not bragging, just didn't know where to post this. Did my very first show today and had a blast. It was at a local church and all I wanted was to make my registration fee back and meet some folks. I was lucky enough to sit next to a very nice guy that made some awesome boxes. Everyone of them were perfect. We talked and exchanged knowledge and ideas and will get together. The show was successful mainly because I had fun. I mostly sold pens but did sell the bear puzzle and saw with a deer scene in it. Both are in the picture below, but the saw is hard to see. I did learn some things, also. The ornaments were cut from 1/8" plywood but were unfinished. Lots of people were amazed at the intricate work but didn't buy them. I will make them out of hardwoods for the next show. Yes, my wife is getting me into some more shows. I did make 4 3D sled ornaments and sold all 4 and some people came asking if I had any more. One reason was becasue I put the year on them. I also sold a few bookmarks. Here's a few pics of the table. Thanks for looking. Dan

Can't wait! I have my gift ready to pack. Just waiting for the address.

You can also try Rockler or PSI http://woodturning.pennstateind.com/search/index?query=funnel.

Yup, great job on the detail. Nice and clean.

You did a great job there, Kevin. Thanks for sharing.