kmmcrafts

Glad it's going well for you and you're happy with the Bauer... Good to hear of those that have bought them to have been happy with their purchase. Not knowing what type of clock pattern you mean? Wall hang clock, desk clock, victorian fretwork style clocks etc.. there are a lot of different patterns for clocks.. I'm sure there is probably some right her on this site in the pattern section.. Also look up Steve Good.. he has quite a few clock patterns. Sheila Landry, Sey Mey scrollsawartist, There are also many clock pattern books out there. Since you're in Michigan if you're ever near Charlotte check out LLJohnson lumber.. They have a wide selection of different lumber and plywood.. they sell tools and have a library of the scroll saw books and many other woodworking books of all kinds. What ladies you watching? I assume on YouTube? There is a lot of good videos out there to watch.. some better than others but I almost always learn something from them.. even after scrolling for years there is someone doing something a different or easier way..

I have family is San Antonio and Nixon.. I'd love to visit more often but I really couldn't move there as I'd sure miss the cold and snow.. But then again.. I never seen so many old rust free cars and trucks.. When I think about it that way Texas is right up my alley.. Then I think about all the scorpions, tranchulas, and the huge rattlesnakes, and copperheads at my father-in-laws ranch.. I remember that I really do like the cold and snow.. Oh, don't stand on any ant hills.. Those things will set you on fire... Yep, definitely like this snow and cold..

Now all you need to do is flip them over and cut with the other end to get your moneys worth from them..

Oak is the worst.. I do a fair amount of CNC carving signs where I have to paint the carved text or image.. What I do is cover it with 3-4 coats of lacquer or whatever the final top coat will be.. ( usually Lacquer ).. I then CNC route the sign with masking on ( Oramask ) and once carved I go back and do 3-4 coats of clear again before painting.. Being very careful in trying to not get paint on any surface that isn't supposed to have paint on it, LOL. Once painting is done I use my sander and sand it all down to remove any imperfections and then I re clear everything with another coat or two. Yes it's a lot of paint and a lot of work.. this is why I don't do a whole lot of CNC carving. You need to have a good seal of the wood grain, especially with Oak.. Just a few samples of painted wood I have done. I put a lot of coats on those oak cross bases when I make those.. Other things I try to stay away from oak..

I've had great results from the cheap paints as far as brushing them on.. and I think they'd do well with spraying too. My problem with them is using them in the markers.. I'm not sure what I could dilute them with to make it thin enough to "flow" well in the markers yet do good coverage onto the wood without "lifting the grain". I watched a video on YouTube where they diluted it with distilled water.. that's what I've been doing and it works "okay" at first but then the water must evaporate or something and before I know it the markers are clogged up. I need to measure how much water to add too as one time I do it it's perfect and the next it's too watered down and messes with the wood grain. I'm not sure what the paint is in the Posca markers but it covers really well and what I mix up is always hit or miss and only works like the day I mix it.. next time I pick it up it's not flowing well etc. What does one use to reduce if anyone knows? The cheap stuff I buy is water based.. the markers are also water based. I don't necessarily care if they're water base or not.. just like a good flowing paint that works well in refilling the markers so they'll work good like the original paint does that comes in the markers.. gotta be something out there, LOL.. meanwhile I'll keep experimenting with them.. I'll find something that works sooner or later.

I actually prefer 3M45 instead of the 77.. Best of all if a pattern will fit on a standard 8.5 x 11 paper then I prefer to print pattern on a full sheet shipping label.. Then it's just peel and stick to my tape or shelf liner covered board. No spray glue mess and no more clogged nozzles etc.

I believe the Posca markers are water based paints.. I know the cheap paints I was getting is water based. There is another brand markers I buy at sams club that are alcohol based I think.. they work well too. Another thing that can help reduce grain bleed etc. and helps limit soaking up a lot of paint is to put a coat of your favorite clear on first if you can. The coat of paint first also helps preserve the tips on the markers if you ever try the paint markers.. I buy both very fine, fine and also larger tipped markers.. the larger ones work well for large coverage areas.. You can also just buy empty markers on Amazon and make your own paint pens as well as replacement nibs / tips etc. Lots of videos on YouTube about refilling and the empty markers etc.. I need to research on the quality paints myself.. I want to find better paints than the stuff Walmart is selling.. and also reducing it so it flows good through the marker pumps etc.. Stuff from Walmart either won't flow well or doesn't cover well.. not really a great paint compared to what comes in the markers when new.. but I'm going to find something as good soon hopefully.

I used to hate when people painted wood.. now I do a fair amount of painting, LOL.. My experience has been.. you get what you pay for when buying the brushes.. I have some that cost quite a lot for just a small brush but wow does it do a wonderful job laying down the paint. I cannot remember the brand name off the top of my head but they were bought at Michaels I think.. and were some of the more pricey ones they had.. I'm currently learning that the paint quality also makes a huge difference.. That all said, not knowing how much painting your trying to cover.. I also found that I like paint markers better for doing fine detail work. Posca brand markers have done pretty well for me.. when the ink gets used up I learned they unscrew ( left hand threads ) and you can mix up your own paints to refill them.. this is the part where I'm learning about quality paints, LOL.. Many of them work great at first but if they sit for long the paint dries up.. and also coverage is much different from cheaper paints.. I'm looking to get some better acrylic paint brands and see what works best in these markers.

The 3M77 is widely used in the automotive industry to glue labels on cars and also in the body shop we used to use it on the back of the sanding sheets to stick them to the sanding pads of our sanders.. This was back many years ago before self adhesive sanding papers became popular. I have tried many other brands etc.. and had success with them all for patterns.. however some of the brands required the spray to be very well sprayed and still wet when applied and others worked better when they were dried a little.. Also some cans need to be shaken up good and others really don't matter if shook up or not..

I think Navy is also my most sold one.. Air Force is very close as well and maybe the top one. Done a fair amount of the Coast Guard too.. been asked many times for Marines but I've never made or sold one. They are not on the site because they're all sold out.. This time of year I take anything sold out offline then after the busy holidays I put them back up as made to order.. then over the course of the year I make inventory and put them back as in stock ready to ship. I'm sold out on about 150 items currently.

Yeah I have those patterns but something about them just didn't sit as well as the ones Sylvia ( The Saw Dust Mistress ) did, But she never did one for the Marines.. Remember Sylvia from the old MSN groups? She was quite the designer and made thousands of patterns for free on those groups back in the day. Sold a lot of those military clocks back in the day.. still get asked now and then for one but I no longer put them up on etsy.. since they started having AI scan the site for copyright / trademark stuff any words you use to describe something that could be a issue flags your item.. even if you're not violating anything they flag it and then you have to go through a whole appeals thing to get it back online.. a week later it's flagged again, LOL More hassle than it's worth even if I was a licensed seller I would be having to fight that all the time. Maybe they made the system smarter now and it remembers your listing isn't violating anything and skips it.. but still not worth it as every new listing you put up you'd have to go through the stupid process..

I found it.. not sure why I didn't notice the search function on his site before now.. but that brought it up.. Okay that's the one I'm going to make.

I seen an image of the dog with stars on it.. Thought it looked like a pattern Scott would have but I couldn't find it.. Maybe I need to message Scott. I even looked on wooden teddy bear and there were some patterns there for the other military but I didn't see the Marines one. Do you know if Scott has that puzzle pattern?

Yeah there is.. also on all the other branches.. but it's mostly for the logo.. I just didn't know if there was like some generic type thing that didn't have the logo.

Anyone know of a pattern for a small desk style clock? Or a pattern that could easily be made into a clock. Guy at my local Post Office asked me what I make since I'm in there everyday dropping off packages.. so we got to talking and he asked if I had anything Marine Corps. I thought I did but nope, I have Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard etc.. but nothing for Marines. I've done a little google searching but not finding much. Heading over to Steve Good's catalog to search right now.. But thought I'd ask here.. I'm sure there is something out there..

Yeah I have done clocks where there was no woodwork involved.. just using old car parts and turning into a clock. Wheel covers used to be a big seller.. this was back in my "craft show" days when I used to help my dad sell things back in the mid 1980's..Car valve covers.. small briggs and Stratton engine covers where the pull rope is make a clock in it.. I've never sold those type things online though as it's not in line with the whole "woodworking" theme. Never thought about billiard ball clocks.. that's pretty cool.. This was a hot seller for me for a few years.. I made the table by cutting the inner part at a angle so it would set down in like a real table would and then glued green felt in place. I think the actual ball rack pattern was done by ARPOP.. if anyone remembers the name. The table base was my idea though and also not sure if this was designed be be a clock or just a portrait.. I modify so many designs to be made as a clock that many times I forget exactly what I did to the original pattern. I also turn those puzzle patterns into ornaments.. Then the tow truck ornament was originally a CNC routed design that was about 15" tall.. but this was done on the laser... too fragile to try scrolling that one.. Most things I make are modified in some way so no two sellers making things just alike. This owl clock was originally one of those collector plates from the cherry tree.. I made into a clock.. Lastly, many times I turn an ornament design into a wall clock.. This fish clock was originally a ornament from Sue Mey..

They don't sell well like they did in the past.. they still sell though.. and most of these I just relist on etsy as made to order since I have the photos and listing it's just a matter of changing the shipping timelines from 2-3 days to 10 - 14 days and use stock images. This one was a surprise order from my website.. I thought I had taken down all of my "made to order" items a month ago.. I always miss a few and this is the third order this last week that was a surprise order.. it gets too crazy busy this time of year.. so I take those that need made offline until after the holidays.. currently pushing some orders out into next year. Don't get me wrong.. it's still been a slow year, in fact almost dead up until about 2 weeks ago.. at least on Etsy.. Amazon has been steady busy since first part of October and has kept me afloat, LOL. This year business wasn't great but still better than some years in the past.

A couple years ago I started making these puzzle patterns into a clock instead.. many others make puzzles and dog leash holders from these patterns.. I like to be different.. sold quite a few of these but not too many take up the personalized with name option as I put a hefty price on those.. since I can't stock them ready to go and it seems everyone waits until the day before they need it I found that I don't have to personalize it often with a $100 price on it rather than the $80.. Looking at buying a much larger laser.. IF I do then these would fit easily into the bigger laser and then I probably can drop the price to maybe $5 more.. Of coarse lasering the name on it would in some minds make it no longer handmade.. even though it's cut on the scroll saw.. Having to scroll the name involves changing up the pattern thus time in the designing as the portion where the name is I make 1" tall instead of 1/2 for the no name so it's not a lot of work but I do have to change up the design before adding text.

I have in more recent times just taken a photo of patterns and then email them to myself so I could get the pattern into inkscape and edit how I need.. Back in the day when I had a subscription to the magazines I didn't have a camera on my flip phone, LOL.. How much tech has changed in 20 years. LOL For me, I want electronic file anyway so the next time I need to make a copy I don't have to go through the scanning process again..

My scanner is 8.5 x 11 like a standard sheet of paper.. if the pattern I want is in the middle of this large insert you have to either fold it to get to the pattern you want or cut it out.. cutting it out you ruin the patterns that they have printed on the back side.. in some cases I'd get marks scanned in the middle of my pattern because of the lines from the pattern on the back too.. Probably was just a cheap scanner being almost 20 years ago.. Haven't tried my new scanner/printer for this purpose maybe I should. The one back in the day that I had if ANY light at all seeped past the scanner lid it'd make a large black streak where the light was at making the pattern unrecognizable in that area.. I'd have the big sheet all folded up and have to hold down on the scanner lid the best i could to keep the light out, LOL.. the frustration was enough I just search out the designer and buy it if I want it that bad..

The few times I did scan a copy this is what I did.. but in order to get the paper pattern to fit into my scanner I'd have to fold it all up in a wadded mess to get the paper small enough to fit into the scanner.. then any of the other patterns I may want to use get creases in them and from there it's always been best to get a nice clean copy by just buying and downloading the pattern from the artist. You get much cleaner lines.. Though maybe it was old scanner issues.. as I haven't done this in years.. maybe scanner quality has improved a lot since 2005 ish.. but back then I'd get all kinds of light and dark areas in my scan because the lid of the scanner is lifted up from a 1/2 thick wadded up paper you stuff in trying to make a copy, LOL

Whenever I needed to scan one of those I scanned it right into the garbage can and found the original artist online and purchased the electronic file directly from them.. Now it's a file that is always there in my computer and several back-up drives just in case one crashes I'll still have the copy.. Learned that lesson the hard way... Just as Don said.. I quit subscribing many years ago due to those patterns being all on those huge sheets and on both sides.. so if you crinkle up for a pattern on the front you essentially ruin the pattern on the back side. I live in a pretty rural secluded area and it's a good 10 - 15 miles to a scanner that I also have to pay to use.. etc.. just seems most logical to me to look up the artist online and support them with buying the electronic file.. simple for me to use anytime I need it then, plus supports that artist..

Yes mine has a separator that came with the kit from Seyco.. https://seyco.com/product/dv-10a-cyclonic-action-scroll-saw-dust-collector/ I don't get a lot of dust but what little bit does get into the bag of the vac. as fine and powdery as it is it only takes a small amount of coating in that bag to slow down the air flow through the vac. I believe that needs "some" decent flow to cool the motor.. I used to be able to tell when the bag was a bit plugged with the dust because the vac keeps getting louder and louder. I also wonder if that foam that was in the exhaust port was restricting the flow.. the foam was only lined the outer part of the canister so it was still open through the middle.. I left the foam out of it this time to see if it'll last longer or if it's going to blow dust on through it.

I'm not sure on this really.. and I'm really not certain that it's anything to do with the switch on the ones I wear out since the motors lock up is what I have the problem with.. These Metro Vacs aren't designed to be a dust extractor.. and when I take them apart there is a pack of fine dust all around back behind the motor so in reality they aren't that great for collecting the dust.. Obviously there is "some dust" getting past the bag / filter and exiting the exhaust of the vac. I'm thinking mine burn up more from heat.. This fine dust usually packs into the bag and though it looks mostly empty you can tell the vac is working harder because it gets louder. The one I got from Seyco has a different exhaust port on the back and it's packed with foam.. I'm assuming it's to work as a muffler OR filter to help screen the fine dust that does escape. But the ones I got off eBay kinda have a blower on the back where you can hook a hose to use as a blower. I had been swapping the one from the Seyco onto the replacements I've been getting.. of coarse after cleaning the foam of dust etc.. but this time I'm going to experiment with just leaving the blower exhaust port on it as it's not really any louder so long as I put a piece of hose on it that it came with. I'm going to see but I'm betting the foam is restricting it and making it run hotter.

Yeah, that is what I was always thinking too.. which is why I just stick to these cheapy metrovac 500's.. I can get a replacement motor for around $80 but so far I've been lucky enough to find new open box ones on eBay for less than $40. I get a couple years out of one so that's not horrible, LOL