kmmcrafts

Not sure where you're located... but if the deal falls through and you're close to Michigan.. I'm going to be selling a Hawk 220VS for about $200 and also a DeWalt 788 for about $200.. I'll sell the Hawk a lot cheaper but to do that i'll be taking the upgraded parts off for spares for my other Hawks.. I have about $150 in upgrades into that saw..

The direction you cut plays a big role in how the project comes out.. especially doing double bevel inlay work..

I cut counter clockwise most times but do cut both directions.. especially when I drill a whole in the wrong spot and clockwise would hold the piece better from breaking, LOL.. I'm not sure why I chose counter clockwise because I used to always cut clockwise when I first started cutting.. But when I first started I was also using Olsen blades.. Then I started using FD-UR blades for a lot of years.. and still do at times... but also use Pegas MG a lot ore now too..

I like red oak looks but I also don’t like the smell of it. The bland look is really an opinion and dependent on project at hand. Most of my clocks that I make from oak.. by the time I do all the cutouts there’s not enough wood to really see the wood grain anyway. I do agree with this on larger portrait type designs and some of the clock designs. Oak is my last go to type wood, much rather work with cherry as that is my go to wood. Love working with walnut too but I don’t think it looks good but only on certain projects as the darker color doesn’t always show the details as good. But it’s all personal preferences and options.

This is what I look for when buying certain types of wood.. mainly Red or White Oak.. I won't even buy unless it's quarter sawn. I have a lot of trouble with cupping etc otherwise.. Might just be the supplier I get it from but.. many times the wood cupped before I even get it home.. Only oak I use that isn't quarter sawn is free stuff that I get from my brothers mill.. which I get quite a bit of.. but i feel if it cups or warps.. it was free so I either use for other projects or campfire wood.. LOL.. But if I'm paying for wood... it better be good stuff..

Yeah, those oil soaked rags can combust . I live in the boonies and have a burn barrel. I burn my paper towels as soon as I’m done with them so I expect to have a fire every time I do a batch of project finishings. This way I’m not setting the trash can on fire or the garage truck.

I'm probably the wrong person to answer that, LOL since I myself have been asking a lot of questions about finishes.. If I were you.. since you have the stuff to mix up your finish I'd go for that.. and see whether you like it or not.. Danish oil is basically the same thing with polyurethane added to it.. In fact I've read that some add poly to their homemade mix of BLO.. If you don't like the BLO mix.. you probably won't really like Danish oil either.. since it is very similar.. I just posted this thread the other day.. JT responded with some really good info to think about.. There was another thread within the last year I think that I did where JT posted about the different oils and mixes that can be done.. Think he even mentioned about adding in the Poly to the mix of BLO.. Anyway maybe read what JT said here.. Think it's probably one of those things where is a matter of preference..

By Amazon prices it's about $27 a gallon if you buy the BLO and Mineral Spirits by the gallon and mix 50/50 to make 2 gallon.. so in the long run it's cheaper I suppose.. but more expensive than the Danish oil for me since I only have to pay $22 gal. locally..

If you do the mix.. I suggest getting a metal paint can to keep the mix in.. I used a old windshield washer fluid plastic jug and it started to deform the jug after a couple weeks.. I don't remember the cost of the BLO mix I made but I do think it's slightly cheaper.. however I think the Watco Danish oil with the poly in the mix is a better overall finish for a better protection.. Just my opinion..

Watco s a brand and they sell different types of oil finishes.. but most commonly is the Danish oil.. Is this the stuff you're talking about? https://www.amazon.com/RUST-OLEUM-242217-Gallon-Natural-Danish/dp/B000OUFB46/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1550967201&sr=8-7&keywords=watco+danish+oil This is what I use.. But.. I'm not sure why it's so pricey online.. I pay $21 a gallon locally..

I've always heard 50/50 as well.. but I've also heard to do different ratios too I was thinking the different ratios gave a different luster type... I may be wrong on that though.. I did do a trial run of the 50/50 mix last year and it worked well.. but.. I personally like Danish oil because of the polyurethane in the mix for a little better protection.. And.. I didn't like the smell of the mix.. though I don't know what kind of Mineral Spirits I had... as I just bought a thing of it.. Believe it was low odor but I've seen stuff that said odorless..

I cut for about an hour and I didn’t have any issues with the tubes or anything. Didn’t get much cut because I was trying to practice top feeding the blade. But after several attempts near quitting time I just started bottom feeding. Lol Here is what I cut. (Picture from earlier as I got it mostly all cut now. )

I have a storage deal almost like this that I keep in my Hawk.. since I have the Hawks right next to each other I'm able to just grab from the holder whatever saw I'm using.. and I have like 50 tubes.. none would fit the base on the Excalibur.. so I ordered these.. I did see packs of 25, 50 etc.. cheap too.. I only really needed about 4.. for this saw.. but only seen in packs of 10.. This is a great tip for those that are looking though..

I ended up searching eBay and found these 10 tubes for less than $5 Now just need to do some cutting on this saw to see if they are going to rattle or anything that might be annoying, lol. If all goes well I think this saw will be going camping with me this summer Edit to add a link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pack-16-x-150-mm-Clear-Plastic-Test-Tubes-with-Blue-Caps-6-Inch/381314545375?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Yeah me too but poly is all I used at first.. then JT mentioned using the lacquer and I do like the look a little better.. I'll probably end up using poly on these since I bought several cans last year as they say lacquer... but they aren't really they smell and finish like poly. it was a store brand ( do it best I think ) and it's not what it says it is.. LOL But I'm going to use them up..

Yeah, I can get that.. I did use it a long long time ago on something.. It's hard to find it but I have seen it.. Forgot about that stuff.. Hmm.. maybe I'll try some of that again on one of these.. Planning to dip at least two of them today..maybe I'll save out one of the walnut ones and try Deft..

Thank you JT for the response.. I have in the past dipped with danish oil and then sprayed lacquer over a few weeks later... But I thought I had ready not to do this.. so I stopped doing that.. always thought they came out great.. but when I thought I'd read about not top coating it.. I thought maybe it was a bad thing for long term for some reason... So that said.. I believe I'll use my tried and true Danish oil and then top coat in a few weeks.. Yes it's a wall clock.. I made a few last year testing to see how they might sell.. and they do great... maybe better than the deck clocks because I only have a few wall clocks and I sold quite a few last year with the 15 or so I had.. vrs. the 120 ish desk clocks I have.. so.. I thought I'd add more this year.. nice thing about the wall clocks is I can stack cut and use a backer.. Guess I could with some of the desk clocks to but I seen someone a few years ago doing that and they really didn't look all that great.. Just being production minded here, LOL Wanting to go with solid wood ones so I can carve out the back for the movement on the ones I use a movement on so they hang closer to the wall.. just a nicer look.. I'll switch over the current ones I sell to this method too as most are sold out from last year anyway.. Again, Thank you,

What advantage does BLO vrs the mix 50/50 BLO and mineral spirits have? Dry times? I did the mix thing last year and I liked the results.. I top coated with lacquer after a couple weeks drying time.. The BLO without the mix seemed quite thick to use by dipping the piece in.. Maybe better as a rubbing / polishing type finish? I've read two things about BLO or at least the mix. and on one hand some say it needs a top coat.. while others have said it has drying agents in it if it's BLO.. If it's just LO then it does need a top coat? I realize a lot of mis-information out there that people spread because they are mis informed in the first place.. seems to be a lot of confusion with these oil finishes as to whether they are a finish or just an enhancer before finishing.. This is why I haven't really messed to much with finishing.. because I sell my items and I don't want someones purchase to look like crap in a year or two because the oil dried out or whatever..

Doing something a little different from my normal. I’m stepping up a notch with my clocks. Normally I use plywood backers but I don’t like the cheap looks the plywood edges give. So I’m working with real walnut and cherry here. Stack cut 3 of these from BBply with the solid wood backer. I have a 2-3/4 ( I think ) clock insert that I’ll be drilling out yet for. Picture with just the clock resting on the top to give visual idea. Anyway, I'm hoping for a rich deep looking sheen but not glossy. Was thinking about BLO mix and top coat with lacquer. Or Danish oil as I’m out of BLO at the moment. Anyway I’m not much of a finisher other than Danish oil or mineral oil and beeswax mix. Which the beeswax mix does give the finish look like I want. But I’m not sure really how durable a finish that is. What’s tung oil? Is it a oil similar to the BLO? Since I’ll likely have to buy whatever I finish with except the Danish oil or beeswax mix. Maybe time to experiment with something else. Anyway throw me some ideas.

By looking at the website and reading it over, I'd say they are pushing the engraving business more than the RBI side of things.. Turn around time on engraved parts says 10 days.. at least they care enough to put that info in there.. Another thing, the website looks much more professional and kept updated as opposed to the woodworking site where they have been saying pictures coming soon for 2-3 years now, LOL.. I'm guessing the woodworking business is slow for them.. so they picked up the other two business's.. They also have a pop corn popper business.

Yeah they seem to have their hands in a lot of different things.. How do you find this stuff out? They also do machining to make aluminum valve covers for engines etc if I remember correctly? Edit: that's what that page you link to was.. I thought it was stickers..

A lot of these reasons is exactly why I bought the Hawk in the first place.. and.. why I haven't canceled out my order.. I've run a few different business's and many times the struggle is real... I do wish they could communicate a little better than they do.. but.. that said.. they are always there to answer the phone with any questions one has.. not something you typically get with Excalibur or most any other brands. Typically calling Dewalt you'll get a recording to press 1 for English or... you get the idea there.. When you call Bushton you get a person.. and that person is part owner.. I might have a bigger attitude about this if I was in dire need of the saw.. I primarily went with a Hawk because they are small business... They do make a great saw... They are made in the USA.. while not very part is USA but they are a USA company trying to make it in this tough world.. I have the New Excalibur and with the price of the Hawk.. I could have bought 2 more of those.. But I was also trying to do my small part to make America Great Again, LOL... Now... it's up to Hawk to do their part and deliver on a awesome saw that'll put a smile on my face... We'll see how it all pans out in the end.. When I talked to Nicole.. the she said they was all pulling their hair out just trying to deliver on a " precision" scroll saw that the customers have ordered..They have the parts that they could have used and sent out the saw.. but they are .003 off and caused the saw to vibrate a little more than it should.. they decided to hold off sending them out to deliver a quality saw.. At least it seems like they are not trying to push off a less than perfect saw.. Those other companies would probably saw send them out.. they work.. and we'll deal with it later as we need our production numbers for our bonus, LOL Just my .02 and why I decided to wait yet another 3 weeks or so and see where that lands me..

Yes the credit card is charged immediately when you order online, I assume the same way when you call the order in.. My opinion is they should say something about a timeline on the web page about whether the saws are in stock or back ordered etc.. but they have a pretty poor website.. They have items on there that have been saying " Pictures coming soon " for the 2-3 years I've been dealing with them.. LOL

Yeah, I agree.. not many people pay for stuff before they bring it home.. Shopping 12 years ago for the last car I bought. the dealer kept taking about the car only being $250 a month.. I asked how much the car was.. I don't honestly think he knew the price.. he had to get a manager to give me the actual cash price for the car.. That there tells you not many people actually buy their cars..

It’s real difficult to “really” know what a business is wealthy or not. A lot of people talked about my brothers lumber mill when one of his buildings burned down. The news reported that the business did 2 million in revenue a year. People thought my brother was a rich guy in disguise,. Yeah he runs 2 million in revenue through the business but most of that goes right through his hands and into expenses to keep the place running. Same deal with my crafts I sell, family and friends hear how much I did in sales and they think I’m making bank, but after expenses I’m actually almost making minimum wage earnings with two times the hours lol.