kmmcrafts

Well since I’m out here working on these a bit and had my camera handy. Here is a picture of the coasters I’m making. Just need to sand the pointed edges off slightly to make them feel better in your hand. Then I’ll probably be dipping them into blo and top coating in a few weeks. I have another batch just like this one ready to glue up and make as I’m making two sets. Can’t make anymore that’ll match anyway as I’m outta scraps of these type of lumber.

Thanks JT, This box is what I was thinking of doing with just the dowels.... I sometimes wish I'd have kept my lathe.. I could see many great uses for it now that I sold it last summer, LOL I had it for several years and just never used it.. The marbles been rolling around in my head with lot of ideas.. I don't know that I'll make any more or not though.. But a lot of inlay ideas have came to mind.. We'll see what my brother-inlaws reaction and what he says about them and maybe I'll give more of them a try.. if this set turns out, LOL

Well I just looked and there doesn't seem to be much patterns being posted anymore... I don't do facebook much and am not active at all on there.. I remember several groups having a lot of nice patterns but I don't see them anymore.. maybe they closed the groups down.. maybe they took me off it because I wasn't active...I don't know.. This is a list of the groups I'm a member of... but like I said.. I don't do FB much anymore.. and I don't seem to find the patterns I recall them having.. maybe looking in the wrong spots.. Oh.. the mature one is loaded with patterns.. but if you're easily offended... don't go there, LOL Some good patterns in there but also some that are a little more than I want to see.. I just look at it with my eyes closed.. All things Scrollsaw and Bandsaw Scroll Saw Squawk Wooden You Like To Know Scroll Saw Pattern Cafe - Talk about anything scroll saw Mike's Scroll Saw Patterns Scroll Saw & Wood Projects The Elite Scrollers Scroll Saw Patterns and works Scroll saw portrait Design mature patterns for Scroll sawing Free Scroll Saw Patterns

I was trying to think if what to put on the bottom.. cork never crossed my mind.. I'll have to see if I can find some.. as I didn't really like the idea of just leaving it wood.. When you make them do you route out a spot on them for the moister to go to so it doesn't run over the edges? Was looking on etsy and most all I seen was plain ol flat on top and nothing on the bottom to keep it from scratching the surface it sets on.. I'm thinking I might make a sort of box or something to be a home for them on the table.. just some simple little holder.. maybe a square shape with just some dowels on the corners.. any ideas on that,? LOL.. As for the finish.. I was kinda thinking about just dipping them in Danish oil to make the wood grain pop.. but not sure about top coating with the water based stuff if I do that.. but I do want to make the grain pop like the danish oil or the 50/50 BLO and Mineral Spirits.. I may need to buy some oil based poly to do that I'm thinking..

Also quite a few Facebook groups with a lot of free pattern designs..

Awesome!! That is what I have.. Guess I don't need to go out and buy anything special.. I didn't know this would be decent stuff for the coasters..

Good luck Iggy... Do you still sell ornaments or did that not work out well for you? Just thinking if you need inventory.. cutting things that can be stack cut is the way to get a lot of inventory fairly quick..

Come to think of it.. mine didn't either at first.. I've had a rattle back there for some time and figured it was bearings again.. maybe that screw has worked loose and there is no tension or drag whatsoever on that.. Hmm.. I haven't used my DeWalt in about a year now.. actually close to 2 years but did use it last year for the holiday orders that came in.. because I was more comfortable with that saw... as the Hawks and Excalibur was new to me and just didn't have the "feel" for them yet.. I bought all new bearing and sleeves for the whole saw.. and had big plans to rebuild the DeWalt this summer.... guess what? Haven't even touched it, LOL..

Same one you have.. and yeah sometimes you do have to lift it a little.. sometimes not.. Maybe you need more tension.. I believe there is different spots to put the spring for more or less tension on it.. I know I do have to push down on the clamp area when installing my blade because it doesn't always drop all the way back down for a good blade tension..

I'll see about getting some pictures once I figure out the finish and whatnot.. I've never made these before and now that I have.. I'm thinking already I wish I had done it differently.. These are really nothing too special.. just gluing up some scraps and planing them down to about 3/8' thick and cut at a 4" x 4" square. but like I said.. now I wish I had done something else to them.. as I was thinking about the condensation pooling up and running off the sides.. which kinda defeats the purpose, LOL.. I wish I had made them in some way to have a recessed area to the condensation doesn't roll off the edges.. Maybe a excuse to get a router that I've been wanting... They are being made for my brother inlaw. and so no big deal.. he likes fancy looks and stuff... I'll need to tell him they cost about $50 each so he thinks it's high end stuff.. as that is the way he is, LOL.. But yet.. he took a bunch of unfinished scrap circle shapes several years ago that was scraps from a round box I made.. he just loved the look of that walnut wood.. even though there was a hole in the edge where I drilled my pilot hole, LOL... so when he sees these.. he wont care too much how they turn out, LOL

Water based urethane? Is this the stuff in the blue color can? I have a quart of that I purchased a while back.. but haven't used it yet.. have used the same stuff in the past in spay can form.. and like it for my portraits.. which is why I bought it by the quart because I have spray equipment.. If that is what you are talking about.. Maybe I don't need to buy anything special..

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.. I guess I'll have to pick-up some of the spar urethane..

I don't know that Iggy would like a Delta.. I know they are basically the same saw.. BUT... that locking pin deal to hold up the arm is a rather pain in the behind for a person doing production cutting.. and used to the Dewalt style. He has the easy lift set up on the DeWalt as I do.. which makes the arm pop up when the blade is released.. He also just bought the dust deputy dust collection set-up which may work on the Delta.. I realize the Delta is slightly cheaper but if you plan and time your purchase right.. the DeWalt goes on sale a couple of times a year for $399...with stand and light.. and from a business standpoint.. replacing one every year is just a tax write off anyway.. and if you just plan to replace every year. well it just becomes part of the business as long as you're expecting to do this.. and specifically put that into the business budget.. Usually what happens is people spend all their profit.. and when the saw quits they get all bent outta shape about it.. same for any tool in the shop... they don't last forever without needing repairs or replaced.. The 5 year warranty doesn't make it last any longer.. and the experience I see others have with the service center repairs.. well that's a hassle too.. just easier to plan a yearly saw and let someone else deal with the old worn saw..

I made some drink coasters from walnut, Cherry, and a exotic wood that I forgot the name of red colored anyway. Just started thinking today about putting my finish on and got to thinking about how some drinks sweat etc and wondered what would be a decent finish for coasters? I was going to just dip them in Danish oil. But maybe I should wipe them down with the butcher block oil that I have. Not sure what that is made of but on my cutting board I made that finish makes the water bead up on it like a fresh waxed car lol. Maybe a good choice? Like the ease of just dipping in the Danish oil though. I’m lazy like that sometimes

Yeah, i joined it years ago.. then it was so interesting to me that I forgot I joined it... when i joined it again a few month ago.. and guess what.. I forgot I joined it until this post surfaced again... and now I forgot my login stuff again Grrr. I guess i'm just not going to join.. I find this to be true with the majority of scroll saw sites.. I'm a member of probably most of them including the FB groups... but for some reason I just can't get interested in the other places.. There is a crap ton of groups on FB.. and I ended up leaving most of them because it seemed as though many of the ones that like to post messages on them would post the same message on about 20 of the groups.. so I'd get the same questions in my feed 20 times.. then count about 10 others that did the same thing and almost on a daily basis.. Maybe I just get annoyed easily with stuff like that.. Probably why I'm not a very big fan of FB.. Except the marketplace... that to me is getting to be like craiglist on steroids LOL..

Beautiful work on all of those.. you've been busy alright.. I've had things in shops ( mostly local but a few out of state ) and found that the items come up missing or damaged etc etc.. There also use to be some scams of people claiming to be a store and wanting you to mail them samples etc.. I got to where I was asking for proof of store ownership.. as in license numbers and whatnot.. Now I don't fuss with the hassles of doing that anymore.. I wish you much luck.. maybe Walmart will see your items in her shop and order a few thousand to put in your stores, LOL.. How long would that take to make

Nice work Brad!! I use to make dream catchers and made my own feather out of wood but never did them from that thin of wood.. I usually did them from 1/8" hardwoods.. They use to be a hot seller for a while.. but it kind of dried up a bit.. I still have a couple of them but not on my website anymore.. Maybe the market will open back up so maybe I should put the listing live again.. been a couple years since I took them down.. Ray, there are quite a few dream catcher patterns out there.. Sue Mey scrollsawartist.com has a few.. Use to be several free designs floating around out there back in the day.. not sure they are still out there or not but..

I recognize some of these names.. many of the designers I remember the most never made it to the magazines ( that I know of ) .. Steven Mercer, Sylvia, Dave Hall, Messman, Scrollzilla, woodywoodsroller, Kevin Daily, and I know there are many many more that is just a small list off the top of my head.. There is quite a few designs from some of these in the pattern vault at the scrollsawer web site.. Scrollzilla was Rick that ran the free4all site and I think if I'm not mistaken his wife was woodywoodscroller.. Dave hall always did some awesome car patterns.. we talked about Sylvia in another thread not too long ago..Kevin Daily is one who inspired me to go into business ( he probably doesn't know that ) as that is what he did for a living for quite some time... think he got burned out and got a job after about 4-5 years of it.. and haven't really seen any new works from him in several years now.. I use to get the magazines back then and still have the ones I had purchased.. I stopped my subscriptions quite a few years ago ( actually when the one went out of business think it was the one you mentioned.. I used to get two different subscriptions ) because I rarely used the designs in them.. and they got to be pretty much just a book full of advertisements... Would love to be able to get my hands on all the magazines and books my father had.. back when he was into scroll sawing the computers weren't really around... he started fter he retired and he bought a subscription and dang near every book available back then.. He started around the mid 1980's and scrolled up through early 2000's.. had all his books in file cabinets etc.. he passed in 2003 at 80 year from a heart attack in his sleep.. Step brothers ended up with his books and saw and most went to the dumpster and the saw was sold just a few years ago.. I ended up with the very first saw he had.. a old Delta 2 speed.. believe model 40-560 I still have that saw..

I use to study the pattern like Brad mentioned.. great advice he gave.. Now I have made so many projects that I just most times naturally know where to start the holes.. I guess mentally I still study the design.. just don't have to sit and do it.. Also would like to add a little about the blade as one thing wasn't mentioned.. Most people like to use a reverse tooth blade to keep the fuzzies on the back down... but if you're working on a very delicate piece.. sometimes you don't want that reverse tooth blade as the reverse teeth tend to pull up on the wood so to speak.. as you re cutting somewhat in both up and down direction.. which creates a bit more bouncing of the wood.. not bad and most times doesn't bother the work piece.. but with very fragile cuts.. sometimes best to go with a standard blade.. As for whether I drill my holes all at once really depends on the project at hand.. I typically do for most cuts.. BUT.. for those very detailed projects with a lot of holes... I like to do those in either 10 or 20 holes at a time.. WHY? because when a customer ask me how many holes are in the piece I can tell them.. you see... I put a tally mark for each set up holes I drill and when the project is finished I know just how many holes I drilled and cut.. I don't really need to do this.. but.. it's kinda fun to know exactly how many holes you drilled and cut... As someone else mentioned.. going back and forth helps you get up and move around a bit too.. When you do a portrait with 800 or so holes.. it sure is nice to drill and cut those last 10-20 holes and see a project coming to a finished piece.. I don't do many of these type projects anymore simply because they are harder to sell for the price points I need to get a decent profit from... they do sell... just not very quickly.. and stack cutting 3-5 at a time leaves you with quite a lot of inventory to move at a slow rate.. I like to make products that aren't going to be here with me for more than a year or two.. I have a few portraits in my storage that I made way back in 2007-8 that haven't really sold.. The photo below is one I did for a fund raiser for my daughters 4th grade class trip... and she is now in her second year of college actually going into her third year... stack cut 4 of these and I have this one left.. The silent auction raised $80 for this piece way back then.. Clocks and ornaments seem to move quite well for me... Ornaments being the most profitable and quickest easiest to make.. Portraits are quite profitable too as long as you stack cut them and don't mind sitting on them a few years.. Edit to add: This piece really isn't all that detailed now that I look at it.. But I remember back when i cut this... it was my first most detailed piece I had cut at that time.. One of the 4 had a big piece break out of it.. ( might be this one ) and as someone mentioned... no body really knows because they don't see the original design.. so just because a piece breaks. doesn't always make it scrap.. in some cases it does though.. I stack cut two of these 4 from solid 1/8" red oak and two was cut from BB ply.. I like to get some made from Oak as they seem to be better sellers.. but standard oak ply in 1/8" isn't very strong.. so I sandwich two oak in the center and have the top and bottom piece be the BB ply for a stronger cut.

I don't recall the name.. may have been before I got into the hobby.. I just went to look to be sure.. and my first pattern I requested to be made was dated 12/2007 so I don't think I got into the forums maybe very late 2006 or early 2007.. I had a few projects under my belt before doing the one custom request portrait that I made of a cousin who had passed away at a young age of 26.. Anyway. I'm thinking I joined up on a few of the sites about a year before making that one... Back then.. there was a lot of groups on both Yahoo and MSN.. I know MSN shut down the groups a couple of years after I got into the hobby.. Not sure... does yahoo still have the groups LOL... funny how after facebook and some of the other social media sites a lot of those groups kinda faded away.. too bad too because there was some good ones...

LOL Ray for me to fill up that drawer with 400 ornaments takes me at least a couple of hours. or... was that a week.. ..

Always feels good to get to the finishing stage.. especially if you're like me and wait until you have several to do.. I have a old dresser in the shop and I reserve one drawer for clocks, one for bases and one for ornaments.. I used to wait until the ornament drawer was full before I'd sand and dip them.. but dang.. gets tiring sanding around 400 ornaments and dipping them all etc.. it's a whole day process if I'm doing the clocks and ornaments, LOL .... so this year I just do them every now and again before the drawers get too full.. Plus if they are all new items that I haven't made.. then it's photographing day for the next day and then listing them on my web site day, LOL ..

Thanks Bob.. Yeah I showed my wife the Bacon one and the only thing she did was smile and shake her head, LOL

Yeah arpop was quite active years ago in the forums ( I believe the free4all MSN group but not certain.. I haven't seen any newer stuff from him in quite a few years.. probably should snag all the patterns in case the site goes down.. Never know when one might come to good use..

Thank you JT, I figured you'd like the squeezed for time one.. I like it quite well myself and almost modified it to not have the text.. but I left it as it was for this time.. The pattern is by ARPOP.. he has a blog with several free patterns just do a search for ARPOP and you should find it.. I've cut several of his designs over the years and have many more I want to cut.. If you have trouble finding it let me know..