kmmcrafts

Only time I really raise a price on custom work is if it's a personalized item.. I can use the photos from this custom order and put them on my web site to offer another item as a made to order item.. this way i don't have to keep it in stock.. Some custom work I do charge extra for.. typically $10-15 for the design / art work for the pattern.. personalized work that cannot be sold to others I charge up front.. with no refunds..

Custom order from my web site last week .. Customer actually ordered a few clocks.. but this one was a custom design..

Very nice!!..

Maybe the type of cutting I do.. but I personally never found any improvement in using the packing tape for blade lubrication or cooling it from burning my projects.. I cut a lot of cherry which burns pretty easy too.. I no longer use clear tape.. just the plain ol shelve liner and the pattern.. I do use self adhesive shipping labels to print my patterns onto.. maybe that stuff is doing the same thing as the packing tape?

Some of the dollar tree stores do have it..but not all of them.. I have one store here that carry's it.. It's in a smaller roll.. and if memory serves me correct it's actually cheaper at Walmart.. .

Maybe just me and it'is hard to tell without actually being there and seeing / hearing it in person.. BUT... that blade at a certain SPM setting.. ( I think it was around 9? ) looked to me to be flexing which in my mind.. is a tension issue.. I had been having problems with my saw for quite some time.. and I honestly don't know what I did.. but I was playing around with the tension bolt etc at the back of the saw.. and this had went away.. while your vibration at the certain speeds is a lot like how mine is.. I know we don't have the exact same model saw.. as mine is a older 26" Ultra.. but the tension design part of it is still the same.. One other thing to note.. my blade wouldn't fit in the ( bottom feeding ) upper blade holder without raising it up a little.. as if the blade was too long. Whatever I did at the back of the saw.. made the blade fit perfectly.. and it also set me up with slightly more tension. which at first I thought was probably too much.. I was worried I might snap blades but gave it a go to see what happen.. well... I stopped snapping blades and the blade flexing went away too.. Seems like a lot more tension on the blade than what I always did on my DeWalt.. but I'm not going to loosen it if it's working now.. LOL Might not be the same issues with your saw. Had I bought my saw new.. I might have given up as well.. especially the amount of money one cost... they are a lot different than the DeWalt.. and I been using the DeWalt since 2009 until I got the first Hawk last oct. I just keep playing around with it.. tweeking things until I've had enough.. then use the DeWalt for a while.. been a frustrating at times but adventure for sure... I love it for cutting thin wood and stack cutting 4-5 1/8" BBply.. but not yet sold on using it for solid hardwoods yet.. though I haven't used it on hard woods since I've made this adjustment and more blade tension.. whatever it was I did, LOL... Anyway, to me.. the video makes it look like a tension issue.. May not be..just saying what I think I am seeing.

Seen a brand new EX-16 on ebay still boxed.. price is $550.. Not sure what a new one cost.. but the new King one is $599.. just my opinion... but I'd pay $50 more and have the option to return it.. or if nothing more.. for the warranty.. If they put that one on ebay down a bit more.. it could be an awesome deal..

I agree with Len... Get permission from the head of their legal department.. never trust an employee.. as they might just say " Oh there is no problem with it.. I work here and it's okay they don't care"

Sorry to hear about this with the second saw.. I thought all was good with this one.. Is this noise and vibration at all speeds? My saw does a Honorable loud noise and vibration at top speed.. ( sounds like something is hitting the connecting rod ) actually does it from around 7/8 of the way up and above.. then there is one spot on the lower end that vibrates pretty good but no noise... My old Hawk done the same thing but I loosened up all the bolts and did some adjustments and got it about as smooth as my DeWalt through all the speeds... just can't seem to do anything with my newer saw..other than cut at the lower speed just before it gets to that one area... Just wondering if my issues are the same as yours.. since I bought mine used.. but still new in the box.. who knows how many times that saw box was kicked around this guys shop over the last 20 years.. I keep following your post about this as maybe whatever it is with yours is the same issue with mine.. while not the same saw.. it still might be something for me to check.. It's usable and cuts square.. just can't cut in those couple speed ranges..

Do you think the same company makes the new seyco saw? and of coarse Seyco has their hands in the specs and quality... Think I would stick with high end saws such as Hawk or Hegner.. just don't see much added benefit to one of these over the much cheaper Dewalt.. unless you needed the tilting head.. If I were to buy a new Dewalt.. and was looking for longevity.. I'd buy it and take it apart.. clean out their grease and fill them up with synthetic grease.. I think one would last a good amount of time doing this.

They can be purchased at most any office supply store...however kind of pricey there.. I buy packs of 500 or 1000 from a eBay seller.. while a big chunk of money up front,, way cheaper than small amounts at a office supply store.. I also use the shelf liner.. put it down on the wood... print the pattern on the label paper.. peel and stick to the shelf liner that is already been placed into the wood.. I like this method over the spray glues etc as there is a lot of mess around the spray glues from over sprays.. This is simple and clean..

Thanks for all the comments.. He really loved the clock and took it out in the shop to all his workers to show it off..

I use full sheet shipping labels..unless it's a large pattern then I use 3M 77

Friend of mine has had a 57 Chevy ever since high school... well a couple years ago another friend from school who owns a local body shop in town bought it and redone the whole car and updated it with all modern power train etc.. anyway.. he just finished it two weeks ago.. I stopped into his shop yesterday to order some parts for a project I am working on.. today my parts are supposed to come in.. so last night I went out in the shop and made this desk clock for him to put on his desk at the shop. Cut this from 5/8" Cherry.. will see if he likes it later today when i go to pick up the parts.

That is supper awesome!! Do you use a zero clearance table for these? I have mixed feeling on the Hawks slot cutout in the table.. on one hand I like it as it lets the blade move for easier bottom feeding.. but on the other hand I feel it's a problem with doing some fragile fretwork too.. I can't imagine doing this type of thing without having some sort of zero clearance.. Anyway.. nice work as always

Yeah, you'll also probably want to replace the bushings.. I just order my parts last month.. I ordered everything bearing bushing wise and also a blade clamp.. I think my lower one is spreading out wider.. as I had been starting to get some blade slippage.. I believe the cost for all was around $160-170.. not cheap really.. which is why I stress.. preventative maintenance.. I probably didn't need the new bearings and bushings for the front half of the saw.. because I've taken it apart a few times just to clean out old grease and re- grease it up.. no noise or noticeable wear there.. But figure since I was ordering parts I'd pay shipping just once.. Back part of the saw was quite worn when i took it apart years ago.. and since I didn't have the parts I just greased it and put it together.. held up a lot longer than I though it would.. but then the synthetic grease is awesome stuff too..

Yes I did buy my saw new back in 2009.. I didn't do a whole lot of cutting with it at first.. ( more of a hobbyist ) so the first rebuild was 5 years after I got it.... well actually it wasn't a full rebuild... I just took it apart and greased it up.. Then a year later I only rebuilt the front portion of the saw.. and have taken it apart a couple more times just to re-grease since then.. The bearings at the back of the saw is original other than the one time I added grease to it.. Now.. that back portion is getting really noisy.. I have ordered all new sleeves and bearings for the whole saw.. and plan to do a full rebuild very soon... was going to do it this week or early next week.. but today I got slammed with a couple good sized orders off my website.. so now I will be working making saw dust instead..

I played around with my blade inserting in the clamp at different angles a little today.. If I put the blade as far toward the front of the clamp as I can go.. it makes my saw cut much like my DeWalt does with the clamp inserted in the first position ( less aggressive )... I haven't tried it in the 2nd position yet.. and don't really think I will need to.. I find that cutting in the 2nd position is too aggressive for most of my work other than cutting out large un-detailed areas... so your assumption of how it's entered into the clamp in fact does change the angle.. I didn't think it would work based off of doing this same exact test on my older Hawk.. but it has the round ( barrel ) style clamps and they do move.. so it never made much difference on that saw last year when I did this test.. though that saw does cut a little more aggressive than my newer one in the 1st position.. Thank you for bringing this up as it gave me the opportunity to try this on my newer saw.. I cut out several stack cuts of ornaments today with no issues with the Hawk.. actually think it my cut faster than the DeWalt now simply because I can whip right around the sharp corners with the Hawk without stopping and backing out some before a sharp corner..

I've wondered about this blade positioning in these clamps myself.. if it really changes the angle or not.. since ( mine anyway ) they rest in a rounded out spot in the lower arm and the holder has a round pin.. I wondered if that would even make a difference as the holder is free to rotate some.. which once you put tension on it somewhat automatically lines up some.. but maybe not enough to matter.. Not sure if your newer saws are set up similar or not.. I may do some experimenting today with this.. as I'd like to get a more firm mount on the blade and maybe some more forward movement.. something needs change or I will be selling a Hawk.. I can stack cut and cut out around 10 + or - ( depending of coarse how detailed they may be ) a couple ornaments per hour on my DeWalt.. but I'm lucky to get half that many with the Hawk.. and for me.. time is money.. especially during the holidays.. I either need to get this cutting faster or do another rebuild of the DeWalt before I get too busy.. LOL

I might try this one.. I assume you just dip it in the mix? similar to Danish oil? I really like the ease of use of Danish oil.. just it has a strong smell for several days after.. even though it's dry it still smells for a good week or more after applying. so it's not real practical for items that I need to mail out within a few days..

I've used shellac before and just don't remember really being impressed.. but.. maybe I need to give it another go.. On portrait type work i use the water based Polyurethane spray in the blue can.. just doing desk clocks and Christmas ornaments in all the fretwork cutouts.. it's hard to get a nice even coat of spray.. Ornaments aren't quite so bad as they aren't 1/2 to 3/4 thick.. I have spray equipment so maybe a cheaper option would be to buy quarts and spray with my spray gun..

.. Remember I said it smells like nuts roasting.. but not sure what kind LOL.. Also if you do this.. you'll want to cut the board to size after you bake it... I made the mistake of cutting to size.. not thinking I would be taking the moisture out and shrinking the board.. I was able to resize the other piece to make it work still.. but it shrunk about a good 3/16 - 1/4 inch

What is a good finish for hardwoods and plywoods that is fairly quick drying and easy to apply? Many times online customers buy today and want the item yesterday, LOL ... and many times what slows the whole process down in the finish.. Danish oil has a smell and takes a few days to dry out good.. and can sell for several days.. especially if it is packaged up.. customers might get high off the fumes when they open up the box, LOL.. some people ( including me ) are somewhat sensitive to smells.. This is a big reason I started using my homemade mix of mineral oil and beeswax.. no smells apply with a brush is the biggest issue with it because sometimes it's kind of difficult getting it into the smaller fret areas.. I use a hair dryer / heat gun to sort of melt my mix down into the pores of the wood.. it looks good for a real long time and the wax gives a sheen and smooth feel.. BUT.. it can be time consuming to apply.. I mainly use Danish oil on items that are not in a rush.. that said.. the Danish oil doesn't look as good either.. something about that wax melted into the wood pores.. Anyway, I've never really got into experimenting with different finishes and thought maybe others have something easy to apply that would look nice and dry fast.. no smells or at least strong smells.. also would need to be able to dry decent in colder winter weather.. Any advice? or keep doing my mineral oil and beeswax mix? Thanks for any replies, Kevin

How about buying or making your own thermal modified wood? I haven't done it in a while but at one time I needed a piece of dark colored wood.. walnut was my top choice but I couldn't find a piece that would suit for the project at hand... so what I did was use a piece of Poplar.. put it in the oven and baked on the lowest setting ( 250 I think ) about 3-4 hours later a my Poplar looked close to the color of a lighter colored walnut.. and darkened up quite a lot once I put my oil finish on it.. Be warned though.. baking wood can smell like roasting some sort of nuts.. not quite sure what kind..but it had a funny smell anyway.. and stuck around the house for a day or two.. I did this in the winter time so the house was shut up.. One of the local lumber mills does this to sell in their store.. they might ship out some to whoever might want to buy some.. you can check them out at. LL Johnson Lumber

I wonder if this could have something to do with the optional oil / water cooling system Hawk offered.. anyone have any experience with those or seen one? I've only seen it in the paperwork / advertisements that was in my saws packaging..