kmmcrafts

I did think about making pocket hole brackets and gluing those to the wood before spraying any finish on it.. Gluing wood to wood is a lot stronger than these brass colored sawtooth hangers to wood, LOL. As for the easels.. never thought about buying them, I'll have to look into that. It doesn't take long to make them though. I think the 7" tall one I made took 3 minutes to cut out on the laser from 1/4" red oak.. of coarse there is another few minutes cleaning them up to spray lacquer on them too. I made them with slots in them to fit them together so they could ship flat or can be stored flat etc.. However I need to adjust the slots again as the first couple of these I made especially the first one the slot width was so large they fit together pretty sloppy.. I adjusted it some and made another set that's much better but still need some adjusting. I don't want them to tight to make it hard to assemble but not so loose that makes them flimsy too.

Yeah Displaying a plaque hanging on a wall and then selling it on Etsy without any hanging hardware attached would be a good way to get some negative feedback. I'm going to be installing hangers on these but will also offer a easel stand add-on option should they not want to hang it up.. some apartment buildings don't allow you to hang things on the walls or only allow certain amount of things to be hung up etc.

I thought the same about the mileage but tried it one of the years and learned that I drive for the business more than I thought.. I typically get in the $300 range of deductions for mileage so every little bit helps. Starting in mid November I typically get enough business that the mail carrier will not do a pick-up so I end up driving to the post office almost daily until after Christmas.. 10 miles each way to the post office.. I used to not count that because I used to drive and pick up the kids from school which it right by the post office so it really wasn't a special trip.. now it is, LOL.

I used this free version for several years before going to Quickbooks.. My only complaint is nothing was automated at the time I used it ( maybe automated now? ) I had to manually enter every sale and the fee for each sale etc. etc. So it was basically a fancy ready made spreadsheet.. NOW, Maybe that was just the free version that I was using I don't know. It did help me out a lot so not saying it's not worth using.. as business grew it became very time consuming to input every single business transaction.

Like silicone caulking? My father inlaw used to use that as a glue for a lot of things.. The E6000 glue really reminds me of silicone caulk including the smell and stringy gooey, LOL. Sticks to about anything and flexible. I imagine after a lot of years it'd dry out and crack etc.. What a way to market a product for a higher dollar value if it's the same thing. E6000 cost me $7 for a 2oz tube.. I can get a whole large tube of silicone for around the same price. Not that I'd use that much but, LOL

Any Ideas on where to get such small washers? I kind of like this idea and years ago when I first ran into this I never found a source for really tiny washers. I'm using a #2 screw.. they'd have to be pretty small washers.

That is actually what I use.. Not every screw will poke through but apparently they're not exactly consistent in length as sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.. Though I didn't get mine from Lowes.. I got them from woodworkingparts.com where I bought the hangers from too.

Thanks everyone for sharing your methods.. I thought maybe I might be missing some special unique way to attach these but it seems everyone is doing the same things I've thought about trying with good results. I think I might just stick with the E6000 glue and then place screws in but not crank them down.. just in case the glue were to come loose at least the product won't go crashing to the ground if it has screws too. I'm new to that E6000 glue and have to say that stuff sticks to about anything and one items I tried to take back apart because I messed something up and it wasn't even fully dry yet.. lets just say I had to remake that piece, LOL. Love it for sealed up wood projects like painted backers etc. where the wood glue just doesn't bond well. Only downfall is the spiderweb stringy things it can create. Kinda reminds me of clear silicone caulking as it's a bit rubbery flexible etc.

I've always used very small screws to attach sawtooth hangers to small plaques etc.. One issue I've always had was most times the project is made from 1/4" thick plywood and, screws or nails are sometimes just long enough to poke through the front side.. SO, how do you all attach hangers on the back of projects from thin wood? This is the projects I'm currently working on and they are layered ( backer is 1/4" the the front is 1/8" ) but I turned the tiny screws in just a tad too far and it budged out the wood in the front slightly.. sometimes I can get lucky enough to place the screw where there is that additional 1/8" material on the front.. other times I have to be careful to not poke through the project and ruin it. I've thought about using E6000 glue as well as screws so if the glue failed the screws would hold. I hate to run the screws in and leave them loose enough to allow the sawtooth hanger to be able to flop around a little.. I like for them to be snug to the project but then the screws many times will poke though. The little nails that come with the hangers are way to long so I've always bought the shortest smallest screws I could find. This project I had the screw just barely poke as I was checking it as it's not my first time ruining a piece but unfortunately I went to back the screw out just slightly and the screw head broke off.. that is a first especially since I predrilled tiny holes.. LOL.. So I removed the sawtooth and lowered it slightly.. this time using glue to hold it tight and then screws just in case the glue failed. Anyway, looking for suggestions for a better way.. Might have to glue a strip of 1/8" onto the back where the hanger will be attached but rather keep it with a cleaner closer to the wall look.

Yeah, much of the wood I get is free from my brothers lumber mill.. so most everything at one time was just my labor.. I'd be curious what the insurance agent says.. maybe things are different now.. but you'd have to have some sort of record of your prices or your time.. too many ways to fudge the labor rate numbers.. in my case with items being online with photos and prices etc.. could maybe a way to prove the value? I don't know.. Also a lot has changed since I first started this venture 25 years ago, LOL and there are a lot of online small business's now so there has to be something out there geared for the smaller business's.

Yes, I do to.. It has something to do with giving your email when you give them your phone number it automatically sends you a copy. Haven't been in a while so I forgot about that part.. anyway it was just a example of how the bookkeeping is done. Someone ( think it's my sons friend ) keeps using my phone number when they go there because I keep getting emails of purchases I didn't make, LOL. Used to keep track of what my son was spending there because he just used my account, LOL.

With online selling so long as you keep your listings up to date you have a sort of inventory record to look at in a total loss situation.. On the back side of my etsy shop it shows me my "made to order" and my numbers for inventory of each piece and of coarse all the photos of the item etc.. but this is tough for me to keep updated with selling on Amazon and other places.. though I do keep fairly accurate with it most of the time.. as I don't do a lot of sales on the other platforms anymore so something sells most times I go over to Etsy or Amazon etc. and change the quantity available so I don't sell something that I don't have in stock, LOL.. however that does happen now and then because I get busy in the holiday season and don't update as I should. As for bookkeeping etc. I use QuickBooks software.. since my business is mostly online sales and most of my purchases for supplies and tools is also online.. The app can pair with your Etsy, Paypal, and other online venues.. Anytime I have a sale this is picked up automatically in the app for the income, sales and payment fees auto deducted in the software so I don't have to do any manual entrees other than my cash sales which are not much at all since I don't do much in person selling. When I do have to make supply runs to the store or drop things at the post office for shipping the app has a feature to keep track of my mileage too so no need to manually enter that. The app on the phone allows you to instantly take a snapshot of in person purchase receipts too.. so if I go to Harbor Frieght and pick up something for the business such as sandpaper etc. I can snap the receipt right in the parking lot before I lose it, LOL. It shows me my income, profits and spending etc. right on the app when I open it up so I can see how bad or good each day, week, or month is going, LOL..

15 years ago when I looked into software it was very pricey. Tech has advanced a lot now so maybe there is something more reasonable. My understanding is in a theft, fire, or? for finished products they do not pay out for the retail value and they only pay out at a material value investment so.. like my ornaments are minimal for a material investment like a $20 sheet of BBply can net me $1000 in retail value as an example but, if I'm only going to get my $20 back I'll take the loss rather than invest hundreds into software to track it.. Many things now days are not even stocked and are just made to order so for me it was never worth the effort to keep track on such a small crafter level scale. From a insurance standpoint.. I hear that if your shop burns down and is a total loss and you are a business making money out of that shop and do not have your shop covered as a business they'll not cover.. There was a laser crafter YouTube video about this and many people get burned on this.. If you're making money even on a very small scale they'll weasel out of a payout. This is something I need to look into myself. Lasers are easy to start a fire with too.. LOL Edit to share the video:

Sorry JT for sending you down that rabbit hole. I may have to order a few of these just to do some laser engraving test on them.. Can't make them myself for that kind of money and what a nice box it could be with some personalization added to it. I've done this with some of those charcuterie boards.. they were on sale on Hobby Lobby website last year for $4.99 and they laser engrave beautifully.. I do think those were $10 each normally but, they're not too bad of a board just to use as like a serving board etc.. The wood feels a bit soft in my opinion for using as a cutting board but I just buy them to engrave and sell the upcharge for personalizing them.

No I didn't order any lights.. I ordered barrel hinges and magnets.. For a different project I did order some LED strip lights that you cut to whatever length you need or add sections together. I don't think these would be a good option since you only need one bulb for the box though. I did watch a YouTube where the person used a tea light candle for the ring box they were making. Looked pretty neat but I feel like it's be hard to hide a tea light within the box.. but those can be purchased in bulk on Amazon or many places for $0.50 ish each. I ordered a bunch for some of the table decorations for my daughters wedding and they were on for a good 8 hours or so then sat out in the cold shed all winter. Lost power a week ago and dug out some of those tea light and to my surprise they worked for another 4 hours or so, LOL. That's an idea for a light source for a box. I took one apart and the inside was just a circuit board with the switch on one side and the light on the other side. This might be more doable.. but it would need to be turned on / off somehow.

I haven't purchased any yet and not sure I will. I found them on Temu and Alibaba.. But I never found any in the heart shape. Lots of them on Etsy but they're people selling as a wedding ring box and offer to be engraved.. also not cheap at $20 per box for a plain box, though I did not search much on etsy so maybe there is someone there selling them at a wholesale price. Over the winter I found the barrel hinges and magnets on eBay in bulk so I ordered 250 magnets for $12 and the 50 hinges were $15.. now I'm not sure I'll make any boxes, LOL.. I might make some since I have a few already made to see if they'll sell. I really like the lighted one and may have to order a small amount to engrave on just to see if there is any value in doing so. My daughters wedding last summer got me into making some wedding stuff and the venue where she had her wedding wanted my info to give out to other clients of theirs after they seen the things I made for the wedding. They really liked my wine barrel card box. I have a few other card boxes in the works now. Also making wine bottle wedding gift boxes to see what those might do for selling.

The CNC could make these close to that 8 minutes as far as run time to make it.. way more time in prepping the wood and the machine to run it plus, sanding, assembling, and finishing time.. which if I was mass producing them I could be doing all the hands on stuff while the machine was running the second batch etc. But yeah, I try to charge $1 a minute for CNC or laser run time + materials etc.. just doesn't add up to be worth it in many cases. Yeah, I can get them on temu for around $5.00 each. and have seen some other sources in quantities of 25pcs and up to 1000, lol. I think they're neat little boxes but I don't think I'll mess with them.. I never did find the heart shaped ones like in the photo I posted though. All I found was standard square styles. I've been toying with selling wedding themed things because the small amount I do offer is really good sellers but, I don't have many ideas or options for other things.. not a lot of varieties of things and I keep searching for things that may spark my creative side.. A lot of what I do find is stuff like this box.. mass produced and just personalized with laser engraving etc. and I'm more looking for things I can make rather than buy and modify as I like the more hands on as a maker.

I found where to buy these for $1.98 each if I buy 1000 of them.. I should be able to figure out how they work without breaking all 1000 of them by taking them apart.. I've always been a master at making things never work again after taking them apart to see how they work, .. If I don't have it all figured out after 1000 pieces then I give up.. I knew these must be mass produced for these Etsy sellers to be selling them for $20 plain box or $30 with engraving. I don't think I could make them without all the fancy lighting for that low of price even mass producing them with my CNC.

I've been making a few ring boxes just playing around and I run across these boxes doing some research. Any idea on where they get the light and parts to make this work. I've done some searching on YouTube and found a person that put a battery tea light into the box to sort of create this but then you'd have to turn on or off the light via tea light switch and seems like you'd have to make a big bulky box to hide the tea light. I suppose you could remove the light from the tea light candle and use the circuit board / battery etc. but still would be stuck with the on/off switch. I'm thinking the people on etsy selling these is buying them and just doing the engraving. I wouldn't mind even finding the blanks if anyone knows anything of that. The video's I've seen make it appear to have the light come on when opened but it may just be already on like would need if using a tea light. Mostly just thought it was a neat idea and mostly just curious on how they work without having to buy one to take apart, LOL

I don't know if this even makes sense but the motor is mounted on a circular ring with the slots for adjusting the blade etc.. so if you moved it half way in one direction but run out of electrical cord to move it further, couldn't you move it in the opposite direction to rotate to the same position of the other half of that circle to achieve the desired position? When I adjusted my motor I run into the same thing sort of but, I was able to dial it in but the cord is stretched about as far as it'd go. however for me I could turn it slightly more but it was starting to get more blade movement so the sweet spot for my saw was just a hair before the cord was stretched as far as it'd go.

I recommend starting at the beginning and tuning the saw as I believe it is way out of adjustment to be having the arm hitting the table. First thing to do is adjust the upper arm so it is parallel to the top of your saw table by turning the adjustment knob at the back of the saw. I like to use some blocks of wood and put them under the upper arm at the back then you can slide the boards from back of the arm to the front until you get the arm level ( parallel ) to the saw table. Once you get that adjusted you should never adjust that knob again.. many people mistake this knob as a blade tension adjustment which it is in some ways but when you use it for that you should always mark it and put it back to where the arm is parallel as you may find it's easy to keep adjusting it and slowly you end up with the saw being way off. I suspect this may be the issue you're having here. You really shouldn't need to adjust this for blade tension other than it you use really small blades like 0/2 and smaller. Most of us just install the blade with a little slack when using the small blades. Once you have the upper arm adjusted then you can adjust further with the saw motor. I like to put something with a straight edge behind the blade. With blade installed and tension applied, adjust the saw speed as slow as it will go then run the saw and you will see the blades forward and backward movement. You can loosen just slightly the 3 screws that hold the motor on just enough so you can rotate the motor assembly in the provided slots and while running on slow speed and watching the blade movement you will see as you rotate the motor the blade either moving more or less in a rocking motion. You want to have as little rocking motion as possible and you may need to turn saw off and completely remove the motor screws and rotate the motor to the next set of slots and replace the screws snug them enough so you can still rotate the motor and turn saw back on and repeat until you get the blade going as straight up / down as you can get. It'll take some tinkering to get this dialed in but once you do the saw will run smooth as butter.. Just for your info I had to rotate my saw to the different slots 2 times to get it dialed in..

Congrats on that score. You can't go wrong with these older saws. I'd like to find a deal on a older one like this or even a good used Pegas, Jet and some of the other brands that were built good before they started being made in China.

Beautiful work you have done as always.. Congrats on the new saw!! I don't think you can go wrong with the older style King 21" but I don't think the newer models are any different than the Harbor Freight saw other than maybe the color. Shame that they keep tricking people buy using the brand names that was once considered a good solid saw and making them cheaply and selling them at half the price they used to be.

Isn't Aspen and Sycamore a domestic wood? She listed all the Exotics in her order on one of her replies. I don't have a clue what most of those look like as some I never even heard of.

Congrats on the new saw, hope it gives you many yearsu of joy making sawdust. First time I ordered from Bear Woods it took 6 weeks for them to just put it in the mail and give me a tracking number.. and I messaged them after 4 weeks and they claimed it was just mailed out a week earlier or so but them a week after than I got the notification that it had just been mailed out. I get that mistakes happen but how you handle something tells me all I need to know.. instead of lying to me that it was mailed out how about owning up to a mistake and maybe throw in a small pack of blades or some discount for my next order etc. honestly I don't even care about a discount or anything just tell me the truth can go a long way but, to say it was mailed out and then a week later they actually do mail it out.. Let's just say I won't be ordering again from them.