kmmcrafts

Probably be a lot of varied opinions on this.. For me it would greatly depend on the saw's options.. many of the older Hegners do not have a blade tension lever at the front of the saw.. or quick clamps etc.. there are features that make the newer models more appealing than the older model Hegners and same deal with the Hawk saws.. While they all "look" mostly the same.. there are features or lack of features that would make or break a deal for me.. Many people seem to forget about the features and see a cheap price and tell everyone to grab it up when it really may not be a very user friendly saw like the newer model would be. On the Hegner I guess there is the options to buy the parts to get the nicer features of the newer saws.. but then you're dumping a few hundred into an older saw when you could just wait for the right deal on one that already has the goodies on it. IF I were you I would show photos of the saw and ask if it has the goodies or not if you personally don't know what you're looking at or for. Many folks on here know these saws well enough to spot the things to look or look out for. A 24" saw is a long reach if your blade tension lever is clear to the back of the saw... not a big deal if you're not doing a lot of inside ( fretwork ) cuts but could be a pain in the back side if that is the main type of cutting you do. Everyone is different and does different cutting so it will be a big opinionated question..

Nice work, just recently went through my stash of trivets that I had made over the years and gave some away. If I had to guess the wood type since so much is shipped in from China I'd say that looks similar to Acacia wood. My first big job with my laser was engraving 260 cutting boards and they supplied the boards from Hobby Lobby and it was the first time I worked with Acacia wood. Kind of reminds me of working with Mahogany.. May be in the same family as Mahogany for all I know. Can be lots of color variations in it though most of it was a darker tone.

It's always a good time with the little ones when you can make them things. My daughter had me make a bunch of stars and she colored them with glow in the dark markers then stuck them to the ceiling in her room. LOL

I ordered a new Hawk in 2018 and back then shipping was around $100 so yeah little pricey BUT, they are in a huge box and they weigh around 130lbs. plus the packing materials so I'd bet the shipping weight must be around 150lbs. I see they raised the prices of the saws since then too. In 2018 the 26" saw was $1500.. Best bet is find a good used saw local to you.. seems the resale value on these is only around $300. I've got two of them and now since going to laser and cnc side of things I don't need 4 scroll saws taking up space. I've had one saw listed now for about 4 weeks listed at $450 and only one person was interested but he thought I was in a different town closer to him. Two towns pronounce and spelled very close to each other but on opposite sides of the state, LOL. I always get inquires from people thinking its the town on the other side of where I am, LOL. Otherwise no bites on the saw.

I don’t know what it is about the DeWalt thumb screws but I’ve always switched out my screws for the DeWalt style. For me it’s about the shape of the plastic grip handle shape and style. Maybe because I ran a DeWalt for so many years production cutting and just got a feel for those screws. Id like to give a Bauer saw a test drive someday. Doubtful I’d actually buy and use one as arm lock thing would be an issue with me I think. Maybe with time I could get used to it. I’m used to a spring loaded arm of the Hawk and I broke the spring on one of the saws I had which drove me nuts having to lift up the arm. Had to stop my project and go to the hardware for a spring and repair that right away as I couldn’t take it.

I think it'll be fine, I would put a cloth or breathable cover on it as you don't want to "trap" the moisture in it... if you're going to cover it. My experience is when the temps start warming up in the spring time the floor and everything starts sweating.. that's when you may want to either run some fans to help circulate and sort of dry the air etc. Most times here in lower Michigan the dampness isn't too bad especially during the coldest part of winter.. but like I said when that spring thaw comes and we have those damp weather and sometimes foggy misty days.. Had a friend back in high school that had a old car he was fixing on and over the winter he covered it with some big plastic like drop cloth thing that wasn't breathable... car sat covered like that for a couple years and once uncovered it was a big pile of rust, LOL.. It's better to have air flow than anything so it can dry out etc. That being said, might be better for it to run a fan on it during those thaw high humidity days than covering it up.. Maybe someone else has a better idea.. Could also put those moisture absorbent cups / packets things all around it?

Before I had heat in the shop I run my saw year round out there.. Yes, I run it out there even when it was only 7F in there and below zero outside, LOL.. I never had any issues for the first 10 years with no heat.. Back then I was really busy so the saw may not have sat long enough to cool off .. Sometimes idle machines have more issues than ones that are used everyday so you should go out there and use it.. Now that I'm older and have heat in the shop I don't want to go out and work because it's a cold 20ft walk to the shop and it's just too cold to get to work so I have a lot of snowdays in the winter now.

Unfortunately I feel everything is going to go to a pay to play deal.. seems you need a subscription to everything now days. I've never used the rapidsizer one. You might look into the Posterazor. I use it but I'm not on a Mac either.. maybe they have a mac version? I'm assuming you want it for enlarging patterns etc?

My son bought a really cheapy tool kit from them just to have some stuff inside the house rather than having to run out to the shop every time. He was quite impressed with the quality of the set he got for the money.. that could be saying a lot since he is a heavy equipment mechanic and he's used to the tool truck companies tools.

Well, I just went to my wave account to see what has changed.. appears you have to have the paid version to automatically import the sales data from etsy and amazon, and doesn't have any mileage tracking options etc.. It is $5 a month cheaper but I guess for me I'm spoiled with the features I use with Quickbooks. Still is a great option though.

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.