kmmcrafts

Some years ago I made frig. magnets out of the scraps of these tree ornaments. They sold way better than the actual ornaments did, LOL in fact I still have a lot of the tree ornaments but not a single magnet. I used those little magnets Bob talked about. Broke a couple of them just trying to get the magnet off the cookie sheet I displayed them on at the shows, LOL

I think Scott ( Iggy ) uses a small laser for engraving names on his key / leash holders he makes.. He bought one some years ago and for the life of me I cannot think of the name / brand of it be I'm pretty sure he's still using it to this day. I've not messed with the smaller table top type lasers.. I know they're not very powerful but the time it takes isn't much of a concern to those in the hobby and just engraving a small name / logo etc. While some folks would set it up and go do some other work.. you don't want to leave these unattended... after all they're burning wood.. something goes wrong and the laser stops moving it's not very long for a fire to start. I recommend anyone using these to have a fire extinguisher handy.

Seems to be from my experience with it so far.

August will be 3 years on the blue thread locker stuff and it still stays pretty good does move a 1/16 turn every month or so now.. but this is 350 hours run time.. probably 6-10 years for a average scroll sawer, LOL... didn't have to buy thread lock as I keep it around for the set screws that go into the blade clamps as the locking jam nut doesn't seem to stay where I put it so I tossed the jam nut in the junk drawer and use the thread lock .. I know you have to take the saw apart to do that and it's about a 1 hour job to take just the adjustment rod apart and apply the thread locker to it and re-assemble it.. about a half day you can take the whole saw apart and re-grease the bearings etc. so that seems like a better deal to check the saw all over good. Honestly now that I've had the saw apart a couple times.. thinking I could do the threads on the rod and toss it back together is 30 minutes.. first time I was just being careful and taking my time. Again, rubber bands work too.. for some people anyway, LOL and also cheap or free.. I just feel the thread lock is a more permanent or longer lasting option. at the end of the day you have to do what works for you though.. I can tell you I was so frustrated with how bad mine got to be I was ready to weld it solid, LOL.. Kinda glad I was calmed down when I actually made the repair..

Yeah, as you raise the upper arm it takes tension off the threads of the shaft and the threaded block.. if you drop it down hard that is hammering those threads so to speak and in the same spot because you don't turn them. eventually those threads take enough beating to sort of wear them down.. then it spins easier as time goes on. Thread locker will sort of hold them tight again for a few years but it'll come back again. That's a good time to take the saw apart and grease it etc.. and add thread locker to it again. Buying new shaft and threaded block is also an option but as I said.. it just comes back again and a bottle of thread locker is much cheaper and useful on the set screws and other things too. Actually believe the thread locker has lasted longer than just replacing them, LOL

Maybe how it got moved but with these saws it very common for the threads to get worn and have that turn on it's own from vibration of the saw when lifting / lowering the upper arm.. then as they get worn more it'll move from just the very minimal vibration of the saw running.. so just be aware of it.. If you have one with a line / mark on the knob take note of it's position and see if it is moving.. when the issue first starts happening it's very confusing as to what's going on..

Really depends on the ornament design and how I made it, LOL.. I use both Danish oil and or the water base poly.. I like lacquer too as it dries very fast.. But I do have issues with the strong smell from lacquer so I don't use that very often.. If I need fast dry and having to spray inside the shop then it's water base poly. If it's a nice day and I can take my spraying outside then it's lacquer. LOL

I've been using it myself now for a while.. good quality stuff and comes in Birch, Cherry, Maple, and Walnut.. most times the Cherry and Walnut are sold out so I have not used either of those. Doesn't come in 1/8 that I've seen but the 5/32 is pretty darn close match to the 3mm BBply that I also use. I've not seen it in full sheets yet.. only the project panels from Home Depot. I haven't bought BBply in quite some time but the last time I did it was a lot cheaper than this Purebond stuff. Years ago on another forum there was a guy using this stuff to make jigsaw puzzles out of in place of the 1/4" BB that everyone else was using so I bought some of the 1/4" back then.. I believe it was back when it first came out? Probably around 2007 ish. There was a big discussion about it as it was advertised and made with formaldehyde free glues.. People that work with the other plys a lot sometimes get sick from the formaldehyde or something and so this purebond came out with the non-toxic glues to make their ply from.. I don't see a lot of talk about this anymore so I'm not sure if that was a advertising scheme for them or what? Anyway, it's good stuff and I bought some not long ago and made these portraits from it. seems very solid good stuff.. was still more $$ than the BB ply back this last spring when I placed my orders. These were made from the Maple purebond panels..

Sounds like you're going to have to buy a welder and start welding two blade together to get the length blade you need.. Okay so seriously here is what you need to do. First take a tape measure and with the upper arm in the down as low as it'll go position measure the distance between the arm and the table top at the back of the saw and then at the front of the saw.. They're supposed to be parallel so you need to turn the knob at the back of the saw and bring that upper arm down until it's the same distance and both ends of the arm. This is a common issue with these as they get older as the threads get worn in the threaded shaft and in the threaded block that it threads into. My saw started doing this and then got real bad.. just cutting for one small cutout the blade tension would change during the cut and I'd have to adjust it so I took the saw apart and added blue colored loc-tite to the threads and I haven't had any issues since then. A lot of folks just wrap a rubber band around it in some way to hold the thing enough. There is a few topics out there on this issue.. one of which I did on taking it apart and doing the loc-tite fix and then there are some on how to wrap the rubber band around it to hold it from moving.

My father inlaw had his mounted to a sheet of 3/4" plywood. He had some holes in his truck tail gate ( not what I would do but..) where he bolted the saw / plywood too. He ran the saw basically off the tail gate of the truck. I've seen folks just clamp a saw to a picnic table too. I don't know how well it worked like that.. Harbor Freight has those foldable sawhorse stands.. I wonder if mounting the saw to a piece of plywood and then somehow clamping to those. I want to get me a set of these.. they look very heavy duty and fold down into very compact size. https://www.harborfreight.com/32-in-steel-adjustable-sawhorse-1300-lb-capacity-57807.html?_br_psugg_q=sawhorse

I make my clock bases with my CNC.. I v-carve the bottom of the base with my business name.. works quite well for me. I typically set up and do a large batch of them all at once. About 15 minutes it makes about 8 of them with very little sanding or clean-up of them. I don't have a picture off hand but I've posted about it on here a couple years ago. Doing one offs on small projects is not worth the time with either the laser or the CNC so I mostly just write on my work with a fine point Sharpe marker.

My son used to work for a race car engine builder which use aluminum car engines and I'm building a older car that has a aluminum engine block. My engine block is bad looking with the oxidation that happens with aluminum. My son was looking my car over and I mentioned I'd like to find a way to clean that oxidation up and make the aluminum look new. He said the engine builder that he used to work for always used this stuff and it cleaned up really well to like fresh metal look. I'll likely be getting some of this stuff at some point but not until I get the engine reassembled which is a little ways out yet. Just thought I'd mention it here since we was talking about the table tops. I'm wondering if this might clean the tables up and keep them from marking up the back side of the wood. Bit pricey since most of us have mineral spirits or some other similar products that have already been mentioned. If I have any of this stuff left after cleaning up my car I might give it a try on my saw table.. For curiosity sake has anyone ever used this stuff or some other type cleaner to clean up aluminum? Maybe I'll learn of something better or cheaper etc. from someone here. https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Aluminum-Cleaner-Brightener-Concentrate/dp/B06XFZTTHJ

I bought my laser to in part make these myself, had the laser for 3-4 years now and never did design and make my own

I sent a message to the clipart site through their message system and claimed I as the designer of the ornament and also the owner of the photo.. showed a link to my website with the photo as I did here and asked them to please take it down. I don't know if that will do any good or not.

Is there an alternative to the Johnson's Paste wax? I've only got a couple years worth left in my can I've had since 2005.. So I'm going to need something in the future, LOL EDIT To Add: I found this google searching it. This list some alternatives. Since it was recently discontinued there might be some on a shelf in a store somewhere, I'm going to keep an eye out for some. Probably another can or two will last me the rest of my scrolling days, LOL Is Johnson's Paste Wax discontinued? Please note: Johnson Paste Wax will be discontinued on December 31, 2021. Freeman Wax Release, Trewax Clear Paste Wax, and Partall Paste #2 are the recommended alternatives.

From time to time I will search my business name to see if anyone is using it, Have had in the past where people use it or try to use it to sell their products which isn't cool. For instance this morning I did a random search and found one of my ornaments I designed some years ago.. my image is on this clipart site.. I've never given permission for the use of my image to be used.. http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-dirxRp96T and here is my listing with the image: https://www.kevskrafts.com/listing/202313713/respiratory-therapist-christmas-ornament I also found this eBay listing stating made by KevsKrafts in the title.. While I have this design clock, I've never made it with that style base.. nor have I ever used a round over bit on the base before. They're selling it as used and probably searched for info on it and came across mine so they claimed it to be made by me.. I sign the bottom of all my clocks. This doesn't show any signage that I can see. https://www.ebay.com/itm/354019929160?hash=item526d3b6c48:g:bCQAAOSwjyBiYELE IF you have a Etsy or other venue business name out there it's good to check-up and search your name randomly you never know what kind of people will do to try to gain some fame off your work, whether it's your photos or selling woodwork pieces off your name.

I've read where others have complained about this with the Hawk saws tops, I never experienced it with my older Hawks but my new Hawk recently started doing this slightly.. I just used a Lacquer thinner and wiped it down good and then used the Johnson's paste wax. Sounds like yours is in need of a really good deep cleaning, you might need to take a fine grit scotch bright pad and attach it to a random orbital sander after wiping it with Lacquer thinner.. then wipe again after the scotch bright.. wax it good.. maybe even use the sander with a soft cloth and sort of buff the wax off.. maybe do that a couple times with the wax. IF it persist after that then I'm not sure.. top coat it with a clearcoat? LOL

If I get time I'll see if I can find it but meanwhile if you want to research the wood burner type signature you might try looking for custom made pyrography pens. It's been a few years since I picked up my set from a estate sale but at that time I was doing research on pens etc. and there was a site where you could custom order wood burner attachments with your signature etc. I had thought about doing that myself, but the downfall is you're sort of stuck with whatever size you choose. Doing something similar to what Brenda does or with a laser machine make you own rubber stamps etc. you could modify it to your needs. This is why I have not gone the branding iron route.. some items are quite small and warrant a smaller logo etc. while others it'd be nicer looking with a bit larger one.

Beautiful work Ray!!

Easily identified by color filling the project.. everything color filled will be attached to the main image, anything not connected to the main image ( drop outs or otherwise called floaters ) will remain the white. Color filling is also known as using the bucket fill tool.. What software are you using to create the pattern? I or someone else may be able to help further on how to do this if we know what program you're using.

Maybe on the bottom floor level, LOL.. I would think the vibration of the saw going through the saw stand and down to the floor might be a noise issue with a lower level tenant? I don't know.. just thinking about how I have a water tank for cooling my laser machine with a fish tank water pump stuck to the bottom of the water bucket.. that small pump running sure resonates to the downstairs of my shop. I don't have any insulation between the floors though so I'm not sure if a saw would make much noise for a downstairs tenant or not.. just a thought though.. As for dust collection.. I first started sawing in my house from 2005 - 2012-3 when I finally built my shop.. dust was minimal when using a 20" square box fan with a allergen pleated furnace filter on the back of the fan set up to pull the dust in. I used the saws air blower tube to blow the dust toward the side with the box fan to help suck it into the filter.. You might need to build a stool for the fan to sit up so the top of the fan is just about the height of the saw table. I think you'd do okay with that set-up.. so long as there is no vibration noise from the saw going through the floor.. maybe some foam pads on the floor if no carpet in the room.

Not a bad idea.. I can actually make rubber stamps with the laser.. I've heard it stinks bad cutting rubber but it'd be just a one time deal, LOL.. Imagine it'd take a long time to wear out the stamp.. LOL

I ended up ordering the Mac Mop. The Flap Wheel thing Dave mentioned really reminds me of the same thing as those sanding balls from HF.. they do last a long time however for what I use them for they aren't as aggressive as I'd like so that is my reasoning to try the Mac Mop.. will see how I like that I suppose. Thinking when I order again I might try buying the refill kits as Ray mentioned. The sanding ball from HF comes on a mandrel that comes apart so I'll just use a old one and instead of tossing it into my metal recycle bin I'll take it apart and try the refill onto the mandrel. Thanks for all the info everyone

Someone here a year or so ago was looking at buying a small one that was light weight, I think they ended up with either a ryobi or Kobalt and they got the little 7-1/4 inch blade one. Not sure who it was now. It was small for tight spaces and I assume light weight. The 7-1/4 blades are cheap but not sure how plentiful the specialty blades would be. anyway that might be something to look into. When I bought my saw not long ago Home Depot had one of those.. don't see those real small ones much. I never know they made then in the 7-1/4 blade sizes.

Just bought a DeWalt slider not too long ago. It's probably not what you want as it's big and heavy.. though I bought the DeWalt miter saw stand too so it is compact when folded and has wheels to move it around which is very easy.. Before the DeWalt I had a 10" hitachi.. I really liked it but I needed a saw that would cross cut 14" for ease of making signs etc. on my CNC. My old hitachi had a laser line light. My new DeWalt doesn't have it. I bought a upgraded handle for the "shadow light" but I have yet had time to install this new light so cannot say how well it works personally but read good reviews of it on their higher priced saws. When I bought it I thought it came with the light, thought I was getting a deal because it was cheaper but it's a different saw that the one with the light.. even though really the same saw but different model number and the only difference is the light.