dansnow

You might recall I showed pictures of my 1930's Road Grader a while back. Well, I have finished the companion Dump Truck, and have the Steam shovel almost ready to for final sanding and finishing. The wheels are not the wheels that will be on the final model, they're just what I had on hand to take the photo. Thanks for looking.

Consider your audience and venue as well. If it's labeled a Craft Fair, people will expect to pay more. If the word flea is any where near the place people expect goodwill level prices. If possible, have a range of items from inexpensive to higher priced.

Ok, the stain, from Cabot, is a water based stain, (yuck!) that is advertised as acting like an oil stain. Uh, no! It is a little bit easier to use than some waterbased staines i've used before, but is still a PIA. It takes a minimum of two coats to get a decent color. I've made samples on walnut, cherry and red oak and will submit them to the customer today.

I plan to practice extensively before using it on the project. I have not had the best relationships with water cleanup stains. Unfortunately it only comes in quarts or larger, no little cans. Oh well.

I would put that in the $50-$60 range. It would depend on the venue and the perception of potential customers, are they expecting high end goods or are they looking for flea market prices.

Regarding a previous post about a re color finish, I found one very close from Cabot, however it is an "Oil-modified" stain that stains and seals. Has anyone out there used this? Can I put a clear topcoat over this? Customer wants a high gloss finish. Thanks,

Thanks for the info guys The cherry I get is much more slight reddish brown to orange-ish in color than this. I certainly hope it's not blood wood because a) I would have to increase the price out of their budget, and b) I understand it's very hard, and really dulls cutting tools fast. I have a small scrap of cherry that I've stained with a red mahogany stain. When it dries I'll clear it and see how close it is. I think I might take the picture to my local Woodcraft store and if it is a stain they might be able to help me out.

Got a question for you wood wizards out there. I've been commissioned to do a retirement plaque. The main part of the plaque will be based on a maltese style cross. The customer really likes the color of this cross, and I need to figure out if its a natural wood color or if it has been stained. Any thoughts folks?

After all was said and done, we got softhearted and agreed to go. Got there, got set up, and then for the next 4 hours sat there as two, count 'em, TWO, people came in to look. It was supposed to last for 4 hours but after 3 we made our apologies and packed up. We look at it this way, we got practice setting up and tearing down,

A woman that came to our booth at a craft fair last year recently contacted us about participating in a fundraising event for her daughter. Seems she's been chosen to participate in a program called People to People and will be going to Europe as a student ambassador. We were told she expected 10 vendors, there was no booth fee, but if we did well she was hoping we'd feel inclined to donate. Sounded interesting. Well, today we were informed that it looks like there would be only 3 vendors counting us. Our wood crafts, a textile artist and a Mary Kay distributor. Ummm, As far as we can tell there hasn't been any advertising except by word of mouth, and it looks like it might be held on the second floor of an older building. At our age shlepping our goods and displays up stairs is not an option. And the booth size is weird, 12 x 6 and it's only for 4 hours. We tried a venue that was limiting itself to 3 or 4 craft vendors, and refused to put out any signs about there being craft vendors inside. The results were as one would expect, dismal. So Lin and I are trying to find a way to gracefully say thanks but no thanks. 2 hours of set-up plus an hour of breaking down, plus gas to and from, (though it isn't very far) plus 4 hours there for possibly no sales?

Thanks folks. In a funny twist, the customer was going to keep it for himself, but when he saw it he told my wife that it was a perfect gift for someone he knew. Which of course means that he now wants one for himself!! I can't win! LOL! He will "let us know" in a week or so.

That is damn impressive!!!

When we sold our last dragon before Christmas I told the wife that if I didn't make another for a while that would be fine. So of course a week later a fellow that works in her buildiing asked if I could make him one. I told him I didn't want to, but he insisted and said he would pay extra, just name it. So in hopes of discouraging him I added $45 to the price I normally charge. He knows how much I usually charge so I figured he'd tell me it was too rich for his wallet. But Nope!! Without batting an eye he said fine and handed my wife the cash!! Darn, now I had to make one. Well, here it is, ready to be delivered. Body is Maple, Black Walnut and Cherry, Wings are Maple and Wenge, Wheels, legs and tail are Walnut and the movable part of the head is Cherry. That's it for a while. I've made 5 so far, need to work on other things for a while. Thanks for looking,

Our German Shepherd Java's new leash holder stained, finished and mounted. 3/8"bb ply, 5/8" dowel.1 1/4" wheels and 7/32" axle pins.

Between our recently adopted German Shepherd Java's leash, harness, and long lead, i was usually having to untangle or find one or the other. So I decided to finally do something about it! The result will mount on a wall near the door so I will have a place to at least keep these three things organized! Just needs final sanding and finish.

Nothing but awe at the skill and perseverance to create such a mind boggling achievement!!! Fantastic work!

That's a Walking Dachshund, and yes we make them.

Congats!! You're gonna love it!!!

Super Congrats Kevin!! Second the sentiment of slow and steady, take a moment now and then to breathe.

I built and sold 4 of these last year, so I wasn't in any hurry to build another. But this customer pleaded and pleaded. They knew I really wasn't in the mood but pleaded some more. So what the heck says I, I quoted them a price half again higher than I had sold the others for, and darn it they agreed readily! I didn't feel bqad about doing it because A) They knew I wasn't anxious to build another right away and B) They knew how much I had sold the others for and didn't mind paying extra to get one. The wing bones are Wenge, the first time I've used this wood. It was easy to cut with a #3R Pegas blade. I double stacked two 1/8" pieces over a 1/4" junk ply backer board so no tear out. The rest of the beast is a combination of maple, walnut, cherry, and oak.

Same here, I put a sacrificial sheet of 1/8" on the bottom, usually the cheapest 1/8" stock I can find.

The plan is to stack cut the 2 sets of wing bones from 1/8th stock with a 1/4" thick sacrificial backer board. Dust mask will be worn.

Thanks, good to know. will be careful with it.

My son and I are working on a special order articulated dragon for a customer, and I plan to use wenge for the wing bones to give contrast to the maple wings. Any tips, tricks, warnings for the more experienced out there? I've never used this wood before, about all I know is I like its looks, and its dang hard.

Another lefty that cuts clockwise. I love having the EX21 because no matter which way the angle is, I can still cut clockwise!!