heppnerguy

I love both of your projects here. You r father will be so happy and proud to receive his gift. I bet he will hang it where everyone that visits him will see and admire it. Dick heppnerguy

I have also made a lot of plaques for people that have lost a mate or a loved one. I get so many 'thank you's' from the receivers of them, some several years later. These wooden pieces are very special to the people that get them and they way outlast the flowers and other nice things people might receive during the time of their loss. That is an extremely nice looking project. It is easy to see why you got a request for it. Great job Dick heppnerguy

That is so true and there are a lot of people that have every lasting memories of at least one vehicle they have owned in their life time. Dick heppnerguy

Thanks for looking the other way. I did the best I could on it. Thank you for the nice comment too Dick heppnerguy

It is a rather simple piece but you were right she does like it. I am so glad I made it for her Dick heppnerguy

I guess women must all think the same way. Us guys view things a little different. I won't ever make that kind of a mistake again, I hope Dick heppnerguy

you are such a romantic thinker. If I did that she would probably wonder if I was up to something while she was gone. I do like the idea though. Dick heppnerguy

thank you. I hope she feels that same way when she gets home tomorrow. Dick heppnerguy

She has so much of my decorative firewood already I am surprised she still likes getting something from my shop. Thanks for the kind words, I am glad when I can give her a new piece from my shop as she likes to rotate things on the wall so it gives her one more thing to choose from when she changes her decorating scheme. Dick heppnerguy

I agree with you. One time, I was out shopping for a birthday present about 3 years after we were married. I thought about how much I enjoy a tool for me on mine so I started looking for something that I thought might make her life a little better like some tools do for me. Then I spotted this really nice and great looking steam iron and i bought that for my bride, and guess what? Boy was that a mistake and every now and then it comes up in our conversation all these many years later..That is why I like making scroll items and intarsia for her. She has yet to complain about those. The best part for me is I don't have to go shopping in a store for something unless I know for sure she is wanting a particular item. Dick heppnerguy

That was the way Steve designed it and I was not going to do it that way at first but as I was finishing it, I thought, why not? It does ad a little bit of interest to it, I think. It was a rather easy cut but it did have more holes then I realized so it took me a little more time then I thought it was going to. I cut it with #1 Pegas blades I bought from you. I sure do like the Pegas. Dick heppnerguy

I hope she likes it. If not, she will probably say she does, anyway. So then I get one brownie point from you and one brownie point from her. That sort of make me a winner. Dick heppnerguy

I decided to make this for my wife's return home after 3 weeks away from me. I thought it just might be better for me if I made her a return gift, since I have been busy in my shop making requests and nothing for her. See, I really am a little smarter than you all thought I was. This is a Steve Good pattern that has a riser on it so that it really is not totally attached to the backer board so when the lighting is right, it looks almost 3D. I made another frame attempt to set it off. I hope she likes it when I bring her home tomorrow. Dick heppnerguy

another nice pattern. You are an amazing person with many great ideas for patterns. Dick heppnerguy

I have used the same idea, I have even just put painters tape over the hole for short term use. Cards work well. I just thought if you were going to the fret work type pattern I would send you this idea Dick

Really it is all about putting your mate first. All arguments, and we all have an occasional differences, are really because both individuals believe themselves to be right about a given situation or statement. The thing I like to tell myself during these times is how important is it to be right? Surely never worth any hard feelings toward one another. Way better just to agree to disagree or just forgive and make up before is escalates. My opinion. Dick

Your playing card idea to create a zero clearance for your letters, was a pretty good one. I bought a saw from Scrappile about 4 years ago and he had made a 1/4 inch, smooth table covering, for lack of another word, and left an inch circle cut into it when he cut a piece with a small hole, just big enough to put his blades through and that created a zero clearance. I have to recut a piece every six months to keep the hole small Dick heppnerguy

For me.....as I cut my pieces for intarsia or segmentation, I place the pieces together in place, just to see how they look and how well the cuttings match. If I find the new piece is a little off in matching or I don't like the way that piece of wood matches, I cut another. After I have all my pieces cut and have the fit that I like, I start shaping and again returning the pieces in the finished position. When I have the finish on all my pieces, except the bottom part, (and my backer board it cut with all the pieces in place on it ), I start on the largest outside pieces and and glue them onto the backer board, resting tightly against the other unglued pieces, that are still in place on the backer board, and let them dry well before I do any more gluing. Once the glue has dried well, I start to glue the pieces that butt up against the glued ones, using the already glued pieces as a barrier. That way I can keep all the pieces matched up well and tightly together. That way I can help to stay away from ending up with a piece that has slid a little out of place from the slippery glue underneath it and making unneeded spaces later along the way. I love your project, by the way. You did an amazing job. I expect to see more of this kind of work in the future from you. Very exciting project. Dick heppnerguy

Maybe it happens to a lot of us as we push the envelop to try something more advanced then we have done before. When we do not push ourselves we can never achieve the success with pieces that we used to look at with envy that we see other scrollers doing. The important thing is not to just too quickly from one ability into the other or we do end up being discouraged. And as we (not meaning you, of course) get older, our bodies do not allow us to spend too much time in the shop without it complaining with aches, pains and not letting us sit too long on the projects that take days of straining our eyes to finish. I too am very happy that I was able to finish this project and even though I was not able to achieve the high mark I was hoping to be able to give myself for this one, I still ended up feeling good about myself for not letting the breakout to discourage me. I am now ready for the next challenge. Dick heppnerguy

Thank you for taking your time to make a nice comment on my project. I try to do my work as well as my ability, or lack of, will allow. I am always learning things with almost each piece I make, even though I have been at it for several years. I think my old age is fighting me a lot more now then it used to. Dick heppnerguy

I have a ways to go on making the frames but even with my efforts and mistakes, I believe they help with the presentation and step up the looks of the finished piece some. I love trying to make and add them to my work. I may get this part down better if I keep trying to master them. Thank you for your nice comments on both the car and the frame. It feels good, even if it is a little bit of a stretch.\ Dick heppenrguy

At least I finished it this time. I would do the grill differently the next time and I learned a lot when I cut it. I would not use the spiral blade on this kind of a pattern again but I do not want to loose my ability to use them as they are so handy on a lot of fret work but not so much on the straight line pieces like this. I hope to do one of your car patterns soon and see how much better I can do with one of them. Thanks for the nice encouragement and all the help and suggestions you have given me in the past. They will really help when me a lot in the future. Dick heppnerguy

I found it to be a 'hold my breath and pray' situation. I was using a spiral blade on it and next time I would not. It definitely was a good practice for the spirals but not what I would choose for cutting this a second time. I am just happy that I did not give up on it. thanks for the nice comment on it Dick heppnerguy

I had to really be determined to even finish it. I do the best I can and I found this one to end up being another learning piece. I know I should be able to do a better job on it, if and when I can get around to cutting it again. I have so many patterns that I want to cut. Thank you so much for your nice words of encouragement. I am so grateful for you to take your time to send me those. Dick heppnerguy

You would make me have to blush if my work was ever set next to your master pieces. The fact that I was able to even finish this project is my only credit .. Dick heppnerguy