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Jim Finn

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Everything posted by Jim Finn

  1. Jim Finn
    I have this saw. It is a polymax-3 and new ones sell for over $3000 now. I would buy it for $1000. This is the best Hegner offers. Parts are available if needed. It requires a stand and I suggest it be anchored to a concrete floor where possible to reduce vibration. This saw will out last ANY saw out there. I have a different Hegner that was made in 1986 and it works well. I have a polymax-3 that I bought new in 2008 and use it every day now for eight years. Hours and hours seven days a week.
  2. Jim Finn
    ​I sanded off a layer of skin on one finger today while making toys. I use a product called "newskin" which is a liquid bandage. Takes a few layers but works well for me. Latex gloves may also help.
  3. Jim Finn
    I have the pneumatic sand boss drum. In fact, two different sizes. I run it on my drill press and it works great. I have used it for intarsia and for sanding band saw boxes. Pneumatic drum sanders will not gouge your wood and they do not fill up with wood like a hard backed drum does. I purchased a small hand operated air pump that is meant for bicycles, to fill them with air.
  4. Jim Finn
    I have used some ground sawblades from Olsen and they do cut streighter than the stamped blades do. I recommend them. They cost a bit more but outlast the others by a lot.
  5. Jim Finn
    After applying the glue- sanding dust,. mix I need to sand very well or it will show up badly under any finish. no problem with the mixture in the cracks. Before finishing I wipe the image down with a rag damp with minneral sprits and it will be oblious if I need to sand any more. I have used lacquer successfully, but now I use Poly. I thin it with naphtha and wipe it on. Takes 2-3 coats this way. I make my boxes 10 or more at a time and finish them 10-30 at a time.
  6. Jim Finn
    Yes, I find that the results of the test cuts on scrap are not always the same when cutting the final inlay. In my experience, an inlay-ed image that has a bunch of interior cuts will fit in easier than one without.. (Photo of an inlay like that is attached) I have one scroll saw dedicated to making inlays and leave it tilted at the best angle for me. I am almost always inlaying maple into cedar so if I need to tap the maple in place the cedar splits. Cedar is not a strong wood. I prefer to have the inlay a little small to avoid this issue. It is a simple matter to fill in any slight gap using a mixture of sanding dust and white glue. I do a fill in like that on almost all my inlays. This also fills in the lines of the interior detail cuts.
  7. Jim Finn
    My grizzly does not have any electronics or speed control to fail.
  8. Jim Finn
    I have a Grizzly, ceiling hung, air cleaner that has a simple pre-filter and a bag filter. Both filters are washable. I like mine. According to the manual this filter/fan it will clean the air in my shop in six minutes and it does. I paid $175 for it in 2007.
  9. Jim Finn
    There are two turners clubs here in Lubbock and zero scrolling clubs. (Lubbock County has over 250,000 people) I see pens for ransom at a few sales but no other turned items. Often I am the only vender offering wooden items, so I do well. I agree that functional items sell much easier than purely decorative items do. Decorative items also take up more selling space and more time to make than my boxes or toys do.. I have stopped offering wall hung items except for small crosses. I have a lathe that has been under my bench for over three years now, but use my scroll saws every day. I have never made a pen, and the items I offered, that required lathe use, were very slow to sell.
  10. Jim Finn
    I have done thousands of inlays and the way I avoid this issue is like Rolf mentioned. I also use 3/8" stock and cut at about 2° but I drill a 1/16" hole at about 6.5° just inside the pattern with the wood to be inlayed below the background wood. The reason for the larger degree angle is because the drill bit is much wider than the saw blade is. I am using a #5 blade so the angle could be just a little less using a #3. I have a small radial drill press with a rotary tool mounted in it. (Black and Decker, but a Dremel will also work) fixed at my 6.5° to keep my angle the same each time.
  11. Jim Finn
    Welcome from West Texas
  12. Jim Finn
    I do not do fretwork. I do lots of inlay though. I have cutouts that are different shapes that I have no use for. I give some of these cedar shapes to a friend that is an artist and I sell the bulk of them to other artists. I sell it by the pound! Not really , but I sell a 20" x 15" x 15" box for $10 to them.
  13. Jim Finn
    Lubbock TX : BALTIC BIRCH BB 50X60 3MM 1/8†18.00 BB 60X60 6MM 1/4†22.50 BB 60X60 9MM 3/8†25.50 BB 60X60 12MM 1/2†27.50 BB 60X60 18MM 3/4†43.25
  14. Jim Finn
    Thanks for the kind comments. I downloaded this image from the internet and applied it to the cedar using carbon paper. I applied the lettering this same way. I generated the lettering in "word". Cut the image first and the lettering second.. I had to ignore many of the interior lines from the original Tomcat drawing. I did this to keep it simple enough to cut and still hold together long enough to glue in place. The buyer is supposed to pick it up this morning. PS (Update) She liked the box and got it in time for Christmas.
  15. Jim Finn
    Made to order inlay. Maple into cedar box lid. 6"x8"
  16. Jim Finn
    Prototype for a new toy.
  17. Jim Finn
    That is what I would try. That blade will outlast any FD blade I have tried.
  18. Jim Finn
    I got an image from the internet, sized it to what I wanted, and then just drew in the legs. This is how I do most of the toys I make. (Horses, dinosaurs reindeer) I just made nine more of these elephants this morning. Body is 3/4" thick and legs are 3/8" thick. I apply the legs with white glue and pin nail in place. Thanks for the kind comments.
  19. Jim Finn
    This elephant is made of pine and is four inches tall. We make toys like these by the thousand for local childrens hospitals.
  20. Jim Finn
    I had the same issue with a DeWalt. That is why I went to a Hegner eight years ago.
  21. Jim Finn
    This was an indoor venue. The only one I do all year. Yes Don, the drive is not the fun part. No, There are no other sales nearby going on in November or December that I know of, or can afford.
  22. Jim Finn
    Yesterday I went to my last scheduled sale of the year. Driving in the rain and in the dark both ways. Ugh! It is in a small town an hour and twenty minutes north of me. Last year I had a great sale there. Not so much this year. Last year, at that venue, I sold 35 of my boxes but only 11 this year. Rain=Not many shoppers. Even though this years event was disappointing, my years total sales were only $70 less than last years total. Less than one percent drop. I did 20 sales events this year whereas I usually did 25 in past years. I do have one small order to fill this year yet, but no more scheduled sales. I may skip this venue next year. Not complaining, just reporting in.<grin> Jim Finn Jim's Woodworks Lubbock Texas
  23. Jim Finn
    Pens are functional but I see folks trying to sell them with little sucess. I make few " strictly decrotive" scroll saw items because they do not sell as well as functional items do. Many things can be made with a scroll saw that are functional. I do a lot of inlay with my scroll saws on hinged box lids and they sell well. Wall hung items not so much. I have a lathe but seldom use it. I only use it in making fireplace bellows with images or lettering inlayed into the front using my scroll saw. I turn the handle and nozzle ends of these bellows. Not much of a market for them but are fun to make. Quite challanging too.
  24. Jim Finn
    Yes a hair dryer does make noise but no more than my shop vac did.
  25. Jim Finn
    I considered using one of these pumps so I went to the pet department at PetSmart and found many different ones there. I had the sales person run the biggest one for me and it only gave out a whisper of air. Not enough at all. I then got an $8 hair dryer and mounted it to blow cool air on my saw blade and it has worked well now for well over a year.
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