RangerJay

Great job on a terrific pattern. Jay

Beautiful work - jig looks looks like it could have been designed by an engineer - makes me think there might be a lot more baskets in your future!! ..... Jay

I'm treading into an area I know absolutely diddlysquat about ..... but what worked for me with the same issue when uploading pictures taken by my smartphone was to save the smartphone picture file to a different filename after you have done your editing - then use the picture with the new filename as the one you upload to whatever forum. Jay

Something about a project like this cut on a burl that really puts it a cut above the rest - beautiful job. Jay

Maybe now I won't have to be so scared to glue-up mitred joints from now on ..... .... now why didn't you post this 45 years ago ..... Thanks, Jay

For most projects I don't think it makes a heck of a lot of difference - as long as you remain consistent within the project. Where it does make a difference is in fragile fretwork - here it seems critical to make sure you aren't going to make an already fragile piece even more fragile - so it becomes very important to maximize the strength between voids - meaning you do not want to cut into the lines - and - where it seems logical and appropriate - work to provide additional strength to the bridges by giving the line a bit of very subtle safety factor by staying away from it. And obviously it also makes a heck of a difference cutting parts that need to fit together - here it is really important to figure out what the thickness of the line means to your project ahead of time - and cut to ensure the pieces will fit. Jay

Holy Moly Kevin - pretty impressive .... .... and just to let you know ..... .... cooler weather is making it's way south. In our chunk of the world ... .... we've been lighting the stove each morning for the last couple weeks ..... .... trees are starting to show they are thinking about fall .... .... no morning frost yet .... but it doesn't feel like it is too far into the future. Jay

The red makes it - great looking project. Jay

The whole notion of experimenting with a market is great - but having said that - any experiment suggests you conduct your research with just a sampling - meaning - do not invest a whole lot of time and effort in producing products that you "think" folks will buy - do what you are suggesting and see what happens - then take your queues from there ..... Having said that - I quickly got tired of trying to second guess the market a while back - the only mass produced items I make tend to be ornaments (good sellers) - most of my other "stuff" is one-of-a-kind labour intensive pieces that I really enjoy doing but are not the kind of work that usually makes me money - I suspect your intarsia pieces may be pretty much the same - a lot of my pieces are priced at more than what folks are willing to pay - but I will not undersell - so they often end up getting donated to some local cause for auction, raffle or whatever - but when folks do want a duplicate or something special - well - it will get done - but it won't be next week ..... and its a premium price ..... Jay

For about a year now I've been using both CA glue and Elmer's glue on projects on joints that either can't be clamped or I simply don't have the time to clamp. Small dabs of CA glue with Elmer's in between seems to work well - have not had any issues to date - and have a much greater level of confidence that the final project is stronger and more stable than if CA glue was used alone. Jay

You do consistently great cuttings Ralph - always very precise and always great to look at - well done. Personally I would put a few coats of poly on - my own preference obviously - but I have always like the edges softened and multiple coats of poly help to do that - and I very much like the sheen created by a buffed and polished finish. Thanks, Jay

I use spiral blades for most of my cutting and since I got my Excalibur I now use top feeding all of the time. The only challenge comes when stackcutting more than 1/2 inch deep and you really need a small blade and equally small hole. To mitigate this I do cut a little larger hole but am careful about choosing it's location by trying to hit an intersection of lines or some other spot where it can be easily feathered. I guess the key thing that I have come to learn is that precise detail we imagine is needed is not quite borne out in reality - there is a level of forgiveness that you can take advantage of. The trick (for me) is to use as small a drill bit as is possible - be careful about it's location - feather any imperfections - then carry on as though you know what you are doing ..... believe me - everyone will see nothing less than a perfect job .... because that is exactly what it will be ..... Jay

Great looking cutting. Where did you get the pattern?? Thanks, Jay

Great to see you here - I've enjoyed cutting a couple of your great patterns - and have a couple more waiting in the wings ...... Jay

The price of the licence to be able to have this single piece auctioned does seem unreasonably high when looked at in isolation - but if I look at it in a larger context then it is not only cheap - it becomes insignificant (at least to me). That context has to do with the services provided to out mother in her last days. The fact that there were no fees for this hospice seemed unbelievable - it was clear the services being provided, if we had to pay for them ourselves, would have easily been in the 10's of thousands of dollars, for the time our mother was there - in truth - what they did for her and for us was priceless - she was treated like royalty ..... we would never have been able to afford what they gave her - if our contribution to their auction can help them in their fundraising then this makes the cost of the image licence to us peanuts. I will continue to look through hummingbird images right up till it is time to start cutting - but in absence of a better image turning up then the licence to sell the one that now seems to stand above the rest will be purchased. Now. I'm getting nervous ..... Having brought the attention of the forum to this particular project - I sure as heck hope it turns out ...... Thanks, Jay

Always great to hear from those who actually know - even if the news isn't quite what you might not have wanted to hear. Thanks, Jay

Thanks - I did speak to staff on the website (twice) in efforts to convince them that this was a "one-off" piece of work and didn't really constitute a sale - no success yet - but that doesn't mean I'm done .... at least for the moment I have time on my hands ..... with current projects on the go I don't expect to be in a position to start cutting till sometime later in the fall. But - as said earlier - if I do end up having to pay the extra fee it is only an irritant - it is a meaningful project done for a meaningful purpose - the extra cost for the image I want becomes just part of the price of getting it done. Once finished I will definitely post pictures. Thanks again, Jay

Thanks Denny - I'm continually humbled by the pattern making and design skills offered by many members of this forum and know that there would be help readily and freely given - but this is one project that I want to do myself. The kind of image that I sought was a stylized and fanciful version of a hummingbird - the one chosen is already a line drawing - one that needs some tweeking for the scrollsaw - but not so much that I can't do it myself. Like Scott - I am also of the opinion that if the piece is being gifted and profit are not part of the equation then how can it be called a sale. And like Zimmer - I know that if I went ahead and just did this without paying the fees that the chances of anything coming back on me or the hospice are pretty much next to zero. Having said all of this I know that in the end I will pay the additional fee so there can be no question about whether the piece will be cleanly sold - but - in the absence of a legal opinion definitively saying otherwise - I know that I will feel taken advantage of - which is why I asked the question here - I know there are lots of folks who contribute their work to charitable causes - so perhaps the discussion may help some others on this forum. Thanks, Jay

Through forums like this I've become very aware of copyright issues and want to do things right. So. Our mother passed away last Christmas after spending her last days and weeks in a 9-bed hospice that we literally lucked into. We were all blown away by the personal level of care and comfort she was given. There were no fees for her stay - not a single cent. Much of their financial support comes from fundraising drives including an annual auction. I would like to give back by contributing to their next auction. Their logo is a hummingbird - meaning my choice of subjects is pretty clear - (and also pretty representative of much of what they very successfully auction off). After spending huge amounts of time looking at literally thousands of hummingbird images I've landed on one that is available through one of those "royalty free" websites. Royalty fee seems a bit of a misnomer - there is a basic fee for the original download of the image - and a much larger fee if the use of the image will include sales. I'm very OK with the basic fee - but feel a little put off about having to pay a larger "licence" fee for sales. Guess my own warped sense of logic tells me that a one-of-a-kind project gifted to a charitable auction does not equate to a "sale". So I guess that my question is twofold: if I am gifting this project to the hospice - am I responsible/accountable for what they do with it? and if the hospice auctions a gifted piece and a "sale licence" hasn't been purchased - then are they responsible and accountable to the copyright police? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice. Jay

That is a great looking project very well cut. No one has mentioned stain as a possible choice. My own go to stain for Oak is always Minwax Early American - followed by a number of coats of semi-gloss polyurethane, buffed and waxed. The stain, at least in my view, gives any Oak project a particularly nice warm character. Jay

Denny: Pretty much the same chunk of the woods - we're just north of Quetico Park in Northwestern Ontario - International Falls is 1 1/2 hour drive west. We might have been neighbours! Jay

That is some serious heat - not something I would want to even begin to contemplate. Just to add a little contrast - this picture of my workshop was taken one morning a few years ago when the temperature bottomed out at - 40 C. That kind of cold is not a regular occurrence but we can expect it at least once or twice a winter. The haze you see we call "Frost Fog". Jay

Kevin, It is good to hear you are feeling better and I know all of us will hope that is a trend and it continues - but really suggest you be careful that you are not just tinkering around the edges with a range of home-grown symptomatic responses - given what you have said you might be long overdo for a thorough workup that is directed by a Doctor. Wishing you the very best of health - now and in the future. Jay

Your work is about as classy as it gets - in pretty much a class by itself - incredible. Jay

Kevin - sounds like you need to get the health care system working for you - and to do that you need to get to a Doctor - sooner rather than later. Good luck. Jay