Iguanadon

A lot more questions than answers at this point. She took a mix of everything to start with and we'll see what, if anything, sells and I'll likely replace sold items and then if she wants to stock duplicates or broaden what she wants to show and display, we'll figure it out. Fortunately I'm very well stocked right now but a lot of events coming up between now and December 9th.

Over the past 15 months I've had various folks speak to me at my booth saying they'd love to stock my puzzles at a local zoo, or a dog rescue is interested in buying them for the people that adopt dogs, etc, etc, etc. The first couple of times, I got rather excited about the possibilities, but as each one never materialized into anything, I no longer get excited. The latest one was a month ago a woman started talking about a business she was going to be starting up having to do with customizing furniture and she though my puzzles would be great as little decor items... Uh-huh, yeah, right, sure, I've heard it all before... but this time she actually followed thru and came by my house today and ended up walking out with 25 puzzles. She's also going to be offering paint classes and decided to do one for kids using my kids puzzles made from pine. I'm selling to her at "wholesale" and she's going to put them for sale at the same price I sell them for at the location she'll have. I warned her that I've had them in stores before and they didn't do well because they had to be packaged up and people couldn't get the full experience, so she's going to keep one unwrapped allowing people to touch and feel. We'll see if it turns into anything, but hey, she decided to buy them outright, upfront rather than just stocking them and paying me as they sold. The kids puzzles to be painted, she will place an order with me once she has a class signed up and knows which animals she wants. If this works out, it might create some sales during the slow winter months.

Thank you Steve, I'll be taking you up on that offer. I'd very much like to try an EX.

I think he knows what you're referring to. He said there was a known issue with the Type1 in that the table needs to be shimmed in the back, which makes sense to correct the front to back travel of the blade... Can't adjust the blade, so adjust the "pitch" of the table to align 90 degrees with the blade. Hopefully he finds the "easy" solution to share with ya.

I appreciate all the comments and feedback, I want to hear 'em all. You aren't the first, nor will you be the last ones to call me insane, or worse. ;-) I don't consider myself a DeWalt loyalist or anything. It's just that they cut consistently, other than wearing them out, they do the job well. I never have to adjust the table or anything at all... just start cutting and never touch a thing for 9 months. It's just that after about 700-800 puzzles cut out of 3/4" poplar, I'm pushing them to their limit and apparently a good part of that is my fault being too aggressive and pushing too hard. I'd love to find something else that will last. Honestly, cost is not an issue at all. I was willing to go with Hawk or Hegner as I don't mind paying for quality. I'm just not familiar with the other options and if they'll be able to stand up to my "torture". If it comes down to it and I have to buy a new DeWalt every year, I'm willing to do it. It adds less than $1 to my overhead cost per puzzle. I actually had someone suggest taking out the extended warranty if buying from Home Depot or Lowe's and simply take it back and get a new one when it does wear out. LOL Agreed, I'm not going to bad mouth the Hawk or the maker, I wouldn't do that no matter what. I will however show what is happening even after replacing the lower arm that was sent to me.

So... the 2nd DeWalt that I wore out was still under warranty, so when I had my big event near Raleigh a couple of weeks ago, I took it to the DeWalt repair center in Raleigh (which is the closest one to me, 155 miles). I dropped it off, the guy said they'd look it in about 5 days. When I hadn't heard anything after 10 working days I called this past Friday, he looked it up, said he has only 1 guy that works on scroll saws and he'd work on it Monday. No big deal, I'm in no rush. Well, UPS just pulled up and Mrs. Iggy said "Did you order something heavy again?" "Nope, not this time..." Lo and behold the UPS guy rolls up with a brand new DW788 on his cart... I guess the technician looked at mine Monday figured it was dead and had a new one sent to me. No phone call, no nothing, just SURPRISE! A new saw. Finally, a nice surprise for Iggy. A very pleasant surprise as I've decided I'm going to stick with DeWalt's and just use 'em til I wear 'em out and then buy a new one. The Hawk just isn't working out, it's going back to Kansas at some point. I just have to figure out how to box it up to send back.

Thanks Scott, I just sent you a message.

By the way, two day event coming up this weekend. I did their spring version back in April, sold 43 the first day, 13 the second day. I'll be happy to break 60 this weekend.

99% of the time I'm able to pull right up to my spot either in my golf cart or in my car, so I never have to actually haul them, it's just a matter of lifting into and out of whatever vehicle I'm in. I won't get anything bigger, I'll split into 2 smaller ones if it ever comes to that.

As my herd of animals keeps growing that I display at shows, I had run out of room in the grey tote bin I'd been using to haul them to events. I was having to eliminate some animals that weren't big sellers and I hated doing that so I bought a shiny new blue bin today that will hold about 30-50% more... but then I may not be able to lift it. LOL In the old tote bin, I was using cardboard as dividers to lay the puzzles on but I didn't have any boxes laying around to make new ones, so I bought an 8'x4' piece of material, it's like pegboard but without the holes, and I cut it into pieces the right size for the bin. I need to get some more. I was able to make 9 dividers and need 3 or 4 more. But seriously, I do have to be careful not to make it so heavy I can't lift it.

Any SSV members near Norfolk VA willing to do me a favor? Message me please. Thanks!

Very good thought. I do stash some things in there already and I "think" that when there are puzzles on the stand, you can't see through, but I won't swear to that and I'll be sure to check this weekend at my upcoming event. I certainly don't want people seeing "junk" in there.

I wish you were closer too Rolf... I really, truly want to like this saw and would love to have someone familiar with them to actually be able to check it out. Irma was just a breezy and rainy event for us last night and this morning and now she is gone. Jose may stir up our surf in a few days but isn't expected to make landfall on the east coast. So, we'll just wait for the next storm, and the one after that, and the one after that... ;-)

Half a step ahead of ya my friend. I tried the cushioning and no luck. Legs are definitely solid on the level concrete floor. And yeah, there is still some sideways motion in the blade. I'm still using the saw for the time being.... hoping...

Holy cow, that's impressive.

Too funny... the first video I made exactly 1 month ago, the overview of my entire process, which I made for maybe 5 or 10 of you here at SSV to see has now been viewed over 2,400 times. But I'm thrilled... I've sold over 250 of Harvey's patterns for him in the past 4 weeks.

You're very welcome Roberta. I know I've tried several things, trial and error, and my way of doing things may not be the best or the way some people prefer to do them, but at least these little tidbits get you thinking about stuff.

Hi Rolf, I've found the "sweet spot" speed that causes the least amount of vibration and the least amount of sideways movement/vibration in the blade but it's still bad enough to frustrate me and cause the piece I'm cutting to move/vibrate making following the line a bit difficult as it looks "blurry". I've tried really hard to adapt to it and try to get used to it, but I honestly shouldn't have to "settle" and accept these things.

Best of luck. I'm starting to get a little frustrated with mine. You happen to live where my son does... hopefully when I'm in the area I can come by and see one that works smooth. :-)

Ok, you convinced me... here's a photo of myself. I'm the one who looks like he's heading to a barbershop quartet audition.

Thanks Paul, I was talking with one of my new "groupies" on the phone last night (Steve Good has made me slightly famous) and I was telling him again how much I truly enjoy the entire process of making the puzzles and selling them. I'm actually a bit of an introvert in that I prefer quiet times to being out with groups of people, partying, etc, but I truly love setting up my booth at every event and interacting with everyone that stops by as well as with the other vendors. It's enjoyable to be around people that are out to have a nice time and I love the looks on peoples faces when they see my puzzles and the ooh's and aah's as they tell me how much they like them. If only I could get a $1 for every ooh and aah, I'd definitely be rich. ;-) Thank you for the kind words about the videos, I'm kind of proud of the fact that I make the video clips in a single try without having to re-do any of them. I just pretend I'm talking to someone standing next to me. I stutter and screw up a word now and again, but hey, everyone does so I don't let it bother me. I'm also very happy that Harvey's patterns are enjoying a resurgence. I just mailed him a check to cover the 96 patterns I'd sold the previous week and a half. He called and was amazed. I'm outselling Wooden Teddy Bear right now. I received an order for 25 patterns last night and another order for 26 today... he's going to be happy again in a few days when I send him another check. Maybe I'll show myself in a video soon...

To be fair to myself... I walked to the farmers market the Saturday before that, showed pictures of the puzzles to the guy who oversees it and he said "Nice. Be here next Saturday." I didn't own a tent, I didn't own a table, other than that square card table the kids puzzles are on, I didn't own a banner. Ordered and received all 3 in time for my inaugural week that you see in that picture. LOL

Steal away, I'll even help you sneak out the door with 'em... here is an overview of how I built them. Puzzle Display Stands by Scott.pdf

Here's a good chuckle... My "booth" the first week I ever set up anywhere, 6/11/16...

Irma became a non-event for us a couple of days ago. Poor Florida is getting 100% of her mess. Our turn will come soon enough.