Iguanadon

Nice work Jim. Just remember, I own the coastal North Carolina market.

Happy to help Hawkeye. I'm just trying to give back a little in return for all I learned from the collective group here. Here's a link to the shelf liner for folks who are interested. It works very well and is cheap. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AS9NC6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nice work Hawkeye. FYI - I am not artistic at all, but I modified one to say RESCUE and it is one of my top sellers. A lot of rescue dogs are generic/mutts but folks take pride in sharing the fact that they rescued their dog. Send me your email address and I'll send it to you if you're interested in it. (That applies to any and all of you as well). And of course feel free to modify/enhance the pattern as needed. Iggy

Nicely done Jim. You'll get comfortable with everything and blade flexing won't be an issue after you cut 2 or 3 hundred of them. ;-) Is the poor fella blind though? I will not stop until I turn all of you into dog puzzle making zombies!!!!!

I use a #3 blade for everything. I'm too lazy to swap out blades.

I use poplar... but... due to the tight grain it does snap easily at narrow parts, so just be aware.

Too bad you spelled it backwards. :-) Nice work Hawkeye

Jim, The pattern maker (Harvey Byler) that draws everything I make has one that you may be interested in. Take a look. The image is small on purpose so folks don't steal the design. http://www.woodenteddybearonline.com/x/product.php?productid=6653&cat=1003&page=1

I had a roll of fencing laying around and used a piece of it, not sure exactly what it was called, but it was in the lawn and garden area at Home Depot.

I dip them in the mineral oil assembled and set them out to dry assembled. I did rig up this make-shift "drying rack" so that they wouldn't be laying in a puddle of oil. (I took the Corgi apart to show someone in that picture and the stacked Pelicans were already dry)

Good luck Jim. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. I just started cutting and selling them in June and had a blast selling them at weekly farmers market and holiday events.

When I order over a weekend, I receive them Wednesday or Thursday. If you only order a couple of patterns, add a note in the notes field asking them to email them to you with your email address. They'll do it and only charge 50 cents each (which is less than the shipping costs).

Nice work Dan. I'm glad folks are finding them fun to make as I do, and they sell well. Good luck.

Hi Hawkeye, good luck, they're fun to make. This may help... http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/20547-iggys-animal-puzzle-assembly-line/

Very nice. I think we should make it Scroll Saw Village's goal to turn everything into puzzles. World domination! ;-)

Very nice. I have a local shop that I supply items for that prefer pirate and mermaid theme items. They'd love that.

Hi Jerry, Dan will chime in on what he uses. I cut similar puzzles and I use #3 Olson Mach Speed blades.

Nah, got a ways til retirement, but I know what I'll be doing to supplement my income when the time does arrive! But I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home, so I can sneak out into the garage and cut a dog or two during the work day. From laying the pattern on the wood until I apply the mineral oil finish, takes me right at 30 minutes per animal. I have a "system" now in which I do about 15 in a batch. Lay them out on a 5' long board, cut the outlines, then cut the puzzles, then apply the oil. I don't do any sanding or filing as they're very smooth to the touch already. When complete I dip them in food grade mineral oil and let them air dry for at least 24 hours to soak in. Another fortunate thing is that I'm in a tourist area (the beach), so I have a fresh batch of customers every week during the spring, summer and fall. My #1 top selling dog, which I never would have guessed is the Dachshund... go figure... then the Shepherd, Black Lab, Beagle, Bulldog, Golden (Retriever), Pit Bull and Pug. I'm sure that will be different depending on what's popular where you live. I wish you luck with them, let me know if I can answer any questions at all. Iggy

Ha! As a matter of fact yesterday I determined my top 20 selling items and made 10 copies of each pattern so I can start stockpiling for next spring/summer. First batch of 200... I'll start cutting next week. :-)

Hi DW, this may not be the precise "hair style" you're looking for, but here is a miniature poodle puzzle pattern. http://www.woodenteddybearonline.com/x/product.php?productid=1195&cat=132&page=14

Oops, sorry. I use plain, untreated pine for the colored dinosaurs. I use poplar for everything else I make.

Absolutely beautiful work JT. Don't kill yourself trying to figure it out quite yet. Sometimes it's the phase of the moon or the weather or a butterfly flapping it's wings in Japan that can cause a ripple or an anomaly at an event. I'm still a newbie overall, but I set up at the same farmers market, in the same spot every Saturday all summer long and I could never predict what kind of day I'd have on any given Saturday. Some days just seemed to resonate with the crowd and others didn't. That being said, there's no reason not to think of new items or ideas. Not only for your customers, but for yourself to keep you on your toes. Best of luck, but I don't think you need it.... your work is incredible.

It simply takes practice and in addition to what Wayne said, as you're making the turn and using one finger as a "pivot" to turn the wood, be sure you are pulling slightly "back" on the piece putting pressure on the backside of the blade which stops any errant cutting by the teeth as you make the turn. Again, it's delicate and just takes practice. It's the same for thin or thick wood.

Very nice Kevin. I just added those horses to my regular display and they get a lot of attention. I use a #3 Olson Mach Speed for mine. I like to keep the amount of play between puzzle pieces as minimal as possible.

It'll work over WIFI, but if no WIFI is available it uses your cellphone connection. Very minimal data usage. But yes, you'd need a data plan in order to use it.