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Iguanadon

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Everything posted by Iguanadon

  1. Hey, those dogs look familiar!!! Nicely done Ike. One thing I like to be sure to mention and show potential customers about the dog puzzles is that they stand upright on their own. Some folks don't realize it until you actually show them, and then I mention "They're meant to stand on a table or in a bookcase... etc, etc." Good luck with them. Some days they won't get much interest, but other days you'll have a bunch of dog lovers come by. I have an event tomorrow. Beautiful weather and hope to meet some more pleasant folks.
  2. Who's book? Harvey Byler patterns are available at Wooden Teddy Bear. Here's a link to the various groups of them. http://www.woodenteddybearonline.com/x/home.php?cat=100
  3. Expect a box in your mail soon... shake it up to mix them a bit more. LOL
  4. After a stressful and busy few days with my saw breaking down and needing to get a new one here pronto before I fly out of town for the week on business, I was able to get everything done that I needed for an upcoming event next Saturday. Including 8 new horse puzzles, along with the 3 I had made last week as a test. Let me know how you like them. Iggy
  5. My new DW788 arrived today at noon. Thank you Amazon and FedEx. It is great, of course. I just finished 3 solid hours of cutting and as I compare the movement of the linkages between the new one and the one I had to stop using due to noise, etc, it's amazing the difference. I have a feeling that just about every bearing and/or sleeve will need to be replaced when I break it down in a couple of months. I need to dig into the diagrams and start ordering parts.
  6. Thanks guys. Just wrapped up 3 hours of cutting and so far, so good. It was nice not having a floor full of sawdust when I was done.
  7. Hello Braintrust, A question.... I tried searching but couldn't find anything in prior comments, so I apologize if this has been asked. Point me to the thread if that's the case. As I'm awaiting my new saw to arrive any minute I went ahead and set up my Dust Deputy and was planning on plugging the shop-vac into my foot pedal along with my saw so that it only comes on when I'm cutting rather than running non-stop for a couple of hours straight. Is this practical? Will it burn up the shop-vac or anything? Thanks for any thoughts or advice. Iggy
  8. Hi Scott, I would like to take you up on your offer. I won't need to do it right away as I have a new saw on the way, but would very much appreciate the maintenance lesson. My wife's dad lives "near" you in southern VA, so it may be that I coordinate a trip when she wants to go visit him. I'll be in touch. Thanks again for offering. Yet another example of the great community we have here. Iggy
  9. Good info, thanks Charley. Between Youtube and our resident knowledgebase I'm sure I'll come close to not destroying my saw. Which one of you wants to come to the beach for a weekend to do this for me? LOL
  10. Just for you Len, I won't take my current saw to the repair shop and I'll take the time in January after the holidays to watch some tutorials and will learn how to maintain the DW so that I don't find myself in a bad situation again. I'm not completely clueless when it comes to mechanical work, however I won't be surprised if I end up with a box of parts that I end up taking to the repair shop with a horribly disfigured saw asking if they can put Humpty Dumpty back together again. ;-)
  11. Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a DW from Amazon and have it coming Saturday. With any luck it gets here during daylight hours and I won't lose too much cutting time. I only have to travel twice a year for the day job and of course next week is one of those times. Very rude of them to interrupt my cutting and craft events. ;-)
  12. Hey Steve, Yes, the EX is still available but even if he was available tomorrow, it's a 6 hour round trip and I'd lose a day of cutting. I learned my lesson. I'll buy a spare DW this winter.
  13. I don't have the mechanical skills or the time to take my saw apart, put it back together again, have several leftover parts after 40 hours of cursing and screaming. ;-) My full time job and my spare time being spent cutting, just doesn't allow me the time to learn how to dismantle the saw and learn how to maintain it. I know I won't be happy with the Craftsman, but I must have a saw for the next 3 days and that's my best option available for pick up tomorrow morning. Such is life, it's my own fault.
  14. For a couple of months I've been thinking "Iggy, you should buy a 2nd saw so that you have a spare." I've been checking Craigslist but a decent one hasn't popped up. I should have bought another DW788 and been done with it. Now I'm paying the price. Mine is making noises that it shouldn't... some rattling, some squeaking, etc. There is a Dewalt service center here, so getting it repaired is no issue, but I can't afford to go 2 weeks without a saw... Especially right now. I have an event coming up and I'm cutting like crazy getting ready for it because I'll be out of town on business all next week. I be screwed. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap Craftsman from Sears tomorrow just so I can keep working thru Sunday. I just wanted to rant. I feel better now. :-)
  15. Thanks Hawkeye... other than one of her fingers being fatter than the others. ;-) Bugged me, and I was going to fix it but someone bought it yesterday.
  16. My event yesterday went very well. It was of course my first year doing this particular one. The pottery vendor next to me had told me this was always her best event each year. but at the end of the day she said it wasn't nearly as busy as usual. For me however, it was one of my top 5 days with solid sales of 35 pieces. The highlight of the day was the administrator of the zoo in South Carolina was here on vacation and was very intrigued by the zoo animal collection (Lion, Gorilla, Elephant, Giraffe, etc) and we swapped cards. He said he'd be interested in having them in the gift shop. I emailed him last night thanking him for speaking with me and maybe we'll come to some sort of an arrangement. Fingers crossed. I've been trying to get in touch with the NC Aquarium that is just 5 miles down the road from me but haven't been able to get my foot in the door yet, but this inspired me to try again and I'm asking friends in town if they know anyone within management that they can connect me up with.
  17. Hi Roly, Harvey Byler is the artist behind all of the animal puzzles that I make. His patterns are available on Wooden Teddy Bear site, about six hundred of them including cars, trucks, etc. http://www.woodenteddybearonline.com/x/home.php?cat=100 I was fortunate enough to track him down and he was kind enough to offer his services to do custom names within animal bodies when I get requests. He's an Amish gentleman in Ohio. We communicate by phone and he snail mail sends me the patterns when he draws them. He does amazing work. He's also a scroller. A shame he can't join us here on the forum.
  18. Amazing work. You have much more patience than I do! Approximately how many hours of cutting is involved with one of those?
  19. Fabulous work.
  20. Thank you Melanie, you're too kind.
  21. Jim, that's definitely a problem with cutting puzzles out of thick stock. And the harder the wood, the more likely you'll have that issue. I've tried using black walnut and red oak and more times than not I have to toss them out as I end up putting too much pressure and flexing the blade while cutting and they won't slide apart both ways. I have found poplar to be the Goldilocks wood so far, it's just the right hardness and I personally like the color variations which add character to the finished product. BUT... it's rather brittle with a tight grain that will snap easily in any skinny areas.
  22. I started making a dinosaur puzzle too... now look at me... LOL Nicely done. Puzzles are definitely addictive.
  23. Thanks Steve, I very much enjoy cutting all of these puzzles and Mr. Byler has hundreds of patterns so I'll be certain never to get bored. Swing by tomorrow. It's at the Carolina Beach Lake from 10am-4pm. 40+ vendors to do a little Christmas shopping.
  24. The suns were setting. :-) It's nothing you're doing wrong. It has happened to me as well at times. Nice work!
  25. Having focused on dogs, then sea creatures, then zoo animals, I'm now starting to make a horse series for those enthusiasts. Here are the first 3 that I've done. I have another 8-10 of Harvey Bylers patterns on the way. I have an event tomorrow, local handmade holiday festival. Perfect weather, should be a great day.
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