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BadBob

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Everything posted by BadBob

  1. This is an excellent review. Much better to get a review from someone who has used it for a long time.
  2. With very few exceptions, I don't use hangers. I hang things on tiny nails that I push into the wall with a small amount (1/16-1/8"), sticking out so they catch in the edge of the frame, slots, or other holes. The exceptions are things like key racks that get handled a lot. I have a map in a frame with a glass front that is 3 feet long and has been hung this way for more than 30 years. It works because the head of the nail digs in slightly dnd prevents the frame from sliding off. If there isn't a frame, I cut a narrow slot centered on the balance point. I used straight pins when I first started using this method, but they are too soft and bend easily when pushing them into walls.
  3. I use QuickBooks connected to Etsy and upload any receipts I get. I don't use any phone apps or track any vehicle expenses since they are so small that it is not worth the trouble. 99.9% of my materials are delivered. Anything else is in Google spreadsheets. Whatever methods you use, they need to be backed up with copies off-site. My Etsy files are backed up in four places. Two of these are off-site.
  4. I don't have to watch it, although now that you brought it up, I may have to watch it again. I shot a 45/110 once. Hit a steel turkey at 750 yards.
  5. I do not like Bear Woods. I will not buy anything from them.
  6. Food for thought.
  7. This has got to be my most made item. I have made a few hundred of them with various finishes.
  8. I put everything in an oven set on warm (200 degrees or less). I dip or brush the melted wax onto the pieces and return them to the oven. Most, if not all of the excess wax melts and either is absorbed or drips into the cookie sheet. I hold all the parts on Dollar Store cookie sheets and a cooling rack. Any wax that drips off, I pour back into the jar. I have finished hundreds of puzzles, toys, and ornaments using this method. You need to check the temperature of your oven before you try this. Some ovens will not go low enough. You can apply the wax at room temperature and use a heat gun. I did this for a while and found it to be a nuisance.
  9. I use a custom blend of waxes and mineral oil, which I apply hot, but I am experimenting with dipping in clear shellac. For several puzzles, I now offer them made-to-order in three versions: unfinished, oil-and-wax, and shellac. It's too early to tell which will be the most popular.
  10. I don't see a link on his blog to download the entire catalog. Do you have one? In any case, I think you should pay him for his work. I bought a flash drive from Steve several years ago.
  11. If you haven't purchased one of Steve's "flash drives," you might want to consider buying one soon. If he dies, all of the free patterns will likely disappear.
  12. I rebuilt my EX-21, and it wasn't a big deal. In fact, I have changed every replaceable part in the saw except the switch, which I don't use. Yes, even the motor.
  13. Ocooch Hardwoods also does custom work.
  14. I have a Pegas and an EX-21 scroll saw, and I bottom-feed. I had two other saws before, and AMT and Hawk. I never thought of top-feeding until I saw it on this forum. I tried top-feeding for a while and bent a lot of blades, so I don't top-feed anymore. The choice may depend on what you make. I don't make anything with internal cuts larger than about 12 inches. I can see where cutting large pieces might require top feeding.
  15. Is Steve here?
  16. I have lots of blades. Sometimes I think I have more money tied up in my blade stash than I paid for my saw. I try to keep the blades in their original packaging, or in a labeled container, but I have a few of unknown origin. I think some of my blades are 40 years old.
  17. I made doll cradles for my girls and nieces many years ago. They were small to fit the small dolls they had. I decided to make a full-size cradle for my granddaughter. The design comes from the old Shopsmith "Hands On" magazine. The patterns were printed on a grid that was about 3 inches tall and had to be scanned, cleaned up with Gimp, and traced and enlarged. I had to figure out how to print a usable pattern that spanned multiple pages. I cut all the curved pieces with my scroll saw and made plywood templates for next time. I had some problems to overcome, not the least of which was being interrupted by other things. The finish isn't as good as I had hoped, but so far, no one seems to notice it but me. All of the joints are butt joints as the design called for, and it was a pain to clamp without the pieces moving. Next time, biscuits or dowels, or some other method of holding things in place until the glue sets.
  18. I spent some time last year looking at making bandsaw boxes. It seemed to me that cutting all the layers with a scroll saw and gluing them together would be easier. I learned a lot from making this. Unless you love sanding, cutting precisely is important. Make sure that all your sanding tools will fit into the areas you need to sand; otherwise, you will be doing a lot of hand sanding. I think it turned out pretty well, and I definitely plan to make more.
  19. Lots of military stuff is copyrighted. I looked into it once and was surprised by how much of it was.
  20. Have you ever made one of these? How did you make the corn? The instructions are sparse at best. Basically, they say to cut the corners off a block of wood and grind it into shape with a belt sander. No mention of how to make the kernels, although they may be painted to look like kernels. Feel free to make suggestions, even if you have never made one.
  21. I have a Mac Mop and the Sanding Mop. I also have the sanding stars. I have not found the sanding stars to be useful. It is possible that I do not know how to use them. I found the Split Mandrel very interesting, since I make this from dowels, and it would be nice to have some metal ones. I did a bit of research and found that these are widely used in making jewelry. I can get them in smaller sizes better suited to my needs.
  22. It is not scrap unless you throw it away.
  23. I think the hardwoods look great too, but I'm a woodworker and I like the way wood looks. I'm not making them for me, and it is a puzzle, not a decoration. If I wanted to make it from hardwood, it would be easy enough to make my own plywood. My point was that making this puzzle from Baltic birch plywood was much easier and faster than making it from solid wood.
  24. I believe it, I have cut them from Home Depot cull lumber, and they did not break. It was flat-sawn wood and had to be flatten before I could use it to cut a puzzle.
  25. The tusks on this toy mammoth are made of shop-made plywood. Oak in the case. My grandson wanted this, and I could not see making it from solid wood because it would not last through the first day. I could not break the tusks with my hands. That was six years ago, and today it is being played with by my two-year-old granddaughter. Still intact.
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