What I been up to...

[lucky788scroller]

These are part of a batch of dog puzzles I have been working on for a while. They stand about 7 1/4" tall and are 3/4" and 13/16" maple . I used FD-TC #1 and FD-TC #3 blades to cut these, and it took me about twice as long to round over the edges on them as it took me to do the cutting.I had to cut slowly and carefully since I was using a small blade to minimize my saw kerfs because these puzzles need a nice fit in order to stand up nice when they are displayed. I totally wore out an 80 grit sanding mop, along with using up plenty of elbow grease . For finish I tried out something new. I used a few coats of aerosol clear gloss paint product made by rust-o-leum that proved to be outstanding on these, its called ' painters touch ultracover 2X ' . I was a bit scared to try it since I am typically a Deft user, but was very pleased with this stuff. I also cut and finished a walnut horse puzzle using the same finish, and it looked amazing on that as well.And, my first use of my ebay purchased shrink wrap machine proved to be fun and a worthwhile investment too. So, yes, every once in a while I do make something on the yella saws!

[turtleteasers]

Dale,

Nicely done!

You have cut enough to make up your own dog team!

Ron

[Bishop]

Dale
They look great. I hope you don't have to walk them one at a time!!!!!
Homer & Carol

[Wood Dog]

3/4 maple with a #1 blade........holy molly man, how long did one take to cut? Thanks for the tip on the new finish you used, I always value your opinion. Puzzles look outstanding, and don't know how you found time to be on your "yella", where were the 4H kids?

[Scrolling Days]

Hi, Dale! Those look really great! That's a lot of pooches.

Did you stack cut any of them?

I think your shrink wrap came out really nice, also. Very professional looking!

[wood-n-things]

Dale,
Way to go...Nicely done...

Now please, more info on the shrink wrap machine if you please...

[dragyn]

GOGGIES!

MAde into puzzles! Looks fantastic. Now all shrink wrapped and very professional looking. Thanks for sharing and would like more info on this shrink wrap machine and the breed of goggie!

[Big_red_S]

Beautiful Dale. How did you do the eyes?

How thick are these?

[lucky788scroller]

Thanks yall.I'll try to answer the questions, forgive me if I miss one though. Yes, they are 3/4" and a few 13/16 " thick maple.I cut about 2/3 of each dog using a #1 blade, then switched to a #3 for the rest of each dog. I have a pretty good feel of which cuts to do with the #1 and which to do with the #3 to keep them standing nice without much slop and sag when standing upright.It takes me just over an hour to fully cut each one out. No stack cutting involved as I am pushing a #1 blade to its limit on the maple.To cut 16 of these dogs, and one walnut horse puzzle, I used 5 blades total. As for walking them Homer... I did walk 15 of them today to the post office, all at once , and sent them to a new loving home. The dog.. a samoyed , and I should have said this in my original post, the pattern is by Judy Peterson, with the exception of the base part, that I added to it.Its hard to see in the photo, but the eyes are cut. A black fineline artist pen was used for the details and the tongue is colored with an oil colored pencil and blended with Liquin. I have a couple months this time of the year to tackle a few projects without the 4H meetings, so I was able to work on these.
Now, for the shrink wrap machine... I got a used machine off ebay. Its a 16 inch AJM shrink wrap machine , and came with the heat gun needed, as well as a 2000 foot roll of 15 inch wide centerfold shrink wrap film.The machine is not new, but a number of years old, but the new comparable machine through ajm is currently $405.Heat gun new is $49, and a roll of the shrink wrap is $128.32 . So, if I bought this same setup new, it would be $582.32 from AJM . So, I feel like I got a steal of a deal when I bought this for $109.99 with free shipping!!! It was a deal I couldnt hardly pass up! o far I'm very happy with that investment.

[Bishop]

Dale
If you cut all of them with only the 5 blades you have a very gentle touch and a very good YELLA SAW
Homer & Carol