Goals for 2019

Tools:  I am looking at a couple of tools to purchase next year.  The first is a shop vac.  I really need to do some sort of dust collection.  I am also looking at a dust deputy to take care of a lot of the large shavings.  I am also looking at a jig saw.  I might just borrow one. I only need it for one project at this time. 

Projects:  I have two refurbish projects that I need to complete.  The first is a bench that goes to my son’s classroom.  It is something that was found on the side of the road.  It had been chewed up by a dog so the rough parts need to be sanded or replaced.  I will probably also refinish it.  I am excited about it because it is a nice piece made from solid oak.  The second is the toy wood oven I made a few years back.  I need to get it fixed up and donated. It was a fun project but it does not fit in the house anymore.

I also have the jewelry boxes that I have not finished yet.  This is one of those projects that is a goal this year to finish last year’s goals that I didn’t start the year before.  I have the tools and parts all cut out.  I have one more top to make and the groove the boxes.  I also have a couple of gifts for family that I need to make.  Not mentioned here because they are gifts.  On the last year’s goal list, I also need to make some camping boxes.

I have designed the next set of small vehicles. These are not as cost and labor focused than the other set but I am excited to make them.  They do require different thickness of wood.  I could not get around that.  I plan on making them in different colored wood this time to see if they sell better.

I would also like to do another class, possibly two, if people are interested.  I have not gotten any responses for the spring semester.  The goal is to take the class to the home school group.  I do have contacts; however there are things like insurance that I do need to check on.

Donations:  Since the toy drive is a big part of why I design and make toys I figured I would mention what I plant to make this year.  I am going to make another five sets of the small vehicles that I made last year.  I will also make five sets of this year’s small vehicles.  There are eleven different vehicles in this set.  I also plan on making five cradles and five rocking chairs.  This is a pretty big undertaking for this year.

Year in Review

This year was a fun year and a good year even though it started off rough.  First my scroll saw went down and getting another was problematic.  Shipping destroyed it.  The good thing is I now have two because I was able to repair my old one.  Then my drill press broke. I was not able to fix that because it was so old the model was no longer supported.  I needed to purchase another one.  Then my belt sander died.  I replaced it with a larger 6” wide belt.  This was truly an upgrade to the one I had.  That was the beginning of the year.  That was the rough start, but things turned around quickly.

I mentioned two of the tools that I purchased this year.  The only other tools were for the wood working class.  However, my son did win the Masters of Wood competition from Triton tools.  Those tools arrived in March.  I need to use the router and table more, I like it so far.  The saw is ok.  The only issue with the set is there is no real way to store the tools.  They just hang out where ever they are placed.  I designed and built a rack but it is not something I would load in the car and take to a job site.

Projects were smaller this year but more in number.  I started the building and grow series which was not economically feasible: too much time and too much precision.  So it developed into the small vehicle package.  There were 10 cars and 1 train.  The company that I work for is very focused on cost with an emphasis on standard parts and cost.  This “product line” was a result of those philosophies.  I was very focused on common rip components and parts.  I knew my profit margin and it was decent for a woodworker.  Alas, they did not sell as well as I hoped and I still gave half to charitable organizations.  That is what I do.  I made 20 of each vehicle.  It did take time but less than 6 months for 220 toys, is pretty good considering I work mostly on Saturdays.

I did a ton of puzzles, both in a board and free standing.  They also did not sell either.  I have a pretty good reason for it also.  They were too simple and too plain.  Live and learn on that one.  They are good practice.

My other project that I have been doing is the wood working class.  My first class is either ending or has ended (depending on when I publish this).  I think it went well.  We will see how the final projects turn out.  I over scheduled time at the beginning and under scheduled time for the final projects.  I have had several positive comments so I am happy.  There will be more information from future posts.  I do want to keep teaching this class.

From a business stand point I have been flat.  I did not do as well at the craft fairs as I had planned.  My plan sales were about the same.  I tried to get more plans in plan catalogs and failed.  Not sure why.  I am getting more views and hits on my etsy account.  It has generated more income than last year.  In fact, I think my online presence is growing.  More people are emailing me about the projects that have done from the plans that they have purchased from me.  I have had a couple people contact me because of my website for club information.

The other big news is that I have been in contact with a publisher.  Two of my designs are in their possession.  They are please with them, or they say they are.  I don’t know if they are going to publish them.  Time will tell and this would be another big step in promoting my plans.

Classes

The woodworking class is coming to an end at the end of the month.   I have not been as good as I had hoped in taking pictures.  Now that they have all the power tools they are going to learn at their disposal, the projects are going a lot quicker.  They also seem more engaged in the class.  I have changed up the format a little with less from a power point to more in the shop.  This seems to be working better.  They are now all working on the small toy cars. 

I would like to do again, but I will need another group of students. 

Craft Fairs

December 1^st marked the last craft fair that we did this year.  We only did two and they were both at Piecemakers.  The venue was a lot better than the ones we did last year.  There was more people and more people willing to purchase handmade items.  The first fair we were rained on and it was not a fun day but it was tolerable.

The one this past weekend was packed and we had a line in our booth.  It was for jewelry and stained glass but we had a lot of people through our booth.  I did well throughout the day and I am not complaining.  I am extremely happy for the two ladies I share a booth with.   Each show has had different people and sales have been different.  I am learning more with each one.

The key things that I learned this time around: 

I was happy that most of my items were under $15.  There was a lot of interest but not a lot of sales on the small vehicles.  There was more interest on the scrap cars because they had different colors.  The small vehicles were all poplar.  I need to add some color to them.  I still will not paint them but I will probably start looking into oak and cherry to add color.  There is value in the decorations.  I need to replenish and look at some ornaments and plaques to do.  We will see what next year brings.

The Toy Drive

On November 20^th, the Inland Empire Scroll Saw Association had their annual toy drive.  This year we were able to donate the most toys we have ever done.  There were over 2400 handmade wooden toys made.  I was able to donate 190 toys this year. 

These toys are distributed to lower income areas in Fontana and several local churches.  These groups are allowed to pick and choose toys that will benefit children in their areas.  It is a great event each year to see and participate in. 

We have a few people to thank this year.  Fontana Veterans Association and Fontana Foundation of Hope for donating money to the toy drive.  This money is 100% used on the purchase of toy wheels.  We used almost 10,000 wheels this year.  RSI holdings also donated 1,000 board feet of lumber to make toys.  It did take us a while go through the wood.

The pictures are mainly what I was able to donate with some overall pictures of the room.  It was impressive to see all the toys made.

Things to be Thankful For

I was reflecting on all the things I have to be thankful for and there were many things that happened that I could not have done without help from others.  I would like to take a moment and say thanks to the many that have made my projects possible this year.  Many people have donated wood and supplies to help with my toy donation projects.  This year we had a donation of over 1000 board feet of lumber from RSI Holdings to the club that I go to.  This was crucial in helping make the 190 toys that I donated this year.  That was about eight times more than I usually am able to.

I would like to also thank the support I receive from online supporters.  It has been nice to have people purchase plans from me.  This year has been extra special because people are now starting to share their finished projects with me.  It is such a rewarding feeling when others have made projects that I have designed and talk about the things that they liked and what they have changed.  I am actually putting more customer pictures on the blog.

I am grateful for the support that I receive from others.  I have started a class this year.  It is going well.  I appreciate the patience my students have in me as I work out the details and suffer through some of the boring parts that I have realized are not important to the class objectives.

There are also others that have helped me with my crazy idea of being published.  I am amazed that someone would let me barrow photography equipment knowing that it is going to be used in a dusty environment.  I have been careful, the garage is still dusty. 

I am especially grateful for my wife who supports me through all of these things.  She has been very supportive of different ideas and time commitments I have.  

Little Vehicle Series

I decided that I needed to expand the little vehicle series by three more.  This makes it an even ten vehicles.  The ambulance was a simple design, my son wanted a cement truck, and I wanted to do a forklift.  That is where the designs came from.

First, the easy one.  The ambulance is pretty straight forward and can be made into a box truck.  There really is not much too the design.

The forklift was much more challenging.  The biggest struggle was the proportions.  It was either too big, too long or just did not look right.  I wanted something were I did not have to use a scroll saw and could be cut out with a table saw and chop saw.  Overall, I am happy how it turned out.  I will say, having a hand plane really helped out on flattening the dowel and adding the profiles.

The impossible request was the cement truck.  I could not figure out how I was going to make it.  I do not have a lathe which means that I was going to use a dowel.  I was not sure how the bucket was going to be attached and then there was the size.  I first established my constraints, the chassis was 2 ½” wide and max 4.5” long.  The largest dowel I can buy was 2” at the big box store.  This is why I love to design in the 3d modeling world with good software.  I learned quickly that I could match angles with the barrel supports and using constraints, I could determine the angle and the distance that would result in measurements that were 1/8” or larger.  Then I had the structural concerns.  I doweled a lot of the pieces.  I did not worry about how I was going to make all the parts until that time came, and I procrastinated it.

Toughest part was the barrel.  I ended up setting my band saw at 45 degrees and putting in stop blocks.  It turned out easier than I expected and safer than a router which was my first thought.  I then needed to do the same setup with the belt sander.  This also took time to finish because I needed to tape off a lot of parts.  It came out well and my son is happy.