candy duet... thanks MIke!

[Ajcoholic]

I am in the process of making 10 "candy duets" - the Vectric free plans for this month.

I am doing 5 from cherry and 5 from walnut to give as gifts to my neighbors, friends and family.

I am so busy at work, I thought I wasnt going to have time to make anything this year for gifts. So, thanks Mike for the plans! Much appreciated.

The only thing I am doing differently is using one type of wood per unit, and also I sped up the feeds to allow the parts to be cut in a much faster time frame...

I will post some pics later on when I have them glued up.

AJC

[jTr]

Good idea Andrew - I haven't visited Vectric since training, so did not realize they offered these projects. Several cool items there for the rest of you who have not checked it out. My holiday gift-building might just happen after all!

jeff

[jamesb]

Here is the link to our project index page in case it helps:
http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/projects/projects.htm

Projects listed for VCarve Pro 6.5 will also work with the latest version of PartWorks.

Cheers,
James

[Ajcoholic]

So here are my boxes.... I have to finish sanding the exterior and then hand sand everything. I will be putting on a coat of danish oil (natural) and then spraying them with catalyzed lacquer.

Will be ready for giving away soon! :)

I have a full lift of walnut and cherry shorts (4/4 stock, 4 to 5 foot lengths) that was great for projects like this. Very inexpensive material cost, and you still get the beauty of walnut and cherry.

AJC

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0594-1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0595-1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0596.jpg

[myxpykalix]

Geez Andrew, how many relatives do you have? Giving them all away?:confused:

What i want to know is...where is all the sawdust? Why do you think you NEVER see pictures of my shop floor?:eek:
Very nice Andrew...

[Ajcoholic]

Geez Andrew, how many relatives do you have? Giving them all away?:confused:

What i want to know is...where is all the sawdust? Why do you think you NEVER see pictures of my shop floor?:eek:
Very nice Andrew...

Jack,
I have three neighbours closest to my shop (im out of the city on a rural road, and they are very good at watching my shop when Im not there, etc) that takes care of three. My parents, my MOL and my wife's grandmother makes three more. I am giving one to the lady that delivers for the courier service I deal with, and our house mail-lady is two more.

That leaves me with two... it wont be hard to find a home for them. :)

AJC

PS I plan to fill them up with candy too... they are larger than they look... its going to cost me a few bucks!

[myxpykalix]

depending on the candy, the contents might cost more then the container! again...nice job!

[MogulTx]

I like Andrew. He has great skills, great ideas and is deeply into being nice to those around him. Good guy!

MGM

[Rick W]

MGM,

I agree, and I enjoy his posts.

Rik

[Bob Eustace]

Ditto! Makes me get off my bum and try and achieve something. Now Andrew how about designing a giant one for Gibson? He could have "mains" on one side and "dessert" on the other! A deluxe version could have the lids "paw" operated!

[Bob Eustace]

We "pinched" the flourish off the Candy Box lids for these little iPad holders! Well you do have to recycle stuff to be good citizens!

[Bob Eustace]

Fine timber in Australia is darn expensive with few suppliers. We have modified Mikes design slightly in that we use the centre cut outs to make lids for a mini version.

[Ajcoholic]

Bob,
Id hate to tell you how much waste hardwood I dispose of weekly... I have people who heat with wood that come take it away for kindling. I cant keep all my scraps though, or I'd need a second 6,000 sq foot shop just to store them!

AJC

[myxpykalix]

I don't do a bunch like Andrew but i think i have some type "itis" disease or OCD because even the smallest scraps i look at and think "I can make something with that".......":D
or maybe the term "Hoarder" comes to mind?:eek::rolleyes:

[Bob Eustace]

Jack, we have a bunch of "one day" boxes on castors. The idea is to make laminated coasters "one day". However an interesting development. Chrissy bought home plastic wrapped hardwood tomato stakes. These caught my eye as they were all different colours. Believe it or not we are using plantation mahogany out here for tomatoes. All you do is unwrap, run through the drum sander, edge glue and voila you have stock 2 metres long, 8 inches wide and all for just $9!

Andrew we burn all the pine scraps in thevwood burner BUT since getting thebbotba bit before yours we now have six years supply of kindling! The thing sure is hungry!

[mtylerfl]

You guys are great! Wonderful ideas for 'multiples production' and tips to make the most of the wood you have on hand. Thank you for sharing your photos and comments. You all made my day!

[Bob Eustace]

This will make all you old hands smile! Tried Jack's idea with the salt to stop slippage on glue ups and yes it worked fine. Wasnt sure though what could happen with the salt in the future (worry gutze Virgo!)

Anyway just used Mikes file to make this 5 minute aid. Worked really well on his Tuscan Clock.

[Ajcoholic]

You guys are great! Wonderful ideas for 'multiples production' and tips to make the most of the wood you have on hand. Thank you for sharing your photos and comments. You all made my day!

Mike,
I should have mine all sanded and ready for finishing in the next few days... as I have to get them ready to give out for Friday (I am trying to take the whole next week off for some family time).

Will post pics of the finished boxes before they get given away...

Thanks again for taking the time to create the files, and giving them out for free!

AJC

[mtylerfl]

Mike,
I should have mine all sanded and ready for finishing in the next few days... as I have to get them ready to give out for Friday (I am trying to take the whole next week off for some family time).

Will post pics of the finished boxes before they get given away...

Thanks again for taking the time to create the files, and giving them out for free!

AJC

That sounds great. You're going to make a lot of people happy!

Please know that both ShopBot and Vectric are the ones that make it possible to offer the free projects to their users. I'm just the designer, but it sure does make me pleased to know you all are enjoying them and are appreciative!

[Ajcoholic]

I managed to get them all sanded, and a coat of deft danish oil applied before I left work today (I worked 13 hours straight).

Tomorrow I will shoot them with a few coats of catalyzed satin lacquer (just the exteriors) and they will be good to fill with candy on the weekend :)

Pics tomorrow... I was too busy today!

[Bob Eustace]

Well Andrew we are in the same boat but only doing three BUT they are a bit harder as we have had to use wood salvaged from the Victorian 2009 bushfires (recipients are all survivors). The lids are from a 100 year old post office ruined by floods this year. We had to put an inscription underneath each one about it being "rescued". In my haste I spelt it recued!. Nightmare to remake as ruddy nails everywhere and we had already picked the bones out of the pile. Then we forgot to put the names on the big bottoms. Ours were 5" high so extreme care needed there - read streeeeeesss! Now other business friends are getting an iPad stand and one of your you beaut business card holders. Made these out of sycamore but the danish is going blotchy - think it might be oil from hands. Then we have the stainless rods for the iPad stands - cut off wheel worn out and 8 more to make. Then we have the "Welcome" signs as per Mike for new arrivals. The trouble with being in the country is they ALL talk to each other so you just cant miss anyone out! We got behind because of crook weather for painting (no booth).

Aint Xmas fun!!!

[Simops]

Bob.....take a Bex:D

[Ajcoholic]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0617_zps13f0cd1f.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0618_zps4bfa8072.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0619_zps4e67578e.jpg

[Bob Eustace]

Brilliant Andrew! Thrown us into a spin as we have used satin polyurethane that doesnt look as pretty with plain old organoil on the baltic pine lids. Dumb question - can you put polyurethane over danish oil?

[Ajcoholic]

Brilliant Andrew! Thrown us into a spin as we have used satin polyurethane that doesnt look as pretty with plain old organoil on the baltic pine lids. Dumb question - can you put polyurethane over danish oil?

Mine will not be nearly as shiny as they are in the photos - I took the pictures when the lacquer was very fresh. I used a 35 degree sheen which, when dry, will be equal to a semi gloss poly. I was going to use satin, but I decided a little bit of shine would look better on these.

Depending upon the product... most danish oils (here in Canada I have experience with Watco and Deft, a Linseed and Tung based product respectively) can indeed be overcoated with a clear finish - ployurethane, lacquer, etc. I can coat the next day since my lacquer is mixed with a catalyst (hardener). If I were using a product like polyurethane, I would let it dry for at least 2 to 3 days, or you might have issues with the poly curing properly.

AJC

[myxpykalix]

beautiful finish Andrew...looks almost like glass!:eek:

[Joe Porter]

Michael Tyler, looks like you have hit another one out of the park! My personal favorite, still, is the Tuscan Grapes Clock....joe

[Bob Eustace]

Ditto Joe! We entered one in a very posh art exhibition with stuff starting at $3,000. It got a Highly Commended and didnt look at all out of place. Wonder if one will end up in a designers museum after we all pop off?

[mtylerfl]

Wow, wow, wow, Andrew! Those are absolutely GORGEOUS! (I need to take finishing lessons from you!)

My goodness - I am blown away.

- - - - - -

Bob and Joe, thank you so much for your very encouraging comments on the Tuscan Clock. It's one of my personal favorites as well (although I am still fighting the urge to make more "steampunky stuff" like the Vectricon Chroniker and Ornithological Abode which I also love!).

[Bob Eustace]

Mike how about some steam punk light switches? What about the beaut gear gadget inside Vetric? A big clock with wooden gears perhaps?

On the Tuscan, I used the inside cut out to make a really nice house sign today. The beaut thing is the outside chamfer and decoration was all done whilst it was still in the clock blank so you are sort of getting it for nothing. Our version has three slices as the skeleton mech can only be installed from the rear and needs a shoulder. Made a nice eastern mahogany one yesterday. Couldnt do these without those beaut little 3M discs you found. Did you know a cheaper supplier of these is Rio Grande with super quick service? Your supplier hates overseas orders sadly. We get enormous pleasure from your projects and started getting withdrawal symtoms when the newsletter was a week late?

[mtylerfl]

Hi Bob,

I sure do love seeing and hearing about your wonderful ideas! Very inspiring and helpful. Thank you for sharing with all of us and for your kind comments about your anticipation and enjoyment of the projects (I'll try to be more punctual this year ;) !

I didn't know about riogrande.com Thank you for that tip, as well.

[Ajcoholic]

Wow, wow, wow, Andrew! Those are absolutely GORGEOUS! (I need to take finishing lessons from you!)

My goodness - I am blown away.

- - - - - -

Bob and Joe, thank you so much for your very encouraging comments on the Tuscan Clock. It's one of my personal favorites as well (although I am still fighting the urge to make more "steampunky stuff" like the Vectricon Chroniker and Ornithological Abode which I also love!).

Nothing fancy... I oiled them first with fruitwood Deft Danish oil. Then, a sealer coat of post cat lacquer (still the tops in furniture finish - some companies call it a conversion varnish - its basically a synthetic lacquer which has an acid catalyst added before spraying) followed by a 220 grit sanding, and then about three more coats of lacquer. The cat lacquer dries fast, and is very durable. Also, the stuff I use (manufactured by John E. Goudey Ltd in Toronto, Canada) has a very low odour after a days curing. The nice thing is that it is very fast drying, re-coatable very quickly and is a hard, durable finish.

[Bob Eustace]

Thanks for that info Andrew - exactly what we needed. More brain picking on sanding! We used a Jet oscillating sander with a 3 inch bobbin. Did a great job on the curvy bits BUT when we glued on the bottoms there was a ridge. Thinking of increasing the pocket slightly in the bottoms. Think maybe we shouldnt be using Titebond 3 for this job? Any suggestions? Do you remove excess glue with water? On the outside we used the Festool Rotex 6" with 120 thru to 320 moving all the time. Used Scotchbrite between coats. Found the polyurethane on lighter mahogany gave it an amber glow (swietinia mahogany). This worked in our favour with the Tuscan clock as it was all the same timber but not so good mixed with rimu and blackwood on the duets. Absolutely no moans about anything with the duets from recipients! Lovely to see people light up! You'd think you'd given them a million dollars! Hope we dont get any complaints about the VOCs contaminating the lollies! All our Xmas stuff this year was done on the bot with a bit of help from the APQS quilting machine. You definitely dont save money but people seem to really appreciate hand made objects. Next year though we will be more organised and start in July - we still have two items to go!

A million thanks for all your help - the crazy apprentices in Australia!

[Bob Eustace]

Well here is one of our attempts. All went to Victorian bushfire survivors so some of the timber was local salvaged stuff and not real dry (2 1/2 years). The Baltic pine lids came from a 100 year old Post Office that after the fires got hit with a massive flood. Actually in Australia we dont actually have much old stuff! Cant wait to try Andrews you beaut finishing methods. We did inscribe the bottoms to personalise them.

[bcondon]

I have an old version of Partsworks 2.5 which I got with my machine in 2006.
My Aspire software is up to date but use partsworks so seldom that it is not worth keeping both up to date.

SO the question is can I use Aspire to bring in Partsworks files... I am sure that the projects are to keep everyone updated and may need to update to 6.5. I know from 3-> 6.5 is $150 so not sure if I have to purchase a upgrade or new package... (really not worth buying new...)

Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas to all

Bob Condon

[mark_m]

Hello Bob,

Aspire can open Partworks / VCarve Pro files from the matching release or earlier.
This means that if you have the latest version of Aspire, you would be able to open any Partworks / VCarve Pro file. (Main Menu > File > Open).

I hope that this helps.

Cheers,

Mark.

[bcondon]

That works GREAT

Bob Condon