Where do I start?

I guess I should start out by saying that I'll be doing one last sign before I head back home to Provo in the coming weeks. But this has an interesting story, so sit back and enjoy.

This sign is actually a gift to a coworker that I have been closely working with over the summer. The way things work when you get to Intel (where I have been interning), they give you a "buddy", which is really someone who is experienced and can answer all of those questions that a newbie would ask. In my case, I feel like I asked my fair share of questions, and probably drove Deepika up the wall sometimes. I don't know if I will be returning to work full time to Intel, but I thought I'd show my appreciation in one of the best ways I can.

I had made one sign already with my current setup (Stelter), which worked out fairly well. The saw I was using belonged to Ken Carlson, a member of my church congregation that I met one of my first weeks here. He was more than gracious about letting me use his tools, which was great news for me. The first sign went off without a hitch, so I expected the same for the second.......NOPE!

If you look closely, you'll notice the small clamp that holds the blade to the arm of the saw is broken off. Marvelous. I was 95% done with the sign and I went to remove the blade to cut a inside piece when that clamp snapped off. Much to my dismay, I called Sears and found out that they no longer manufactured parts for this saw, this would be due to the fact that the saw is ~20-30 years old. So I talked with Ken and came to the agreement that I would help pay for a replacement saw. Luckily this model is only ~$110 and it was in stock at the local Sears in Portland. I picked it up and it looks surprisingly similar to the original. It actually cut a lot better than the old model, and will accept both types of scroll saw blades.

All in all, I feel good having left the situation the way I did. My father taught me to always bring something that you've borrowed back better than it was given to you. In this case I just helped buy the guy a new saw! He actually made the remark that he is going to try and make a replacement piece for the original, and if he does, I could just have the new one if we end up back here. I don't want to say here's hoping, but here's hoping!

I have to get this sign finished before I leave on the 24th, so I'm on a tight schedule. I don't know if I'll put updates up through the week or wait until it's finished, so just wait and see I guess.

Back in Action

I know it's been a while since I've been able to do anything, but I've finally been able to get in contact with the local wood supplier and someone with a saw. I've got another order from Europe that needs to be finished fairly quickly so the pressure is on. 


The wood that I got from the guy up here is great. Carving with this stuff is such a breeze compared to some of the wood that I've had to deal with down in Utah. Maybe Oregon is the place to be after all? Either way, just watch out for some more updates on progress, this one should be done quicker than usual.

Back in Business!

After a well deserved break I'm getting back into the rest of the orders that have piled up. I did some consulting of sorts over the break for a co-worker of mine. He wanted to do the carving, so I did the drafting and cut the sign for him. 

I have three that are being drafted at the moment, so check back in the next few days to see what is in store!

Now for Something Completely Different

Since we are in the middle of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I took a break to try something a little new. Sometimes I get so caught up in the signs that I forget that there is so much more to carving. I hope to incorporate this into my product lineup in the near future, but we'll see how the reception is. Let me know what you think!

-Click to enlarge-

            

             

Sorry about the pictures, I'm away from home and don't have my normal gear with me.