Watcha Makin'?

[kantuckid]

  As a follow up to my picture display rack here is it in use yesterday and today at the Lumberjack Festival at Twin Falls State Park near Saulsville WV.


As far as sales the event was largely a bust with 2- 55 daily mile rounds (220 miles for clarity). Rain today helped drive off what should have been a bigger crowd than yesterday. Lots of people looked at the pictures but I only sold $49 worth of my wife's photos and they were all the small ones and no takers for the big ones. I sold a couple of benches, a planter, a couple of crates and an engraved RO slab. My big sale today was going to take his back to a remote cabin in the UP.

  The rack worked pretty good but I think I will add another "shelf" on top and build a wide shelf on the bottom to display the bigger pictures next time I do something like this.

Once upon a time I did a lot of area craft shows, always with wood items. I'm not up on show fees but have heard amounts that made a bigger show illogical for anyone other than a major seller and local ones not paying the gas and hassle.  We've also traveled much in the SE and some out west as we love handcrafts but fine arts predominate local area shows as does "housewife" stuff like quilts and crochet and they know the event folks and are given the prime spots by we are friends stuff, so I quit, plus it frees up time to mess around when covids not in the way. 
One of our favorite shows at The Appalachian Museum just N of Knoxville, had great mtn music and crafts but he quit after many years as they cannot get the crafts to come nowdays. AR has a some great shows like War Eagle and another next door, as does GA. The Cotton Pickin Festival was a favorite one there in GA. New England has money so some VG craft shows there.  
Nice display! 

[WV Sawmiller]

   This show is building back from the pandemic and the weather severely impacted the second day IMHO. It does attract the kind of customers I am looking for. The fee has gone up next year to $50 for the weekend or $75 with a canopy. I have not bought a canopy yet but may start looking for one. 

   I usually go to local flea markets a couple of times a year and sell mostly a few birdhouses and tomato stakes. My benches are too pricey for most local customers but I'm not going to sell them at a loss. If I could take them to larger venues like Charlotte or Knoxville or such where you have customers with more money than sense they would sell I am sure.

   I do however normally pick up a couple of mobile sawing jobs which have proven quite profitable. It may be many months before such jobs materialize but several have yielded repeat customers and great word of mouth advertising. 

[kantuckid]

Juried shows are the real money and they are like you say, where the money shows up. In my area, once you get beyond a meager cutting board price point or such, the money isn't there. Some years ago it became apparent my best local show the lady gave every good spot to her buddies who do Extension office related girly crafts. The biggest shows near us are attached to Berea college area wise and very costly to have a booth plus almost all crafts booths these days seem to be pottery, photos or other fine arts, not wood related. That Appalachian craft show was a great one with all day mtn music and foods like apple butter, cider, BBQ, VG basket makers, carvers and much, much more but it became hard for them to attract the best crafters as people stopped buying the stuff before covid hit. 
I still remember a lady telling my spalted applewood turned bowls would bring $350 (back in the 1970's) and I'd told her we were in a far different world than Philadelphia. 
I suspect web sellers do best with shippable stuff but my hands are too worn out to care now for selling stuff. 

[trimguy]

Well I finally have a little something to add here.


It is to my daughters specs for my grandson. Now that I'm able to set up and use some equipment that I have this was a good little project to get some of it zeroed in.

[Crusarius]

I hope that is going to get a clear. looks beautiful

[Larry]

The beautiful wood and the arch detail at top and bottom turned a ho-hum case into a great piece.  Excellent work!

[trimguy]

Thanks guys. In that picture it actually has 2 coats of clear satin finish on it. I went with water based so it won't yellow on her over time.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well that durn sure came out real pretty! I too like the simple elegant arches because they completely change the effect and draw the eye. Wish I had a bandsaw running for stuff like that.

 Nicely done! 8)

[ron barnes]

Looks great.  The grandson will enjoy the bookcase for many years.

[tule peak timber]

Finishing up the wonky faux storm shutters with a greying solution.

Parting up for a curved composite storage cabinet.

  

[aigheadish]

A router base question. I made a new router table but now I need new, longer screws. I measured what I thought was correct but the assortment I bought didn't have nay that were the correct size.

How in the world do I figure out what screw I need to buy? I have a tap and die set with the little gauges that tell me thread pitch. I thought I bought the right thing but nope. I don't know how to get the right screw. 

[doc henderson]

take the short old screw or router base to the store, or get a set of bolt and nut gages.  I have both metric and SAE.

[doc henderson]

 

 

 

[Dan_Shade]

@aigheadish what router do you have? 

[Old Greenhorn]

Screws are like saw chains, but instead of three key dimensions, they only have two: Thread pitch and diameter (well length, but everybody gets that and you have a hacksaw anyway, right.) Maybe out already know this stuff, but maybe it will help, I dunno.
 ASSUMING we are talking Imperial measurements here (English threads), first the diameter of the outside of the thread you measure is usually just a tad under the nominal diameter. So a 1/2" screw will actually measure around .490" on the OD. 1/4" will measure around .240-.245" OD, so round up a bit when you measure with calipers. OK so far?
 Now the 'pitch' is also called 'threads per inch', so if you take a machinists scale and measure and inch from the end of the screw, then count the number of turns (threads) back to the end of the screw, this is your threads per inch. Technically, the term 'pitch' means the distance the screw will advance in one turn. So if you have a 20 pitch thread (the most common size for 1/4 inch screws) you will have 20 threads in that one inch section. 1" divided by 20 threads equals .050" per thread(or turn, also called 'lead').
 Confused yet? If you have a pair of calipers, grab those and a screw and give me a call if you need more help. You have my number. (Just don't tell anybody I do free consulting. ;D)

 Metric is a little bit different (of course), actually it's simpler. The diameter part is the same, except metric sizes. There is no TPI (Threads Per Inch) in metric, they are always referred to by the lead or pitch. SO you measure the diameter and round up a tad as with English, then measure the distance from one thread crest to the next thread crest, and you have it. Such as 6x1.25mm.
 If all that doesn't work, do like the other guys said and take the easy way out. :D ;D Get those plastic gages.
 Clear as mud, or did that accidently help you?
 

[btulloh]

Like Doc said, take a screw to the hardware store.  They usually have a try-me board with screws and nuts. Most likely it'll be next to the pull-out draws of small stuff, not the bins of loose stuff.

Most routers are going to have 10-24 or 8-32 threads.  M4, M5, or M6 probably on most imports. Usually but not always!   What brand is the router?

[aigheadish]

You guys rock. Thank you all for your assistance!

Doc- I don't know that I've seen those before, they look handy!

I did, in fact, think I was measuring like OGH is saying. Using the pitch (TPI) measuring gauges in the tap and die set I've got 32, the diameter is 3/8", length needed to be like an inch or so but yes, I have a hacksaw so I wasn't too worried about that.

I thought 8-32 was correct, it seems maybe I'm confused about what the 8 means, in this context. I bought this assortment set with 8-32 in it but I think the diameter of screw was wrong (maybe it ended up being the TPI was wrong, it's been a couple days since I've been frustrated with the screws being wrong). I don't believe the 10-32 fits either.

I'm also not sure how to tell metric from sae.

The router, I think, is a PowerMax (Menards house brand? Not sure) but I don't know the exact model, I'll have to check when I get home.

Edited to add the link I thought I added previously.

[thecfarm]

8 is the diameter of the bolt or screw.
There are 4-6-8-10-14 and then goes to ¼-3/8 and so on at the store I work at. 
This is a bolt or a wood screw, machine screw, lag bolts and so on.
Then there is the course and fine thread
I have had more than one customer bring in something to find something to fit.  ;D
Much easier than the customer that comes in and asks what will fit it. 

[Old Greenhorn]

........ I've got 32, the diameter is 3/8", length needed to be like an inch or so but yes, I have a hacksaw so I wasn't too worried about that.

I thought 8-32 was correct, it seems maybe I'm confused about what the 8 means, in this context. ....

Something is amiss here. I think it's just a typo, you say '3/8"' dimeter with a 32 pitch. I think you meant 3/16" (.1875) diameter, yes?
 If it measures 3/16 diameter it is, as Cfarm says, a 10-32 thread. A number 8 machine screw will measure about 5/32 (.156) in diameter. These numbers are approximate because the quality of the screw will have and effect on the diameter. Cheap box store can often be smaller and sloppier. If your screw is 3/16 diameter, then you only have to find out if it is 10-24 (coarse) or 10-32 (fine) thread. 
 Discerning metric from English is best done with those thread pitch gages you have. That gage must fit EXACTLY on the screw. Clean the threads and if you can see daylight, move on the the next pitch. If nothing matches, switch over to a metric gage. Something will have to match just right.

[aigheadish]

Haha, OGH, maybe. I'm not a genius and I'm just learning to use manual micrometers (I can't keep the digital in batteries because I'm unwilling to spend money for a good one). I thought the measurement I took rounded most closely up to 3/8" and at that point I got thrown by the "8" so I think I just guessed. 

I'll take some pictures when I get home, if I've got time, and post them to add to the confusion!

Thanks again guys!

[Old Greenhorn]

Austin, 3/8 is twice the size of 3/16. .3750 vs. .1875 and I think we need to be a little more precise than that. :D
 3/16 is about the size of a chopstick and 3/8 is a little smaller than your pinky diameter. Micrometers can be confusing, calipers are easier and I prefer the dial type, they are fast and no batteries, just check the zero often and keep them clean. I am not really a fan of digital mics. We have grown up a generation of machinists who can't read a vernier scale, which boggles my mind.

[Ljohnsaw]

I'm also not sure how to tell metric from sae.

My sister's ex is/was an auto mechanic.  He would joke that his arm is a torque wrench calibrated in in-lbs when working on transmissions.  Do it enough, you just 'know'.

I can look at a screw and tell if it's SAE or metric - I just know.  Metric looks 'funny'.  Most metric (small stuff) is 1mm pitch and it just looks different when you have been working on SAE stuff for a while.  It's coarser than the 32s (6-32, 8-32, 10-32 and the rare 12-32) and much finer than the 24s (10-24, 12-24).

Before I throw something out, I strip it of the screws to save 'for future use'.  Unfortunately, nearly everything is metric now. :-\

I have a collection 'for future use'


 

 
It's grown since these photos.  I need another shelf or two!

[doc henderson]

so wrenches can be used between metric and SAE.  i think a 13 and 1/2 inch are about the same.  that is for the head of a bolt.  the size of the bolt is the shaft part.  the number I think are the gage (like wire) and correlate to the diameter or thickness of the smaller machine screw.  If it is a "house brand" router chances are they are foreign made (to sell at a cheap price) and therefore prob. metric.  I have not priced the sets I have, but they were pricey when i got them 10 or so years ago.  but over that time, it has saved me taking a screw into a store, and being seen taking it out or putting it in my pocket.  i do not want to create confusion, and would not like being accused of being dishonest.  i have occ. shown it to a store worker on entry to show i am bring it into the store.

[Hilltop366]

Saving those screws and bolts can be handy, for instance I stopped at my brothers a while ago, he was finishing putting a winch on a sxs and said "I would be all done if I had one more 6 x 1.25 bolt about this long" (holding his fingers up) to put the plastic back on, and jokingly asked "you don't have any do you?"

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled one out.

[doc henderson]

Lowes is about a mile from me. and neighbors often stop here first to see if i have what they need. :D