# Mushrooms and benches, Some of my stuff.



## Ax-man (Sep 28, 2012)

Well today was the big day for me trying to sell some of my most recent work at making attempts to be some kind of chainsaw carver and bench maker. I set up this little roadside display along the road that leads to one of the major attractions for a local festival that is going on all weekend.

I have made big slab type benches in the past but the smaller lighter four legged benches are some of my first attempts at this style type bench. I am hoping they sell good because the game plan is to make it easier for people to get into their cars than the big heavy benches I made in the past. I did sell one of them today. I hope I can sell that planter bed bench because it is different from anything I have made in the past. 

Everybody likes mushrooms and morels and tried to make as many different kinds of shapes, sizes and styles as I had time for and experimenting with different kinds of wood to see what sells the best. I have to plead guilty of stealing ideas from others or off the net. I sold about half of them today. This years mushrooms are much better than what I did last year at this time.

The pics are of what I had at the start of the day and some of my favorite peices . The jug was a first time attempt and didn't turn out to bad and wasn't all that hard to do. My wife gave orders to make more for family members . When she says that I know I did something right with the chainsaw.

If I do this next year I hope to have some animals like bears or dogs on diplay if I ever improve my skills with the chainsaw. I still have long way to go.

Little shop talk, I put together a 025 and set it up with 3/8th's pitch mini Picco chain (.043 gauge ) with a narrow gauge 16 inch bar. I really like this set-up although the saw is a little bit of a gas hog or at least it seems that way. I like this set-up better than an 020 with a carving bar.


----------



## Ax-man (Sep 28, 2012)

Two more, nothing to get excited about :hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## twoclones (Sep 28, 2012)

Ax-man said:


> Little shop talk, I put together a 025 and set it up with 3/8th's pitch mini Picco chain (.043 gauge ) with a narrow gauge 16 inch bar. I really like this set-up although the saw is a little bit of a gas hog or at least it seems that way. I like this set-up better than an 020 with a carving bar.



What you'll eventually want is that 16" roller tip AND another saw with a dime tip carving bar. 020 or ms-200 is great but if you're not carving full time, the ms-192 is a pretty good detail saw.


----------



## Ax-man (Sep 29, 2012)

Well it is all over till next year. I managed to get rid of one bench and just about all the shrooms except two. I had to do a little discounting on them but at least they are gone because I sure didn't want them around the house. The jug didn't sell nor the planter bench as I had hoped but those items were a little pricey for this type of sale . I ccan easlily save and store those for another time.

All in all I reached my goal on making some money at this and them some. I also got a good feel for what people like to see but it still amazed me that I managed to get rid of the ones that I didn't think would sell. Go figure.

Thanks for letting me share this experience. It was fun and I got to meet many different kinds of people.

Two clones can I ask you a tech question. I have an old 020 that is in good shape for it's age set-up with one of those dime tip bars with 1/4 chain. I like it for what litttle detail work I have done with it but the saw is a little on the grabby side to me and hard to make bore cuts with it. Am I missing something somewhere like the chain isn't sharp enough or to low on the rakers or could it be the saw isn't turning enough rpm's.Maybe I am just expecting too much from a dime tip and should just use it for detail work . I haven't tached this 020 to see see how it compares to something like a ms 200 but I will to see if there is a big difference between the two or that 025 I have been using.


----------



## twoclones (Sep 30, 2012)

Ax-man said:


> Two clones can I ask you a tech question. I have an old 020 that is in good shape for it's age set-up with one of those dime tip bars with 1/4 chain. I like it for what little detail work I have done with it but the saw is a little on the grabby side to me and hard to make bore cuts with it. Am I missing something somewhere like the chain isn't sharp enough or to low on the rakers or could it be the saw isn't turning enough rpm's.Maybe I am just expecting too much from a dime tip and should just use it for detail work . I haven't tached this 020 to see see how it compares to something like a ms 200 but I will to see if there is a big difference between the two or that 025 I have been using.



With a quarter pitch chain on a dime tip bar: 
If it grabs the rakers 'could' be a bit low but I find that dry hard-woods make any sharp chain feel grabby. 

Another possibility is the angle your chain is sharpened to. 30 degrees is typical, 20 degrees more aggressive, 10 degrees more aggressive still. 

The 020 and the 200 each should have a Max rpm of 14.000. I think mine are set for 13,000. 

Plunging with a dime tip requires cutting off the 'heel' of the top-plate. If you do not do this, the heel drags against the wood as it goes round the dime tip. You might even see darker oil come out of the kerf because of additional heat generated. 

This modification can be done in various ways. I remove the chain and grind the back of each cutter with a bench type belt sander. I've also done it with a small grinding wheel on a hand held pneumatic grinder while the chain is still on the bar. Takes a few minutes and makes a big difference! This images shows where to grind the heel to...


----------



## Ax-man (Sep 30, 2012)

That is priceless information. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to give it a try and it wouldn't be hard to do. I know what your talking about with the additional heat build up using a dime tip which is why I asked because I knew something wasn't quite right.


----------



## discounthunter (Oct 1, 2012)

nice work.


----------



## wgshrec (Oct 1, 2012)

*good pictures good stuff.*

Im in central texas carve stuff and things and sell on side of road, also build similar benches. you do fine job. I like mushrooms, first time i ever saw such creatures, will add to my line (only steal good ideas ), im glad you left price tag on, looks about right. how about price of benches. my similar 75 to 125.


----------



## Ax-man (Oct 2, 2012)

Your in the right price range for your benches mine are comparable. It all depends on the person looking at it and how much it appeals to them. If they have the money they will spend it. I can't really do a bench for much less than $100.00 and that isn't enough to me. I had $100 on the light colored four leg benches, $120 on the cedar benches, $150 -$140 on the planter bed bench. The mushrooms were $40 to $20 depending on size and how time I put into one. I knocked $5 to $10 bucks off some of them just to get rid of them. Some people still thought that was not enough to but they don't know what you have to do to get them to look like that. 

The benches are time consuming, the biggest problem for me is getting the four legs level so it doesn't rock around when it sits on a flat surface . If I could skip this part and all the draw kniveing, sanding and finishing I would do all right making them but that just isn't me. I guess I am just to particular, besides this is still a small town and your reputation reflects on what you do. 

One thing I noticed during the sale was people didn't seem to have much cash on them. I had to take some checks which didn't bother me, but for $20 bucks. Next year I am going to get involved in some craft sales that go on around here once a month and get hooked up to be able to take credit cards to see if I can sell the higher priced items easier.


----------



## twoclones (Oct 2, 2012)

*In a word... Square*



Ax-man said:


> One thing I noticed during the sale was people didn't seem to have much cash on them. I had to take some checks which didn't bother me, but for $20 bucks. Next year I am going to get involved in some craft sales that go on around here once a month and get hooked up to be able to take credit cards to see if I can sell the higher priced items easier.



SQUARE. 
https://squareup.com/ 
Works with a smart phone, app (software) is free, hardware is free, no monthly or annual fee. You pay only the transaction percentage.


----------



## Ax-man (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks again Two clones. I have seen that advertised and thought that would be the set-up I would use. I am a little technically handicapped especially with some of this newer stuff but I can learn and besides I need to get new phone anyway. This just might work out good.


----------



## wgshrec (Oct 2, 2012)

*Credit cards the awnser*

credit cards make the diffrence, the square is great, don't foreget to put up sign saying you accept cards, people are attracted to places that accept cards. as far as leveling tables, we used a marble slab that is coffee table tall put table on it mark long legs with pencil then grind off long leg's with body grinder and 50 grit. then we figgured out to turn upside down and run through sawmill, no more bending over. sanding sucks.


----------



## Ax-man (Oct 3, 2012)

I know this may seem like a dumb question but can this Square run a debit card and a credit card????


----------



## twoclones (Oct 3, 2012)

Ax-man said:


> I know this may seem like a dumb question but can this Square run a debit card and a credit card????



Yep. Credit and Debit cost the same. 
Swiped transactions cost 2.75% and keyed in transactions cost 3%. 
Receipts can have a photo of the item sold, be sent via email or text, can have your photo on them, and can contain a link showing the physical location where the sale was made. 

I made a neck lanyard, using a mini plug coupling, so I can carry mine around my neck when displaying carvings.


----------



## Ax-man (Oct 3, 2012)

Thanks again Two clones. I owe you one.


----------



## MotorSeven (Oct 16, 2012)

Ax, your stuff look good. If you have a pressure washer(3K psi) it works wonders on cedar and you won't have to sand the outside at all.

TC, thanks for the tip on grinding the heel off the cutters...I'll have to try that. Now that the house is done I will have more time for carving and cutting specialty stuff on the mill.


----------



## rarefish383 (Nov 7, 2012)

A question of the "square" scanning device. I've seen on adds, and as you have said, there is a flat rate 2.75% charge per swipe. Is that the charge for the device? Does the particular chredit card charge its normal fee also? Thanks, Joe.


----------



## twoclones (Nov 7, 2012)

rarefish383 said:


> A question of the "square" scanning device. I've seen on adds, and as you have said, there is a flat rate 2.75% charge per swipe. Is that the charge for the device? Does the particular chredit card charge its normal fee also? Thanks, Joe.



2.75% per swiped transaction
3% per keyed in transaction 
Device and software (app) are free. 
No additional fees.


----------

