Need ideas for Christmas Presents

[Jim Finn]

Jim,........ Are you suggesting plain blades rather than pinned blades because of the coarser pitch on the plains to cut the inlays faster? I use both on my scroll saw as well, but intricate designs are beyond my patience. So, your suggestion of
simplier designs for inlays that require less detail & would be more in line with my limitations. Good suggestion.

The reason I said plain end blades is: they are what is required to do double bevel inlay. The starter hole I use is 1/16". A pin end blade will not pass though this small hole. I use a Flying Dutchman Polar #5 blade.

Once you are proficient with a scroll saw, the time spent at the scroll saw, cutting the image, is less than five minutes. More time is spent making the box. I make them ten to fifteen at a time and it averages out to two hours each. This time includes making the box , doing the inlay, assembly and sanding. Plus glue drying time and drying time for the finish. I buy the hinges and screws by the five thousand and cedar by 450 board feet at a time. This keeps my cost of materials under $3 for each box.

I make and sell about three hundred of these boxes a year. Over the seven years I have been doing this I have made over two thousand of them.

[Al Launier]

Well, it took a long time, on & off (about 2 months), but I finished them today.
My nephew has a yellow & black labrador retriever, so guess which one he's getting? They are attached with blind rare earth magnets.
This time I remembered to brand them.
I used adhesive backed felt on the inside as I couldn't control the glue squeeze-out as well as I hoped, even when using tape along the edges of each glue joint.

[al heitz]

Trivet-Hot Plate- b.jpg
Sorry about being late to the game, but here are trivets or hot plates that I made as gifts for my family.

These were made from 3/4" poplar. Routed with 1/2" round nose bit to just mid-point of wood thickness. Flip and repeat from opposite side at 90 degrees to original grooves. Holes will develop as grooves cross each other at the mid-point in the wood. Finish with stain of choice and then at least three coats of GF's Arm-R-Seal. Arm-R-Seal withstands the heat without softening. These were approximately 5-1/2" wide by 5-1/2" and 9-1/2" lengths.

[Al Launier]

Al, good idea. Those are really nice & look to be easy to make. I might steal your idea & try making some with angular intersections of 45°.

[Al Launier]

I'm not one to make up a bunch of the same things as I tend to get bored with repitetion. However, I'm now caught up with projects & looking for some more ideas for Christmas gifts, or even something for the house that is attractive & functional. Any more ideas? I tend to take my time so I probably have enough left for a project or two, but would like something different, yet appealing.