I sometimes tell my customers,

"I'm not cheap, but I'm not fast, either..."

it usually gets a chuckle.

Hi Doug,
in addition to the website updates mentioned above,
one of the easiest ways to increase your market is to create a niche that you "specialize" in. (Even if you don't really specialize, you're going to be telling your prospective customers that you do.)

for starters, you are now ...

on decking:
the wood will cup, and you want the "hump" to be on top, that way the water will flow off of it, and not "sit in the cup".

thanks guys.

I bought the new 18" Dremel. Its stronger than the 16" machines, but half the price of the $450 20" Dewalt (and it has a port for dust collection). If I need to cut 3/4" MDO, then I can always cut a pattern from 1/4" hardboard (masonite) and use the router to trace the pattern.

also ...

I'm thinking of getting a scroll saw to cut the occasional letter or detail bit (as well as for some personal projects) and I'm looking for suggestions about which models to consider. Most of the time I'll probably still send things out for CNC work, but for freehand things (like leaves or cartoon ...

thanks Kent,
I removed the mask right after the paint went on, so that's not an issue. I'll have to trust in bonami for the rest.

Thanks all. My second job (on Friday) went better than the first (on Thursday). This time I let the first gild dry almost 90 minutes. I started out too late in the day and only managed to get it backed up, but not cleaned off. I'm hoping it wont be too much of a nightmare on Monday morning...

i'm ...

I read Joe's article too, and wondered about that point.

My dim memory (and I'm prepared to believe its all wrong) is that wood cups towards the inside (core) of the annular rings. The cells in the wood are not square shaped, they are tapered, and a living tree - as well as the harvested lumber ...

Thanks Kent,

1. The cotton I got looks like a mass of cotton thread, and i think it was scratching all the way through. I could see light coming through. I didn't have the same problem when I switched to the brush (its a 3/4" thick tapered mop-like brush that I got from one of the gold places in NY ...

So, I've read through a bunch of old posts here (not all of them, yet), and read Kent Smith's excellent book, and I've finished my first gold lettering job and I have a few questions.

The job was 7 words, 3" high on four storefront windows. I used paint mask to put down a black outline first (1 ...

very nice!

You can also add a little water to the paint to give it a longer open time - time for the orangepeel to settle down more. Water doesn't hurt the finish - it just takes longer to surface dry (45 minutes instead of 15). If the panel is laid out flat (horizontal) then there's no problem. If it is ...

is a "Sectional Head" like a two-hole outhouse?

I've used the "expensive" kits made by Acudome - preload syringe packs (sort of like a mini caulking gun). The nice things about the Acudome product are:

they pre-mix in the syringe - no measuring
the syringe makes it possible to do very fine work (1" and 2" letters are no problem)
very portable ...