Stompy

Circular saw for straight cuts, jigsaw for curved cuts if your going for power tools.....

Bandsaw would be a perfect start if your willing to splash out, pretty versatile and safer than power tools.

As above forstner bits to cut flat bottomed round holes and a pillar drill would be perfect for accuracy but easily done with a hand drill if you go steady.

It's a tough one..... although I'm coming from the furniture making side of things it's much the same.

I always found just being very polite, listening to what they have to say and some how try to find some middle ground that is practically viable from your point of view and makes the client feel like they have had some input.

Saying that at the end of the day you are the professional and they are not so I often told them I simply would not do what they wanted as it wasn't what I thought the best course of action, it's my name on the line.... if I didn't get the job then so be it.

I often found the men to be the most difficult as I was in their house ( castle ) quoting to do work they they felt they could do but the wife didn't..... awkward situations sometimes. I just tried to make them feel that they were involved.....

Some people are just B****rds and are not worth dealing with, no matter how much money is involved, life is too short.

Very nice!

Thanks very much

sretna nova godina prijatelj, su dobra noć, ponašaju :-)

Probebly nowhere near grammaticaly correct........ All I really want to say is Happy new year, hope you are all having a cracking night and all the very best for 2014, it's gonna be a awesome year :-)

You don't know of any drawings for box do you? :-)

Google is your friend

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bird+box+plans&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1MLCUuL1JKGp4ATQmoDgDw&sqi=2&ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1346&bih=643

Whats your budget? I only ask as bandsaws rely upon a solid body to maintain accuracy and function. The cheaper models are made from cheaper sheet metals and are more likely to twist under usage which can cause the blade to wander more or the band to come off the wheels more often. Vibration on any machine causes inaccuracies and poor performance..... hence why the old green cast iron machines are still the best.

You may be better off looking for a second hand model, something like an old Startrite or SCM would be great. They do fairly small models with single phase moters that will run off of a 13 amp socket. This are industrial machines and are built like tanks so are solid and when set up correctly will out perform any cheap new model by miles. Check on Ebay, usually pick one up for a couple of hundred quid if you are lucky.

The most important bits to look like on bandsaws are the blade guides, the table, the wheel adjustments and the motor.....

You need guides above and below the table, they need to be adjustable to guide both sides of the blade and the back running edge. Bearing guides are best but resin blocks are good also, just make sure they are solid and sturdy.

The table ideally wants to be cast iron but if sheet steel test that it won't easily twist under load.

The wheels need adjustment to centre the band on the wheels and also set blade tension. Also rubber tyres on the wheels prolong blade life and make for smoother running.

The motor just needs to be powerful enough to not slow on cuts (although blade condition is a big factor on not putting strain on the motor). Something above 3/4 hp should be fine.

Tuffsaws do some very good quality blades at great prices..... I have used them for years and have no complaints.

Don't know to much about scroll saws.......

Welcome to the forum, looks like a great place you have there.

Let's see some photos of your furniture making as well

Ok, only got a few pics on my phone at the mo, not the best shots and not a great selection. My portfolio is on the pc, which is still in a box, somewhere!!!

Anyway...

Oak and Tiger brown Oak triple gun cabinet....

Boat refit - Burr Walnut, Beech and Jet black formica.....

Pippy Oak fitted cupboards.....

Kids play house - Waney edged larch cladding, cedar roof shingles

Kitchen Island unit - European Oak (tinted & lacuered) AC Coloured laquered spray main carcass

Big shelving unit.....

That'll do for now.... thanks again for the welcomes, friendly place here

Welcome to the forum, would you mind popping up a few pictures of the contra?

 

 

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Sure, only got the ones from the advert at the mo.....

Seems to be alot of Contra's 090's and 070's for sale here.....

The lass on one of the cheese stalls at the farmers market has a particularly potent "extra strong" that they freely describe as "like licking a farmyard floor":laugh1::laugh1:

Genius!! Awesome sales pitch

Britain has some of the best cheeses in the world, I like a good stinky strong Cheese, only the Frenchies come close making good cheese......

Nothing but tasteless rubbery cheese over here with the odd passable Goats cheese... one of the few things I miss about the UK.

Thanks for all the lovely comments guys.....

explorer_ arb - Bok, kako ste? Hvala za poruku, učenje jezika polako, ali to je teško.

I've not get a massive amount of forestry experience but can get a tree on the deck safely, nothing compared to the skill of the guys on here. Always willing to learn new skills though, especially like to learn some climbing basics.

We can do better than somewhere to string up your hammock if you fancy popping by for a few days, our door is always open to visitors and my good lady cooks up some fantastic grub. And there is always plenty of our homemade Rakija, šljivovica and Crno Vino on tap

My woodworking workshop is set up here if you fancy a few days of crash course furniture making as a skill swap?

Anyway I'll swing an e mail your way in a couple of days mate

Pozdravi

Cedar is great stuff for external use such as it has great resistance to decay and rot. Nice looking timber to.......

How about knocking up some rustic bird box's? Our little feathery friends need somewhere warm to live too

Hey guys, thanks very much for the warm welcome and kind words, much appreciated by all here

It has been an interesting, busy and eventful year and quite an experience so far.

My place is about 50km (check me out with me euro measurements!) east of Zagreb in a little place called Novaki near Dubrava..... It's funny how many Brits I talk to who were here in Yugoslavia's and later Croatia's rather troubled recent history but not so much recently, especially inland where we are.

Anyway a few pics......

The first time we saw our future house ( Nov 2011, minus 9 degrees that day )

A pic from across the road (dirt track) in the summer with Sam my pooch having his daily cool down swim

View across our fields.....

And a sunset shot out the back....

It's all changed so much now but a life times worth of work ahead..... but it's the best decision we ever made.

Thank again for all your warm welcomes, look forward to joining some of the other threads.

Cheers for now guys

Hi there

As I have been 'lurking' around here for a wee while soaking up all the sound advice and info I thought I best introduce myself and my 'clan' Not sure if this is the right forum so I apologise if I mess up the place1

My name is Tom and I escaped the UK and moved to Croatia just under a year ago with my partner (now pregnant wife ) Eve, my 2 slightly special rescue dogs ( Sam and Monty ) and a grumpy cat called Bryan.......

We purchased a small farm with a house, several barns, pig sty's (sp!! ), an old cottage and 45 acres of land and woodland with the aim of taking a step back and trying to live for ourselves a little and less for our jobs. I'm a furniture maker and bespoke joiner by trade and shipped my whole workshop of machines over here a few months ago. My lovely wife Eve owned a traditional pub in the UK ( our home for many years ) and is now turning her talented hands to the hospitality side of things out here.

I have always wanted to get produce my own timber and am slowly working my way towards getting a big bandsaw mill. Timber production is big industry over here and second hand industrial horizontal bandmills can be had for a good price.

At present I have a Husky 357xp for work in the forest and a Stihl Contra Lightening that I picked up here for milling.

It has been the most incredible first year here and quite a learning curve as you may imagine. The welcome we have received and the kindness of the locals has been very humbling and in a very short space of time we felt that this 'new' home was going to be just perfect for us.

Anyway I can go off on one so...... sorry.... I look forward to chatting with you all and sharing stories and skills from way over here

Cheers for now