My dream part time job as a demonstrator of Dremel Rotary tools allows me to spend a day making fun things and talking to nice people. Although I do not actually sell, I do advise folks on what they should use for their particular interests. All my projects are selected to be completed quickly so the visitors can see the end item while they are still in the store. Some of these items I give away and sometimes a person will talk me into selling one.
The family chariot loaded and ready to go
Items for the desk. Glue bottle holder keeps the glue at the correct end on the tube
A bookcase for short stories. 1/12 scale for dollhouses, of course..
The leaping dolphin. I make a lot of these and give some away and sell others.
The landing of the Mayflower. Almost a room box
A quickly made sailboat
A popular plaque with a shark. I also make one with a seahorse.
Sometimes I try things just to see if I can do it.
Another look at the slate etching (wet to bring out the details for the photo)
Some projects are just made because they are fun. These sleeping animals look great when deployed at the edge of a table or shelf with the legs hanging down.
Occasionally, I make something.to a special order such as this carousel horse. When I take a liking to the object, I make a special one just for myself.
In Florida marine animals are always popular. The seahorse is considered the mascot of Women's Lib because the male is the one that bears the children.
The snook is almost as much a favorite here as the dolphin. In this item, I placed the fish in its favorite lurking spot among the seaweed.
The manger scene was an exercise in mini scroll saw work
The Pinewood Derby Demonstration
A joyous experience was the opportunity to give a clinic on building and preparing the Pinewood Derby cars for local Cub Scouts and their parents. I have given demos for three years, so far. During each one, I made a car (several shown above) without paint using the official Cub Scout kit, gave tips on designing and preparing for speed, and also let the Cubs use the Dremel tools to smooth and polish the axles of their own cars. I had fun and I hope the demos helped. I painted them at home after the demos to use at subsequent events.
The gold car in the center and on the right were displayed as an example of what can be done within the rules to make a super looking car. It was built in 1968 by my son with my help and guidance. Actually, a model 2 Dremel MotoTool (bought in 1947) was used on that car. Sorrowfully, that great tool finally wore out in 1993.
Recent Demo Items
A pair of ducks. The ducks are poplar the background is basswood, and the base is the wonderful stirring stick wood.
I had some scraps of wood left at towards the end of one day and used them to make this min-truck. The wheels were old purchased items.
This DC-9 model was so popular that I had to make three of them to be able to keep one. The first two went to an MD-80 pilot and an Air Force C-9 crewmember.who just had to have one. The model is built from a kit I found at WalMart. Several parts had to be made or remade to overcome missing items or gross errors in design. The model is pine and, of course as a demo item, I didn't paint it.
Anyone for a cruise? Also a kit item from WalMart. Most of the work was done but shaping and sanding were necessary. As usual, it was missing some parts, but I was able make what was necessary. Sorry, I didn't put in a swimming pool.
This was a nice quick one to finish out a day. It was actually inspired by a mobile hanging from the ceiling of my dentist's office that I stared at for the several hours it took to accomplish a root-canal. The hull is bass wood and the sails plain paper with the bottom edge stabilized with a line of glue.
The 2004 Holiday Demos
This year, I did many of the things you have seen before. Only a couple of things were added, so I shall show them off to you now.
You may remember the stable scene I made a while ago. Although, it was a favorite among the viewers, One person that I respected asked why I didn't do something for Hanakka.
So here is the latest Menorah. I made several before, but they were given to folks who loved them before I could get a photo. They are mini's and the candles are "birthday" candles
I also made a Kinara for Kwanzaa but a really nice lady convinced me she was in charge of a daycare center and Kwanzaa was their project. Guess what? I gave her the Kinara before I got a chance to photograph it.
Now, one of the easiest things you can do with the Dremel is etch a design on a glass plate or tumbler. The hardest thing is to photograph the result. Here is an example of the Santa Claus plate I made during the demo. It really looks better in real life.
My favorite critters are the dolphins that populate the waters around my home town. These I took on as a challenge to see if I could do a passible job at wood carving. It went through several demos as "work in progress" and was finished during field testing of proposed new light sanding bands.
