Lesson 1: When sawing anything - Never use a dull blade - unless you really want it to hurt.

One problem we ran into with my father’s model, was that in the 10 years he owned it he only changed the blade once…big bad no-no! Different types of blades are important to different types of work. My father only used his for cutting laminate flooring - something I’ll talk about another time - which was fine, since that’s what I needed the blade for. Unfortunately, the blade had been very dull for a very long time and even Dad forgot how smooth it was supposed to cut.

I replaced the flooring in our bedroom using the old blade, when I cut into the laminate it was a slow feed through the board which produced a lot of choking smoke and burned saw dust. Since it was “laminate” and not wood and I was warned about it being difficult to cut, I proceeded to finish the room that way, THIS IS WRONG.

The smoke and burned bits were being caused by friction (fairly obvious to anyone with a 5th grade education) which is minimized by a very sharp and smooth edge. As the blade wears down, unlike rocks in the ocean, it gets more jagged. A Microscopically rough surface develops and kills the cut, causing lots of friction, heat, and smoke. This is when it’s time to change the blade. And remember always check the directions for the tool before attempting to service it anyway.

In our case, the bolt was stuck fast. I had my father come by to help and after messing about for a bit, in the wrong direction, the bolt snapped - best of luck to Dad on that one - needless to say, Mom’s pissed - she bought it.

So we went out and bought our own.

This one is lightweight, a bit smaller in presence but still a 10″ blade.

Lesson 2: It’s gonna jump.

There actually is no warning in the instructions, they expect if you’re using this tool you know what you’re doing, but the damn thing jumps, I’m mean JUMPS.

You have to be careful, once you lay your material down when you pull that trigger the blade will start and that baby is going to jump right out of your hands. Hold you wood and base of the saw firmly and ALWAYS make sure you’re hands are well away from the cutting plate.

Now I would have thought the smaller, lighter variety would jump more, not true. My Dad’s 30+ lbs. unit had incredible jump, sometimes a little hard to ready for, and has ruined some cuts on my Dad when he was using it without bolting it down. BTW, Most Compound Miter Saws can be bolted to a table and come with the necessary hardware. This new smaller model I got is only 15 amps, and is a lot lighter resulting in a less powerful jump with less to hold down - I still screwed up my first cut, but every girl makes mistakes.

Lesson 3: F*ck Sears.

Thom’s partial to Sears, he used to be the Receiving manager for one of their Hardware Stores way back in the day, and loves Craftsman Tools - too bad he never built anything with’em… ‘cept for that Bong for your mom *back in college…

Anyway, we purchased this model online for in-store pick up, with a coupon, and when we got to Sears later that evening there was no record of purchase in their system. They do not list their time-frame for online purchases, nor could anyone give any answers, nor did anyone offer us satisfaction in anyway or offer to look into the issue. We buy almost everything online and use the in-store pick up option whenever possible. In this day and age if a retailer can’t keep up with the online options THEY CHOSE to offer… well… that’s… ah… that’s… that’s a paddlin’. Sears = FAIL.

That concludes my lecture for the day.

So remember kids, fresh blades, lots of caution, buy American.

EDIT by thomblake:
* “back in college” is inaccurate, as it’s currently the case that your mom goes to college.

So I started working on 2 Chocobos simultaneously, the first a statuette, completely inappropriate for table-top gaming, and the 2nd is D&D miniature large scale.

If anyone was interested in using Chocobo in their own game, we’re simply using the Pegasus monster rules with Claw, Claw, Bite attack instead of Hoof, Hoof, Bite. And yes, our Paladin’s chocobo flies.

For those of you who don’t know, ConnectiCon is our Home Con. That’s right, eons ago we were just a group of crazy kids with a button maker, now we’re a couple of adults with a bunch of crazy friends…and said button maker - and still attending ConnectiCon.

This year ConnectiCon expanded to take up the entire Connecticut Convention Center; that’s right, no more creepy pet shows or Hula-Hooping Extravaganza’s to share with this time! The decision was made to move the Artist Colony out of the hallways and into our own space in the lower level exhibit halls. Everyone had a lot more room and for the big guys this was a major relief. We were kind of separated from the other goings on and the guest webcomic artists were still located in the Dealer’s Room, taking away a lot of the draw of the typical convention’s artist alley. So I’m still on the fence about whether the upgrade was worth it.

Thom spent most of the con working on his chainmaile, while I painted, pressed buttons, and crafted jewlery - Thank you to all the cool people who came by to watch us work! I sold my favorite necklace - but it looks so lovely on the girl who bought it. But we did find time to visit a couple of other artists and panels. This year we shared a table with Studio Jengalill artist, and creator of Bryanna Bunny, Briana Benn , who also ran a printmaking workshop where attendees could make their own ink prints with handmade stamps and paper. I was able to catch the workshop, and if she does it again next year it’s definitely worth checking out! Images of Moogles, Heartless, and Naruto made into lovely fine art prints aren’t something you can find just anywhere. And if you’re not interested in doing the work yourself she also sells her finished ones, matted and framed! I also got a chance to check out Owl’s Mirror Studio, producers of Magical Princess Anya that, despite what the title might suggest, is really funny and violent…with a little bit o’cute thrown in…but it usually gets kicked in the face, READ. The Prime of Ambition always draws me in, great style, good comic, nice people. Jenny, or Divinebird, not exhibiting this year, but still tempting me with her amazing yarns and of course the promise of new projects, is a super nice lady and uber chocobo fan! If you’re into yarn work check out her Etsy store. TheTodd got some b*tchin swag and I got a “I (human heart) Cthulhu button” from Caf-fiends .net! Not .com…I’m not sure what’s going on with the .com but someone said something about unwholesome…and fear…lots of it…

A strange little Xerox comic got into my hands somehow and I liked it - alot - others seemed confused. I can’t find this comic on her site, but Jennifer Weber’s got lots of other messed up comics in her gallery involving one f*cked up little bear.

I got lots of oohs and aahs for some sculptures I’ve neglected to put up before: My Plushie Illithid/Cthulhu Monster and newer creation Choco as well as many unique 1″ Katamari’s. I’m still chasing the spots from all the flash bulbs - Next year: No pictures allowed - not cause I’m a jerk, well mostly cause I’m a jerk - but really, brights light burnses us. I also got in some painting for the sake of painting and came up with some new logo/site ideas I’d like to implement in the next few weeks, if I can find the time.

Every con we come up with something weird to do or give out to the Con-goers. This year we gave everyone crabs. Well, we didn’t, we’re clean. Instead we hired a seedy young gentleman to spread the infestation for us, our ol’buddy Dave - ConnectiCon Volunteer and member of Connecticut’s 50-finest. Infested congoers approached us, angry and looking for abetment, so we cataloged and photographed them, then incinerated the 5 foot area. If you knew any of these individuals…sorry.

What’s in store for next year? Dunno. Maybe a couple workshops or a panel, more free goodies, a raffle…music, magic, and mayhem assuredly - but those are Con provided anyway!

All in all we had a great time. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat, check out our work, let us take dirty pictures of you, and a special thanks to all those who didn’t press charges!

Edit by thomblake: higher-quality versions of the photos are available on our flickr site

Hope to see you there!

What’s in a name?
A name change, to Congypsy Productions, is in the works. Cinnamon Artist Studio didn’t seem to encompass all the strange and interesting things we like to do or are very open to doing in the future. Being somewhat gypsy-like and from Connecticut, a nonsensical name like Congypsy just sorta…sings to me.

Growth Spurt : Hand-me Down Wardrobe as New Name : New Website
Obviously, we’ve moved from Cinnamonartiststudio.com to Congypsy.com. In the works is a new logo, email addresses, site overhaul - all the good stuff that we really don’t want to do. In the process, Philosophical writings of Thomas Blake will no longer be available on Congypsy.com but will now be viewable in all their splendor in a intellectual preserve we’ve taken to calling thomblake.com.

Location, Location, Location
Our current location is losing some occupants. So through the process of osmosis, like water through your dermal layer, we are spreading out to fill those empty cells. Photos and write up of the design process to follow.

I’ll be posting more in the coming weeks. including photos, tips and hints for interior design, as well as artwork, convention info, and the usual mutterings.

UPDATE: Netflix not getting rid of profiles

Cinnamongrl test post - so far so good.