Pin of the Week: Wood Block Robot

Pin of the Week

From this point on, each week I am going to share my favorite pin from Pinterest with all of you. In most cases this will be posted on Sundays, but that may change depending on holidays.

This week I found a great project to make with scrap pieces from other projects. Unfortunately, the link from the pin is no longer active so I can't give you the complete instructions on how to make one of these until I go through this and make a couple myself. Just looking at the picture should be enough for many of you to figure out how to make these. 

I love this project. This would be great to put on a shelf or to as a child's toy and all it takes is a little bit of rope, various size wood blocks, some glue, a drill and a saw.

I hope to go through my scrap pile soon and make a couple of these to put in the etsy shop.

Make Money From The Wood Goods

Over the past couple days I have spent a significant amount of time looking for ways so all of you can make some money from The Wood Goods.

I started by browsing through a dozen or so websites that offer software to set up affiliate programs but that search was unsuccessful. Most of them that seemed like a good idea were misleading in someway. One of them only worked if you are selling digital products while another required a verification document that simple security software would not allow to run on my computer because their form was not secure enough.

So eventually I came back to a simple referral program through ReferralCandy which actually seems to be better than I initially thought. My first impression was that I could only give coupons as rewards but when I finally signed up I found I could offer cash rewards. So once I test the programming (hopefully everything is tracked properly) I will be offering $5 paid via Paypal for everyone referral that spends $35 or more at TheWoodGoods.com.  Plus when you refer your friend you will be giving them 10% off their purchase.

Some things might change with this program as we move forward but the $5 reward and 10% off will remain the minimums until at least December 31, 2015. There are times where I might run promotions to give a higher reward or give first time customers a bigger percentage off their order.

I hope this news is as exciting for you as it is for me. As long as everything tests fine, the program will be launched early next week.

($5 reward when your friend spends $35 or more)

How to Make a Cube Puzzle

Anyone interested in learning how to make a simple wood cube puzzle? I recently posted a video on Garfum.com that shows exactly how to make one of these puzzles. All you really need to make one of these is a wood cube, a band saw, some masking tape, sandpaper and wood finish of your choice.

First cut a wavy line through the block. The complexity of the cut will depend on personal preference, density of the wood and tension in your band saw blade. Don't try to make the saw do something it is not capable of.

Once through the block tape it back together and rotate the cube and repeat the first step so you are cutting through a side that has not been cut. The block only needs three cuts total cuts.

After the third cut, remove the tape, then sand and apply a finish to the pieces.

I hope these direction are clear but if not you can see exactly what I mean by following the link below:

Garfum Video | Video Contest Online | Cash Prizes Online | garfum.com

If you do take the time to view the link, if you could also sign up for the site and submit a vote for the video I would greatly appreciate that. Garfum hosts a monthly contest where the 10 videos with the highest voted score are awarded a cash prize. The top video also qualifies for the championship competition for the chance to win up to $25,000.



I will be posting more videos in the near future.

End-Grain Cutting Board Giveaway

There are 10 days remaining in The Wood Goods End-grain Cutting Board Giveaway! If you are interested in your chance at a free cutting board head over to our Facebook Page and sign up via the simple entry form. There are currently 340 entries so you have a fairly decent shot at this cutting board valued at $60.

The particular cutting board you will receive will be slightly different from the one pictured but will also be made from cherry, maple and walnut and be finished with multiple coats of mineral oil.
The board measures 13" x 9" and is approximately 7/8" thick.

As you may know end-grain cutting boards are known to be the best to keep your knives sharper for a longer amount of time. It is the easiest on your knife because the blade will slip between the grains of the wood. End-grain boards also have a self-healing property because of this wood orientation where narrow cuts and marks may naturally close up over time.

If this sounds like something that interests you, don't forget to enter by 2/22/15 at 12 PM EST.