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Woodworking is Great. But the Sawdust Isn’t.

We make signs. Plain and simple. But in order for us to do that, there’s a process. And the process doesn’t begin with me, or with Amy. It doesn’t even begin at the lumber yard. It begins somewhere in the forest when a tree is chosen for logging. Or is when the seed is planted? I guess we could just keep on going, couldn’t we, but let’s not!

Click on image to see specs

So let’s stick with when a tree is chosen for logging. That’s the beginning of the process…and the process of cutting a tree down, then slicing the tree into usable sizes, refining those rough boards into common sizes and then sanding them down into rough and finish lumber to be sold in lumber yards.

That’s when we come into the picture. We then engrave, cut and sand the wood into unfinished creations, ready to be painted and possibly framed.

My point….that process involves a heck of a lot of saw dust. More than half of it is left in the forest and at the mill. The rest, without a dust collector, ends up on my shop floor, on the computer, my desk, and everything single thing I have in that shop.

The solution is a nice, $4,900 Grizzly cyclone dust collector that measures about 8 ft tall by 4ft wide….if you have the space. It should be able to handle most of your sawdust, from multiple stations just fine, and without a whole lot of noise, which is another issue entirely.

Click on image to see specs

However, if you’re like me, having limited space, or your budget simply doesn’t allow you a $5k expenditure, there’s still a cyclone setup for you.

If you have a shop vac, you’re in business with a much smaller cyclone dust collector kit that won’t catch 100% of the dust you create, but will help significantly. If you’re using a CNC machine like we do, having a good dust boot with a brush kit on it makes the world of difference as well. It keeps sawdust and wood chips from being launched by the router bit.

If you don’t know much about how these things work, it’s simple. Suction from the vacuum goes on the side port and the the top leads to the CNC boot. ‘Nuff said!

Any questions or better solutions to your dust problems, I’d be glad to hear about it.

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Freckle Barn is Your Heaven for Handcrafted Goods

You’re probably thinking, “what do freckles and barns have to do with each other?” And my answer is, “not much!” But, Amy, my beautiful, talented and freckle covered wife, who likes barns might know. You should ask her!

Freckle Barn

My name is Dave, and I’m kind of the guy behind the scenes here at Freckle Barn and I never, in all my days, never thought I would be able to feed and raise five children by making handcrafted goods for people. But, where there is a need, someone must rise to fulfill that need. Amy has been fulfilling that need since she was in High School, which little did she know was the beginning to our growing company.

But enough about us. This is about you, and what you want…and we are prepared to meet that challenge by offering some amazing customized creations that can be used to decorate your own home or as gifts for those you care about.

Our Products

We engrave. Point blank. We create signs and decor in all shapes and sizes. Your imagination is your limit when it comes to what can be created for your favorite spaces and people. A lot of what we do for our customers is customizing signs that can last a lifetime, serve as a gift, bring laughter or even bring tears.

I don’t think I need to tell you how to find just a few of the products we offer here on our site, but here’s the link to our products.

With that said, if you’re looking for something special that is designed and made to last, we look forward to making that happen for you.