Home » Writer's Blogs » Carl-Chesal

Life | Marketing | Travel | Photography

Carl Chesal ⁽⁷⁰⁴⁾ Canada

Bizfare Enterprise Inc

Woodworking Tips for the beginner - Six easy steps

Posted Saturday, February 07, 2009 (287 days 23 hours ago.) Viewed 304 times.

There is a no better time than during these strained economic times to consider handcrafting wooden games, toys or furniture for your family or as gifts. Recall a simpler time when we were young and created our own amusements by using our imaginations and hands to transform simple objects into playful implements or games. Gosh, I still have and use some of the things we made with our Dad in his basement workshop or garage back in Cape Breton - a periscope, wooden toolbox, marble board game. At 15 years I built that water wheel and the well replica for our garden. Mom and Dad loved it.

Consider the pleasure and sense of pride you will have when you create a gift from your own hands. And think of the pleasure you will bring to someone special. Someone for whom you took the time to craft a special wooden piece.

With a few simple hand tools and maybe a basic power tool, you can transform those ideas in your head to some very unique woodworking projects. With a little planing you could build these wooden creations right in your apartment, at your kitchen table or in your garage or basement. Covering your work area with some plastic drop-sheets or a tarpaulin and having a vacuum for cleanup opens up the possibilities of using your kitchen or dining room table for small woodworking projects.

Planning and measuring:

- On a piece of paper design your project (rough picture) and then measure it out on a rough piece of wood so you can get some kind of visual of how it will look

or

- buy a template plan that simply has you tape together the pieces of paper, lay it out on the board and simply mark then cut or drill as indicated. This is a simple way to ensure project accuracy and repeatability when you are making more than one of the same project.

Cutting the wood:

- Cut with handsaw, circular saw, table saw or miter saw

or

- Have them cut it to size at your building supply store. For a few extra dollars I have Home Depot cut my plywood to project size. Now I don't have to get out the table saw and deal with the sawdust clean-up that results.

Rounding corners and edges:

- Use a jigsaw and router

or

- With a straightedge or paper template, mark and trim the four corners with a handsaw or hand jigsaw and then, with a block and pieces of sand paper (coarse grit), round and shape the corners and edges

Drilling Holes:

- use a drill and wood bits (a drill is likely the first hand power tool you will buy) No real alternative for a good drill and bits

Fastening the pieces together:

- No Nails Glue (This stuff seems to hold anything to anything!) - may require some clamps or weights to keep your project together during the 24 hour drying period

- Screws with wood glue (using the drill to pre-drill holes to avoid wood splitting and the screw bits to easily sink the screws)

- A small square will help ensure your corners remain square during assembly

Finishing the surface:

- poly fill or wood fill or wooden plugs will be need to cover the countersunk screws

- You will need coarse to fine sandpaper. Coarse sandpaper to deal with smoothing the edges and finer sandpaper to finish the surfaces in preparation for a wood finish to be applied.

- Go with natural wood finishes like polyurethane, lacquers and wood oils. Let the natural wood grains display all their splendor.

- Stain and paint first. Then finish with a polyurethane to make the surface more durable

You can be a talented woodworking carpenter with a few simple tools:

- measuring tape and pencil

- straightedge and/or square

- handsaw

- hand jigsaw

- power drill, drill bits and screw bits (this is the first power tool you should own) OR a versatile Dremel, which has a wide variety of attachments

- sand paper block (a piece of 2x2 or 2x3 wood) and sandpaper

- good quality paint brushes (clean and spin dry after each use and they will last for years)

Now, more than ever, is the time to unleash your woodworking talent and handcraft wooden treasures like toys, games and furniture. In the land of wooden handcrafts the recipients smile is the true gift of receiving.

AUTHOR BIO:

Carl Chesal is a business consultant, internet marketer and professional photographer. His hobbies include Gardening and Woodworking. He operates Home And Body How To, providing Home and Garden DIY project plans, woodworking template plans, memorabilia, cooking recipes, and music gear. Something for the Do-It-Yourself Carpenter, Cook, Gardener, Decorator, Collector, and Musician.

Permalink Comments (0)

Effective Written Responses to Customer Problem Situations – How to Handle Customer Complaints

Posted Tuesday, August 07, 2007 (2 years 108 days ago.) Viewed 544 times.

It doesn't always work out. You have provided your customer with a number of merchandising offers and pricing options that seem favorable and fair. But no matter what you feel is a great offer, there are times when a customer wants to just return your product. There are other customers that will have a complaint about delays in shipping or product appropriateness.

No matter how clear your return policy is defined on your website, customers feel that they should return it with a complete refund. No questions asked. The mega retailers have created this no-haggle return policy, because they have other avenues to resell these items; namely, through their discount outlets. But for the small boutique online retailer, who employs a drop-shipper, returns are usually charged a restocking fee. That fee is borne by the online retailer. It is then understandable and reasonable that a customer re-stocking fee is necessary to recover some or all of the re-stocking and credit card costs that you bear as the retailer on the initial customer purchase transaction.

When you are in the Customer Business, inevitably, you will be required to address a Customer Problem Situation. So how do you respond to these unavoidable yet regrettable customer problem situations? What is the best way to respond in writing to these customers?

These Eight time-tested tips have helped me write effectively to Customer Complaint Response Situations over and over again:

1) Write your response as if your words will ultimately be posted on the internet. It could appear, in whole or in part, on someone's BLOG, visible to all the web world to read and discuss. Remember problem situations are opportunities to further market your company's trusted image and extend customer goodwill.

2) These emails or letters addressing problem situations should never tell the customer what they did wrong; instead, tell your customer exactly what they need to do to make the situation right. Detail the steps the customer must execute to realize the solution. This "BE POSITIVE"approach was applied many times over the 30 years when I was a software support manager for both Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.

3) Use your written word to further develop and grow your trust with your customer. "Active Listening" applies to the written word as much as it applies to conversation. First strive to understand, confirm that understanding and then proceed to a proposed solution.

4) Be fair in your solution proposal, but don't "give away the farm" as part of your problem resolution. Think Win-Win. Ask yourself the question: With what you are offering as a solution, is this likely to keep this customer as a repeat customer?

5) Break your 'fix-it' offer into two parts, a current fix and a future buy offer. Apply some common sense toward fixing the present situation (partial refund, item exchange or return). Then entice the customer to come back and buy again with an offer against future purchases (like an additional 5% discount or free shipping).

6) For a product replacement situation, this could be an opportunity to "sell up" your customer to a better product or service.

7) Have a clearly defined Returns Policy Page on your website. Don't hide the fact that you charge a re-stocking fee. Always be transparent with your Return Policy, Shipping Information and Privacy Policy. Nothing hidden in these areas but rather openly disclosed will build customer trust in your website and company.

8) Accept that there will be times when you will lose the customer. Forever! Sometimes it just doesn't work and you will not be able to save a customer. Be gracious in your closure - "We had hoped we could make this mutually beneficial offer work " and then Let it go. No guilt – No Regret.

In your journey to continuously maintain high customer satisfaction, you will discover that "All Customers ARE NOT Created Equal" and "The Customer IS NOT always right". Both the Seller and the Consumer have responsibilities toward ensuring the sales transaction is mutually beneficial. Encourage your customers to ask questions and get answers before they buy. Strive for a Win-Win sales experience.

About the Author:

Carl Chesal is a business and channel development consultant, trainer, internet marketer and professional photographer. He operates BizFare Enterprise Inc, providing business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. Bizfare Enterprise also operates a number of secure on-line Professional Services and Retail websites, like Communicate Innovate.

Permalink Comments (0)

Inexpensive Automated Eco-Friendly Water Soaker Garden Irrigation System – Do-It-Yourself

Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 (2 years 182 days ago.) Viewed 3,570 times.

You looked at installing a underground sprinkler system on your property. And then stopped short when you realized the thousands of dollars it would cost! How could plastic pipe and sprinkler heads cost so much? Here is a lasting inexpensive water irrigation system that is near maintenance free and will have your neighbors wondering why they never see you watering your garden and plants. You can claim yours to be an environmentally friendly garden soaker system (or water drip system), using the minimum amount of water to sustain your plants and shrubs.

Get the water as close to the plant roots as possible. Using less water is important to our global environment.

Communities now encourage water soaker systems instead of sprinkler systems. Water applied near the ground will mostly be absorbed into the earth where it is needed by the plant and grass roots. Water sprayed above the plants and grass lands on the leaves and flowers before dripping to the ground. This longer exposure to the air will cause much of the sprayed or sprinkled water to evaporate into the hot summer air.

More than ever now communities control the watering of lawns and gardens during the summer months. Sometimes you are restricted to garden watering only - not lawns. An automatic water timer system combined with a soaker hose system makes plenty of sense in reducing the amount of water dispensed to water your garden plants and shrubs.

So how can I make an effective soaker system for my garden for under $500?

With some off-the-shelf components, you can have a simple but elegant soaker system that with be automatic and near maintenance free. With a simple water timer system, Y-connectors, faucet multipliers, some 1 1/2" ABS pipe, quality 1/2" garden hose and your choice of soaker hoses or irrigation hoses for potted or hanging plants, border gardens, row gardens or (dare I say) even lawn sprinklers. You now have the elements for a simple soaker irrigation system for your garden. This do-it-yourself automatic water irrigation system will ensure you water plants at the best time every day; specifically, early morning and late afternoon. As an added home security feature, when you are away from home your garden will sustain its beauty and make it look like someone is at home.

Here is the material list required for your automatic garden soaker system . (Note: there is a complete Picasa image gallery of all the required components of this inexpensive soaker system at http://picasaweb.google.com/carl.chesal/GardenIrrigationSystem ):

1) Select your water timer – I selected Orbit from Home Depot. Make sure it has a battery timer so power outages won't alter your scheduled watering times. It should allow for at least 3 watering zones.

2) Select your main faucet multiplier (or Valve splitter) that will attach to your outside water faucet and can accommodate the 3-4 water zones plus a spare to allow for regular garden hose watering. You can secure these special faucet multipliers from garden centers or at Lee Valley Tools.

3) Enough 1 1/2" ABS pipe (and glue) and 22.5 degree elbows to run underground (6" - 10" depth). Use the 22.5 degree elbows only to allow for easy insertion of the garden hose into the ABS pipe. You can cut further costs by burying the garden hoses directly underground. The ABS piping does provide added protection from accidental puncture from aerators, pitch forks and other garden tools. This ABS pipe can also serve double duty to run low voltage wire or speaker wire to the remote areas of your garden.

4) Enough quality garden hoses to run through the ABS pipe and connect to the soaker hoses in all your garden beds.

5) Soaker hoses for all your garden beds.

6) Enough Faucet multipliers (Valve splitters) to extend each watering zone with soaker hose as required.

Creating your automatic garden soaker system involves more of a landscaping effort than anything else. Here are 3 steps to completing your eco-friendly automatic garden soaker system (Note: refer to the Picasa image gallery for details of component assembly):

1) Bury the ABS pipe feeding the garden hose through it as you connect and glue the pipe sections. Bury the pipe 6"-10" under your lawn or sidewalk. Have both ends extend out of the ground using the 22.5 degrees elbows so that the stiff hose can still be easily pulled through the pipe.

2) Connect the soaker hoses to the ends of the garden hoses and weave the soaker hoses through your garden under plants and around shrubs. Follow the installation instructions of the soaker hose manufacturer.

3) Install the water timer and water zone valves on the faucet multiplier. Connect the hoses for each zone. Follow the installation instructions of the water timer manufacturer. Do not set the water time for each zone more than 20 minutes each. Set two water times – early morning (around 6 am) and late afternoon (around 7 pm).

Maintenance of your Irrigation System and Preparation for Freezing Winter Temperatures:

1) Disconnect the [zone] hoses at the main faucet where the Water Timer is located.

2) Using a Shop Wet Vac, suck the excess water from each zone hose . Use electrical tape to secure the vacuum pipe against the end of the hose. Turn on the wet vac and let it run for 10-15 minutes. Empty the water extracted before repeating this for each hose at the main faucet. You will extract enough water from the hoses so as not to incur any winter damage to your hoses from freezing water.

3) Tape a plastic bag over the ends of each of the [zone] hoses. This will prevent little critters from getting in the hoses and clogging them when you reconnect the system in the spring.

4) Remove the water timer and faucet multiplier. Store them in a warm place where they will not freeze.

5) Note: you DO NOT need to disconnect and remove the soaker hoses. They should last 4-6 years before you need to replace them. Check the soaker hoses each spring for holes. You can patch these holes with high-friction Silicone tape. You may also leave outdoors all-year-round any valve splitters that were used to increase the soaker hoses in a particular water zone.

You now have an inexpensive water soaker system that won't break the bank. You have saved thousands of dollars and can boast of being a friend to our environment. You clearly are doing your part for water conservation and the ecology. Nice going!

About the Author:

Carl Chesal is a business and channel development consultant, trainer, internet marketer and professional photographer. His hobbies include Gardening and Woodworking. He operates BizFare Enterprise Inc , providing business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. Bizfare Enterprise also operates a number of secure on-line shopping sites, like Home And Body How To

Permalink Comments (2)

Archives:

November 2009
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30
« Oct

All Posts by Carl Chesal

Life | Marketing | Travel | Photography

Woodworking Tips for the beginner - Six easy steps

Effective Written Responses to Customer Problem Situations – How to Handle Customer Complaints

Inexpensive Automated Eco-Friendly Water Soaker Garden Irrigation System – Do-It-Yourself

Archives:

Previous Posts:

Related Posts: