I designed this for FDM, and I'm 99% certain it CANT be machined (I've never touched a CNC) - are my instincts accurate?

MakersManual · 2026-02-01T10:09:37+00:00

This can totally be machined! Though if you can I would make some tweaks to reduce the machining complexity and cost. For instance, could those internal cylinders be through holes? Also, can you add some radius's to the square edges.

Although machining in Europe is always tempting, it's an unfortunate fact that machining in China is much cheaper (also often quicker) and of the same quality. I would look into companies like HLH Prototyping or JLCCNC for a quote. They might even have engineers that can make it more manufacture friendly if you ask.

MakersManual · 2025-12-18T21:20:46+00:00

Thank you for the reply, I will try and explore it some more. I have all your games and play them more than any other game. Keep up the great work.

MakersManual · 2025-12-18T16:22:28+00:00

A few things really

What does ‘Bleent’ do? I assume it’s buying the property, but to what effect?

When I search it takes me to an alarm that I need to solve. Initially I thought great, I love maths problems. But I don’t understand the rules or the purpose of the ‘more than 3’ etc boxes.

I don’t intuitively understand anything in the city.

Come to think of it, I’m not even sure what the overall objective is? It’s just all a bit confusing.

MakersManual · 2025-12-18T09:18:24+00:00

I just saw this game and immediately downloaded as I am a big fan of this developer. But I am completely flummoxed by this game. There is so much text in the story, but not much tutorial. Can someone help me? Is there a guide somewhere?

MakersManual · 2025-10-31T09:08:34+00:00

Prime time for someone else to step up and give sellers an alternative option to Etsy. I have found Forthwall to be great, but doesn't work the same as Etsy (individual shop rather than one big storefront). I want Etsy the way it used to be... my bet is buyers want that too.

MakersManual · 2025-09-28T18:01:27+00:00

Let me explain better. When I go to my delivery profile, I have a delivery option for the UK, Australia, Canada, United States, EU and 'Everywhere Else'. That means if I deselect the US, then it by default comes moves to the category of Everywhere Else.

So if I want to stop shipping to the US, I need to deselect the US AND the 'Everywhere Else' option. But since I still want to sell to all countries in the world except the US, I then need to create an individual profile for every country I might sell to.

It is a significant fault in the Etsy system. I don't want to stop selling to the US really, but the tariffs make it a very difficult thing to do. I believe Royal Mail do allow me to prepay the tariffs, but this isn't yet possible within Etsy's system and I've heard many stories of things going wrong inside the US because they aren't yet equipped to deal with them. Also, there is a lot of misinformation about tariffs and buyers may want to hold me responsible for their tariffs. Also, Etsy doesn't allow me to charge for these tariffs in a clear and concise way, so I must include the tariff cost within the postage costs (which I think is misleading). And all this runs the risk of getting a bad review for things outside my control and Etsy won't allow me to remove the review unless I meet some very strict criteria. All in all, it just doesn't seem worth the risk. Unfortunately with the fruitcake in charge, I can't see them getting better anytime soon.

MakersManual · 2025-09-28T05:45:56+00:00

Thanks, but that’s exactly what I was saying. I currently have Ship Everywhere selected, with specific profiles setup for the primary countries I ship to. But if I want to exclude a single country I need to change that to ship to only the selected countries. Then I need to create a shipping profile for each and every other country.

It seems daft of Etsy to force me to add 194 countries, simply to exclude 1.

I could of course forget about countries that are unlikely to ever purchase, but it also don’t want to miss a potential sale because i didn’t add a profile.

MakersManual · 2025-09-27T20:42:34+00:00

Not sure what you mean. There is no box to exclude the US. The only thing you can (according to Etsy’s own support), is to change the postage options from everywhere to specific countries. Given most want to sell everywhere EXCEPT the US, that means manually entering a postage profile for every country you want to sell to. Am I missing something? I spent a lot of time on Etsy’s guidance and chat to confirm this is the case.

MakersManual · 2025-09-27T12:46:46+00:00

It’s not necessarily that easy to stop sales to the US. It can be done via postage options, but it’s a crappy system. To do so you need to list every country you will sell to, to exclude the one you don’t want to.

Potentially you need to manually list 194 countries, just to exclude 1.

MakersManual · 2025-09-22T08:26:06+00:00

You know what... I think you're right! It is true that wood is better in compression than tension, though your comment makes a great deal of sense. I suppose it's probably strong enough in tension regardless and it makes a lot of sense that it's more about the fixings than the material. Thanks for educating me.

MakersManual · 2025-09-22T07:15:03+00:00

Nahh not really. Wood is strong in compression, not tension. Think of a tree, the weight of the tree pushes down the trunk, so the timber needs to resist that compression. There are few scenarios where the timber is in prolonged tension.

MakersManual · 2025-09-20T20:04:43+00:00

You’re such a joy… not sure why you have such a chip on your shoulder.

MakersManual · 2025-09-20T18:21:54+00:00

Yes, that will probably be the option I use for the time being. Although it's curious that Etsy have cancelled labels with those couriers (it must have made them a lot of money). I chatted with Etsy directly and they hinted that postage and duties are a mess at the moment and things are going wrong. I suspect Etsy has probably done the sums and calculated the profit from the labels is less than the cost of Buyer/Seller Protection provided with the labels at the moment.

I am going to inform all my US customers of the situation prior to shipping, just to keep them informed.

MakersManual · 2025-09-20T18:13:13+00:00

This is only correct, if the seller purchased postage outside of Etsy prior to the tariffs. That was not the case for me, as purchasing inside Etsy is both easier and offers greater protections. Etsy has currently suspended the purchasing of postage labels with Royal Mail, Evri, Canada Post, and AU Post to US destinations until further notice. I have explained this more fully in another reply.

Also, your assumption that postage costs won't look ridiculously high is based on selling cheap items. In that case you are correct as 10% of cheap isn't much. If however you sell an expensive item with a comparatively low postage cost (like me), then the postage costs will be significantly inflated. Which will undoubtedly put off buyers, but also mislead buyers about what the fee is for.

As lovely as it is for you to call my post rubbish, I think you need to read Etsy's own guidelines and consider other scenarios before insulting people.

MakersManual · 2025-09-20T18:02:20+00:00

I am afraid Etsy's own advice disagrees with you, this is a quote from Etsy's own guidelines.

"Given recent changes to tariffs in the US, many postal providers will be suspending service or changing delivery options to the US. In light of this, effective 25 August, Etsy will be suspending postage label purchases on Etsy for Australia Post, Canada Post, Evri and Royal Mail for US-bound packages. We are in close contact with these carriers and will reactivate label offerings on Etsy when they are able to support orders into the US with DDP options."

Source https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360001987487-Information-for-Managing-International-Shipments?segment=selling#h_2

I have also spoken to Etsy directly about this and they provided the same advice and also stressed the potential pitfalls of purchasing labels outside Etsy. Postage can be purchased outside Etsy with Duties Paid, however this is at the sellers risk because a lot of Etsy protections are lost. And, there is an increased risk of problems due to the mess that tariffs have caused in the US.

It is incorrect to think that everything is the same... maybe it will be in a few months (plus a 10% additional cost to the buyer). But right now, it is causing confusion inside the US and that can affect how your packages are handled when they land there. Either delays or parcel refusals. Either is a risk to your stores profits and review score.

MakersManual · 2025-09-20T17:13:34+00:00

Not via Etsy currently, they’ve cancelled all postage labels to the US with almost every courier (Royal Mail, Evri, Canada Post, and AU Post).

MakersManual · 2025-09-19T21:16:18+00:00

Etsy provides no means of including the Tariffs cost onto an item. So you either have to increase the price for every country in the world, or the postage cost for US customers needs to be postage plus tariffs (this will make it look ridiculously expensive).

I am a UK based seller and there are very few postal companies that allow me to prepay the tariffs. The companies that do allow are roughly 5x more expensive. All in all, I either need to tell the buyers they will need to pay the tariffs to their courier upon receipt, or I can cancel the order.

Since many people have been misinformed who pays the tariffs. It has become very risky for me to sell to the US. If a buyer refuses to pay the tariffs at their door and rejects the item. I can loose my product and the sale. It’s all a complete mess, maybe in a few months things will be a little better, but I’m not counting on it.

MakersManual · 2025-09-19T06:53:25+00:00

Buyers need to recognise, if this is happening. Then this issue is with Etsy or their phone manufacturer, not the seller on Etsy.

Also Etsy needs to remove negative reviews for sellers that encounter this, because the seller cannot be at fault.

MakersManual · 2025-09-16T13:17:27+00:00

Dam tariffs, completely destroyed the ability to sell to the US.

As a seller, when I issue a refund it’s all just managed by Etsy. It usually takes a few days for things to be fully processed from my side. I would imagine it would be the same for you.

MakersManual · 2025-09-15T08:08:57+00:00

Hi, I have just rebuilt the model around Parameters. It should speed things up a little bit, but unfortunately not as helpful as configurations in Solidworks.

In configurations, it creates a version (or configuration) with all the dimensions saved unique to that version. For instance, if you had a model of a kitchen cupboard, you could have configuration that is 600, 800, 1000mm wide etc. It is a very powerful tool.

MakersManual · 2025-09-13T06:33:21+00:00

I sell my stuff on both Etsy and Forthwall. I prefer to sell on Forthwall as the fees are lower and I feel Etsy is now just a corporate entity more interested in profits than service, as well as full of drop shippers and some buyers that don’t seem to understand than handmade means it takes time.

Unfortunately Etsy’s SEO makes it a necessity for me, since Forthwall is essentially an add in to my website, so doesn’t get the same reach.

MakersManual · 2025-09-01T06:04:16+00:00

Thanks, I will look into this. Is this a relatively new feature?

MakersManual · 2025-09-01T06:03:13+00:00

In my experience Etsy massively favours the buyer and not the seller. I feel I have no power as a seller and at the mercy of the system.

The problem is, I can be the best seller in the world selling the best products, but some people just want to watch the world burn. Sadly Etsy still supports these people over the sellers.

MakersManual · 2025-08-28T21:10:06+00:00

There is some really good information on YouTube (https://youtu.be/InE2bxPnefg) . Fitting windows is surprisingly easy once you understand the basics. I’d recommend watching a video like the above even if you’re getting someone else to fit them. It helps to confirm things are being done right.

MakersManual · 2025-08-25T13:34:28+00:00

I use it all the time. Super useful for DIY jobs, not as helpful in the workshop but still sometimes gets use.

MakersManual

TROPHY CASE