Dear Lillie I recieved your e-mail with no problem Thanx for the info
Cheri

You are welcome Cheri.I was afraid you didn't get it.Any more questions feel free to e-mail me.......Lillie

Does anyone know where I can find good used gourd crafting tools? I have a limited amount of money and am just starting this craft. Last year I grew the small birdhouse gourds and got a zillion of them, I have cleaned a few...I even put one in the dishwasher to see how that worked, wasn't too bad, didn't mush it at all but did make the outter layer soft and easy to remove. I plan on decorating my gourds soon as I can find the right tools. I plan to use a wood burner, acrylic paints, clay, oil pastels etc. I'm in Albuquerque, NM if anyone can help I'd appreciate it very much.

Micromark has all sort of nifty saws, sanders, etc. I bought one but not from the company as I was lucky enough to find one on EBAY. I do buy my replacement blades, etc from Micromark.

Joeygirl, I also bought the set of sander, drill and saw that Lillie posted about. For the money, $25.00 plus s/h, it does the job. I especially like the sander and the drill. The sander gets into the parts of the gourd that a big sander doesn't. It is definitely worth having until you can get a bigger one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Harbor Freight

Joeygirl-If you are just cutting holes for birdhouses no special tools are required. I have been working with gourds for over 2 years now and just recently acquired a mini jigsaw! I started out with a Dremmel tool,$19.97 at Wal-Mart. I started out cutting the entrance holes by drilling a circle of small holes with the Dremmel then punching it out and finishing it with the drum sander attachment. In fact,I still make the holes that way. For cleaning the inside of the gourds an old long handle teaspoon works great. I sharpened the edge a little with one of the attachments for the Dremmel. I also use a melon baller for cleaning the inside of the gourd. Just use whatever you have that works. The mini power tools are just icing on the cake! LOL As Nonnie said though,the set from Harbour Freight is a good one to start out with and well worth the money.........Lillie

Nonnie
Do you by chance remember the name of the set you purchased? I have searched the harbor freight site and can't seem to find it.
Thanks
Carol

Harbor freight has them on sale now $7.88 or so--called an engraving tool. But you still have to buy the engraving bits separately at $2 to $4 each-frm Lowes. I also only use a snap-off blade knife for cutting open the lidded bowls that I make, or the holes in birdhouses. I think the power saws are important only if you are making a ton of gourds to sell. I use the engraving tool to cut the design into the outside of the gourd. Have you seen the show at gourd TV--interesting products-ink dies that don't fade and good wood filler. I just use acrylic paints and wood stain, and cheap spray sealer on the outside. I use some liquid water based poly. on the inside (left over from a recent wood floor refinishing project) or glue in scrap booking paper/pieces of brown paper bags. I got, as a gift, a wall-mart wood burner $15, but you need a temperature controller/regulator--otherwise it burns too hot and then not hot enough--so no wood burning for me, since I don't want to build my own (have directions for a homemade unit for $10) and the good ones are $180. have fun, good luck.

Micro Mark (www.micromark.com) has lots of minature tools' jigsaws, sanders, drills. I have a set which I no longer use but when I was cutting designs into gourds the small tools were very helpful.

This website has all kinds of gourd crafting tools, mini jigsaws, rotary tools, etc. Check it out: http://www.AmishGourds.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Gourd Crafting Tools