Powercat Box #1

Very nice job. You did a great job on the dovetails and the inlay. Very nice box!!!!!!

-- Davesfunwoodworking

GO K-STATE!!!! Very nice job. Last thing I heard was that K-State does not own the logo some coach does and I can’t remember the name.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Great looking box – the dovetails are really nice, the contrasting woods bring everything together. Don’t know much about K-State, but I know I like their box. Good job.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Beautiful colors and unique box. Well done overall. Love the contrasting colors. mike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

I like contrasting colours and these are really nice. Good job.
Were the inlays done using templates and the router?

Hi Martin,

This is a beautiful box. The contrasting woods add visual interest to the piece.

Thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Beautiful box – I like the wood choices, the dovetails and the inlay is great.

-- John

Exceptional work – the choice of woods is excellent -

I think you were smart contacting K-State before trying to sell – in either case if the logo contains the little R in a circle—-it is a registered trademark and cannot be USED without the owners permission. You may contact them again with offering a percentage of your sales price be donated to the general scholarship fund——-this may give a small gratis incentive for them to provide you permission…. You may really finish one out and send it to the Chancellor with a letter – but I strongly suggest NOT selling before you get thier permission, many take a harsh view of proprietary rights – in any case

Wonderful craftsmanship.

-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ

Fantastic job! Excellent inlay and execution!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Very nice job. The inlay is terrific!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Thanks for all your comments/encouragement. It’s really amazing to see all the great craftsman and their work here on this site.

David – I probably don’t do my inlays the easiest way, since I rarely use templates. I start by cutting out the inlay piece out of 3/16 inch or so stock (in this case the purpleheart) then scribe (using a sharp knife) it onto the surface accepting the recess. I use a trim router with a small bit and route freehanded as much as I can. Then I use a combination of chisels, knives, and flexcut gouges to sneak up on the outline. When gluing I mix the sawdust from darkest of the contrasting woods with glue to help hide any gaps.

Bill, thanks for your comments on the trademark. My understanding is that the football coach (Bill Schneider) created the powercat logo, but he couldn’t “cash in” on it as long as he was the active coach. He’s retired now. At that time I made the request (Bill Schneider was still coach at the time) I knew of others who made similar requests and rec’d permission for it’s use…such as on purses, etc. ...of course for a percentage.

I kind of like the idea of sending one to the Chancellor…I’ll have to give that some serious thought. Thanks again.

-- Martin, Kansas

Very original.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Really coo, Martin. Great idea using the mascot.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Coach Bill Snyder is the one who came up with the design, along with another guy in Manhattan.

You should get permission prior to selling.

All of that aside, I love it. I love everything K-State though.

I hope that I can do inlays as well as you did. I have a lot of projects I’d love to put a little Powercat in.

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

That’s a wonderful piece … thanks for sharing!

As far as the Powercat logo goes … if you’re serious about selling stuff with their logo on it … then I would suggest talking to an attorney who’s familiar with acquiring licensing rights … not to say you have to make a federal case out of this … but before I went forward I would want to talk to one to make sure all my ducks were in a row.

You see … I have a sneaking suspiscion that the reason you may not have heard back from anyone may have had something to do with the fact that you were asking the wrong people. While Bill Snyder may very well own the actual trademark rights to the logo … and thus is entitled to a cut of the revenue generated from it … I’d be willing to bet the farm that neither he nor the university have any control over granting commercial licensing rights to it … because other than the University of Notre Dame … it’s the NCAA which grants commercial licensing rights on behalf of it’s members … not the individual schools. These days … the individual schools usually only retain the power to grant rights on a limited basis to campus clubs, fraternities, and alumni associations for fund raising purposes.

As far as those other folks … they may very well have received permission to use the logo from the school at one time or another … and the school may still honor those permissions … but NCAA merchandise has become a big business in recent years and while contractual ties with the entities such as the Big-12 and the BCS have become very lucrative for schools such as Kansas State … in many cases, they’ve also forced schools to tighten up their rules to comply with their contractual obligations … and so a schools that may have been a little more relaxed about granting permission just a few years ago are not as willing to be so relaxed now.

At any rate … I’m not trying to scare you or anyone else off … I’m just simply trying to point out the fact that you or anyone else who’s thinking about going down this road would be wise to at least speak with an attorney before going down this road

-- Lip's Dysfuncational Firewood Farm, South Bend, IN

Lip, you raise some excellent points. I hadn’t thought about the NCAA being involved. Thanks for the comments.

-- Martin, Kansas