Thursday, December 31, 2009
Downloading Videos - One Possible Solution?
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"I installed a program a while back that is free:
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www.applian.com/asktoolbar/ .
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Once it is installed, there is a Save Video button on your toolbar in Internet explorer. I watch the videos either from the blog or Vimeo and then click Save Video. A window opens, you select the video you just watched and click the save icon, which will let you rename it. It saves it as an MP4 file. It also installs flvplayer.exe which can be used to watch these videos. I copy the videos and player to cd or a usb drive and watch them in the garage, without being connected to the Internet. Here's the part that surprised me.... the files I save this way are much smaller than the ones on Vimeo.....Bottle stopper 5a is about a 580MB download from Vimeo that takes 20 minutes or so on a really fast connection. I watched it in about 6 minutes and clicked the Save Video... it is already cached on your PC and it saves to a file that is only 58MB in size. Perhaps there is some difference in the quality, but I couldn't tell! Might be worth checking out, since it seems to save some time."
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I think I've figured out a way to upload the files in the MP4 format which is a much, much smaller file than the Mp2 I was using before. There is a loss of quality but not so much that it prevents anything. I put a test video in MP4 in the library you can check out. I'll use this on future uploads.
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I know a lot of you are having problems with these videos and I sure wish I was a little more computer savey so I could steer you to solutions. Unfortunately, this stuff is a Greek to me as it is to many of you. It seems just about everyone uses something different than everyone else so it's almost impossible to pin down one simple solution. I'll keep trying though.
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Oh....and whichever "Anonymous" posted this suggestion....Thanks!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Downloading An Out West Video
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1. First, you have to join my video host site. It doesn't cost anything. Just go to http://www.vimeo.com/ and sign up for the "Basic" Vimeo account. As I said it's free and if you have videos of your own it gives you a place to store them just as Picasa or Flicker does with photos. Once you've signed up you can then download the videos.
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2. When you see a video on the blog you wish to download just click on the video title in the upper lefthand corner next to my photo and a new window will open with that video. Scroll down to the lower right hand corner and you'll see "Downloads". You can join Vimeo here if you haven't or log in if you have.
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3. Now right-click on "Download MPG version". Once the small window opens select "Save Target As.." and choose where exactly you want to save it.
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4. Click "Save" and the video will be downloaded to your computer.
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As you can see once you select a video to download they are quite large. Part 5A of the Pancho Bottle Stopper video is 429.7MB!!! I have a DSL line and download at a speed around 5.0mps and it took 15 minutes for that 7 minute video. Yuk!!! I hope to change the way I compress these videos when I upload them to the Vimeo site to where they are not so large and can be downloaded much faster. This will no doubt cut down the quality some but then there are trade-offs in everything I guess. I think the best thing is to just talk the wife, husband, Mom or Dad into letting you buy that new laptop and a wireless router so you can set the computer next to your carving station and bypass all this digital baloney. Oh for the days of the hand-cranked phone! Yes.....I'm that old!
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Anyway, I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for you to enjoy this site more although sometimes it might not seem like it. And don't forget.....I'm always open for suggestions on ways to improve it so your comments are appreciated.
An Out West "Tip Jar"
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From the very beginning of my starting this Blog those who visit it or are familiar with my work have been after me to publish a how-to book or, since I've started posting videos, coming out with DVDs. Naturally, I'm quite flattered by that and have given it a lot of thought. Unfortunately, to do such projects would require a lot of time which is something that I seem to have less and less of each day. While I am retired and while you might think I have loads of free time on my hands, it just doesn't work out that way, any retired person will tell you. I'm busier now than I've ever been. I mentioned earlier when first starting the video projects that if I found they were beginning to keep me from my carving they would have to stop. Well, it's just about reached the point where I spend as much time here at the keyboard loading and editing video clips or answering questions about what's going on on the Blog as I do down at the shop making chips. So here's what I'm going to do.........
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Starting with the new "Pancho Bottle Stopper" videos I have removed the copy protection so you are now free to download these to your computer for your "personal" use. Future videos will be available to you also. Hopefully, you won't take this as a greenlight to make additional copies for your friends, etc. There's really no need for that as they too can have free access just by visiting this site. As for the "Donate" button.....that has been placed there should you want to make a donation for the use of the tutorials, videos, etc. on this site. Nothing is required, just the opposite.....whether or what you drop in the jar is entirely up to you. Whatever is received will go to help cover the costs of operating this Blog as there are costs involved.
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In picking the best method I could find I settled on PayPal as it's been around a long time and is considered just as secure as the checkout counter at WalMart. You can donate via a PayPal account if you have one or by credit card if you don't. My wife and I have been using PayPal for several years without any problems. It's free.
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Again, anything you wish to give is completely voluntary. This Blog will continue whatever you decide to do. It's worth it to me to share what knowledge I might have with those who wish to receive it.
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Any comments on this are appreciated.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Out West Challenge - The Rules
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Pancho Bottle Stopper- A New Video Project
Back in November of 2008 I did a pictorial tutorial on how to make a Bottle Stopper. I thought it might be a little more helpful if I did it again but as a video this time. In this first part I’ll outline just what’s needed and how to go about making your own version of my Out West Bottle Cutter. Also, I’m going to keep the video segments short this time to speed up the process of uploading them.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Slightly Demented!

Friday, December 18, 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
A Tour of the Out West Gallery
Thursday, December 03, 2009
How About A Carving Challenge?
Carving A Cowboy Head – Part 9 – Finishing Up!
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If you’re interested in the San-O-Flex sanding wheel you can get all the information at http://www.meritabrasives.com/product/sand-o-flex.aspx. I use the 320 grit refills. You won’t be sorry in getting this tool as the more you use it the more uses you find for it.
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In the future I hope to do additional videos with this same head where I’ll show how to give him a hat, a bust-type body and finally, a paint job. However, that will be down the line a bit as I have to get some things ready for the upcoming Dayton show in November.
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As always your comments are welcome especially as I’m trying something new. I appreciate your input.
Tex - Saddled Up & Ready To Ride
