Jan R. Long
Engineer, maker, builder of tools I needed and couldn't quite buy.
Software I build, free tools anyone can use, and the things I make by hand.
Products
Software I build — one for the market booth, one for the laser-cutting bench.
fiveanddime
Booth-tested point-of-sale for craft-fair and market vendors. Offline-first, so it works when the venue Wi-Fi doesn't. Records sales, tracks inventory, runs event reports — and your data lives in your own Google Sheet.
sparq.tools
Browser-based laser-cutting toolkit: kerf calculator, box and easel generators, finger-joint fixer, living hinge maker, nesting and more. Most of it runs right in your browser.
Free tools
Genuinely free, no signup, nothing to install. Use them and go.
Places MapHere
Turn a Google Sheet into a clickable map. One row per place, each with its own story — camping spots, a bucket list, family history. Your data stays in your own sheet.
Maker Pricing
A pricing calculator for makers who hate spreadsheets. Enter what one item costs you to make, and it tells you the lowest price that still pays you for your time and materials. The free companion to fiveanddime.
Simple Helpers
Three free guides for people who'd rather not be told to just Google it:
- Getting Started with AI — a gentle, self-paced guide for anyone who hasn't taken the plunge
- Legacy Vault — a private, offline app for your home inventory, estate paperwork, and life history, kept encrypted on your own device
- Family History & Genealogy — using AI to research your family's story, tell it well, and preserve it
Things I make
The physical side — handcrafted pieces, and digital files if you'd rather cut your own.
Woodendoodle
Unique, handcrafted laser-engraved pieces specializing in topography and city maps. Sold locally and in person.
Woodendoodle Designs
My Etsy shop — digital design files for laser cutting. A mix of patterns, templates, and one-off pieces, no single theme.
Also here, from a laser-cut map talk I gave: where to get map data · topo map software
A bit about me
Retired engineer, still wired to build things. I work between a laser cutter and a code editor, mostly making tools I needed and couldn't quite buy off the shelf.
When I'm not at the workbench I'm probably on a pickleball court, behind a camera or adventuring with Penny, my mini-goldendoodle sidekick.