Scroll Saw Village

Village News

Puzzle Contest -Cut a puzzle or design a puzzle pattern to be entered in this month’s contest sponsored by Dale’s Puzzles.  Winners will recieve 10 patterns for 1st place, 5 patterns for second, and 2 patterns for 3rd place.  See contest rules for details.

Scroll Saw Village Turns 1 -SSV turns 1 as of January 1st.  It has been a great year and look forward to what year 2 brings.  Thanks to everybody that has made this a special place to hang out and talk shop.

Call For Submissions -We’re looking for articles and tips to be included in The Village Square newsletter.  If you’d like to help out and share some of your knowledge, please contact us at newseditor@scrollsawvillage.com.

A New Year’s Resolution

by Travis Cook

Quit smoking, lose 20 pounds, pay down those credit cards. These are all the committments we make every year. Sometimes we hit the mark. Other times…well, lets not talk about those times. While we make plenty of new years resolutions about health, family, and finances, lets not neglect our hobbies. After all, our hobbies keep our mind active, relieve stress, and gets us away from the boob-tube. We need to make goals for our hobby so we can advance our skill and gain a sense of self-satisfaction.

This year, try something new. If you’re a portrait cutter, give intarsia a try. If you only cut other people’s patterns, try learning to design your own patterns. If you only work with one species of wood, try something a bit more exotic. The things you can do with a scroll saw is endless. You’ll amaze yourself at what you can accomplish if you just try.

Sometimes finding time for your hobbies can be a challenge in our busy lives. Perhaps you can make a commitment to spend at least 1 or 2 hours in the shop per week. Find quick and easy projects you can complete in a sitting or two. This will give you the motivation to find some quality scroll saw time and you’ll have some great projects to show for it.

Maybe finding time at the saw isn’t that big of a concern. But finding room for your cuttings is becoming a challenge. Try selling some of your work at craft shows or online at places like Etsy.com. If you prefer to give them away, how about donating them to church craft bizzares, fund-raising auctions, or some animal portraits to your local zoo for their store. It is quite a thrill when someone really appreciates your work.

Spend time with the scrolling community. You can find a lot of inspiration, cool ideas and techniques to advance your skills. You’ll make great friends along the way. Join a scroll saw chat room. Make it a point to participate more in the forums. Or try blogging about your hobby. Or how about attending a scroll saw picnic. Staying connected to the scrolling community will motivate you to do better. You’ll surprise yourself on how many friends you meet along the way.

There are lots of goals you can set for yourself. They don’t even have to be scroll saw related. Try furniture making, turning, or model railroading. The point is that our hobbies are important and we need to make time for them. Its what keeps us sane and out of the hair of our spouse. We all need hobbies for everybody’s sake.

Member Spotlight – Christina

I’ve [Christina] been making patterns now for about 6+ years. I originally learned from Arpop’s Pattern Academy when Arpop still hosted Free Scroll Saw Patterns. I was surfing the net and saw some beautiful fretwork and then was talking to Mom about what I had seen and that someday I wanted to try to learn scrolling. Next thing I know, I receive this huge box in the mail…my first and only scroll saw. Well I didn’t have a place to use it or the money for wood until I moved to Oklahoma 3 years ago…and the rest as they say, is history. I’ve had my own forum for about 2 years now and I have to say I really enjoy participating in the forums most of all. My health doesn’t allow much scrolling so learning is hit or miss at times. But the friendship and knowledge I learn from each and every member of forums like SSV really keep me going.

Handy Tips

Using Adhesive Paper On Photo Puzzles - by Firedkm

I used a photo mounted to a 1/4 bbply and it was coated with triple thick spray. You have to make sure the what ever you use to mount the picture is totally dry and you must use a protective coating over the picture. I let both dry for about 12 hrs and had good results. The paper peeled off pretty easy and it only left a little residue hear and there. What it did leave behind actually rubbed off with my finger. I used Sloans adhesive paper. This is not really any faster than any other methods but it does work!

Cross

by Handi

Pattern of the Month

Mariner Desk Clock

by Travis Cook

Wiki Watch

What is Lath Art?  Check out this article on this old folk art made with a scroll saw.  Know a little something about Lath Art?  Please help us by adding more information to this wiki article.

Great Threads

• What kind of scrolling
• Saying Thanks
• Tools Needed
• GIMP & Windows 7
• PosteRazor