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I've started making some faux sea glass with my rock tumbler, so I also made some fake drift wood with my scroll saw and sanders to make this cool Christmas Ornament. Very fun new offshoot of the hobby.

We went to the beach, Cape San Blas, Florida, for the week of Thanksgiving. This was our fourth trip there as a family and it's like a little time in Heaven. My grandkids learned that I loved Kitten Paw shells. Between what I picked up and what they all gave me I wound up with over 100. I've never found a piece of real sea glass.

Just add another item to the collection

A couple years ago I started making these puzzle patterns into a clock instead.. many others make puzzles and dog leash holders from these patterns.. I like to be different.. sold quite a few of these but not too many take up the personalized with name option as I put a hefty price on those.. since I can't stock them ready to go and it seems everyone waits until the day before they need it I found that I don't have to personalize it often with a $100 price on it rather than the $80.. Looking at buying a much larger laser.. IF I do then these would fit easily into the bigger laser and then I probably can drop the price to maybe $5 more.. Of coarse lasering the name on it would in some minds make it no longer handmade.. even though it's cut on the scroll saw.. Having to scroll the name involves changing up the pattern thus time in the designing as the portion where the name is I make 1" tall instead of 1/2 for the no name so it's not a lot of work but I do have to change up the design before adding text.

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Put a clock in anything. I put clocks in golf balls and billiardballs. I have made countless projects and just added a clock. To me clocks are still something everyone can relate to within the home. We all do not carry our phones in our hands all the time. Yet sometimes I wonder about that. Watches have become a thing of the past and yet people have to have their phones attached to their hands 24/7 These are all my ideas and patterns except the sailor which I took the pattern and added a clock. To me the clock adds to the value and lure. I never got into personalizing because of the pain in the butt. Got burned twice and now and always refused. I made a few exceptions over the years because the item was big$$$ You can do it with lasers and things and that is fine for you. But couple extra $$ I would have to charge to get it done is a waste of time and effort. I use to make scrolled name desk signs and man the different spelling of names and such became a hassle. Hardly could make inventory. Then they would want last names in them too. You have to draw the line somewhere so just stopped and being I like to create that is where I put my efforts.

They don't sell well like they did in the past.. they still sell though.. and most of these I just relist on etsy as made to order since I have the photos and listing it's just a matter of changing the shipping timelines from 2-3 days to 10 - 14 days and use stock images. This one was a surprise order from my website.. I thought I had taken down all of my "made to order" items a month ago.. I always miss a few and this is the third order this last week that was a surprise order.. it gets too crazy busy this time of year.. so I take those that need made offline until after the holidays.. currently pushing some orders out into next year. Don't get me wrong.. it's still been a slow year, in fact almost dead up until about 2 weeks ago.. at least on Etsy.. Amazon has been steady busy since first part of October and has kept me afloat, LOL. This year business wasn't great but still better than some years in the past.

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Wordle 1,272 5/6 Wow, that was a tough one.

FedX Office offers self-service for its scanners. My local Stapes also has self-service scanners, but it doesn't have large-format scanners.

This is what I do as well!

My daughter wanted an octagonal dining room table so she is getting this for Christmas. It is my first piece of furniture. I did find out that Lignum Vitea is a difficult wood to apply a finish to. I got the wood from a friend of mine who deals with woodworking estates so the Lignum Vitea lumber was from the 50's or 60's (large boards). I did quite a bit of carving of the mahogany edging to match the base. The base is a mahogany antique but didn't have a platform so I had to make that as well. I decided to make it an expandable table so I am now working on the leaf. I can't wait to get back to my scroll saw work!

Will also post in the Intarsia forum.

I see these all over the web made by CNC so I created a pattern to fit the wood I had. I think red oak and basswood. It is supposed to be a candy dish as hostess gift but looks okay sitting on a shelf.

I got the pattern for these as a free download from a pattern store (maybe Toy Makers). Had the for years and discovered them when clean shop. Anyways,easy to make. I let my 3year old grandson help put the wheels on. He the got to tell his mom he made them. Oh, these were make from the many scrap left over from the garage wall.

Nicely done, RJ

Very nice, RJ

Kevin, I thought there was some copyright deal on the marines, maybe that's why you can't find any, RJ

Yeah I have done clocks where there was no woodwork involved.. just using old car parts and turning into a clock. Wheel covers used to be a big seller.. this was back in my "craft show" days when I used to help my dad sell things back in the mid 1980's..Car valve covers.. small briggs and Stratton engine covers where the pull rope is make a clock in it.. I've never sold those type things online though as it's not in line with the whole "woodworking" theme. Never thought about billiard ball clocks.. that's pretty cool.. This was a hot seller for me for a few years.. I made the table by cutting the inner part at a angle so it would set down in like a real table would and then glued green felt in place. I think the actual ball rack pattern was done by ARPOP.. if anyone remembers the name. The table base was my idea though and also not sure if this was designed be be a clock or just a portrait.. I modify so many designs to be made as a clock that many times I forget exactly what I did to the original pattern. I also turn those puzzle patterns into ornaments.. Then the tow truck ornament was originally a CNC routed design that was about 15" tall.. but this was done on the laser... too fragile to try scrolling that one.. Most things I make are modified in some way so no two sellers making things just alike. This owl clock was originally one of those collector plates from the cherry tree.. I made into a clock.. Lastly, many times I turn an ornament design into a wall clock.. This fish clock was originally a ornament from Sue Mey..

I had lake front property in the Upper and would find, driftwood, sea glass and lots of tiny shells. Lake Michigan was a 20 minute drive and found a ton of awesome driftwood. Even have a box of Petoskey stones my nephew found.

It is so easy to make any pattern into a clock these days. I have shown many examples over the years. I thought you said clocks do not sell well any more.

pretty funny picture of you and your family....I love those shells I do not seem to remember seeing any of those around on our coasts...I am surprised you do not have any sea glass. It is all over the place off the coast of Washington and Oregon. It is fun to find the blue and green ones. Most seem to be brown.

very nice

He is 10 inches tall and 5 inches wide.

Thanks @MarieC. I used Bloodwood, Black Walnut and Myrtle. The Myrtle I am not sure about but the friend who gave it to me called it that and said it came from the Pacific NW. His son is a woodworker who lives in Oregon and that is where it came from. I was not overly happy with the natural colors and enhanced them all. I used a red dye on the Bloodwood to make it a little redder. And I ebonized the Walnut to make it a little blacker. I bleached the Myrtle for the beard and trim pieces to make it whiter. And I used a very light coat of brown dye on Myrtle for the nose. So the purists can complain that it is not real intarsia, but I am happy with the end effect.

I remember the name, but don’t remember much about him. Haven’t seen anything from him in many years.

You can buy colored veneer that is 1/64". 1/32" and 1/64" BB plywood is super thin layer. 3 layers in them.

Sweet! What a clever idea. I bet that looks good with the lights on the tree. It would be great if you could go to the ocean and get some of the real stuff. I bet your grandkids would love to look for pieces for you.

One technique to try is; cut to the end of the "V", then back out a bit and spin the blade 180 %, cutting to the waste area, then back the blade to the bottom of the "V" and cut outward.

When I don't want to bother cutting a tight turn, I use a small PCB drill bit to drill a hole into the turn and then just cut into the hole and then out again. You might try those spiral blades for cutting turns, that would actually be easier than using a straight blade. On the other hand, doing straight cuts is a little bit more difficult as the blade will be wider than the line. Also, the cut will not be as smooth, so you might have to do some sanding.

Marie, you have missed your calling. Between working on the 4th hardest wood on the planet and the beauty you put into it, you could find yourself in great demand if you were so inclined to pursue a future in furniture making. Bravo and Well Done in any language.

My scroll saw/ drill press/ sanding table vacuum is a repurposed whole house central vacuum with a centrifugal dust separator on a 20 gallon repurposed grease barrel, a true DIY system, since I repaired the broken vacuum, saving it from the dumpster. It needed a new motor and a control circuit transformer. This vacuum has frequently been run for 8-10 hour periods non stop. The unit is located in my shop's attic, so I added an indicator light on the shop ceiling to remind me that it's running, as it is very quiet. Only the noise of the air flowing into the hose end is easily heard. Dust removal from the 20 gallon barrel is usually done once per year and it has usually only been 1/2-3/4 full. The dust container on the bottom of the central vac has never had more than a trace of dust on it's inside, but I clean it when cleaning the 20 gallon barrel. The exhaust from this vacuum is vented outside my shop just under the roof soffit, so even the micro sized dust never makes it back into my shop. When I got the vacuum from the dumpster, most of the in-wall pipes and inlets, and the 25' hose and it's attachments were also in the dumpster with it (from a major home renovation) so I didn't need to buy much, other than the motor and transformer, to complete the installation in my shop. I even installed an inlet outdoors next to the passage door into my shop so I can take the hose outside, connect it to this inlet, and vacuum my cars and trucks with it. The motor and transformer were the biggest expense, but I have less that $200 in total cost for this vacuum system, not counting my time and donation of barrel to this project by my son. Charley

Agree!

My scanner is 8.5 x 11 like a standard sheet of paper.. if the pattern I want is in the middle of this large insert you have to either fold it to get to the pattern you want or cut it out.. cutting it out you ruin the patterns that they have printed on the back side.. in some cases I'd get marks scanned in the middle of my pattern because of the lines from the pattern on the back too.. Probably was just a cheap scanner being almost 20 years ago.. Haven't tried my new scanner/printer for this purpose maybe I should. The one back in the day that I had if ANY light at all seeped past the scanner lid it'd make a large black streak where the light was at making the pattern unrecognizable in that area.. I'd have the big sheet all folded up and have to hold down on the scanner lid the best i could to keep the light out, LOL.. the frustration was enough I just search out the designer and buy it if I want it that bad..

Our engineering department at work has a scanner that can scan very large prints. No problem to scan prints bigger than those inserts. Maybe hit up a print shop, or better still an engineering outfit that is local to you. They will likely be able to scan things quite easily for you. They will also quite likely have a plotter to print out things as well as big as you like.

It doesn’t all have to fit, just the part you want. Maybe I just use a large printer and you have a small scanner?

@barb.j.endersGreat job on SANTA, Barb. I can see one of your little ones having fun putting the jolly elf back together. Thanks for sharing. MERRY CHRISTMAS Rick

The few times I did scan a copy this is what I did.. but in order to get the paper pattern to fit into my scanner I'd have to fold it all up in a wadded mess to get the paper small enough to fit into the scanner.. then any of the other patterns I may want to use get creases in them and from there it's always been best to get a nice clean copy by just buying and downloading the pattern from the artist. You get much cleaner lines.. Though maybe it was old scanner issues.. as I haven't done this in years.. maybe scanner quality has improved a lot since 2005 ish.. but back then I'd get all kinds of light and dark areas in my scan because the lid of the scanner is lifted up from a 1/2 thick wadded up paper you stuff in trying to make a copy, LOL

I recently went to Staples to have an intarsia pattern scanned. I was going to have to leave it there for them to do. They said they had on-line orders to get through first. What ever happened to customer service? In my mind, a person, in store, should come first.

My purpose in scanning these was to determine the cost of scanning SSWC patterns using a large-format scanner. I wanted to share this so that if someone else considered doing this, they would know how much it costs. I am currently working on moving most of my paper to digital form, and this is one option I explored. I have already shipped off all of my books with patterns to be scanned. There are several options for scanning the large format patterns, many of which are mentioned here.

Whenever I needed to scan one of those I scanned it right into the garbage can and found the original artist online and purchased the electronic file directly from them.. Now it's a file that is always there in my computer and several back-up drives just in case one crashes I'll still have the copy.. Learned that lesson the hard way... Just as Don said.. I quit subscribing many years ago due to those patterns being all on those huge sheets and on both sides.. so if you crinkle up for a pattern on the front you essentially ruin the pattern on the back side. I live in a pretty rural secluded area and it's a good 10 - 15 miles to a scanner that I also have to pay to use.. etc.. just seems most logical to me to look up the artist online and support them with buying the electronic file.. simple for me to use anytime I need it then, plus supports that artist..

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I guess I’m old fashioned. I loosen the staples, remove the insert refasten the staples and keep the insert with the magazine. put the area I want to make a copy of on my printer and press copy. I don’t do that digital stuff.

One more Christmas pattern and project, last one this year - Christmas Box with hidden opening mechanism I have not many such patterns, so it was interesting to creat it. Pattern includes 2 variants: ususal box with hinged lid and the same box, but with hidden opening mechanism (bells - rotating part). Watch the video of making to see how it works - https://youtu.be/93otO75vFQc Christmas Box pattern

Nice job! Thanks for choosing my patterns. I have not many such patterns, so it was interesting to creat it. Btw next pattern will be one more Christmas Box with hidden opening mechanism (bells - rotating part). I will add this pattern to my Etsy store during a day.

Thank you so much. Actually, to make it didn't take as long as I thought it would take. I worked on and off over the past 3 months I think. What took soooo long was the finish. Lignum is so difficult to get the finish right (I had to sand it off multiple times) so I ended up going with Total boat penetrating epoxy sealer with multiple layers of a Marine varnish....so what you would use on a boat... of all things

Boy, that is one nice looking candy dish. Jerry

That's really nice. I think you and I do a great job supporting Alex Fox. I always enjoy making his items. Just delivered 4 of his Gnomes today to my neighbor. They are to be given to her Granddaughters to paint and put together. It will be a fun Christmas project for them to do. I let them pick out which gnomes they wanted to make.