Travis

This little challenge was spurred on by this thread by Yost69. He is cutting a bunch of ornaments for Project Rudolf. For those of you who don't know, Project Rudolf is a non-profit group that sends a Christmas care package to our soldiers overseas. Everything in the package is handcrafted and includes notes of Thank You's for the soldiers. It really is a neat organization. If you have a chance to help out this group, please do so. Our soldiers need to know we care. So in the interest of encouraging folks to help this great organization, I thought we'd have a little challenge. This challenge is easy. If you are a pattern designer, please post an ornament pattern(s) to be used for Project Rudolf. They don't have to be Military themed, either. Just something thoughtful that you think a soldier would like. We need lots of patterns. This way folks who are only interested in cutting will have lots to choose from. If you're a cutter, post a picture of some of the ornaments you cut for the soldiers. You can choose from the patterns available here, other websites, or published patterns. It doesn't matter. Just pick something that you'd think a soldier would enjoy, cut it, take a pic, and put it in the mail. That's it. I hope a ton of folks really get involved with this challenge. It is very easy, cheap, and you will brighten a soldier's Christmas, despite of being away from their home. You can find more information at Project Rudolf's Official Website.

Here's a question following on the heels of the Work Benches thread. What would the ultimate workbench be for a scroll sawer? I'm not looking for what the scroll saw is sitting on, but rather a separate workbench you use to put together your projects. It would have to meet the needs specific of the scroller. Would it have lots of drawers? Benchdogs? A vise? How tall would it be? How big? What bells and whistles would you like to have included?

Those turned out great. I love the name ornaments. The waterwheel turned out beautiful. Nicely done! http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/gallery ... ?cat=10117 You can find this pattern on Jeff Zaffino's website. He has a lot of beautiful waterwheel pix. I have my eye on a few of them, if I only could find a bit more time... http://www.cart.advancedscrollsawpatter ... 1393a5c773

Those turned out great. I really like the Bless This Home one. Nicely done. Can't wait to see your xmas gifts. http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/gallery ... ?cat=12248

These programs will require a digital copy of your pattern too (usually in JPG format). So you'll ether have to download them, or have them scanned into a digital file. You can find Rapid Resizer here. You may also want to check out this tutorial on how to print over-sized patterns with Inkscape (free).

Hi Chris. Welcome to the Village and the hobby! Its addictive, ain't it!? Its really amazing what a simple tool can accomplish. So many cool things you can do with it. Hopefully you found lots of cool patterns to keep you busy. If you run into any problems, let us know. Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here willing to help out. We look forward to seeing some of your work. Jump on in and have some fun!

Hi Fred. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. You certainly don't mess around when buying a scroll saw, thats for sure. You have a very nice machine on your hands. I move my saw to the basement during the winters too. Hopefully you'll be able to find more time with your saw as the weather gets colder. There are plenty of projects to keep you busy here. Another fun thing to do is look through everybody's User Gallery. You'll get a lot of inspiration that way. I get a kick out of it. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump on in and have some fun!

ROTFLOL Sounds like something I'd do. The only difference is, I'd have it ripped apart, put together again with "spare parts", and still be scratching my head.

Just got a recommendation from The Wood Whisperer for lumber supply. Bell Forest Products. Lots of choices, awesome website. I haven't ordered from them, but many have had very good experiences with them.

You could make one of those wine bottle holders that look like they defy gravity. It would be a neat way to display some bottles. You can find basic instructions here. I think you could get creative with the fretwork to spice up the design a bit.

I think 1/8" would be good. I don't think I'd go any larger, though. Otherwise it would be too heavy. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Most copiers will only do standard size paper. Usually what I do is copy the pattern in segments, then tape them together while holding them up to the window for alignment. Then I trim the excess paper away before mounting to the wood. It works pretty good for me.

Military designs are public domain, I believe. Since government is a public institution, much of their imagery is in the public domain (Library of Congress, Nasa, Fish & Wildlife, etc). I'm sure the clerk was being overcautious. Most of the time, they'll just show you how to use the copy machines and make you do the actual copying. I'd just use a self-serve machine at Kinko's, the Library, or even the Grocery Store.

H'bout recycling old pallets. It worked for this guy!

What do you use for a workbench? Is it a real workbench? A chunk of plywood on sawhorses? Or are they your kitchen table? I'm curious about what y'all use. Mine consist of 2 TV trays for assembly, and a folding table that holds stacks of patterns and half-completed projects.

Oh No! Did the boxes get crushed? I'm sorry to hear about that. Yah, maybe invest in some plastic totes would be a good idea. Especially if you're going to do the craft show market. It will help with packing and transporting if all the boxes are the same size too.

Here's a printer that makes tangible 3d objects. This could be the coolest thing I've seen in awhile. I think it could have a lot of possibilities for scrollers too. Make your own pull knobs or embellishments for your projects. It prints plastic or stainless steel. It didn't seem like a bad price, either. However, I think you'd really have to know what you're doing to put together the 3d file. You can find these guys at http://www.shapeways.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQoTro9WfbQ

Photo Album is a great idea. I'd also have her take in a piece or two so people can see the quality, and what they can expect. Pictures never do it justice. But at the same time, you can't really haul in 100 cuttings. So a couple of samples would help seal the deal. A lot of people really don't understand portrait work and are simply amazed you can do that with a scroll saw and some plywood (assuming you do mostly portrait style cuttings). They're even more amazed when its one piece.

It should be noted that Mineral Spirits and another petroleum derived paint thinners are only used to thin only oil based paints. Specialty acrylic paint thinners are available too. These often thin the paints without losing the vibrancy of the paint.

I've gone through this thread and pulled any material vendors and added it to the Wiki. I also went through the last issue of SSW&C and CW&C and gathered any material suppliers listed there. Since a few hardware and specialties suppliers were listed, I'll create a special page for them. While I was at it, I added a bunch of commercial pattern vendors to the wiki as well. If you can think of any other suppliers, let me know and I'll add them to the list.

You did a great job on it! Love how you painted the MDF. Almost looks like birdseye maple. Nicely done!

You can try cabinet shops. Just tell them you're a scroll sawer and were looking for cutoffs and scraps. A lot of time, they'll let you just cart it away. If they do charge, I'd imagine it's pretty cheap. Create an account with LumberJocks and seek out local woodworkers. After opening up a dialog (via post comments and forums), ask them if they have any scraps they'd like to unload. Woodworkers are notoriously generous to the "brotherhood." Also do a little dumpster diving. Especially during garage sale times. Lots of folks throw away some good wood after the sale. It can be cabinets, old bed frames, old dressers. Check in the dumpster behind thrift stores too. They get a lot of stuff they can't sell, so they'll toss it. Salvage that wood. Some people will upgrade their fence to vinyl and discard their old wooden fence. This is really cool wood because its pre-weathered. I think it looks awesome and make great wood for projects. If nothing else, plane it down to get the wood looking fresh again. I even considered putting an ad in the paper where I'll remove people's fences for them. I'd salvage the wood I want, then haul the rest to the dump for them. Free wood for you, free labor for them. Keep an eye out on Craigslist too. Many times folks have lumber they'll just give away if you haul it for them. This is all I can think of. Anybody else have any creative ideas for free lumber?

I'm not sure how a poly would hod up to the heat, so I'd say oil finish is the way to go. I'd just make sure the oil is fully cured, though. You don't want oil to be ruining any fine linens. I'd imagine any kind of wood would work. I'd stay away from sappy woods like pine. I think over time, the wood color will change due to the heat. But at the same time, I think that's what adds charm to the trivet. I think it would be a gradual process though....unless you pan is red hot!

Those turned out wonderful! Good job. You did a really nice job on the finish too. Love the gloss look. Can't wait to see some more!

I really like that font. Makes for a wonderful cutting. Nicely done on the framing and matting. I'm going to have to start making my own frames. It gets too expensive. Nicely done!