Travis

And who said scrolling wasn't fashionable? This wooden "lace" gown by On Aura Tout Vu is on display at the Lace and Fashion Museum in Calais, France.

Great find. I added it to our Fonts list. Thanks for letting us know!

5 bars means the signal strength, not bandwidth. If 100 people are using the internet, you're going to have super slow internet, even though you have a good connection. If only 1 person is using it, you'll have faster internet. Many companies who provide free internet also throttle the upload/download speeds so they can accommodate many users without the risk of crippling their own access.

I hold the board stationary and move my saw clockwise.

You can take out the screw and check the end to see if there is a slight bur. If so, you can sand that off and it will grip better. I also like taking sandpaper pinched between my fingers, grip the end of the blade and give it a couple scuffs. It'll give a bit more grip and remove any oils that might be on the blade.

I suppose it depends on how you want to sell them; word of mouth, craft fairs, online? If you want to sell by word of mouth, I'd just make the stuff you enjoy making. Give away a few to some friends or guys at work. It won't take long before you're getting orders and you can start charging. But if you're doing it casually, just make the stuff you want to make. Otherwise, it becomes work and you won't enjoy it as much. If you want to sell at craft fairs, I suggest going to a bunch to get a feel for what's popular in your area. Each area has it's own vibe and what people want to buy. Coastal towns like lighthouses. Places like Montana might like wildlife. Urban might appreciate portrait more, etc. This way you can get a general idea of what people like and when you come across a project/pattern that might fit, I'd go with that. But for some basic suggestions: Simple wooden toys, mini-clocks, puzzles, bowls/treenware, custom orders for portraits. Online, you'll have to do some research too. Etsy.com is by far the most popular. It takes quite a bit of work to keep it going as you'll have to network, come up with new products regularly, and list new items often. You'll have to focus on what sells that takes the least amount of time. Natural toys are hugely popular (look up Waldorf toys), anything to do with pets/dogs, home decor, and seasonal stuff.

I would say the 8yo is certainly old enough. The 5yo might be, depending on maturity and interest. I would have them make a toy of some sort. A simple car cut from 3/4" wood, a dowl and a couple wheels from a craft store would be perfect. Plus, they get to paint them, which they have a ton of fun with. Here's a few I made for my son. Here's a bunny car pattern, just in time for Easter. Here's a bunny puzzle that would be pretty easy too. You can make a rainbow or a cave really easy. Just take some 3/4" poplar and cut some wavy lines. This is perfect so they don't have to be so concerned about following the line. Have them sand down the edges and paint them with craft paints. I know my son loved playing with these type of toys. They're very popular on etsy and really encourages imaginative play.

Here's a really cool project from Steve Ramsey of Woodworking For Mere Mortals. If you haven't checked out his videos, you really should. They're a lot of fun and he makes woodworking fun and accessible, the way it should be. Anyway, this clock can easily be made with a scroll saw. You can find the plans for this clock on his website here.

I love it! You did an amazing job on it! Nicely done! Are the pieces stained, or are they different species of wood?

If you're cutting a standard jigsaw puzzle, I'd go with the Superior Puzzle Blades. They are super thin, cut great, and you'll get tight interlocking pieces. If you're doing a standing puzzle, or tray puzzle, I'd use a #3 scroll reverse. The pieces will be fairly tight (make sure you get perpendicular cuts or they'll only fit one way...be careful to not flex the blade while cutting), but still have a bit of room so they fit easily. If you're doing a puzzle for a little kid, I'd use a #5 scroll reverse. It gives the pieces a little "breathing room" so they fit together easier. Anyway, those are my rules of thumb.

That's pretty neat. I love the look.

This is Fred's urn, He's simply the best. Give it a turn, So he's head and shoulders above the rest.

As long as its only on your computer, I don't see anything wrong with it. You just wouldn't be able to give it to others.

Hahahah. Nice. How many other folks have enablers, too?

We don't have a screen saver on SSV. But, if you want one, you can download a bunch of pix into a folder. Then on your desktop, right click and select Properties. This will pop up a dialog box. Click the Screen Saver tab. From there, you can choose which screen saver you want to use. Many times, you'll have one that will do a slide show from a folder you designate (the one you downloaded all your favorite scroll saw pix). You'll have to click Settings button in order to tell it where to look for your pictures.

My last name is Cook too.

Are you a wood hoarder? Or do you only buy what you need?

If you print your pattern on a laser printer you can do a heat transfer. If you don't have a laser printer, you can take your pattern and photocopy it. The trick is to make sure you're using toner ink like those found in laser or photocopy machines. Iron the back of the paper onto the wood. Basically, you're melting the ink off the paper and onto the wood. The only drawback I can see for having the ink directly on the wood is that you'll still have to sand it to remove the marks. I don't see it saving you much time for regular scrolling projects, but it would be useful for painted projects. My preferred method is spraying the back of the pattern (not the wood) with spraymount and applying the pattern to the wood. When I'm done, I just use mineral spirits to dampen the pattern. When it's translucent, the pattern will practically fall off without any residue.

They're trying to do that with the CPSIA here too. I'm not sure the finals status of the law, but I know it's being fought.