Travis

Have you tried putting down a layer of tape before cutting? The tape acts like a support for the laminate and reduces chipout. Also try making a zero-clearance insert or table. I usually take a piece of plywood the size of the surface of the scroll saw bed, drill a tiny hole where the blade would go, and then using double-stick tape stick it to the bed of the scroll saw. This adds a lot of extra support. You could also use a blade with more teeth per inch. That should help too.

Hi John. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a great time here. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

C'mon Designers. I know you're out there. 2,529 people have watched the GIMP tutorials and 1,260 have watched the Inkscape tutorials. We need a few more designers to donate to the Ornaments For Charity ebook. See the first post for details on how you can help. Post here to commit to 5 ornament designs by Nov. 21st.

Hi Gary. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks to talk shop with here. I think you'll have a great time. Welcome aboard! Jump in and have some fun!

Great display with lots of really cool projects. Nice variety too. I'm glad to hear it went well for you!

I just cleaned out my basement workshop area and brought down my lathe. I got a Secret Santa gift to make and I've been working on some toy cars I'll be donating to Toys For Tots. I've also gotta finish a Train Bank for my son...remember the one I started last year? Well, he's saying I'm taking too long.

Hi Elizabeth. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. I have a Cricut and SCAL. Lots of fun to play with. There's also a couple people who have CNC routers, which is pretty cool. Very similar design approach with each of these hobbies. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Cool. I got them, thanks Oges! Who else is willing to design 5 ornament patterns? Beginner and experienced designers are all welcome. I'd love to get at least 25 ornaments added to last year's ornaments. That would make an ebook with over 50 ornament designs! All it takes is a bit of time and you'll be helping charities this Holiday season. Who else will commit? Raise your hand!

It's all personal preference, but I like the look and texture of black felt. You can buy felt precut at most craft stores for 69 cents.

I don't own the machine, but it looks fine to me. Skil is a good brand. I have a cheap Craftsman ($120) saw and it works just fine and can do any project I've ever wanted. You should be able to do inside and curved cuts just fine. Intricate cuts are more dependent on blade choice than saw (many buy from Mike's Workshop...he ships overseas). Vibration shouldn't be an issue, just bolt it to a solid surface. The bellows aren't a huge deal for me. I know lots of folks who just rig up an aquarium pump if that part breaks. The blade holder could be an issue, but it sounds like you're experienced enough to tap and replace that yourself if it does go wrong. For a $100, you can't go wrong. If you find that you're using it much more than you thought, then you can invest in a more expensive saw like a Dewalt or Excalibur (I think Excalibur is easier to get in Europe) when this one wears out.

Go ahead and take the plunge. Figure this one will be a "learning tool" and don't expect to make any money. Then if you do make money, figure its a nice surprise. But I think it'll take one or two before you get a good handle on it. Be sure to talk to other booth owners and ask for their advice. They'll also give you good information on which craft shows are worth the trouble and which ones to avoid.

That's a tough one. It really depends on your market and how much she's willing to pay. $65-85 maybe? Not much money for the time you put into it, but at least it'll cover materials with extra for additional supplies. I'd say something like "Normally, I get $____ for custom work like this." and see her reaction. If its shock, give here the "friends and family" discount (based on her reaction). If she's more than happy to fork over the cash, by all means take it. Regardless, it turned out beautiful. You did an excellent job on it.

Here's a little trick to help you with your Amazon/Support SSV efforts. Hover your cursor over this link, then click and drag the link to your bookmarks bar. Next time you're ready to shop at Amazon, click that link and we should get credit for your purchase. We can't see who bought what, so there's no worries there. Your support is very appreciated.

I usually do most of my Christmas shopping online. I hate crowds and the traffic. So I'd rather spend my shopping time online. Its quick, easy, cheaper, and my gifts arrive at my door in a couple days. One of the things I like watching is the Amazon Gold Deals. Basically, they offer a product for a deep discount for a limited number of items or a limited time. Then they move on to the next product. It's really hit-or-miss, but when you do find something, its a awesome deal. Saving money is certainly my priority this Holiday Season. Just like last year, I added some code to the bottom of the forum that displays the current deal. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, I want to keep an eye on the deals. I also figured some of you may want to save some money too. And second, it's a way to help support SSV. We don't have a large publication to support the operating expenses of this website. Thankfully for a handful of advertisers, we're able to keep the lights on. We also participate in Affiliate program with Amazon. Basically, if you purchase something from Amazon after clicking our link (or banner), we get a little kickback. It doesn't cost you any extra, and you're helping to support the website. So if you decide to do any shopping on Amazon, do us a favor and click our link first. Your support is greatly appreciated. I'll be removing the Gold Deals banner after Christmas. Until then, keep an eye out for some killer deals.

I'm pretty sure Rick Longabaugh been long out of business. I believe someone else bought their patterns and continue to operate under Berry Basket. I think the current owner also has another pattern clearingohouse too. Anyway, you can find berry basket at: http://www.berrybasket.com/

Halloween is over and Christmas is right around the corner. Scrollers are starting to think about gifts and patterns to cut for loved ones. But since the Holiday season is also about helping others in need, we thought we'd continue the tradition we started last year. SSV put together an e-Book full of Christmas ornaments. These ornaments will be exclusive to this eBook and designed by our talented SSV members. Folks are can download the ebook in exchange for a donation to a charity. My hopes is that we'd be able to raise some money for very worthy causes, and provide some cool patterns at the same time. So I'll need some volunteers to design some ornaments. [*:2pwfpsg2]Each designer will provide 5 patterns (no more, no less) [*:2pwfpsg2]I ask that the designs are not made available anywhere else (this gives value to the e-book) [*:2pwfpsg2]Designs must be emailed to Travis by November 21st (info below) A few things to keep in mind: [*:2pwfpsg2]Religious and secular designs are accepted. [*:2pwfpsg2]Other religions also celebrate this time of year, so lets not forget them. [*:2pwfpsg2]Keep detail and size appropriate for an ornament. What do you get in exchange? [*:2pwfpsg2]Credit for your design. [*:2pwfpsg2]The warm fuzzy feeling that you're helping others in need. Submitting your ornaments: [*:2pwfpsg2]Email the ornaments directly to Travis (travis [at] scrollsawvillage.com) [*:2pwfpsg2]Formats accepted are JPG, PNG. Please keep the pattern in black & White only (no gray) . That way I can convert them easier when putting together the ebook. [*:2pwfpsg2]I'll also accept Inkscape files (SVG). This is ideal if you know how to use Inkscape. That way there is no conversion. I'm designing. Are you? So who's in?

Hi Carpy. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a good time here. If you're looking to download the video files, you can find the links to them here: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1303#p30008 The written instruction is limited to your computer's copy and paste function. Just copy the text and paste it into a word processor. You might want to download the illustrations too. I'm working on getting the lessons in PDF format, but I'm going kinda slow on that. Hopefully it'll be available soon. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Pat. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a good time here. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

One thing to also look at is where you're selling these things. If you're going to have a website/sell online, you increase your risk of being caught. But if you're doing it for friends, family and small venues, you're less likely to get caught. Its all about how much risk you're comfortable with. This is terrible legal advice, though, since it could be illegal regardless.

That's a tricky area. The photo may be under creative commons, but the likeness may be copyrighted (Michael Jordan for example protects his likeness because he made a lot of money off it.) Its hard to say. You'd have to make that judgment yourself. You can argue the photo said it was creative commons and you took that at face value. Be careful when using the team logo, though. I'd just include the jersey number.

Sounds like that's a Creative Commons License. So yes, you should be able to use it as long as you give credit to the original author; "Based on a photo by John Doe" As far as Disney, all those characters are off limits. The character itself is protected under copyright and trademark laws, even if you draw it yourself. Pretty much anything that has commercial value; cartoons/characters, Pro/Semi-Pro sports teams, logos, popular slogans, even some celebrity pictures. Don't think they won't go after you too, since you're a small guy. There are companies that get a "bounty" for tracking down infringements. I personally know of several people that have gotten into trouble for things like this. Very messy and often includes lawyers.

Just to clarify, I mention Wikimedia Commons is a good place to find reference material because each picture states the copyright status/restrictions for that particular photo. Be sure to read those conditions and that will tell you if its OK to use or not. While Disney is in Wikipedia, those images are used under the "fair use" act by Wikipedia. However, if you used one of those pics to make something and sell it, you'll get into very hot water. So always check the restrictions of any reference material you use.

Hi Frances. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a good time here. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Jan. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a good time here. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Linda. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I think you'll have a good time here. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!