Travis

I got my basement shop cleaned out a few weeks ago. My garage shop is where I house most of my larger tools (drill press, table saw, etc). But my basement shop (a small room) is the area I do most of my scrolling. I'll also be moving my lathe downstairs too so I can do some turning during the winter months. I'm hoping to get some more time with the saw and lathe this winter. Seems like Summer is filled with chores and honey-do lists.

Hi Anthony. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Have you checked the word art section of the Pattern Library? There are lots of great signs there for the scroll saw. If you have something in particular in mind, you can request a pattern in the Pattern Requests forum. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Ian. Welcome to the Village. We're glad y ou found us. Lots of friendly folks here. I think you'll fit right in. Welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

I've never done it myself, but I know they make a special paint for the ends of the log. The idea is to seal up the ends so the moisture escapes through the bark instead of the ends. This slows down the drying process and prevents cracking. I'm wondering if something like Water Lock paint would do the trick since its thicker than regular latex paint. It sounds like you have pretty extreme conditions. I wouldn't think you'd need to bring it inside or anything. But, I'd see if you can find a little shelter for it like up beside a house or shed. Maybe even a loose tarp. Just something to shelter it a bit. There's several books on Amazon. This one looked pretty good, but there are others: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156158 ... 156158830X Here's a good video: http://www.finewoodworking.com/Material ... x?id=29500 You could also check YouTube. I'd also throw the question out at either LumberJocks.com or WoodTalkOnline.com. I'm sure lots of folks there have tried it.

Hi Ken. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Congrats on your new scroll saw too. I bet it's quite a treat to work on it. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Tracy. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. The best learning tool is just digging in and going for it. There's lots of friendly folks here to help out if you get stuck. Steve Good also has a series of videos for new scrollers. You can find them at: http://www.stevedgood.com/school/sss.html Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Anybody start working on holiday projects yet?

I wouldn't put tape on it. I'm thinking if its an actual photograph (on real photo paper), I'd just mount it to wood and not worry about any kind of finish. I think it'll have a durable enough finish to withstand playtime. If its printed on a home computer, I'd mount it to the wood and add a couple coats of acrylic spray finish. When applying, just use the permanent bond instructions on your spray adhesive (usually requires spraying both the surface and the photo).

Hi Michael. Welcome to the Village, we're glad you found us. I'm also glad to hear that you're enjoying the pattern-making tutorials. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Do you cut puzzles? If so, what kind (free standing, picture/jigsaw puzzle, tray puzzles, brain teaser puzzles, etc.). Do you cut free hand or use a pattern? Do you paint your puzzles? What kind of finish do you prefer? Do you sell them? If so, what kind of packaging do you do? I'm just getting back into puzzle making and thought it would be nice to hear what others do.

It turns out that the FD blades were bought from a private party. The blades were originally bought in bulk, so the previous owner put some CLP on them to keep them from rusting. I'm going to lock down this thread since the problem has been solved. No need to continue to revisit and bump this thread. Thanks all for the feedback!

Mine is about 2006-2007ish model craftsman. I never had any of the problems you're describing. I'd keep trying what you're doing. Hopefully that will loosen the threads a bit. Take some pliers to it and see if that helps with your leverage.

I think it depends on how the CD is made. Sometimes, the layers of the CD are only attached at the edge. So after you cut them, they'll separate easily. Try different brands until you find one that works. I haven't tried them myself, but I'd try cutting one like normal. If that doesn't work too well, try some masking tape on both sides to reduce tearout. If that still doesn't work, then I'd try sandwiching them between some plywood. Try cutting some DVD-R's too. They have a purple metallic dye that looks pretty neat.

Hi Len. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here, so ask away.

Hmmm....cutting 1" oak isn't what I would consider beyond the ability of a scroll saw. Heck, my Craftsman 16" will do that. In fact their listing on Amazon states: "The saw relies on a dependable 1.3 Amp motor for the power you need and delivers a variable stroke length between 3/4 inch and up to 2 inches deep." Sounds like they are making excuses so they didn't have to fix it.

I'm wondering if you could do a little pin cutout. Maybe a silhouette of something like a chicken (at least our fairs have a large agriculture base). The pins you can buy pretty cheap and they already have an adhesive on the back. Cut them out, a quick brush with some sand paper, stick on the pins and whalla. Magnets are super easy, cut out the shape of Ohio, stick on a magnet. Or just drill a hole in a silhouette and string some cord through it for a key ring or necklace. I'd have several silhouettes on hand to keep things interesting. Stack cut everything just to keep up with the demand.

I thought you guys might be interested in this since many of you sell your work by word of mouth or at craft fairs. I signed up for Square (www.squareup.com). Basically, when you sign up, they send you a free card reader that plugs into your smartphone (iPhone, Android and for the iPod Touch and iPad). You just link your bank account and you're set. Everything is free. They make their money off transactions. They take 2.75% of each transaction (any credit card service will charge a percentage, BTW. Including Paypal). Each night, they deposit the difference into your bank account. The phone app creates a really nice receipt where you can type in the price, description, and even take a picture of the item. The receipt can be either emailed or texted to the customer's phone. Its pretty slick. I got mine already. I don't sell stuff, but since it was free, I thought I'd might as well. I rarely carry cash, so its a great way to settle up a bill for dinner, or get paid back for whatever. My friend uses it to buy concert tickets for him and his friends. That way they all get seats together. Then he just swipes their credit card and he's paid back just like that. A $20 transaction costs 55 cents. Either work that into your product price, or charge a "convenience fee" to your customer. I didn't notice if there are any other fees included. From what I can see, its just the 2.75%.

Congrats to both of you. Have fun at the saw, but don't overdo it. You don't want the doc to take it away.

Ahhh....man. The bowl was coming along nicely too. Can you sand off the top ring? Might make a nice change/keys catcher.

What are your 4th of July weekend plans? Any of it involve scrolling?

Here's a cool site I ran into today: http://www.cousineauwoodproducts.com They offer multi-colored plywoods. I think its mostly geared toward woodturners, but I think they'd make really interesting compound cutting projects. Imagine a chess set made with this wood.

Can we start calling you homey now ? LOL...hmmmm....let me get back to you on that.

Hi Amanda. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. I also use the Cricut paper cutter and use Inkscape (and SCAL)to design my own stuff. Its a lot of fun. As far as first scroll saws, keep an eye on Craigslist or the paper. Sometimes you can find great deals there. Just be sure to test drive the machine first and make sure it takes pinless blades (it'll have a screw clamp on the blade holder). I have a Craftsman 16". But I heard the newer Craftsman isn't nearly as good. If you have the cash, the Dewalt DW788 is probably the most popular mid-priced scroll saw.

I don't mind since its on-topic. I'm not conceded enough to think SSV is the only place people visit. There are a lot of great groups out there. In fact, I have a list of other scroll saw communities in the Wiki (http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/wiki/in ... ommunities). I have to admit, I rarely go to the other places. Mostly because I'm too busy working on this website (and a few others that I run). We're fairly small compared to the big 2 (http://www.stevedgood.com/community/index.php). But I think we offer a nice homey atmosphere where you don't get lost in the crowd. I also think that our pattern library is top-notch, thanks to the amazing designers here at SSV.

Hi Shelly. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Lots of friendly folks here to talk shop with. I look forward to seeing some of your work. We also have a good group of turners too in the Other Woodworks area. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!