Travis

Boy, that turned out sharp! I agree, the shaping really makes it stand out. Nicely done!

It depends on what kind of glue you use. Any oil will affect a standard wood glue or white PVA glue. I don't use oil on my scroll saw portraits. Oil is used to bring out the grain, and since I use Baltic Birch plywood, it has very little grain to show off. Instead, I just clearcoat the portrait with clear acrylic spray. I also don't glue felt to my projects. I just set them behind the project and the frame backer keeps the felt in place. Oil would be good on ply where color or grain is a focal point. I also use oil on all of my solid-wood projects. But I guess I went a bit off topic. If you were to use oil on a portrait and wanted to glue the felt to the project, I'd use a hot glue gun. It holds well and can be easily removed. Other alternatives: epoxy, construction adhesive, super glue (ca glue), and spray adhesive would all work.

Looks good to me! You did a great job on the pattern and cutting. Nicely done!

Boy, that looks sharp. Nicely done!

Hi Helen. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. There certainly is a nice segment from the UK here. I think you'll have a great time. Lots of friendly folks to talk shop with. Feel free to set up a User Gallery (you can find a [tut]tutorial here[/tut]) and show off a little. Its fun to see what others are working on. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Congrats on the new saw! I think you'll really enjoy it. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Super 77 is made by 3M. Its a really good one. I personally use Durobond. I get it from WalMart I think. Pretty much any spray adhesive works, though. Baltic birch is a favorite plywood among scrollers. Solid woods are nice too, but can be fragile as they tend to break along the grain. For plywood suppliers, you can check out Sloans Woodshop or Wood Deals Online. For solid wood, check out either Woodcraft or Wood Deals Online. I use his technique. Dip in lemon oil, wipe off excess. When dry, use a clear acrylic spray to seal it in.

Hi Sergio. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Sounds like you've been keeping busy with the saw. The nameplates and keychains are certainly popular items. Hard to keep up with the demand. Feel free to set up a User Gallery (you can find a [tut]tutorial here[/tut]) and show off a little. We get a kick out of seeing what others are working on. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Glad to see you're getting a little extra work. That's awesome. I look forward to seeing what you come up with once you get back to the scroll saw.

That turned out really cool. I love whirligigs. You did a great job on it and the painting.

Nicely put.

Hi Chris. Welcome to the Village. We're glad you found us. Those boxes turned out great. I've always like Victorian designs. I look forward to seeing some more of your work. You can set up a User Gallery (you can find a [tut]tutorial here[/tut]) and show off a little. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Hi Mike. Welcome to the Village and welcome back to the hobby. I'm sure it feels good making sawdust again. Feel free to set up a User Gallery (you can find a [tut]tutorial here[/tut]) and show off a little. Its fun to see what others are working on. Anyway, welcome aboard. Jump in and have some fun!

Mine came with a thumbscrew to tighten the blade clamp. My understanding the new ones don't have them. I'd imagine you'd be able to find a replacement with a thumbscrew at a hardware store or machine shop.

There's a number of ways people do it. First, you'll have to unzip your patterns to your computer. I use Inkscape to size and print my patterns. Here's a really good thread of how others print their patterns. Let us know if you run into any problems. We'd be happy to help.

That turned out great! I really like that. You did a nice job on the painting too.

Thanks for the entries, Bulldog. Could you post a copy in the Pattern Library as well?

I'm not very familiar with this brand. Are you located in the US? If so, I see that Sears sells them. They usually have a pretty good return policy if you don't like it. Just make sure it takes pinless blades before getting it.

Don't read a book while in your booth. It drives me nuts when I see a vendor is reading a book (It happens more than you'd think). They obviously are not interested in my business. I usually walk on by. There's an old joke; the two best sellers at a craft show are Jesus and Elvis. It makes me laugh, but its not too far from the truth.

Boy, that turned out great! Thanks for showing us. I always get a kick out of seeing one of my patterns cut. You did a great job! A little trivia for ya: the pattern was based on a still from Jail House Rock.

I wouldn't do flea markets. That crowd is looking for deals, not handcrafted art. You can try puzzles. Freestanding puzzles would work the best. Especially if they're of dog breeds. Some more ideas that might sell well: bowls, baskets, trivets, boxes, a few portraits (to get custom work), word art, desk name-plates with clever sayings, candle holders, napkin/paper towel holders.

Yup, blades break on occasion and it can give you quite the startle. But it shouldn't happen too often. Blade breakage is usually caused by too much pressure, often on the side of the blade. When you're cutting, give this a try. Loosen your grip a bit and see if your work springs back. If so, you're adding too much pressure to the blade. I often do this exercise because sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it.

Wow. That turned out awesome! You did a great job on it. Who's the designer?

Wow. You did a wonderful job on it! It might have been a challenging project, but you wouldn't know it with that cutting! That's certainly something to be proud of. Good Job!

Hopefully someone near you can show you some of the ropes. If not, I suggest you just jump in and give it a go. Its much easier than you think and produces really impressive results. First grab some good quality plywood. You'll want some 1/4" Baltic Birch to start. You can find it at a cabinet supply shop, or online such as Sloans Workshop or Wood Deals Online. Sometimes craft stores or hobby shops have them (although rather expensive). The stuff they sell at the lumber store isn't very good, so stay away from that. You'll also need quality scroll saw blades. Again, the stuff at the hardware stores isn't very good. They're not intended for intricate/hobby scrolling. Besides, they're kinda expensive at the hardware store. You can buy blades online. The big 3 blade manufacturers are Flying Dutchman, Pegas, and Olson. A lot of folks buy from Mike's Workshop. Other than that, you can watch this series of videos. It gives you a really good feel for cutting a portrait style pattern. If you have any questions, please ask. Everybody here is very helpful and friendly. Have fun!

LOL...yah, the lighthouse is a challenging pattern to cut. I'm glad you tackled it, though. Just think of the oohs and ahhs when you get it done. Those delicate areas really impress the heck out of people. As far as chipping, I'm not sure if you can do much about that. Since the pattern is very organic/stylized, you might be able to cut those sections out without anybody being the wiser. You might be able to take a small file and round the chip-outs too. If a piece broke, I often just superglue it back in place (from the back). Once you spray on your finish, you won't be able to see the glue line, nor the break.