The MediaBoy

You may be able to get away with that in Montana, but here in Central Florida it would be a fool's fancy. You say, "some hot sun," for us it's THE hot sun. You say, "possible thunder showers," for us it's THE DAILY thunderstorms. You say, "I'll throw a trash bag over the saw in case it rains," for us it's use the garbage bag to haul the rust heap that was once a saw to the dump. As I write this we're going into our 72nd consecutive hour of rain -- over 13" since Monday morning. And yes.., we are called the Sunshine State. Thank goodness for a garage shop!

Travis, I've planed down to 1/4" several times with no issues. I would imagine that you could make a planing 'bed' out of MDF, or some other extremely flat stock, and get down to 1/8" pretty easily. Either put a 3/32" cleat on the leading edge of the 'bed' or use double-sided tape to attach the stock that you're planing. Just thinking out loud here..., I would imagine that a solid wood panel at 1/8" thick would be pretty unstable. Don't think I'd even try it here in humid Central Florida. I could leave a perfectly flat 1/8" panel in the shop overnight and find it bowed up like a tent the next morning.

Karder2, Delta stopped making/selling scroll saws about a year ago. Getting parts for some Delta scroll saws has even become an iffy proposition. This was all a result of "Black & Decker" (ugh ) buying up both the Delta and DeWalt brands. With Delta & DeWalt under the same ownership their scroll saw lines were competing with each other, so the decision was made to drop the Delta lines and go with just the DeWalt. Hope that this helps explain things a bit.

Yeah Grease, I've heard of and seen a water jet. But only used to cut metal, never for wood. If you'ver ever watched those guys from Orange County Choppers on TV (sorry, the name of the show escapes me) they use a water jet to cut out custom designed metal pieces. I was at an Arts & Crafts festival about 3 weeks ago, and like you the traffic and interest was high. Unfortunately the sales were slow. On Sunday just for sport I started keeping track of the wow, awesome, beautiful, unique, you are so talented, and oh my God statements on a piece of paper. At the end of the six hour day I had 73 of these statements and one "Holy Crap!" from a woman who just couldn't believe that one of my scenes was cut from wood (over 1,200 cuts). All the compliments do wonders for your ego, but unfortunately only about 1 in every 10 of them ever turns into a sale.

Blame, I use spiral blades almost exclusively. You say that you are cutting 1/8" Finnish Birch, but you didn't say if it was one piece or several stacked pieces? For one piece, 4 blades seems a little much. Keep in mind that the glue in Finnish Birch is more weather-resistant than the glue in Baltic Birch -- and that exterior glue is much tougher on any blade. I normally stack cut 4 pieces of 1/8" Baltic Birch/Red Oak plywood at a time, and use #2/0 and #1 spiral blades. Usually FD "New Spirals," but I have used Olsen spirals with pretty good results. In both cases, about 5 cuts (of course depending on how LARGE the cut is) per blade in a stack of 4 pieces of 1/8" BB ply is probably a little abnormal. It's not unusual for me to use 3 dozen spiral blades on a piece with 200-300 cuts, but I change blades once one gets dull. Forcing a dull blade to cut in an intricate piece is just asking for trouble. Spiral blades breaking in the middle usually points to one of three things: 1.) Too much tension on the blade. 2.) Bending or kinking the blade when feeding it thru a hole, or, 3.) Slop in your saw's stroke. In other words, the tension varies during the stroke, which sort of 'jerks' on the blade. I do break spiral blades now and again, but not that often. When one does break it's usually because I bent it while feeding it thru a hole and the bend formed a weak spot.

I got one of those convertible hand trucks. You can use it upright or as a flatbed and I couldn't do without it. If possible, I'd like to limit the number of trips back & forth from the truck for setup and teardown. Right now it takes 2 trips with stuff stacked so high that it's almost teetering -- which for some odd reason brings visions of the old Flinstones cartoons to mind.

There's always one in every group. The only surprise here is that this time it was Travis and not me.

Hmm, blame, that sounds like a plan. Now if I could just find a way around the "Toting" part...

I absolutely agree about how taking one of my saws to the show and doing demos would probably draw interest. The wife and I talked very seriously about that -- weighing the pros and cons. The issues with taking a saw are: 1.) Toting the thing there. The truck is already pretty doggone full. And since my wife has had two back surgeries, I am all of the 'muscle' on the team. Okay..., muscle may be an overstatement , so suffice it to say that I'm just not as young as I once was. 2.) Electricity - is not always available at shows, and when it is available it usually comes at a premium price. 3.) Space - in most cases you get a 10' x 10' space and all of that is taken up by merchandise. You can get larger spaces (see "premium prices"). And for outdoor shows a canopy is almost always required. We have one 10x10 canopy, and at about $200 a pop I seriously doubt we'll get a second one. 4.) Liability - unless I am standing or sitting at the saw at all times, what is stopping some kid from turning it on or knocking it over on themselves and getting hurt? For now I'm thinking that I'll just take more props - a partially finished piece, some blades, a few patterns, etc. Thanks to all of you for your interest, encouragement, and suggestions. They are all very much appreciated. This whole thing is a work in progress and I'm pretty sure that we'll make adjustments along the way. Travis to answer your question, the majority of other vendors at the show were very open, helpful, and gave us plenty of good advice. That could be because they're just really nice people, or it could be that what I sell poses absolutely no competetion to what they sell. It's probably a combination of both.

A few weeks ago I promised that I would report how our first Craft Fair went this past weekend (Mar. 21-22). I had mentioned that I really didn't have any set expectations -- that if we did well, we did well. And if we got totally skunked, the learning experience would still make it worth it. As it turns out we didn't get skunked (although many crafters there did), and we did learn an awful lot. We made enough to cover our expenses for the weekend, and I'll leave it at that. There was decent traffic at the show, but people weren't buying much. Except maybe for the Flea Market quality & priced jewelry. Those folks seemed to clean up. The hardcore, true crafters at the show, the ones who have done this for decades, all pretty much said that this was the worse show they had ever been at. I'll just have to take their word for it. 1.) We learned that our 'market' will be the more 'high-end' customers at craft shows/fairs. We're probably better suited for combination Art & Craft shows and festivals. We have one of those coming up in April -- 200 vendors, 100 of which are artists, 100 are crafters. 2.) We learned a LOT about setting up, creating displays, and making our booth more inviting and eye catching. 3.) We learned that, although there were over 100 different crafters at this fair, no one had anything even remotely resembling our scrolled portraits and scenes. That made us quite a novelty at the show. 4.) We learned that we need to take more props to better explain the creation process. A printed pattern, some spiral blades, and maybe even a half-finished portrait. It was amazing how many people couldn't believe that all of the pieces were hand cut. 8 out of 10 people thought it was laser cut. 5.) Based on the observations & advice from the vast majority of the long-time crafters, my work is not overpriced. In fact, many thought that it may be under priced. That said, they also said that I would need to be very choosey about the craft shows/fairs that I went to (which is basically what #1 above states). I will say this, if I can ever translate just half of the "Wow", "It's absolutely beautiful", "Amazing", "You are amazingly talented", the "Oh my Lord, I've never seen anything like it" comments into dollars, we'll be very successful. We heard that so much that by the end of Day #2 I was afraid that my wife would go postal if she heard it one more time. So the jury is still out. We'll know a lot more after this upcoming Arts & Crafts festival in April. And once again..., I really have no set expectations.

I hardly ever paint, so I really wouldn't be any help there Travis. But it sounds like spray-on primer would at least be worth a try. If you decide to try the spray stuff let us know how it turns out. While we're on the painting wood topic, I've also read that you can coat the end or side grain of the wood with drywall joint compound. Let it dry and sand it smooth as silk. I do remember that the few pieces that I have painted that the end grain was tough to get smooth. And even when it was smooth it soaked up the paint like a sponge.

Travis, a sanding sealer is normally applied to porous wood before staining. By porous wood I mean pine, birch, or any other wood that normally bloches (light & dark areas) when it is stained. The theory is that the sealer 'seals' the areas that absorb more of the stain and provides a more uniform stain application. You apply the sealer, let it dry, and then scuff-sand it just like you would between coats of the final finish. Fran is correct, clear, dewaxed shellac is a great sanding sealer. You can also use polyurethane cut to a 50/50 mixture with mineral spirits (which is basically what Minwax sells as sanding sealer). You say that you are painting the wood, so you may want to use a primer rather an sanding sealer. But either should work since they both do basically the same thing. Once again Fran is right on target - Kilz is an excellect primer to use before painting. Hope this helps.

I use pen display tubes. They're the perfect size. I can put about 2 gross of 2/0 spiral blades inside of one. They're clear, so you can see inside of them and have nice tight stoppers. I buy my blades from Mike, and he has labels inside the shipping bags. I just scotch tape his labels around the outside of the tubes. For a holder I used 3 pieces of scrap 1/2" plywood, a Forstner bit, some screws and glue to make a simple "test tube like" holder. I used double-sided tape to hold the top & bottom together and drilled the holes thru the top piece and 1/4" into the bottom (for the tube bottom to rest in). Then glued & screwed the 3 pieces together. I think my holder is probably 12" long, 5" wide, and 4" tall. It probably holds about 16 different tubes and takes up very little space. It sits on a small bench right next to my saw. Another tip is to buy some 1" circular magnets. You can get about 4 of them in a pack for under $3. I have one on the right side of my saw stand that holds a bunch of the blades that I'm using on a project. Makes it VERY handy to grab a new blade. No more searching and fumbling.

I too use a ROS "finishing" sander with pretty good results. Breakout has never been much of an issue -- and I cut some secenes that have upwards of 1,200 cuts. I say "finishing" sander, or pad sander, because I also have a rotating ROS that I wouldn't dare use. One tip if you use a ROS, get yourself a sanding mat like this. Put on a flat surface, they cushion and support the piece while keeping it from moving around.

Deb, that's almost the color of my Excalibur saw. Personally, I'm not at all fond of green, but I have to agree with Travis on this one. Who cares if it looks sexy, just as long as it cuts. ..., and believe me, the new Excalibur EX-21's sure ain't sexy looking.

Christina, I'll be glad to share how it goes. If nothing else, I'm sure we'll learn a lot.

The wife and I are going to do our first large-scale Art & Crafts show next month (March). Being our first one, we're really not sure what to expect and don't have any illusions of overwhelming success. It's an annual 2-day affair about 60 miles from where we live, so if nothing else it will be a nice weekend get away for us. I'm probably a little different than some, in that I only cut portraits and scenes and very few of them are what could be considered low priced. This all spawned from my serious scroll sawing addiction -- meaning that I usually only cut things (patterns) that appeal to me, or things that I see as a challenge. I know.., it sounds a little arrogant, and maybe it is. But like many (if not most) here, I already have a regular full-time job and I'm not looking for another. So for me scroll sawing was, and will continue to be, something that I enjoy doing. Something that allows me to relax and decompress. The so-called "business" side of it was prompted by repeated requests from friends, family, and co-workers. Last November I took a few pieces with me to work one day to show one of my co-workers. And the dam burst! Word of mouth traveled like a wildfire and in the following four days I sold just about everything that I had on-hand. And in the end I had pocketed over $750 -- all without even trying. So my wife said, "what the heck, let's give it a shot." But we both agreed up front that the day that it became just another job is the day the business side of it would go away. We're "empty nesters," so if nothing else we see this as a way for the two of us to spend some more time together. Heck.., we may not sell a single thing at this upcoming show. Then again, we may sell out. I'll be fine with it either way.

Travis, I generally prefer 11x14, but it depends on the complexity of the pattern. Fairly simple patterns with very few cuts tend to look better at 8x10. 11x14 is still a standard size, so off-the-shelf frames are easy to find.

Thanks Blame. Appreciate the kind words. Yeah, I most often stack cut 4 at a time. And yes, using 1/8" plywood -- usually A grade plywood. Ply is probably about the only thing that will support most of the smaller cuts. I haven't tried solid hardwood but suspect that some of the longer veining with the grain would pose some breakage problems. I haven't tried stacking 5 yet but I suspect the trade-off on time and making blade changes wouldn't make it worthwhile. 2/0 spirals don't last very long as it is with stacks of 4. With stacks of 2 the blades are still too agressive. I figure on average that cutting a stack of 4 takes me about 20% longer to cut than would a single piece, so it's a no-brainer. Give it a try! I just align the edges on the stack. Place a heavy weight on top of it to press out any warps or bows, and then tape the stacks around all the edges with 1" Blue painter's tape. Cover the top side with with 2 or 3" Blue painters tape. Then use spray glue (cheap "Duro" brand from Lowes) to spray both the wood stack and the pattern. I rarely have a case where the pattern lifts and the painter's tape makes it easy to remove the pattern when I'm done. Well..., by easy I mean that it comes off easy leaving little to no residue. But some of the patterns I've used have over 1,200 cuts, so picking off all of the smaller pieces of tape can take a while. That's all part of the "patience" I mentioned in an earlier post.

In what used to be the garage. But there hasn't been a car in there for over 10 years. The table saw, bandsaw, drill press, router table, planer, dust collector, 2 scroll saws, an assembly table, and 2 work benches take up a bit of space. It's usually a little chilly out there this time of year [being in Central Florida I didn't dare say "cold"], and of course it's sweltering hot during the summers.

Thanks Gray, appreciate the kind words. And don't be intimidated by the complexity of some of the patterns. If you're patient and force yourself to not get in a hurry you'll be surprised what you can do. Me.., well I like to push the envelope now and then. If it ain't challenging, it ain't fun!

Excalibur EX-21 with a DeWalt as the emergency fall-back unit. Yeah..., I take my scrolling pretty seriously.

Travis, I use spiral blades almost exclusively in all my scrolled pieces (see here), and yes, fuzzies are almost unavoidable. In fact, it's been so long since I've used a standard blade that I'm not sure I remember how to feed from just the front to the back of the saw. As scary as it seems, I use the torch torch method to burn most of the fuzzies away. The keys are: (1.) having the piece face DOWN on a larger board to prevent the flame from going thru the cuts. (2.) Setting the torch on a low setting, and (3.) Always keeping the torch moving. Move it too slow and you're sure to scorch the piece. The bad news is that you've scorched it, but the good news is that unless you REALLY scorched it, at least it is on the BACK. You'll find that this will get rid of most of the fuzzies and those left behind become crisp and are pretty easily removed with a light sanding. I've read of several other methods, such as layering the piece with posterboard, but since I generally stack cut 4-5 pieces at a time that extra thickness becomes a factor. The torch method is what works the best for me. -- The MediaBoy --