Vector01

Came out excellent. Great gift.

How bout...Making the cross and use a light walnut or natural stain. Cut the letters and numbers seperately from say 1/2" walnut, shaping each and staining a darker color. Attach them to the cross with some wood glue. If she is not set on the angel, maybe a cut out of the "praying hands" could be attached to the top of the cross. This might be a bit more work but I think it would look nice. You can mock it up using whatever graphics program you have to get an idea of what it would look like. As far as the spiral blades to cut 2" pine (assuming the 2X4's are pine) I'm not sure. I don't use a lot of spiral blades. [attachment=0]cross2.jpg[/attachment]

Hi All: For you newbie scrollers who have purchased saws that have the tensioning controls at the back of the saw, here is a little advice that might save you some aggravation. Most scroll saw manuals for these type saws are a bit vague on how to correctly use the tensioning mechanism. The instructions indicate tensioning the blade with the knob and then locking down the lever. Which in itself is basically correct. The problem is that proper tensioning is a two step process. Using just the knob to tension the blade and attempting to lock down the lever can cause damage to both the lever and the mechanism (I broke the lever on my first saw). [attachment=0]tension web.jpg[/attachment] The first step is to take out any slack in the blade using the tensioning knob. All that is needed here is some light tension. The second step is to apply the final tension to the blade by locking down the locking lever. If you cannot lock down the lever with finger pressure then release the lock down lever, back off of the tensioning knob and try again. After some trial and error you'll get the feel for tensioning your blades.

Great analogy That would make a cool sign for your shop

Hi OC: Don't panic In a perfect world (and good quality control) the blade should run fairly straight up and down. I would suggest you square the blade up to the table, tension for the blade you are using and check the cut for square. Get a piece of scrap wood and try some cuts (straight lines, circles, squares, etc.). A little wobble should not affect the cut. Once the blade bites into the wood you should be good to go. As far as the arms being out of line...I'm not familiar enough with the Ryobi to offer any help. There are other members here that have that saw that could offer some suggestions. After you get comfortable with the saw, try a few easy projects to start with. This should give you a better idea concerning the overall performance of the saw. Also, If you havn't done so yet get some pinless blades. I find the pinned blades basically good only for cutting wood to size.

Great! That's the way to do it. Warranty repairs are a pain...Especially if you have to send it out. I noticed at the site that they have the "T" handle type screws. You should be able to get the right tension with tightening the screw by hand. Have fun.

Using pliers to torque down the blade screw might be creating too much stress on the threads. I'm guessing using the allen wrench didn't provide enough tension to hold the blade. Those screws are metric. I would suggest checking out E Replacement Parts for replacements. You might want to also check the piece of the blade holder that the screw goes into. That might be damaged also. If the saw is still under warranty, call Ryobi and have them send you new ones. http://www.ereplacementparts.com/ryobi- ... _8002.html

That's kool.

Nice work. He will love it.

Bravo...Well deserved.

I was in the process of framing the tiger when my wife asked me "Are you gonna use a black background again?" Pondering this question I replied "Yep." She then asked "Why dont you use some color?" I went to my acrylics and added these colors to the background. I'm not quite sure if I like it...But my wife stopped hounding me about it [attachment=0]tigerwebclr.jpg[/attachment]

Here's something that might help those just getting started in scrollen. Common questions are a) what blade to use on a particular piece/thickness of wood? and B) How long should the blades last? When I first started scrollen again I spent a lot of money on blades that either I didn't really need or I didn't like. After about a month...I said to myself this is nuts! I needed a simple way to compare and keep a record of the blades as I used them. So I came up with this idea. [attachment=0]cheat sheet1.jpg[/attachment] I could never remember from one cut to another how well a particular blade performed, lasted, etc. This "cheat sheet" gave me a record of some basic info on the blades so that I could refer back when either cutting the same type of wood or when I needed to order new blades. The first box "Material" lets you note what type of wood you're cutting. The next "Thickness" lets you note the material thickness. "Blade-TPI" gives you a place to note the make,size and TPI of the blade. "Saw Speed" lets you indicate your saw speed (in percentage from 0-100%) settings. Note...My saw is rated at a top speed of 1600 spm. It's impossible to accurately determine the actual saw speed at any given setting. I just go by the speed knob 25-50-75-100 percent. The next box "Comments" allows you to make notes on how the blade cuts, how many blades used, is it burning the wood, etc. The last box "Perf" lets you rate the overall performance of that blade with all other factors considered. I normally rate the blade from "0" to "10". Ten being the best. Anything for me under a "5" I wont use again. It's important to remember that a particular blade will perform diffrently with various woods, speeds, etc. So I try the same blade on different woods just to get a fair comparison. I hope this helps.

Trying to start a intrasia for my wife (still not sure on these things). Gotta a PC to fix for a friend. Put the new gas grill together. Install the window AC units (getting hot quick here). Order some more BB ply. Oh man...I need a beer

That came out great! Now I need to look up marquetry

Kool...No problem. You might want to try out the "sample pack" of blades from Mike's Workshop. When I started scrollen again I went out and bought just about every blade made. What a waste of money. After I had some cutten under my belt I found you can do almost anything with a very small selection of blades. I'm not promoting any particular manufacturer, but I found in my experience that the FD blades to be great.

Those can be a bear to get set, especially if they are the smaller blades with the twisted ends. If they have the twisted ends, take a pair of flat end pliers and straighten the ends. You can also use a hammer and the top of a vise to do it. Most manuals suggest you place the blade in the bottom holder first. I find if you place the blade in the top holder first the blade is more stable and easier to set in the bottom holder. Try to place the blade (bottom holder) as close to to the center of the set screws as you can. This will help with the twisting. I usually pop out the table insert to get a better view of the bottom blade holder. You can wipe the blade ends with some alcohol and a cloth to remove any oil from manufacturing. This is also a cause for blades twisting when tightening. While you're at it, remove the set screws and check for oil and burrs on the ends. I usually like to roughen up the ends of the set screws with some 320 grit sandpaper. Just make sure you keep the ends flat. This will help in getting a better bite on the blade. I am not a fan of spiral blades myself. When I'm doing fine detail in 1/4" ply or thinner I use either the FD-PSR5 blades or the FD-SP (superior puzzle) blades. I am just use to working with flat blades. I hope this helps. p.s. Nice to see another "pyro" here (I checked out your site).

Nope...You should be all set.

Just to clarify...You are using pin end blades, correct? Unfortunately you will be limited as to how fine or small the cuts you will be able to make due to having holes large enough to feed the pinned blades through. I would suggest looking for adapters for your blade holders that will allow you to use pinless blades. Just looked up the Ryobi saw...It appears (the newer ones) take both pinned and pinless blades. Easy fix, pick up some pinless blades. You will have much more of a selection and will be able to do those finer cuts.

Fantastic!!! I'm still working up the courage to give (intrasia) a shot.

Hi All: Ran out of ply so I thought I would try some glass engraving. While searching for some info on the subject, I came across this site. They have a multitude of graphics covering just about every subject. http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-i ... e-map.shtm

Great piece...The shaping really brings it out.

Very nice! The use of contrasting colors with the various pieces makes it look like a mosaic. A really creative piece.

Looks like most of the stuff has been answered. I would suggest picking up some clear packing tape and a tape gun. Applying packing tape to the wood prior to attaching your pattern will make it easier to remove the pattern later. I have a clamp on lamp/magnifier that I attach to my table next to the saw. I just swing it over when I need it. I like the 1/4" baltic birch plywood from Sloane's for most of my pieces. I would also suggest picking up a sample pack of FD blades from Mike's Woodshop.

Thats Kool. Kids will love it.

This was another one of those free graphics. Made some changes and cut it today. The details are great until you start cutting. Had to stop and perform some minor surgery...I ended up with some really thin cuts. It was still fun and great practice. Cut from 1/4" baltic birch ply using FD-PSR5 blades. [attachment=0]duckweb.jpg[/attachment]