greasemonkeyredneck

I'll have to try that on a scrap piece. I think it's something I'm doing wrong. I gave up on gluing patterns straight to wood long ago. I now put masking tape between the wood and the pattern. On my tight budget though, it'd be nice to eliminate one cost to my projects. In the past though, gluing them to the wood has left such a mess that I even resorted to throwing a couple of pieces in the firewood pile.

No. I've seen a few other people try this project. You'd be surprised the details some people leave out when they get about two or three days in. They don't realize just how hard this one is until they get into the middle of it. That's why when someone asks where to get the plans for it, I gladly tell them. I've been told I'm crazy. In my opinion though, if someone thinks they can make them and sell them any cheaper than me (I get $250 for them) let them go for it. There is so much detail in that thing if you want to get it right. I've done enough now that I have it down to four or five days, depending on how many shop hours I get in per day. The first one I ever done though took seven loooooong days. The trailer I've been working on though is going good. I've got the decking and sides done now. I bolted treated pine runners to the frame. Then I screwed solid oak to that then put my sides on. Everything that is screwed on is also glued generously. I'm going to trim it out with some mahogany strips I've been trying to find a use for. Then I'm going to blow up Steve Goode's "Scrollsaw Artist" pattern and put on each side. To finish it, I'm going to apply Thompson's Water Sealer and Wood Treatment to all exposed surfaces. Whew! My back hurts more now just typing about it all.

It's hard to see the finer details in the picture. The tires, along with all exposed surfaces on the bike, are rounded on a router.

Thanks for all the compliments. This week and most likely most of next, I've got to shut down and do some work on my trailer that I'll be towing my stuff to shows with. After that, as much as I enjoy the motorcycles, I'm itching to get back to something with some fretwork to it.

Ok Folks! Finally! I've had a rough week. I wasn't able to get online as much as I'd like and next week will be worse. I'll spare you all the gorey details of my present family crisis, but I did finish my latest project yesterday. This is the Chopper Display some may remember me talking about. It is the same bike that I use on the rocking toys, with a few modifications. It is mounted on a pecan platform. Then I played with the front fork mount to stretch it out into a chopper look. Then I played around with the mounting. I tilted it so the front tire is about 3/4 inch higher than the rear. To me this give it more of a swept back look. So, what do ya'll think? Any improvements I can make on the next one?

Oh! And the Arcadia plans have been put on hold. With the recent bike rally, I've been too busy to even consider it. I think my wife and I have decided to go to next month's market just to sort of feel things out there with plans to actually go sell there later in the summer. That's also the reason I haven't been posting as much lately. I've been spending so much time in the shop that by the time I come home, I take very little time on the PC before I'm ready for the pillow.

If you decide to set up on the roadside, please check your local laws. We used to be able to set up here as long as you were in the county. Now you have to have a $300 permit. Unless you plan to set up on quite a regular basis, the permit is just too high. To set up in the city limits here you have to have a business liscense and a tax number.

If your show is anything like the one I done, I have one important suggestion. If you have a tent you'll be under, find a way to block three sides. I carried the screen sides with me because of potential weather. However, before the day was out it also came in handy as a way to direct the flow of traffic into one side of the tent. Before I put the screen up, I had people coming at all sides too fast for me to keep an eye on my woodwork. This created problems especially when kids were present. Let's face it, these days, some people just don't watch their kids as well as they should. This was my first show as far as scrolling goes. I had a ball. I talked to I don't know how many people. I got more compliments than I thought I could ever get in one day. To top it all off, there is a guy named Paul Ott here in Mississippi that does various commentary type shows on TV. They want to contact me in a few weeks about doing a segment for an upcoming Paul Ott special about the dying of certain crafts related art in the south. So I'm looking forward to that. Long story short, be ready to explain to people about scrolling. OH! And the one draw back I have is people who swear that your work must have been done with a lazer. I found a way around that one. I intentionally leave what I call fuzzies on the insides of some of my clocks. It's just a way to further show that they are handcrafted. Lazers don't leave fuzzies. One more point of interest. One guy asked if my work was cut with a water jet. Has anyone ever heard of such? It seems to me that cutting wood with water would ruin the wood.

I think yesterday's show was a huge success considering the weather. I talked with well over a thousand people, handed out twice that many cards, and generally just had a ball. Next time though I'm going to take one of my scrollsaw with me. Even though this particular event doesn't have electricity and doesn't allow generators, I want it there just to show people what a scrollsaw is. It surprized me that for the ones who didn't know, even after studying my chicken scratch drawing, they couldn't visualize how a scrollsaw works. Maybe I'll get time before the next show to build that treadle saw I've been wanting.

If I understand your post correctly, it wasn't your intention to mix the old and new. That being said, when you grab that old one, you'll probably know it as soon as you start cutting. I tend to agree with the others. I just don't see the benefit of keeping a used blade. If you order them online, by the gross, they are cheap enough you can throw one away now and then. Now there are times that I switch back and forth between several different size blades for a particular project. In those cases, I just lay the blade I'm not using at the moment on a little table I keep right beside my saw for accessories and my coffee cup. In the beginning, when I first started scrolling, I had the attitude that I was getting every bit of use I could out of a blade. I refused to throw a blade away until it broke. When I started doing more delicate cuttings, I soon realized the error in this attitude. For the few pennies they cost, a new blade will always cut easier and faster. If I sat down and worked out some fancy mathematical equation for the money saved using every bit of blade life versus the time wasted working with a less then sharp blade, I come out cheaper throwing the old blade in the trash where it belongs.

Well, when the sun shines, it beams. For anyone who's been following it, I finished the motorcycle project today. Last night a lady came in the shop and put down the deposit for another motorcycle. Also, the friend she brought with her bought the Steepled Church Clock. Anyone who wants to see it, there is a post about it on my blog. So, I'm tied up for a while. I've got the bike rally thing to do Saturday. So, I made two Scroll Saw Artist card holders today after finishing the bike. The patterns are from Steve Good at Scrollsaw Workshop. I'm sure anyone who follows that site knows the ones I'm talking about. They turned out nice. So, if the bike rally produces the results I'm hoping for, I'll have a lot less free time on my hands. That means the chandelier plans I just recieved will have to wait. So, to restate what all I've just said, I'm HAPPY!

Well I can definately pick a favorite. As a matter of fact, I want the pattern. On page 1, the soldier, that would be perfect on a patriot clock that I make. Where can I get the patter? Please. All your cuttings are beautiful, but soldiers, vets, patriotic stuff like that appeals to me greatly. Great work.

I posted a couple days ago that I had new plans coming from Wildwood Designs that I'd start on. Well, there's been a change of plans. Some have seen my motorcycle rocker in my photo gallery. For those who haven't, go on over and take a look. Anyway, I don't have one ready at the moment. So then yesterday, I got an order for a motorcycle that has to be done by the 24th. Then also, I was contacted by the coordinator of a bike rally that wants me to set up at their rally with one of my motorcycles. Since there is no way for me to guarantee I can get two done in that amount of time, I devised a plan. I've got to get the one motorcycle done this week. I will display it at the rally, take orders for them if possible, then deliver it to the custmer. The customer that by the way has already put up a deposit. Problem solved. THEEEEEN, the coordinator calls back. She also placed an order for a motorcycle. And this is before the rally even starts, where I'm sure I'll pick up a few orders for more bikes. So it looks like my fretwork will take the back burner for a while so I can do motorcycle. No worries, for anyone who didn't read about the motorcycles, most of the cutting is done on the scrollsaw. So just instead of me posting the in progress photos of the chandelier like I promised Travis, I'll be posting in progress photos of a motorcycle instead. I hope that'll tide you over till I can start the chandelier, Travis.

I added a little last night under Patter Application and Commercial Pattern Vendors. As I keep trying to tell everyone though, I do good just to turn this contraption on. I keep tapping for a foot switch. Then I realize it aint a scroll saw. Anyway, I hope I can be of some help, though someone may have to go back later and put everything I contribute into the proper format.

I've got inkscape, and I'll will download GIMP soon. I'm still learning on these graphics programs though. You have the class and I'll participate in any way I can. Also, I found the video I was looking for about printing larger than standard paper size patterns using inkscape. What a surprise who's video it was. Thank you for devoting so much of your time to computer illiterates like myself, Travis.

I was wondering if or what included scrollsaw accessories different people use. I am up to five scrollsaws now, even though I use my Delta more than any of them. The first thing I do when I get a new saw is take off the hold down clamp and the air blower. For my taste, neither of these items do anything besides get in my way. The air blower would actually be nice, but the ones on the saws I've got never blow hard enough to do a bit of good. I've read several different ideas on the net I'm considering to remedy the situation. I'm leaning right now torwards the fish tank pump idea. I'm also considering a better light and a magnifying glass. So anyway, what accessories do others consider necessary and not?

I'd be very interested. I've spent countless hours trying to learn to turn portraits to patterns with only limited success. However, I have a question. For some, like me, it often becomes impossible for us to be online at any certain time. With that in mind, would the classes be in video post form so we can look at them later, or what? Another question, I keep hearing about the GIMP program. Even though I already have countless graphics programs, one more won't hurt, where can I get it?

Thanks. I'll try to work with it, but I've got major problems dealing with anything bigger than 8.5 x 11. I've got about six different graphics programs on my computer. On several of them, I can get my computer to show a bigger pattern split into sections, something always goes wrong though between the computer and the printer. Now I'll admit that I'm basically computer illiterate, but I'm trying to learn. I found at one time a video tutorial about printing larger pattern out using inkscape. somehow though I lost the link and haven't been able to find ot since. Any help finding that link or another would be a great help.

Oh, and Travis, when they come in and I get started, I'll be sure to take some in progress pictures just for you.

I never really thought about it before, but Travis hit the nail on the head. I hate desiging anything to do with a pattern with a passion. Some people close to me are amazed at how patient I am while doing my cutting. I can mess up a piece, throw it in the woodpile, start over, and never bat an eye. When desiging anything though, like when I do the faces for my clocks, if one little thing goes wrong, I get so aggrevated I have to walk away and get a cup of coffee. Some things, like those clock faces, I want to do just to put my own personal touch on it. That being said, the plans I've bought in the past have been worth their weight in gold. I've never bought a plan I wasn't happy with. The designers who create these things actually deserve more compensation than they get.

This is an old topic, but I thought someone may can find what I done useful. We have no hobby stores here local that sell that sort of thing and the shipping from getting them online put them out of the price range I was willing to put in my project. So, on a lathe, after roughing my stock down to the size wheel I needed. I took my parting tool and cut tiny grooves down the length of the stock about 1/16" apart. Then, after making sure my miter saw was square and had a very sharp blade, I chopped off wheels about 3/8" thick. Then using a compass, I found the center and drilled my axle holes on the drill press. This produced some very nice wheels that had a tread look to them.

Designing your own patters is a great idea, except I can't draw a straight line without a ruler and have no artistic ability none what so ever. I was being sarcastic when I said a reason NOT to order. I do from time to time get sticker shock when I order. I learned though that I save money in the long run by having a pattern ready to work from. I used to get ideas here and there and design my own stuff in the shop. Too many times I wound up with scraps and an idea to start over with. Since I started working with plans, they are work there price in spades to me. I wish I could hug some of you designer's necks. Designer's give me the ability to look like I have some kind of talent. Without designers, I would be back to my birdhouses and porch swings. I shutter at the thought.

If you need 30 to 40 sheet for the project, then I assume you are constructing something and not just cutting out a portrait. The only thing I use ply for anymore is portraits. When constructing my clocks I use nothing but solid wood. I do this by using a planer. Now I'm not suggesting you run out right now and buy a planer. I'm just giving you an idea if you already have one. Most of my clocks incorporate small enough parts that I can use scraps from my bigger projects. I then plane it down to 1/4 or 1/8, whichever one I need. I drooled for months over the higher priced planers that I couldn't afford. I wound up settling on a Ryobi for less than two bills. It's not the greatest in the world, but it gets the job done. When finished, you wouldn't believe the difference solid wood makes over ply. Also, most of my wood isn't bought. I have several places around town I frequent for the sole purpose of rading their scrap piles (with permission of course) for useable wood. You wouldn't believe the stuff some construction companies consider scrap. "One man's trash is another man's treasure". As for my clocks, I love the fact that I can use mahogany. There is an industrial company here that uses 28 x 80 sheets of mahogany, oak, and pecan. They laminate solid strips together to obtain these sheets and plain them to 1" thick. At the end of the line, if there is as much as a crack in them, they are scrap. I give a few projects to one of their employees for free from time to time and I get a phone call when they are about to put free material on the lot. Man, I got lucky the day I met that employee.

So I set down to order a couple new patterns today from Wildwood Designs. There is a reason I don't order very often. I can't afford it. The reason I can't afford it is when it comes to scrollsaw patterns, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I went to the website with intentions of ordering two patterns, the chandelier and one candelebra. I wound up ordering that, a second candelebra, three different plans sets of fancy bud vase holders and the bud vases to go with it, and two different packs of plans of butterflys. I wound up getting so close to a hundred dollar bill it's pitiful. OOOOOH! So many plans, so little time.

I just uploded five more pictures into my album. Please check them out and give me your opinions. The rockers on each of these was cut on a bandsaw. They were just too big to cut on the scrollsaw. Then there are such things as dowel rods that were just bought. Everything else you see though was cut on the scrollsaw.