greasemonkeyredneck

Now that's a dedicated scroller. Did anyone notice that the focus is more on losing the last wire bit than on the fact that said bit is in a foot? Someone please get that address and promptly drop some drill bits in the mail today. Please.

I regularly cough up saw dust. I thought that was just a sign that I was a dedicated wood worker. Actually, after years of smoking and all the asbestos I've inhaled over the years from my mechanic days doing brake work, except for rare times when I'm really throwing fine dust, I think of sawdust as fresh air.

I wear mine mainly when I'm running my belt sander because it throws so much dust in the air and my respirator when I'm staining because the fumes give me a headache. That being said, I continue to say I'm going to start wearing it all the time like I should any time I'm working in the shop creating any kind of dust, just like Vector said. Most of the time the dust doesn't bother me though. After so many years smoking non-filter cigarettes, I guess I've already damaged my lungs enough to not notice other dangers that much. I also need to start wearing my safety glasses more.

My favorite portraits are the ones with a lot of cuts. There's one portrait I done that had over a thousand inside cuts. With that many cuts, even if the size is barely within what my saw will cut, it is still easier to use spirals than worrying if I'll clear the back of the saw while makeing a fast swing for a tight curve. I now have got in the habit that I use nothing but spirals for portraits. As a matter of fact, overall in my shop, I use about twenty spirals for every one flat blade.

Thanks. I'm going to give the dye idea a go next time I get the chance.

I'll post photos of the chest when I start it. Woodworking has come to a screeching halt on my end though, by orders of the boss (my wife). The temperatures this week is near a hundred, AT NIGHT. With my latest health scare, she's too worried for me to work in that kind of heat. As some of you know, I have a HUGE shop. While that is a great blessing, it's also a curse when it is this hot. I made the remark the other day to someone that it feel like standing in a giant e-z bake oven over there right now. I'm hoping that the heat will cool on down some soon, at least at night anyway. Until then, I guess I'll be spending a lot of time aggrevating the rest of ya'll on the internet.

WOW! I had no idea this thread would open up like this. I agree that I seen some patterns on his site that were made by a very talented designer. After all I've heard though, I just can't help but to be skeptical of who exactly that designer was. I also hate to assume the guy is guilty. I think I'd rather fall to the side of caution though and deal woth someone else until all his legal troubles are sorted out. And these two statements make me more leary than the other accusations simply because they are first hand knowledge from two people that I know for a FACT are honest, hard working people. I feel bad for the guy. I have no idea if he did wrong or not. My opinion is though that I don't want to do business with him. If nothing more, just for my feelings at this point of how he done Mike and Sheila. I have a motto that I live and breath. The three most important things in life that make a man a man is honesty, hard work, and respect, in that order. I watched my grandfather do at least a million dollars worth of work in his life on nothing more than a handshake. He was a real man, the kind of man I thrive to be. I don't do dishonest business, either from the giveing or recieving end. The other side of the coin now. I know it is hard at times to live by those three qualities I listed. I can't begin to tell you the times I have been burned in my life by doing the right thing, both financially and mentally. Some times though, you just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keeping plugging along. I know Sheila understands what I'm saying. I follow her over at Lumberjocks too. I bring up her to show a point here. The woodworking world on the internet begins to become a very small world. There are people out there that think because people can't look you in the eye on the interent (not accusseing, just making a point) that you can stab them in the back. They need to realize though that this small world we call the "net", dishonesty will still catch up to you. Dishonesty is dishonesty. It doesn't matter if it's performed in the virtual world or the real one. ***Mike and Sheila, I'm apologize that the two of you were done that way. I, for one, really appreciate what you two have done for the scrolling world.I have ordered many blades from Mike. He is by far the best I have ever done business with through the internet. If you've never ordered blades from Mike, give him a try. You will not be disappointed. As for Sheila, I've never ordered patterns from her. I have directed other people to check out her work, but I've just never found any of her pattern to be what I was looking for at the time. I have however seen so much of her work in magazines and various websites though. She is very much as talented as whatever artist make the patterns on the site we've been discussing. Myself, I like complicated patterns. I continued to check out her work and will most likely wind up finding something of hers that I want. In the meantime, please keep up the great work. I have two friends right off the top of my head that do order your patterns and love them. You are a talented artist in your own right and do not need to let someone like that bring you down. Sheila, do you have a website where one can order directly from you?

Actually, I did try something similar to that. I thinned down water based yellow paint using the clear water bases stain they use for tinted stains, like the green on the tractor. It went on and looked real nice. It had a somewhat soft color of yellow. With about three coats, it was actually looking quite good. Then after letting it dry real good, I realized that the color could be easily rubbed off. The clear tint soaked into the wood and sealed it while the thinned paint sort of seperated I guess and set on top of that and with it being thinned down didn't adhere to anything. It just set there until being wiped off. I have done a lot of research on this subject of mixing different colors. I found out that the chemicals they use for tinting stain is actually a combination of different solids such as metals that are in the form of tiny flakes that mix wit5h the stain and get soaked into the pores of the wood, creating different colors. I may be a little off on that, but it's my general understanding of the process.

Does anyone know what kind of trouble? I bought several of his patterns. My favorite I've done of his was "Christ Ascending", which ironically, I didn't buy, but was offered as a free pattern on his site. However, for a long time I was a little leary of his work. There was many of his patterns that were on other sites listed as someone else's designs. I'm not accusing him, I just didn't know who stole who's work. With those kind of concerns, I just sort of stayed away from his patterns for a while. Then he just dissappeared.

I have tried this, actually just out of curiosity. I try sometimes just to see if I can push the limits of what my 16" scroll saw will do. It is possible, but awkward. Everything, including blade drift, is the exact opposite of what you're used to. I found that anything that can be accomplished by turning the blade around can also be done using a spiral blade. Now if you've seen some of the rocking toys I built you have probably heard me talk about the Craftsman scroll saw I use with the sideways blade holders. Being 3/4" material, I don't use spirals on that. There have been times I turned the blade forwards, backwards, left facing, and right. I have even gotton in a bind and had to take pliers to bend the blade at a 45 degree to the table. I have to take it slow, but the blade still cuts no matter what position I place it in.

I have really been feeling the effects of that "episode". I had help the day after all this happened to get over to the shop and complete the tractor. I haven't done much since though. I feel as if every drop of energy has been sucked from my body, and I still haven't completely gotten rid of the headache that always follows my blood sugar dropping like that. I'll get back up eventually though. The good wife has been making extra sure that I eat right. I did go to the shop for a little while last night. All I done though was drink coffee and read Shopnotes magazines (old back issues). I think my next project is going to be a hope chest. Let me know if anyone would be interested in seeing the finished project, even though it isn't scroll saw related.

I was kind of flattered at your memory of that little bit of info about me. I do hate paint. I have never found a paint that doesn't eventually peel, crack, or some other undesireable outcome. True, some last for many years, but most of my projects, if used as intended, will outlast most paints. The stain however, gets down into the wood and actually changes the color of the wood fibers. Some, like this water based tinted stain, will over time fade a certain extent. Fading though causes no harm to children and still looks good. Also, like you said, the wood grain shows through. I have a deep love for wood, and it's interesting grain patterns. Some people may think I'm nutty as a fruitcake. Sometimes I find an especially interesting wood grain pattern. I can stare at it and rub may one hand that I still have feeling in over it, and get lost in my thoughts forever. I can run my fingers through sawdust and it brings back so many memories of a small child in my grandfather's woodshop. The thing I will never understand that I've seen countless times, is for someone to create a beautiful piece of furniture or some other type of woodwork by spending countless hours working the wood, only to cover that beautiful grain detail with multiple coats of paint. All that being said though, there are certain colors, yellow on this project, that I haven't been able to reproduce useing stain. If anyone knows anything about creating a stain for such hard to find colors such as yellow, I'm all ears.

I got around to finishing the Rocking Tractor today. This one differs in one I done before with the addition of paint. I don't use paint very much but so many people, when they seen my last one, said they'd like to see yellow with the green. So, I painted certain details yellow. The green is tinted stain. The rocker assembly I decided to do with shellac this time. I just wanted to do it different than the norm.

In the south, and the entire midwest and eastern seaboard from what I've heard, is extremely hot right now. Everyone needs to be extremely aware of what heat can do to your bodies and be careful in the shop. I was working on my latest project last night. I've been working at night lately because of the heat. Even so, the facts are, it's been very hot and muggy even at night lately. I've gotten hot, too hot, for several nights straight. I think my getting too hot had caused my appetite to go away, so I hadn't eaten in a couple of day. I'm diabetic. Diabetics, while worrying about high blood sugar, also aften oferlook the potential for low blood sugar. I was working in the shop one minute, trying to find a good piece of wood to cut rocker pieces out of. The next thing I remember, I'm sitting in the door of the shop with a soda being poured down my throat by one of my kids, another of my kids holding my head up, and my wife shoving horse **** on a cracker (peanut butter sandwich, I hate the stuff) down my throat. My blood sugar had bottomed out. I'm doing fine after sleeping all night last night and the splitting headache I have this morning. I always get headaches after an episode like that. However, everyone, especially any of us with other medical conditions that put us at even more risk, need to be careful and pay extra attention to our bodies. If possible, have someone check on you from time to time. I was lucky my wife and kids reacted so quickly. Now I'm going to catch hell from the lady that runs the house about going back over there by myself. Just please be careful. We don't want to see any messages from spouses about a village member being hospitalized or worse.

I have broken delicate pieces with the "flutter wheel". Apparantly I don't move fast enough for the torch method. I ruined a project with that one too. While the needle file and emory board ideas are great, I wanted something faster. I use a dremel type rotory tool. It makes quick work of removing "fuzzies". The one I use is a cheap model I caught on sale for about $20 at Wal-Mart. I used to use abrasive bits. They worked good, but dug into the wood if you were not careful. Nowadays I use diamond tipped bits that I bought at Harbor Freight. They do a great job. Actually, I caught another sale and now have two rotary tools. I keep one hung by a string over the workbench for dealing with fuzzies. Then I have a second one that stays beside my scroll saw that keeps a tiny drill bit in it that I use to drill entry holes with. I decided to do this after searching too hard a few time under my scroll saw bench for a lost drill bit while changing over from the drill bit to the diamond tipped bit.

With paint drying on tires right now, the tractor is still a couple of days away from completion. I'll be sure to post photos when it's done.

I'll have to try that one. I just recently done my "derusting". Normally, every so often, I completely remove my cast iron table, clean it with my jitterbug sander and rewax. Years ago, I used nothing but beeswax on things like saw tables and I never had the problems I have now with rusting. My beeswax sources dried up though (my bee keeper grandfather died) and I haven't been able to find a source for it nowhere.

I have three scroll saws at the moment, and none of them are 100% original equipment. The two Deltas, especially my "main saw" has blade holders that have been redone so many times it's pitiful. While I love the Delta quickclamp II system that came with these saw, their major flaw to me is the plastic nut that is one them from the factory. It didn't take me long at all to strip that out. Instead, the adjustment screw is now a machine screw that has the head flattened on two sides to fit into the tabs that keeps it from spinning while you tighten it up with a wing nut. My other Delta is sort of on the back burner while I decide what to do with it. If you've seen the Quickclamp II system, the top clamp has a lever for quick blade changes that you flip to grab the blade. Well, all this is accomplished by that lever being L-shaped inside the two pieces that when you flip the lever, it expands the backside of the two halves to forces the front halves together, clamping the blade. Well, even with regular greaseing, the very end of that L is so worn down on that saw that it no longer effectively does it's job. So, yes, I know exactly what you mean. Furthermore, I have found that with a little thought, (mine usually either while asleep or in the restroom) I can usually come up with something better that what the factory made to begin with.

Well I guess the answer is yes and no. It is for sale, but not a custom order. I have one more rocking toy to make, the rocking tractor, and I will have one of each of my rocking toys, unless I order more patterns that is. Actually, I'm gearing up for Christmas. This has been a VERY bad year as far as making any money. I'm hoping these rocking toys will sale closer to Christmas. If they don't, I wonder if I can roast hot dogs and trick my kids into thinking it's fourth of July, because Santa won't be leaving much. All eight of my kids have gotten too big for these type of toys. I love doing them, but I sale them in hopes of making some extra cash.

This is Buford The Bull. You can go to the Works In Progress section and see the entire process of assembling this toy. Everything on it was cut on the scroll saw except for the top part of the compound cut for the ears. I couldn't cut that with the scroll saw because I don't have one that'll cut through four inches of wood. I wish I did.

Frieke, thank you for the photos. I'm getting together all I can for when I start this beast. Any other help will of course be appreciated very much. Since you've got the plans, you can attest to the fact that they are very much on the confusing side. If I can just get enough pictures though to know where the parts go, I know I can do it while standing on my head. I love challenging projects like this one. Kevin, I didn't know if you'd ever seen the other chandelier I built, so I linked a thumbnail above. That's why I want to do this one. I absolutely had a ball doing the one in the above thumbnail. If you want some better photos of it, let me know and I'll upload them. This Italiante though is supposed to be as wide as that one is tall. The finished size according to Wildwood is four feet tall and it holds 24 candles. I am trying to get help because I am determined to do it, and sooner rather than later. If you're interested, somewhere here in the village I have a work in progress of the first chandelier you can look at to see the construction. It was actually easy once it started coming together, and I suspect this one will be too. They are time consuming though. If it's anything like the first, each section has to be cut, glued, and then dried overnight for strength before you can even attempt to move on to the next section. As for all the compliments though, thank you very much, but here in poor Mississippi, things like this take forever to sale. If I done these type projects purely for profit, I'd have sold out the shop a long time ago. The first chandelier I done has over $150 worth of material and a little over 50 hours work in it. I've had it for sale for about a year now for $300. After hearing the price, I've never had anyone show an ounce of further interest. I worked so hard on it though that I refuse to sell it any lower. If nothing else, when I do shows, it's definately a conversation starter. It's always the first thing anyone asks about, like I said, until they hear the price. This one is just one of those things I want to build. If and when I get it done, I'll buy the plans for my next "want project". If you want to know what it is, mosy on over to Wildwood Designs and search for Dome Clock.

I ama always thrilled with my pattern purchases. I mean I'm like a kid in a candy store when they arrive. I can't wait to get the out of the envelope and study every detail of them. Furthermore, unbelieveably, I've never had a complaint with a pattern I ordered from any well known company, until now. After building a chandelier from a pattern I bought from Wildwood Designs, I wanted to do another one. So, I ordered the plans for the Italiante Chandelier several months ago. You can see it here: http://www.wildwooddesigns.com/Italiant ... _P2308.cfm . I hate to complain, but these have to be the worst plans I've ever recieved. To make matters worse, I think they are somewhere along the top of the price line I have paid for patterns at $29.95. The plans are from an old italian design. All the writing on the plans are in italian. That part was no problem. I found a free translator site on the interent and went about translating every word I could possibly find on the plans. After several long hours, I learned the thickness I'm supposed to cut some of the pieces, in mm. I learned the arrows dictate the grain direction of the wood. I think I could have figured that one out without translation. I also learned that the makers of this plan liked to write "3 times" in such places on these plans to make you assume that every part on it has to be cut three times, which is fine except that if you look on the photo of the chandelier, there are some parts that you will need one of, and some six of. Other than that, the only info my hourse spent translating was such trivial stuff such as these patterns are meant for "fun, pleasure, and business". Most patterns I've bought in the past, especially at this price, come with instructions, and usually a few up close photos or production photos and diagrams. Not the Italiante Chandelier. Out of the five pages of plans, there are two photos. Those two photos are so distorted from photocopying that you can't even tell they are photos of a chandelier, much less pick up on any additional details I hadn't already seen on the photo from the website. I studied them well. At first I thought they had sent me photos showing me who was on that grassy knoll when Kenneddy was shot, or some other secret like that. All I had to do was figure out the photo, and I'd be famous. OK! Enough with my griping. Before anyone tells me to send them back, I will still try to build this, even if I have to just set it aside and make it a winter project that I have to build and figure out like a cruel jigsaw puzzle. I'm writing this post hoping someone can help. Has anyone ever built this before? If so, I need any and all photos I can get of it to help me figure out some of the details on it. I've spent uncountable hours on the internet searching and have come up with about six photos. Most of them came from Rick Hutchesons site. I've written him asking for help, but haven't recieved a response. Also, none of the photos I have found help too much. If anyone else could help, it would be greatly appreciated.

I thought I might be able to add a little advice to the already great suggestions on this topic. Doing some of the larger projects I do, I cut a lot of straight lines. Therefore, through plenty of practice, I'm consider myself pretty good at it. Still though, there are times I come across a piece of wood that just will not let me cut a straight line no matter how I hold my tongue, or my wood. Therefore, I have a method to my straight lines. I always cut them first when possible. That way, if I get so far off while doing the staightaways that I'm not happy with it, I can scrap that piece of wood without already haveing a lot of time invested in that particular piece of wood. When I'm not able to cut the straights first, then I make sure I have a sharp blade. Those little suckers are straonger than you may think. Just because they are still cutting doesn't mean they are sharp. I have found that a dull blade will still cut for some time, but not very straight. So, with a sharp blade, I cut with the saw at a high speed, but while moving my wood at a very slow speed. I hope that makes much sense.

WELCOME BACK! Though I didn't notice you were gone, I'm positive I would have if I'd been around myself. I just recently started getting back into the swing of things too. I'm sorry to hear about all the difficulties you've been having. Myself, my health had been what kept me away for a while. How's your health holding up with all the other on your plate? If my memory is correct, you have some of the same health issues as myself. If so, even small life disruptions cause havoc, so I could only imagine what all you've been going through would do. Anyway, happy cutting. I hope things start getting back to normal for you soon.

You said FD blades come from the US. Someone please correct me if Im wrong, but I thought they came from Germany. I'd really like to know for sure, because I have griped to several people that the Germans are making a better blade than anyone in the US. Don't get me started on the downturn of espected quality from big US companies. That'll be for another topic on a different forum. Anyway, aren't FD blades made in Germany????? Regardless though, if you contact Mike at Mike's Workshop, I'd be willing to put money on it that he would find a way to get them to you cheap as possible even if you lived in Wonderland. Mike has shocked me speechless twice that I can remember. I made mistakes on my orders. They were mistakes that would have cost me more cash in the long run. They didn't look right to Mike, so he called me to make sure. I haven't had ANY company care enough about me the customer like that in twenty years. Lord forbid if anything ever happens to Mike, a lot of us will be lost.