greasemonkeyredneck

Just thought I'd share this one for a laugh. I was taking a coffee break at the shop when my wife brought over my youngest son. That's him on the left in the pictures. The dog has eaten up his burger parts to his grill playset. So we decided to pick up a few scraps I'd thrown under the table and do something about it. The scroll saw made a quick three circles for two buns and a meat patty with a little rounding over on the router. I had a little square of quarter inch stock he grabbed up for the cheese. No sooner than I sat back down and lit a smoke, I though about it. The bandsaw chopped up some fries real quick. Then, with a half smoked cigarette and a cooling cup of coffee, I got real adventerous. I cranked up the lathe with a small piece of mahogany that I saw lying in the scrap bin. After all, what is a burger and fries without a chocolate milkshake?

Congrats on your saw improvemnets. If anyone is feeling adventerous, I highly recommend looking at any improvement you can make to your saw. Tiny adjustments here and a tweak there and you'll think you're working with one of the most high priced luxery saws. I'm all the time tinkering with something on my saw. Sometimes I make things better, some times worse. For now though, my tinkering has me a $59 (on sale) Delta that5 has virtually no vibration at all. Now, my Craftsman, that's a whole different story. We won't talk about that one for now.

I'm not familiar with your particular saw brand. However, I wanted to offer some encouragement since I too have been through the hell of trying to figure out in the beginning why all of a sudden my blades wouldn't hold. First off, take the blade chuck apart and clean it with a piece of emory cloth. Oil is applied to blades at the factory to combat corrosion. This oil wears onto the blade holding surfaces, making it easier for blades to slip. Next suggestion one might make is overly simple. How tight are you tightening the blades? If you like real tight tension like me, then the blades have to be clamped into the chuck pretty tight to keep from slipping. All this being said, I'll get to the main point of my reply. I have personally found that what works for one person doesn't work for everyone, especially when it comes to scrolling. I now have five different scroll saws in four different brands. Yet, every single one of them has had modifications to suit my style and quite simply just to satisfy me. My favorite saw is my Delta. It has the quick clamp II system on it. While this is a great clamping system overall, it still give me problems. Because of how tight I need everything, both of my Deltas had broken top clamps a week after purchasing them. I had to drill out the holes on them a 64th larger to put a more tempered machine screw and wing nut in them. While this is not the proper way to fix this, it works for me and the parts at Home Depot are much cheaper than ordering replacement parts once aa week when I break the top screw or strip out the plastic nut that comes originally on it. Now for my bottom clamp. Once again, I tend to over tighten things. On one Delta, Simply keeping a spare supply of the proper size machine screws has done the trick. On the other one though, I completely busted the little square block that holds the blade. I had to search all over town to get a suitable replacement square piece of metal, then drill and tap it to make myself a replacement part that was stronger than original. My whole point is that you need to look at it closely and see what you may be able to do to make it suitable for you. While cleaning the clamping surfaces with a piece of emory cloth may cure the whole problem, it may take more. I like to think of it as making the machine a part of me. My saws are reworked to a point that I allow noone to touch them. Sound to me though that you are having similar problems as mine in the beginning. If that is the case, then factory replacement parts aren't going to do you much good. Just remember that whatever you decide to do with it, all it has to do is hold the blade. With all the fancy smancy frills different companies put on these saws, the blade clamp does one function only, clamp a blade. Remember that and it makes it a little simpler to figure out a way to fix it.

I was pouring over the photos I just took of my last two day's work trying to decide which ones to upload. I couldn't decide, so I created a seperate album and uploaded all twenty one of them. So, the thumbnails below are the two of the two sets of eight. there are lots more photos in my gallery if anyone is interested in taking a peek. I ordered these butterfly patterns from Wildwood Design a while back. I was saving them for a rainy day, or in my case, a bad back day. The largest one is about four inches by eight. The bodies are quarter inch cottonwood. The wings are (for Travis asking about planing to this thicknes) eighth inch mahogany. To make the wings, I planed the mahogany down to one eight inch and then stack cut the pair so they are symmetrical as a butterfly should be. This is two (full) day's work. don't let the looks fool you. They are VERY time consuming. They are also VERY delicate. Don't sneeze or hiccup while cutting the wings. There is a little hook made of wire attached to the back of each butterfly so you can hang them. Even though I've been hurting like %$&@ lately, I truly enjoyed these. I made these for my daughter. I actually think they take too much time to make a profit on them. I only messed up on one of them. I had one of the little veins one the wings tear out on me. It was on such a spot though that after a little doctoring, you can't tell it unless you compared it very closely to the pattern. In my gallery, there's five different group photos of the butterflies, then individual pictures of each of the sixteen butterflies.

Well folks, the verdict is in. I got my shipment of Flying Dutchmans in yesterday. The mail ran about eleven. I had ordered one gross of Flying Dutchman #3 reverse tooth spirals. From what info I could find on the net, I thought they would be about the closest to my favorite Olsen #2s. As soon as they arrived, I finished off the olsen that was in the scrollsaw at the time. Then I put away the remainder of that dozen and chucked in my new Flying Dutch. I pushed it hard. I wanted to see if these blades would live up to what I've been told. Here's my decision: I will never, never, NEVER (did I say never?) buy another Olsen blade again. While I may recommend them to people if they just insist on buying a blade from a local supplier, I will be buying Flying Dutchman from now on. I couldn't believe it. Even the best batch of Olsen's have lasted me thirty to forty minutes, tops (on my spirals, of course). The first FD I chucked lasted a little over four (yes, I said four) hours. I didn't know it was possible for a spiral to last that long, even in soft wood. After about the first hour, I was almost holding my breath. I started pushing the wood into it a little faster. How much abuse can this blade take? I'd read somewhere before that you need to change blades when they get dull. I never understood that before now because my blades always broke before they got very dull. That first blades got so dull that by the time it broke, I had to let it cool a little before I could touch it. These FDs are everything you guys said and MORE. I owe every one of you. I have found my blade of choice. Thanks a milion. OH! From eleven yesterday morn till about ten thirty last night. Then from nine this morn till about eight this evening. I'm on my third FD. Unbelieveable!!!!!!

This is my latest work. There are individual pictures of each of the seven in my gallery if you'd like to take a better look. The ones you see in the light wood are cottonwood. The ones with the sort of striped wood grain are pine and the one butterfly one is cottonwood and mahogany. The patterns come from Wildwood Designs and every one of these were cut out of wood out of my scrap bin.

Great work, but can you PLEASE tell me where to get the pattern for the Coka Cola sign? PLEEEEEEASE

Earlier this past week, I done something I dearly love. I went fishing. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong. I don't know if it was my working the trolling motor constantly on choppy water or maybe I stepped off the dock wrong onto the boat. Whatever caused it though, my back has hurt me more for the rest of the week than normal, and it normally hurts pretty bad anyway. For anyone that doesn't know by now, I have major back issues. I broke it on six places back in '99 and haven't been right since. Anyway, back on topic. I normally sit at my scroll saw in a folding chair. I just couldn't do that much this week. When I hurt bad, the only thing that is halfway comfortable is my wheelchair. The problem with that was that I couldn't use my scroll saw from my wheelchair. The width of the chair just made it impossible to get my legs around the weighty box I had it mounted to. So, I enlisted the help of my two teenage sons, Billy and Chad. We (they mostly) built me a new work station for my scroll saw. Now, even when I'm huting bad, I can wheel up under the table and scroll away. It also brought the saw up higher so now I don't have to stoop as bad with my bad eyes. Also, I've always just had my saw just screwed to the table with wood screws (yes, I know that is wrong). We bolted it to this new table. Now, not only is my saw at a better height, but there is virtually no vibration at all. Also, Chad helped me lay a piece of wood across the floor and mount my foot pedal down so it doesn't move on me anymore. I'm in scroll heaven now.

As for the spray glue, I quit bothering trying to find cheaper alternatives. I use nothing but 3M Super 77. Every time I try something cheaper, it turns out to be a waste of dough. I buy mine at Wal-Mart. $9.77 for the large can. You'll pay out the @$$ if you go to the craft department. They only have the small can for like 7 bucks. Go to the paint department. The big cans are usually around the duck tape. I also pick up a couple roll masking tape while I'm there. I have a habit of spraying the glue so heavy that I'd take half the wood away before I got off the glue if I applied directly. $9.77 seems high, but that big can goes a LOOONG way, even if you're a heavy sprayer like me. Congrats though on the new hobby. Just be careful. It can be very addicting. September of last year, I didn't even know what I needed a scroll saw for. Now, it's used so much that most of my other tools get more dusting than they do work. I highly suggest you check out Steve Goode at http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/ . Once you get some experience and confidence, try Wildwood Designs at http://www.wildwooddesigns.com/ . If you get into portraits and want a challenge, go to http://www.advancedscrollsawpatterns.com/ . And for just about anything you ever wanted to know about a scrollsaw, helpful how-to videos, Rick Hutcheson at http://www.scrollsaws.com/ . Even though I have never even talked to the man, I credit Rick with teaching me to scroll. Every time I hit a snag, I'd go watch one of his videos and see where I went wrong. Good luck and happy scrolling.

Ok, even with more blades from the last crap order, you all have me convinced. I just placed my order for a gross of Flying Dutchman spirals. As soon as they come in, I'll put them through their paces and report back.

You must either live where they pipe in sunshine, or in a very good neighborhood. The problem you'd have here is that someone would steal the saw. My shop has to be locked up tight for me to even walk over to the house to use the toilet.

I went and checked out Mike's website. I still have several dozen of the blades I ordered online and several dozen local bought. You can bet the farm though that on my next order, I'm going to give Mike a try. Something's got to give on what I've been going throughb lately.

Do they make spirals? And if they do, do you have any experience with them? I love my spirals. I had the same problems as a lot of people in the beginning, but now I use almost exclusively #2 spirals. The only time I use anything different is just for cutting big parts down to size. I also use pinned blades on my old craftsman for thick wood such as on my motorcycles. For fretwork though, it's spirals all the way. Thanks for the suggestion, but I've already asked every scrollsaw blade supplier in town and the next town over. No luck.

This will be hung in my shop as a showpiece. I intentionally set higher prices on pieces like this (you know why). They are a drawing card. I won't sell things like this so cheap though that I go into full time mode making them. I enjoy them too much to make them become a chore. Of course it'll go to shows with me too. What's next? I haven't decided yet. I still have the Rocking Pig to do. Also, after your planer question, I thought about demonstrating a great need for planing down to 1/8". I have some butterfly patterns that call for eight inch thick wings. I like delicate work. The more delicate, the easier it is to break. The easier it is to break, the bigger the challenge. The bigger the challenge, the more I want to do it.

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems to the one I've been having. I use almost exclusivley Olsen #2 spirals for my fretwork. I bought blades here local for a long time. I was perfectly happy. Then I decided to order by the gross from a reputabe company (I won't mention names here). When I got the blades, they were clearly defective. They snapped before I even turned the saw on. No, they were not over tighened. Even with the tension too loose to ever control the blade, they broke. The few that didn't snap would break as soon as they touched the wood. They broke when the wood touched through all tension settings from tight to way too loose. So, after vowing never to order blades from that company again, I ordered a gross from a different reputable company. All these blades were Olsen, #2, spiral, just like I was buying locally. Anyway, the blades from the 2nd company would cut. However, the local blades average 20-30 minutes of continuous cutting. The blades ordered online average about 5 minutes. I don't understand. Is there a difference in quality? If so, where can I buy grosses of the same blades I buy locally? I don't mind buying local. Actually, I prefer it. I don't even mind the extra cost because it supports local commerce. My problem is getting enough blades locally. It seems they can never keep them in stock. Not many people around here scroll, and they seems to get blade shipments in a lot less frequently than the time it takes me to use them. Oh, and it's not my imagination either, I conducted timed tests using three dozen local bought and three dozen out of the gross from the second company mentioned earlier.

I done a church clock here a while back that had a light in a closed in area. I was worried about heat buildup. I wound up using a battery operated flouresant light I picked up at Wal-Mart.

I have a Ryobi 13" planer. I plane down to 1/4 on a daily basis. There have been times I needed 1/8 for certain clock parts. It'll go to 1/8, but I always start with material bigger than I need because there will be tear out. The thing to watch for on my planer when going to 1/8 is the tore out pieces. By the time you close the planer up that much, the pieces that tear off don't alway have room to get out of the planer bed. So they will fly around under the cutter head until they are small enough to throw back and hit you in the stomach. So if you hear what sounds like chunks getting thrown around, stop the planer, raise it up, and get them chunks out before continueing. I haven't had any accidents yet, but with the sounds it makes, I don't want to take chances either.

I just completed my chandelier I talked about here a while back. There's in progress posts of all seven days in the works in progress section. There are also a lot of pictures in my photo gallery.

I don't like the word elegant and I don't even know what candelbra means. That's what it's called at Wildwood Designs though where I bought the pattern. It's made of mahogany and stands 20" tall without the candles. There's more photos of it in my gallery. I think there's four photos total.

Here's my next to the latest work. What I mean is that I just finished another project last night, but don't have pictures yet. This is called the "Kings's Candlestick" though. The pattern is from Wildwood Designs. It is 1/2" cedar. The candle cups attached on top did come from the craft store. I'm not quite that good at the lathe yet.

I think I've got mine covered. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

I guess if I just HAVE to choose, it would be Dirk Boelman, simply because his name pops up on so many of my patterns. As some know, I do a lot of clocks and such more than portraits. Do enough of that type work, and you'll definately notice his name out there a lot. You'll also see his name along with a lot of other designers. I guess he does some assist work or something. I'm not sure, he just sticks out in my mind from seeing it so much.

I agree the coffee pot. You have to have coffee. Especially for me since my favorite time to work is the middle of the night. If you don't consider that a tool, the answer is my planer. The ability to plane solid wood down moved me away from plywood and took my scrolling to a whole new level. You can do intricate work with solid woods that would just crumble with ply. I know EXACTLY what you mean. And there are times that I'll stop right in the middle of whatever project I'm in the middle of and chuck a piece into the lathe. When you're sitting in your shop and you think the lathe is calling your name, THEN you've really got the lathe bug.

So, I was looking for a Pooh pattern for my wife on Mother's Day to no avail. Then I remembered some patterns I ordered from Wildwood Deisgns a while back and never got to. Here is the Pegasus and Unicorn portraits I cut yesterday. There is also individual pictures of each in my gallery.