Barry5180

Hi Sue, Glad to have ya with us Barry

Thanks for the information. I haven't started making frames yet. I just can't seem to get the angle exactly right no matter how much setup I did to my saws. I had to move into a small apartment and had to sell off everything but my midi lathe and my scrollsaw. I've now moved in with my new girlfriend and have a room big enough to start buying tools again. I'm thinking that instead of a miter saw, just getting a table saw first, since that would give me the most utility. Saw a nice JET the other day I'm thinking about. Barry

Marg, your address was off just slightly. This is the correct address http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/ Steve has some really nice stuff online, and the best part is that it's mostly free. Keith, many regular fonts are suitable for use as scrolling with only minimal modification. Usually the only thing needed is to open up the closed letters for use. Barry

Isn't it amazing what us scrollers come up with when we need to. Barry

Enjoyed looking at your work Kevin. Your website design is very nice as well. I have seen the photo sculptures before, but never really gave any thought to the pop-up type. Thanks for showing me something new. I will have to try something like this in the near future. Barry

Wonderful work on that. Absolutely beautiful. Barry

Great job on that pattern and cutting. I'm sure he will love it if you actually give it to him. Although, you can always cut another one for him. Barry

Outstanding cutting JP. It's a shame to have lost him at such a young age. He will be a very popular subject for a while to come. Barry

Really nice job on those Michael. I think the kids will find them very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your work with us. Barry

That rocker is terrific. You really do some great work. Thanks for the pics Barry

Travis, Blame may crack you up but I thought the same thing as soon as I saw that picture. I'm sorry to say I actually noticed the wood pile before the chair. Nice job on getting those repairs done. I'm frequently getting requests from people that all start off the same way. "I was thinking, do you think you could make something like this...." I just wish I had the free time to do something with all of them. I usually can only do a couple of them a month. Barry

Hi Rich, Glad to hear you're ready to try cutting. With most blades, and especially with Mike's blades, the thinner the wood you are cutting, the more aggressively the blade cuts. If your blade is cutting very aggressively you will find it somewhat difficult to control. I typically cut with 1/8" BB Ply for my portraits. I find it allows me to use most store bought frames with no trouble. 1/4" can sometimes be a little thick and I will need to make a custom frame. When cutting 1/8" material, you will soon realize that your blades move through it like a knife through butter. I usually turn my saw speed way down if I'm cutting a single piece. Normally I stack cut 4 to 6 pieces giving me a 1/2" to 3/4" piece of wood to cut through. This allows me to maintain very fine control on the straight blades. With spiral blades I do not have this problem. As for the background showing through, as a general rule it is easier to see if it is closer to the surface of the cutting, so on 1/8" material it will be very easy to see. You will need to determine just how three dimensional you want the piece to appear. If I'm framing a piece I go with 1/8". If it's a wall hanging I will use up to 3/4" material to give it a little more dimension. Hope this helps. Barry

I haven't tried the new spirals, but I love the regular spirals that Mike sells. I use mostly the 2/0 for everything. Only time I ever use a straight blade anymore is for things like ornaments which require very sharp corners. I haven't tried the larger spirals yet but don't get all that much fuzz with the 2/0. What I did start doing was to use a piece of heavy gauge card stock on the bottom of my stack. It reduces blade life slightly, but I get much less fuzz since my wood is not the bottom layer. Barry

Well come on out Christina, we would love to have you. It's only 1225 miles and 19 1/4 hours or so to get here. Cemeteries are great places. Just keep in mind that most close by sundown or earlier. You can definately get good shots in the daytime as well, but dusk or later seems to be more productive. I have my theory but won't go into it in this thread. I know, your husband is the "show me" type. I was the same way until I went out and we got those first two photos you see in the album. After that, I was convinced there is something "beyond". Barry

Really beautiful job on that Clayton. Love the colors of the wood you used. Thanks for sharing it. Barry

Welcome John, glad you found us. Christina is right, there are a ton of friendly, talented people on this site. Based on your intro, I would say you will be a great asset to the site. It sure is great to know ya. Barry

Thanks dale. I'm new to the facebook thing and I've got enough trouble keeping my own page straight. I'm sure this will be a much bigger undertaking and I'm sure you will do a great job. Barry

Yes, thank you staff members. I know the hard work involved with keeping something like this operating smoothly and appreciate all that you do. Barry

I would love to find a scrolling group close to me as well. Unfortunately there are no groups all that close. Hopefully I'll find one near Gettysburg. Barry

Not sure why this would be offensive. To me it speaks to a friendship between to great nations. Barry

That's what I call one heck of a list. I'll just work on the premise that if I think it looks pretty, I'll use it. Barry

Terrific job on that. I love cutting patterns like that. Nothing like pushing your limits just to see what you can do. The frame and matte really complete the whole thing. Looks great. Barry

As promised, here is the link to my Webshots Paranormal album: Show these images to your husband Christina. He may not think you are so nuts. None of what you see in the pictures was visible to any of us at the time the images were taken. The investigators on the TV shows are legit, but remember, the network only makes money if people watch, and people only watch if cool stuff happens. Those shows are the professional wrestling of ghost hunting. They are real investigations, but much of what is seen is fabricated for the audience. If you have a Digital Voice Recorder and a digital camera, you have the basics to explore the paranormal. Enjoy barry

Actually Travis, what I do for a living has nothing to do with the paranormal. I'm a store manager for a Lenscrafters as well as a certified optician. Been with the company for 23 years, and will hopefully retire from there. The paranormal thing is turning out to be quite interesting. I always wanted to believe in ghosts and such and have recently had the opportunity (now that I'm with Donna) to spend a great deal of time in and around Gettysburg. I've got some great pics that I'll have to upload to my webshots account and post a link for everyone to check it out. We've hooked up recently with a couple of paranormal investigation teams and hopefully will be going on an actual investigation with them to a private residence very soon. That's the way it usually works Christina. Unfortunately it's difficult to get a real clear recording that can be identified perfectly. Most of them after careful analysis turn out to be random background noise. Thanks for the link Vector, gonna have to check that out. Barry

Very cool Vector. Do you have a link to the program's website. Would love to check that out. Sounds alot like what I'm doing today Christina. Lately been busy with work and we have just recently begun doing paranormal investigations. Been out in Gettysburg frequently and then home to analyze the photographs. It's been quite the adventure. I've also been working on some patterns of family members and attending quite a few parties recently. Today is the quiet day. Donna is working on her tan up on the hill since we finally have a beautiful sunny day. Barry