britetomro

If you have even a slight interest in giving the scroll saw shell a try, I recommend that you check out scroll saw shells on facebook. Steve Garrison has an ebook available which provides great insight into the making of the shells. Begin with the simplest version by using a 2x4 and then expand from there. There are also a few videos on youtube showing the details of making these shells as well.

Many thanks for all the great comments. Corian is a great product to work with but it creates some nasty dust. Due to the type of project, a lot of sanding is required to obtain a smooth and bump free surface. Hope to be able to post a video of the finished shell soon and share how this piece of art can be a functional piece of art. Again, thanks for the comments.

Semper Fi DW

Many thanks for the comments. DW, Medium thick CA glue was used for this project. CA is good when you use the accelerator spray but can also be a hazard when a piece moves and locks in at an unwanted position. Just creates more sanding which there is plenty of that with these shells. Thought about looking at the color match stuff but was curious if it would work with the two different colors of corian and also concerned with the setting of the glue. Power and hand sanded dry up to 1500 grit then went to micro mesh sanding pads commonly used in pen turning and went to 12,000 grit. Will also be looking at possibly using a buffing wheel with polish to see if a higher gloss can be obtained.

Black & White Corian Scroll Saw Shell. This is my latest installment in the Scroll Saw Shell arena. Began this project approx 5 weeks ago. Took approximately 55 hour from start to finish. There were 6 wedges used which are reflected in one of the photos. These 6 wedges generated 110 segments. The size of the shell are, 10.5†wide at the mouth, 11†deep and 10†high. The stand is also made from the same material. This project has been entered into our local Orange County Fair which begins in July. This project has been a lot of fun and I am very pleased with the results. Thanks for looking. Ron

Thanks again to all for the great comments. As mentioned in the past, these are a lot of fun to make and the smaller version made from a 2x4 only takes about 6 hours or so to make. The finish is a spray poly sanded between coats. Overall it has about 5 coats. Would still like to make it more gloss like finish. Not an easy task with curved surfaces. Thanks again. Ron

Thanks for the comments. Len, I would encourage you to give it a try. If you begin with the basics of using a 2x4, it would consist of about 32 or more segments and would only take a few hours to complete. Worth the try and the results are very rewarding.

Most recent Ply Scroll Saw Shell. It measures 11.5" across at the mouth and is 9.5" tall. This is my largest Shell to date. I used 6 wedges which were 12" wide and 8" tall. There are 106 segments to this shell and it took approx 40 hours to complete from start to finish. Hope you enjoy. Ron

Many thanks for the great comments. Have not sold any to date. Involved in a show on May 7th and building a number of projects in preparation.

Thanks for the comments. Zen, I use 1/2" Baltic Birch Ply. I glue 3 pieces together to make the stock for the wedges. Obsessed Scroller, Semper Fi to you. Retired Marine, 1995

This is my latest Scroll Saw Shell. It is also make of Baltic Birch Ply like the last one. Wanted to go a bit larger and used 6 wedges which resulted in 72 segments. Stood all of the pieces on edge to see how long the Shell would be if it could be unrolled and it measured over 43". The mouth opening of the Shell is 9.5" wide and it is 8" tall and 9" deep. The finish is about 8 coats of spray poly sanded between coats. These are a lot of fun to make. Thanks for looking.

Many thanks to all for their great comments. This would be 5th Scroll Saw Shell and I am presently cutting another out of Baltic Birch Ply. It may be a bit larger than the last. In answer to Zen, their really is no pattern available for these shells. I will however give credit to a gent by the name of Steve Garrison. I purchased an ebook a few years back which he had available and I read it but never got started with these projects. It was always on the back of my mind though. About Sept. last year I found on Facebook account devoted to these Shells created by Steve. I also found on Youtube a few videos on the making of the Shells. I put 2 and 2 together and began making the Shells. I would encourage all to check these two sites and to also consider the available ebook. The ebook and videos are great tools used in the creation of these different pieces of art. They are a lot of fun and take one heck of a lot of sanding but the results are well worth the prize. I was the guest speaker with our Scroll Saw Association a couple of weeks ago and provided information to our members in creating their own Shells. We created a challenge to our members to see who may step up and bring their examples to our meeting next month. Again thanks for looking and I always enjoy the comments.

This is the latest addition to my Scroll Saw Shell collection. I was curious what would happen when you began with larger pieces for the wedges. This one is made from 1/2" Baltic Birch Ply. I cut the material to 6.5 x 10" pieces. I then stack glued 4 1/2" pieces together to create my board for the wedges. I glued 3 sets of these. I then trimmed the edges square after the glue dried and then cut the wedges. Of the 6 available wedges I used 5 for this shell which produced 61 segments as shown in the photos. Thought I would include various stages of the cut and glue process. I used wedge 6 for the stand which still needs finish applied. I used a gloss Tung Oil finish and presently have 4 coats and will continue for another 2-4 coats. The overall measurement is 9.5" wide by 9.5 tall. Thanks for viewing.

Thanks for all the great comments. Will keep them coming.

DW, the full scale of the blue color was lost in the photos. In response to Rob, it is translucent enough to allow a light to show through. I am presently looking for some type of light which can be placed inside yet no wires connected. If this works the results should turn out to be great. Will update if successful. Thanks for the comments.

This is my 3rd posted Shell. This was a piece of scrap which was obtained from a local corian counter fabricator. Did not know what I would use the piece and due to its color the shell came to mind. It was made from 5 wedges and consists of 45 segments. The finish is just sanded to 400 grit and may go to 800. Wanted this one to have a mat finish vs the gloss finish on the last posting of the white Shell. I am pleased with the results. Thanks for looking.

This Shell was completed last month. It is made out of Corian and the name is White Jasmine. Corian only comes in 1/2" thick pieces so I had to glue three layers together in order to obtain the thickness needed to create the wedges needed to make this shell. Overall it has 63 segments and curls inside 3 times. Corian is somewhat easier to work with on the scroll saw but it makes finer dust when cutting and the sanding needed to obtain the desired finish is truly a big mess. The stand is also made of two layers of black Corian and shaped to create a cup for the Shell to rest in. Thanks for looking.

Many thanks for all the great comments. Will be posting another shell later today.

Thanks for the comments. The shells are really somewhat easy to cut. I purchased an e-Book from a guy named Steve Garrison a few years ago about the Shells. Did not get started for one reason or the other. Found a few months ago that he had created a facebook account dedicated to the Scroll Saw Shells. There are also a few videos he and others have posted on youtube about making the Shells. If interested I would suggest checking these areas out. I took the wooden one to our Scroll Saw meeting in November and was asked to be the guest speaker during our January meeting which is this Thursday. I have cut two other Shells since November and will post photos of one of them probably tomorrow and have not taken photos of the latest one since I have not finished the stand. These are a lot of fun however if you do not like sanding do not go down this path. They do tale quite a bit of sanding but the results are worth the effort.

Congrats on a great job with your first projects. I am sure that many will follow. Thought I would add my thoughts on the sanding. If the project is small I will hand sand the backs to smooth everything out. Depending on how intricate the cutting is I may not sand at all. I will usually use a small propane torch and lightly pass the flame over the back and the flame will singe the fuzzies right off. Of course caution must be exercised at this stage. Hold the flame in one place too long and you will burn the wood. My highest cut project was a 1200 cut Cheetah and there was no way to sand the back of that and many other projects due to how delicate the remaining pieces were. I have been using a propane torch for about 8 years now and it works great. The cost investment is low as well and a propane canister lasts a very long time. Consider giving it a try.

Got started back in November on something a little different. Making Scroll Saw Shells. The one below is my 4th one. The first one was cut and assembled without any sanding or finish. The second one was a Christmas gift and this one sits on my office desk. This shell is made from a simple 2x4 which was about 21" long. This is then cut into 3 7" long pieces. These pieces are then cut at an angle to yield 6 wedges. This shell uses 5 of these wedges. The 5 wedges were then cut with the scroll saw and provided 57 individual segments. The hard part now starts with the assembly, shaping and sanding. The finish is approx 5 coats of hand rubbed Tung oil. The stand is a piece of a Palm tree with dowels to support the Shell. Hope you like the results.

Many thanks to all for your thoughts and sentiments. Many times I let the day to day issues of life and work get in the way of staying in touch with the Village. Thanks again, Ron

Just noticed after posting that I misspelled portrait.

One of my three younger brothers passed away in March. I reached out to the pattern designers and received three examples to work from. DonR came the closest to a perfect match of the photo. I stacked 5 pieces of 1/8" oak veneer ply, one for myself and the others for family in Florida. I also make my own frames and even got into doing my own matting in order to keep my costs down. My nephew sent me a photo of my Mom looking at one of the portraits which was sitting on the couch and no words can express more than what that photo revealed. Thought I would share for others to see. Many thanks for this site. Ron

I noticed on Steve Goode's site at http://www.scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com plans which can be downloaded for a home built scrollsaw stand. The stand looks good and sturdy and should be simple to make.