britetomro

I've been neglecting it, but I have been wanting to try this. It would greatly improve productivity. Now if I could just figure out a way to cut my frame making time by three. Greasemonkeyredneck, When stack cutting, I always cut 4 to 5 pieces at a time. I find that by doing this, if the project has a high level of detail, then if something happens to either the top or bottom piece, then I will usually have 3 to 4 pieces which have stayed intack. I use 1/8" oak vaneer ply for the majority of my portrait cuttings. The stack prep is very important. I will clamp one edge of the stack together to remove any gaps and use enough tape to securely hold the stack together. I will then move onto the next edge and so on till it is properly secured. Having the drill bit as mentioned perfectly verticle as well is very important. The best part about stack cutting is the results of the duplication. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out. Ron

Thanks Travis for the comments, much appreciated. Yes, I will be on a high for the weekend. Will be working the scroll saw booth at the fair next Friday. A first doing this as well and looking forward to showing others the art of scrolling. Ron

Don't want to brag however I thought it was good to share with all. I entered 3 of my framed pieces into the Orange County, CA Fair this year which started today. I stopped by to find out the results and the Cowboy entry received a 1st Place Award as well as Division Winner. The Eye on the Prey received a 2nd Place Award. Both pieces can be found in the Gallery section. Don't know how to relist them here. This is the first time I have entered any of my work into a competition and I am very happy with the results. Makes you feel good that all of the hard work is recognized. Take care all and have a great weekend. Ron

Mike, A really great cutting. A large number of cuts at 390. I like all of the detail and will have to put this one on my cut list for the not too distant future. I have always used #2 spirals. It looks as if you gave great success with this blade. Any concerns needed in preparation of using these blades. Thanks for the pattern as well. I've taken on some challenging projects before and look forward to getting into this one. Ron

I make frames for all of my work and have found out as well that as much as you try with a table saw, there is almost always a gap somewhere when you go to join the corners. Years ago while watching a New Yankee Workshop episode, Norm was using a device which has a blade that can take a fine edge off your cut either at a 45 or 90 degree angle. This is a manually operated device and it works great to provide a mirror/smooth edge on your cut. I purchased my at a Rockler store and here is the link, http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... er=Framing. I was able to purchase mine on sale at I believe $169.00. I know that it is alot of money but due to the issues of creating the perfect miter joint and that I know with time and the number of frames which I make, it will pay for itself in the long run. Most of my cuttings which require framing are all the same size and I will usually make 10 or more frames at a time which can be very frustrating when it comes to joining the corners. I also join the corners on the backside with "V" shaped metal devices which work great in holding the corners together.

Travis, Followed your lead and downloaded the 8 Gimp videos. All are working great. Thought that I would also download the 3 bonus videos and am getting an error which reads as follows: Error - 37: a bad filename or volume name was encountered Followed the same process as used on the first 8 videos and am not sure what the problem may be. Has anyone else experienced the problem. Will not be able to try again till I get home tonight. Thanks, Ron

Dragon, Was working on this last night with a document and trying to open it in Gimp. Gimp will not recognize a .doc item. Went into google and asked how to save a word document to a pdf. You will find a number of options available. Since I have Word 2007, I was able to download an upgrade which allowed me to save as a pdf file. Check this out and see if you can find an option which works for you. Ron

You are right Sue. Travis, you provided a great deal of insight on a number of additional features which I have not been using. Thanks for the information and I am sure that others will find your notes useful as well.

Thats it guys, a links page. For some reason the simple use of the word had escaped me. I believe this would be a useful service for many vs trying to remember where someone had posted a link on a previous posting. Thanks, Ron

Your cutting looks great and the frames compliment your work. Pricing is a hard one. I do believe however that at $60 your work is under valued. You also should consider what is your time worth per hour and your number equates to $6.00 per hour. You also should recognize the cost of materials and finally the end result of the project. You have alot of details in your cutting. I believe that based on your photos your pricing should be no less than $100 and more likely in the $150 price range. Ron

An example would be different URL's which others have found. I noticed one today relating to resizing of patterns. Another would be the facebook link. Many times when you notice a link you may not have the time to use or apply the information and sometimes it can be difficult to go back and find where the link was posted in a comment. Just thought a single location where these links could be filed would be useful for many. Just a thought.

I have only been a member for about a month. I notice messages from other members identifying various links which they have used to complete certain tasks. Would it be possible to have another field of resources where someone could go to instead of having to find the message posted by another member? Just a thought. Thanks, Ron

A great cutting and a unique approach to intarsia.

In consideration of my entry, I would suggest maybe the image of a scroll saw on the front along with the website and the verbage on the back.

Have some verbiage which can be considered and an image can be added if needed, so here goes. Scroll Saw Village Dedicated to those who know and are willing to share the Art of Scrolling. If it can be scanned, it can be created in wood. Actually have the last sentence on my business cards. Thanks, Ron

Thanks all for the kind comments. Really enjoy this type of cutting. Also found that making my own frames was better than trying to find the right kind in the store which could hold the art work, glass, double mat as well as a foam backer board. I also got tired of going to a frame shop to have mats cut so decided to start doing that as well. If I only knew how to make my own glass I think that I would have everything worked out. Ron

Just finished this up today. Also posted on Bragging Rights. Am happy with this one.

Thought that I would share my latest project with all. Finally got smart and started taking pictures before putting the glass in the frame. Allows the details to be seen without having the glare of the flash on the glass. This project has over 400 cuts which took over 22 hours to complete. Spiral blades are the only way to go with this type of project. Hope that all enjoy.

Finishing up a portrait style project this weekend. Will upload photos by Sunday. Have a great weekend all.

Thanks for the kind words Travis. Just uploaded the Duke to my Gallery and also included a couple of others recently as well. Ron

Your 20" is a bit different than my 26" G4 model Hawk. If I am not mistaken however, both models use two blade holders, one for the bottom and the other for the top. You can load the blade either from the top or from the bottom. You can choose the method which works best for you. I removed the arm which is used to hold down the upper rocker assembly and keep the blade down while inserting from the top, so I have gotten into the habit of inserting from the bottom up. Lining up the blade into the top holder is easier for me. This process in most cases required me to get up and be able to look under the work piece to accomplish this task. In the end, I do not mind this extra step because I can move my body around on a regular basis instead of staying in the same position. I just finished a project which had over 400 cuts and it was not that much trouble overall with this method. Some day maybe I will try the top down method to see how I like it. You can also check to find out if the blade holders have been upgraded to newer/easier to use versions. Mine changed I think 3 - 4 times during the past 3 years and the newer versions have worked better the those in the past. The link below is from someone who has their G4 for sale with photos and their is also a link to a write up from another user. http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/tls/1195231002.html Overall you have a great machine which I believe, once you are able to get a handle on its use, will be a great addition to your shop. Wish I could find a deal like the one you got. Ron

Thought that I would throw in a cutting of a legend

No doubt you have the shop which is the envy of many, myself including. For the most part al of my work like many is done out of a garage and the dust gets all over anything and everything. Maybe someday in the not too distant future a stand alone shop will be in my backyard. Ron

If it is anything like my G-4 26" model, maybe this will help. When you load the blade mine has a lever on the top are just rear of the blade which has to be rotated to the rear. This will provide the set tension to the blade. If the blade is not tensioned enough you can go to the rear of the unit and mine has a blue lever which when in the forward positon applies the tension to the blade. You can pull the lever to the rear and you will find a long treaded bolt which can be turned to adjust the tension. The instructions say that when you move the blue lever up you should start to notice when the tension should start. Depending on the blade, the tension should start at about the 10:00 position. There are different settings for different blades. If your machine is like this, let me know and I can advise on setting levels for other blades as well. Hope this works, Ron

Just wanted to let all know that I put together some information on Stack cutting. Hope that the information will be of assistance to you scrollers out there.