JTTHECLOCKMAN

I have a ton of projects started and more in the pipeline. But when getting ready for shows I lay out the work or projects and try to do all the cutting and then do all the sanding and then do all the finishing and then do all the assembling so I like to work in stages. After that it is a crap shoot as to what I work on next. Usually some pen turning and blank making ideas. Try to keep busy. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Absolutely you can cut plastics such as records as someone mentioned. There are those that do a frost look in plastic with the same patterns. just sand the project with sandpaper. Metals also. Non Ferrous metals to be clear. Not stainless or at least I never tried. Here is a cross I have done and all the brass was cut on the scrollsaw and I used Jewelers blades. I actually cut a quarter in half ( heads one side and tails other ) using my scrollsaw and that material is who knows what along with silver.

When you say types of scrolling there in my eye is no such thing. There are different projects that can be made and you named one. But basically the scrollsaw can cut wood metal plastics like other tools such as a tablesaw, jigsaw, bandsaw and so forth. What makes a scrollsaw unique is the way it can do these things and the one thing that jumps out above all is the ability to do fret work where you thread a small thin blade in a hole anywhere on a work piece and continue to cut. It cuts the tighest curves ever. So if the project you are working on require these things then a scrollsaw is the tool or a hand fret saw. So to me the question is what type projects can be made using a scrollsaw.

Any painting I do I use spray can Rustoleum 2X which is primer and top coat in one and they work great. I too only get satin and can either top coat with a satin lacquer or semi-gloss or even gloss. Home Depot$ 3.88 a can. Just bought a bunch more the other day for a couple projects. Actually cheaper in Homer than Amazon.

Some times what I do is make notes on the master copy and make sure to never cut the original. One of these days I am going to get all my patterns organised or at least stacked in one place. Maybe!!

not really some times no rhyme or reason. I was not not pushing hard or stressing the blade at all. It has been a long time between snaps though. I will have to watch this batch of blades. The smaller blades are more suspect and let me tell you Jewelers blades are the worse because they are more brittle and do not flex.

I believe I used a cut down finishing nail of equal size . Those pins once you get them moving come out easily. I used a pair of channel lock pliers and pushed it out easily and used same pliers to put new one back in. Those pliers are adjustable so easy job.

Yea I did not even take the arm off. As I said I used a pair of pliers and basically pushed it out. Glad it worked for you.

Yes I did and in fact bought them but there is no electrician or a few others. So far between a couple I had done here, some of Steve's which I am reworking and some of hers I do have a nice grouping but always open for more interpretations.

There is no reason you could not have added your own details to it such as door edges and tire edges. I do things like that all the time. Take the basic pattern and tweak it a bit. Nice cutting.

Thank you Dick and yes you answered very well. I am thinking I will use maple. There is enough fret work to take any stress or warp out of that thin piece of wood so should be no problem. Not sure what color yet. May make a couple and vary the paint and see which sells better. Thanks again and terrific cutting.

Yes a pin punch is what you need or a steel rod that size. I actually did not hammer the roll pin out but use pliers to push the rod into pin and push the pin out. Did not want to hammering on that arm. Not good. This photo shows the section I replaced because the tension handle would pop open due to wear on the wedge portion. Was easy to do.

I happened to be working in construction on a 4 story building a couple towns over from where I live. It was a Data center that was putting on a huge addition for office space. I was working on some security for the doors so I was basically half in the building and out. There were plumbers and tin knockers on the roof working on the AC units when one of them leaned over the side of the building and yelled down about a plane hitting the Tower and that the building was on fire and being such a clear day we could see the towers in a distance. All radios started interrupting with news. I went to the roof to see and sure enough we could see and after awhile we saw the first tower fall and could not believe our eyes. One minute 2 towers and then next just one. It was surreal. Once things were figured out what was happening they shut the job down and told us all to go home. But as that happened State Troopers swarmed the lot and shut down the Data center. From what we heard the government had many files and info stored in that building . We got clearance to get off the property. But so many people kept thinking of what the next target was such as bridges and the like and were wondering if they would be driving right into something bad. It was a day that will be forever etched in my mind. That beautiful clear blue sky day and to be able to see the towers with the naked eye from the distance we were. When I worked in NY for 6 years back in the 80's I use to walk past those towers every day on the way to the building I was working on. Stayed in the Hotel that came down too. Knew a few electricians that worked in those towers. One actually help many people out when that happened. We have learned much from that day but did we learn enough. The idea of the strike was to topple those towers and knock them over. The terrorists did not expect what happened to happen. Just hope we never see anything like that again.

I understand there can be material failures but I found it so odd. I use to get all blades from Mike and never had a problem and that was thousands of blades over the years. This last batch just does not seem the same. Now I bought a few gross so will see how they all play out but I find myself changing blades way more often and when that one broke I was doing nothing special and that is why it really took me by surprise. I can see if I were stressing it and making super tight turns but no. As I said we all been there and we move on. I know I have been sawing a long time when I went through the many gross of blades I got from Mike finally. Miss that man. He was one of the good guys.

Frank I have wanted this idea for quite some time to become reality. I like desk type clocks and had a few made up from designers here. Simple forms. I have also asked Steve Good a couple times to see if he would do a few and as of yet has not. I would be interested in areas such as the trades because I get requests all the time and have to tell them I have nothing because I am not a designer or pattern maker. Have done some over the years but nothing extrodinary. I would like to see trades such as Electrician, Carpenter, Plumber, Iron worker, Mason, Teacher, Secretary, Lawyer, Landscaper, Barber, Accountant, Auto mechanic, and so forth. Good luck.

It happens to us all. In fact just the other day I had a #5 blade break. Now I have been cutting for a very long time and it has been quite awhile since I had a blade snap that I did not expect. It did make me jump because I forgot what that sounded like. It startles you for sure but we all know just move on. The thing that is a little disturbing is I have been using FD blades for almost my entire scrolling career and always bought them from Mike Moorloch. Being he is no longer with us I bought my recent blades from I believe it was the teddy bear. There seems to be something different even though they claim to be the same blades. They do not stay as sharp as long any more and seem to have a burr on back edge. I will use these and check other packages before I buy again. I maybe changing blades for the first time in a very long time.

I do hope we all take a few minutes and remember 9/11 this Tues. It had an effect on all of us and I am sure it was one of those events we all remember where we were on that crystal clear blue sky day. The aftermath is something we are still paying the price for. Wrote a chapter in the history books that I hope never happens again but it is a reminder of how fragile we all are.

Very nicely done. I am sure she will like that. I just recently went through all of Steve's patterns and pulled out ones that will interest me. That was one of them. Will go with my worker theme. he does nice work. Thanks for showing.

Thanks everyone. I think I will just order some decals and use those.

Tried asking Steve Good this question but he maybe away or just very busy so thought I would throw it out here. I will be doing various military plaques and clocks over time and would like to incorporate the American flag as the backdrop for the backer board. My question I see ones that have a waving flag such as the one in the photo and was wondering if there is anyone who does this and where do you get the photo and how you go about attaching. Are you using a photo from some pinterest site and if so do you have a link?? What type paper are you printing on (photo stock or standard office paper) are you prepping the photo in any way before applying the overlay?? If you have an example would be nice. I am not a painter so painting this is not an option. Thanks in advance.

I keep coming back to this pattern and really love it and I believe it is the chain design helping make it stand out, Your cutting is spot on and use of color works well. Is that maple as the main woods and what thickness did you use for both top and back layer?? Is there a particular reason you went with black as the color back piece?? what size did you make it?? Tough to tell from photo.It does work well. I have to cut this. It is pretty rare these days when I get so inspired to make a cutting. I usually just go about doing some cuttings because I need a particular type for sale but this is so cool. Thanks for posting.

Speaking of fonts, thanks Kevin, is there a program that if you pick a font can you type words in and it automatically prints out in the font you chose???

Use purple or green painters tape. Less tack than blue. Blue--Purple---Green in that order.

Thanks Travis.