JTTHECLOCKMAN

This is a very true statement. You can get away with the overuse of a blade in most projects but puzzles the cuts need to be true.

This is what I do and hang from a makeshift line in basement. I do this alot with things like wall plaques and wall clocks too. Nice group and good head start for the season. Never too early.

I do not do puzzles but my suggestion would be to stand the pieces on edge after wiped down. No flipping needed and take up less room and can stand on some scrap plywood designed for this. Just keep puzzle grouped together.

See other discussion about mdf here. Not a good choice for scrolling material. Solid woods is a better choice and poplar is a fine choice. learn as you go.

All wood products are health hazards so take nothing for granted. Solid woods can cause skin rashes if allergic as well as dust problems. MDF and particle boards are more highly dangerous because of the content of finely ground dust mixed with lots of glue that contains formaldehyde. Pressure treated lumber is even worse because of the toxins added to prevent rot. You have a new player that is used in homes today that is just as bad and that is lvl lumber and people use that to scroll also and is bad for you. Yes hardwood plywoods as well as Baltic Birch plywood is a hazard because of the glues used along with wood dust. Why MDF gets all the press is because of all things I mentioned that product produces the finest health hazardous dust and being so fine it stays in the air the longest, gets onto everything when working in a closed shop and hard to control even with the best dust collecting systems. It is used in the sign industry because of being stable and flat but great care is taken when used in shops. I personally would never use it to scroll with. I have used it to make sleds for my tablesaw as jigs because of flatness but take great care with dust control and try to cut outdoors. I do use BB and other hardwood plywoods but the dust is more manageable. The moral of this is always work safe and use dust collection at the source and if most of all a dust mask rated for the materials you are working with. Many other materials such as natural hardwoods to work with safer. my opinion.

Lots of cuts in that one for sure. Looks fantastic. You are right about challenging yourself and that is how we learn. Nice work and thanks for showing.

That did come out well. Nice combination of woods. natural colors is always good to see. Thanks for showing.

Brad once again this is what happens things get read and interpreted in each person's mind. I was making comment to a few posts ago and that is why i am tooting my own horn. My point was there are no experts here but very good scrollers and I happen to be one too. If you do not want to read my posts then don't what do I care. I think everyone here tries to help each other. This thread started out asking about the catagories written under the sign-on names and has evolved into what an expert is. That is all this topic was about.

I have done that one also. Used various woods. Many types of baskets weather scrolled or not.

There is nothing wrong in saying and accepting accolades for being good at something. Celebrate it and make it part of your business line. I will not back off my account of being good because I paid my dues and it took me some time to get good. I have not seen anyone call themselves an expert here. I do believe this thread has gone the way of a different direction than what was intended. There is in my eyes only one expert and that is The Good Lord Almighty.

Can you be more specific on what type of basket?? Open cell basket, closed cell basket, folding basket, solid basket???

I will toot my own horn and say I am very good. The only part of scrolling I have not done is Intarsia work. I could probably easily pick it up but just too many other things going on. I feel once you learn to do fret work there is nothing you can not do. puzzles, portraits 3D cutting are all based on fret work scrolling. Learning to cut circles and curves without humps and to cut straight lines without straying makes for an excellent scroller. That is how I judge ones talent. Crisp inside corners as well as crisp outside points or turns count too. Intarsia work deals with having a good eye for both color grain direction and depth of field so I believe this part of the scrolling is the most challenging. You also use more tools other than a scrollsaw to do that kind of work and to me is more artistry related. I have done marquetry too and this can be challenging but again is basic scrolling. So call it what you want expert, master, or just very good, all comes down to learning to do fret work well. My opinion.

Yes that is where I would drill and use screws. Not sure how thick the bike is but that will determine size of screws. I make my clocks around 1/2" to 5/8" thick so I use either a #6 or #8 depending what I have at the time. If it is 3/8" thick you may want to drop to a #4 screw. One other trick after I drill holes and go to screw the screw in I always brush the screw on a bar of soap. It will lubricate the threads and make easier to screw in. I keep a bar of soap in shop always for this purpose. learned that one from my Dad. By the way nice cutting. Should look good when done.

Yes Jim. There is usually always a thick part of a pattern where you can do this. I have done this with all my clocks and never had one break except when dropped and then as I said easier fix. I use countersink drills for the size screws I use. I mainly use wood screws--#6 or #8 --3/4" to 1" long have worked well. When I make napkin holders I use dry wall screws. https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwM1gxMDAz/z/OiIAAOSwav5ashA0/$_35.JPG?set_id=880000500F I drill the base using those bits and then use a smaller machine bit to drill the clock portion so that when screwing the screws in it does not crack the wood and is easier to screw in. Have to make sure you do not drill too deep so the bits pokes out. I center the top portion on the base and where the holes are in the base I make a witness mark on the clock. I make a center mark and drill one hole. I then place clock on base and screw it down. I center the clock on the base and then and only then drill the second hole. This ensures that the holes match up. Have no idea what Kevin is talking about weakening the clock. I have done this for many years and has worked well and have made a ton of clocks. I make clocks that may also have felt on the base so gluing the clock to the felt is a no go such as the gamblers clock I show here. The only clocks I could not screw down was the Queen Ann clocks(last photo). There I used dowels in the corners because I did not trust just glue to hold. The pieces were too thin and the grain was too many different directions.

The OP is not talking about gluing a backer on. He is talking about gluing the piece to a base for it to be able to stand up. If you are finishing with clear than glue before you finish. If you are staining the bike and clear the base then mask the bottom from stain and glue wood to wood. But again my choice is screws.

As mentioned wood to wood works best when it is bare wood. But with that said. I never glue my bases on when I build clocks. I always screw them on and I do this because I have now have the ability to change the clock and save the base in case of breakage. More likely to break the fret work than the base but either can be redone and replaced easily. Been doing this for many years and had to replace a couple over that time. Never did like edge grain to flat grain for strength no matter what glue uded. Like a mechanical fastner.

I happened to look at an older Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine 2004 just yesterday, and was looking through it and noticed so many of the long time pattern makers and saw Harveys name with many of his puzzle packages listed for sale. Saw names like Jacob and Wayne Fowler, Phiip Wilson, Vernon Brown, Shelli and Kerri Robinson, Sheila Bergner, Marilyn Carmin, Robert Hiavacek SR., Wes Demerest articles, John Nelson, John Polhemus (the white Buffalo) Dianna Thompson, Dirk and Karen Boelman, articles written by Scott Kochendorfer, Nancy Jones, ever popular carvers Ivan Whillock, pen related articles from Joe Herrmann and all put together by a friend of mine and editor at that time Robert Becker and also one of the big sponsors Steebar who I did alot of work for back in the day. Many other noted pattern makers graced those magazines as well. I know I am leaving out quite a few. Also listed were the many scrollsawing events and back then they called them picnics around the country. I attended a few back then and had a great time. I am sure some of the older scrollers here know what I am talking about and probably remember many of the designers that worked for those magazines back then. Probably a few of these people are not with us any more but their names will live on and their work will be out there. Those magazines did alot to promote the scrolling industry and many projects were born from them as well as many articles written about this field. I have many of these magazines that go back to when they first started and no I do not get any magazines any more but it is always fun to see and look through some of these. Many of the projects are as relevant today as they were back then. Trip down memory lane.

Kevin this is true but to me those are specialty blades. I cut metals with jewelers blades and fine detail work in thin materials with a smaller blade as well I am sure others do. But we all and including you do a majority of your work in a certain medium weather it is 1/2" or 3/4" wood and weather it is cherry, oak, BB plywood or whatever we use a blade everyday of the week. I believe that is what is asked when it comes to favorite blade. Because it is used more than any other blade in your arsenal. And when asked most people reference to what they cut most when they answer about their favorite blade as I know I did. I have a drawer full of blade sizes and teeth configuation that I probably will never use but being I have been doing this for so long I have the knowledge what to look for when selecting a blade and enough experience to draw on to make an educated choice if I need to adjust my blade choice. I hope the people that ask these questions note what the OP is cutting when they ask and are answered. They then too can become educated as we all have over time. Trying different blades can get costly but also can be very helpful because we all cut differently and we all use different saws and techniques. But with the questions it is a starting point. Happy scrolling.

Les, glad to hear you are liking those blades. As said by others trying different blades and finding your go to blade is always a good thing. I mentioned those blades because I found my go to blade and those are it. Yes they are both a skip tooth (in fact a double skip tooth) blade with a short reverse teeth on the bottom. Just enough to knock off the fuzzies on the bottom and not enough to cause wood jumping. I use specialty blades when needed but 85% of the time is those blades. Doing alot of cutting right now with those and having fun.

Very nice work all aspects of it. I am not a stick people fan but steve does a great job with his patterns. I saw on Facebook the other day someone did a cool thing with the stickmen projects and that was made them big enough to accept a small picture frame and used his friends and family in the frames. Makes some meaning with the stickmen.

I would never do this. Spend too much time cutting a piece and having glued sprayed into frets and edges. Many different ways to do this but that is not mine good luck with your method and hope it works well for you. I have posted mine many times here. Love my sponge method.

Delta is alot newer than Dewalt is why the value is a thing.

Rocky I do not see a thumbnail feature here. If the photo is kept to around that size there should be no problem.

Ray try these http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/28442-which-palm-sander/ http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/28272-sanding-before-after-or-both/

If you are going to get into things like that then just 45 the corners as another idea. A circle jig has to be one of the easiest jigs to make for a bandsaw. You can cut circles on a tablesaw also. basically the same principle. You can also make a template and use a template cutting router bit. Once set up any of those methods would be faster than cutting on a scrollsaw.