JTTHECLOCKMAN

Bad back here as well 43 years in construction. Wear a back brace and when back goes out I am usually out of the shop 2 to 3 weeks at a time. That is one reason I would never get into a program where I have to scroll to make quota or dead lines. The heck with that. Life is way too short.

Just a point about using waxed shellac under poly and the test that guy did. It is not the lifting that becomes a problem it is the cracking that can happen on certain woods. I highly suggest to use Zinzzer dewax shellac if using shellac under poly or any finish.

I have 5 of the Makitas that use the 9volt batteries. Find them at times at yard sales. $5 good to go. Love those drills. No hard fast rule for charging. I try to keep at least one battery charged and if doing a project I will 5 or 6 batteries on charge. I have the line of makita tools that take that battery. Has never let me down.

There you go you answered your own question about staining. As I mentioned I like to glue before staining but your way will work also. Good luck and love the work. Thanks for showing.

There are no rules that govern what we must do. Everyone is different and every project is different. Mixing up the look is a good thing. I have painted backers, used felt, used different colored woods such as walnut and red oak for contrast. I do not do portraits so no framing. But there are those that do and use glass in the frame and some who do not. So you see the sky and your imagination are the only limits as to what you can do. Good luck.

Sam there is a person who does scroll work that goes to one of my craft shows and all he uses is Baltic Birch. He does not stain his work and just coats with a satin poly. What that does is seals the wood but also prevents smudging from fingerprints. I like the look because his work is one color and he makes lots of different projects from puzzles to crosses, to nativity sets and things like you show. He does well selling so there is a market for BB projects. The question is the staining. Have you stained BB projects before and if so how well did they come out?? There was another topic here recently talking about staining plywoods. May want to read that. Some people use BB and paint the project so there are options. What I would do is take some scrap pieces and stain them and see if you like the look before you commit. I too have a shop full of tools and can work woods to any dimensions and yes it takes $$$ to acquire these tools and also room to store them is always a problem. But there are options to use hardwoods also. Many different vendors out there that sell thinner woods in all sizes and many different varieties. If there is a hardwood lumber dealer near you they maybe able to dimension the wood for you. Will caution you though when using solid woods such as hardwoods they will have a tendency to warp. BB is far more stable in that area but if worked well hardwoods can be used just as easily. Most times the pieces are small so warping does not come into play. Good luck. Play around some and experiment. Learn from your process. That is how we all do it. After working in my shop for well over 40 years I am still learning things every day.

Dipping is very easy to do. I do it all the time and I make 6 foot shelves and mirrors that are 36" in diameter. Just need a good size container and you do not have to submerge the entire piece. Use a throw away brush to flood the piece as you keep it in the container. I buy those 50 cent brushes from Home Depot and when done throw them away. I use many size containers. I like the storage containers that many stores offer such as wallyworld and Home Depot and Lowes. Your problem is if using a quart container of stain. i use gallons of Danish oil and when done just pour it back in the cans using a funnel. Have been doing this for over 35 years and works well. Danish oil has some Polyurethane in it so it also seals the wood and leaves a nice finish. I sand all my projects to 220 grit to me is the perfect grit for finishing. I wipe the container out with acetone and are ready for next project. Not telling you what to do or how to do things, just it is what I do and if something in there helps good luck. I do not agree with glue sticking as well when stained as opposed to unstained. Glue locks in the grain of the wood to make stronger. If you stain you seal the grain and now you rely on the glue sticking to a flat surface. Again just my opinion. One thing once again safety is key as with anything in a shop. When using oil based stains do not leave rags in a pile they can combust. Air dry and then throw away.

Whenever a project is basic wood I would always glue and then dip in Watco Danish oil. Color of choice. No blotching. Use only as much glue as needed and if need be mask off areas you do not want glue to go. If those are thru tenons make sure you do not get glue on the tails as you push into slots because the glue will be absorbed in the open grain and you will never recover from it. Tough to see how that piece all goes together but suggest you layout a strategy before gluing. If you are dipping make sure glue is dried and cured which could be 24 hours at least. Wood to wood nothing better than carpenters glue. I like TitebondII

Tom that was my post back then. I did wind up buying a HP all in one 6978. I can tell you some of my findings being I just went through this. I always want the ability to scan and copy and print. This unit came with a fax and I have not used it much in the past I can say I have used it. (both receiving and sending) I did not look into laser printers so can not speak to them except the fact they are not good for picture quality and in my case Decal work. I make alot of decals so I need good print quality. I also wanted a inkjet that had individual color cartridges because if one color is used more often you need to buy an entire cartridge with all colors if you get the combined unit. More expensive that way. The units that are more geared toward photos have 4 to 5 cartridges as opposed to 3 color and one black. Those units have an extra deep black and and extra deep blue. I did not need to get that involved so skipped that. I found that most units today are wifi capable or wireless as they call it. I have read many many reviews and this feature gets bad reviews in that it is hit or miss alot of the time. I was not interested in that because I hard wire to computer and it sits on a table next to computer as always. Also found out that you need to pay attention to your operating system that it is being used on. I use WindowsXP64 and none of the units today are compatible with the windows. On the box they say XP but that is 32 bit system. When I got mine the tech who I had to call took over my machine and installed older printer drivers so that it tricks the computer in order for it to work. What this did was eliminate much of the software programs that come with each printer. I did not care again because it is used for specific purposes and the way it is programed now works for me. I looked at the Cannons but felt they were the cheapest made as far a quality goes. The front door on one did not stay up and found it to be a bad review. Brother was too big for my likings. I bought the extended repair package and as the clerk said when 2 years comes up break it and you will get reimbursed or a new one. Not sure if he was suppose to tell me that but that is what I will do. As far as simple, they all are simple but there are options to expand their use too so you never know what the future holds. They are not at all expensive. I bought mine in Best Buys on sale. Be careful when buying in Costco and walmarts, many times those units are made specific for those companies and are not a worldwide unit. Not much more I can add but if you have a specific question I will try to answer but I am sure there are many here that can help too. Happy shopping.

It looks brand new. Great find. What did you say was wrong with it???

good buy for sure. That is what I am talking about when people are looking for good saws. Look around they are out there. Stay away from those cheap $200 saws. Mine has never been covered. used all the time. Good luck and happy scrolling.

I bet that is not going to last. I do not believe I see any more scrollsaws in Home Depot. Maybe an on line item. Boy next time I am in Homer I have to take a gander at what they sell. $900 saw in HD. odd.

Well Ray many times a good finish on a piece can make or break it for appearances. I see many pen turners turning out hundreds of pens and selling for peanuts but the fit and finish is not up to par and some people just do not know what quality is unless it was side by side. So that is why alot of times I look at etsy and ebay and people selling their products, it is hard to tell how well the finished product looks. Been doing this for some time so my tastes and perceptions are sometimes jaded. Good luck to you.

Ray, sanding sealer is basically used on porous woods. Woods that would take many extra coats of finish to achieve a nice finish. This blocks up those pores and you can lay your finish on in less coats which could mean less money and time. But there are warnings that go with this too. Not good to flood the woods with many coats of sanding sealer thinking you now need less finish coats. If you use a hard finish such as lacquers or waterbased poly then a problem could occur underneath creating cracks. I alway like to use Zinnser Bulleye seal coat that is the dewaxed sealer. This allows the use of any finish material to be used. When using products it is not a good idea to mix oils with water products. Stay in the field you start with and less problems. The dewax allows crossovers. Wood that is going to be painted does not need sanding sealer because the pigments and solids in the paint will block the pores. May take an extra coat to get a nice finish but again no mixing products. Have to state this is my opinion. May have to start using this disclaimer more often.

So as a newbie you took my post as a poke at you. I asked you a serious question why would you subject your saw to such abuse it will take cutting rocks and bricks?? I have no idea who you are how much time you have behind a saw or what saw you have. Can it be done sure anything can be done. Why don't you try it and give us some feedback and educate us all. Again not knowing your status I mention health risks. Not sure if you are aware of these. I gave you a link to the type of blade in MY opinion will get you where you want to go and that is coming from someone with over 35 years of experience at many aspects of the woodworking trade. I work in the construction field and have seen first hand what simple sheetrock dust can do. I have witnessed mason cutting stone with no water and have seen lung cancer patients from this. When cutting bone you have no idea where that came from and what condition that animal was in. Bone marrow can carry disease. I read this alot on turning forums because antler is used alot for pen blanks. But do not take anything I said serious and do what you feel is the best for you. But I did take the time to answer you. Your welcome.

Ryobi is pinless. My chiropractor has one and he asked me to show him a few things with it and I got to use it and play with it for awhile and did a decent job. Not sure what the model number was if they make more than one model. I know we were using pinless blades because I gave him a few of my Flying Dutchman blades. Other than any of the other under $200 saws goes, for me not worth the money. Tight underneath them to get blades in. Some saws require tools for blade changinging and that is a huge turn-off for me. You read it here many times people picking up very good condition top line saws from people for various reasons. That is the way I would go and then if you do not like the hobby it is easier for you to sell a better quality saw. I just noticed in Home Depot they sell a Ryobi scrollsaw and it was not the one my chiropractor had. His was red and I believe larger. Just wanted to clarify something. As I said I do not know what the model number was.

Yes that 77 spray is high tack stuff and is great for things like putting felt on projects.

Oh here is that pain in the neck guy again. ( you noticed I went a little higher on the anatomy) prestain wood conditioner. Now depending how high grit you sand will also effect staining. The more you close the pores of the grain will allow less stain to be absorbed. Also gel stains are more controllable than oil or alcohol stains. http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/preparation/minwax-prestain-wood-conditioner Are you looking to see wood grain or a solid background?? The reason I ask is why not just paint the background.

I like this project alot and so much so I think it hits my to do list. Nice cutting and thanks for sharing.

The saws below $200 are not going to be much. Take a look at the Ryobi. I suggest you look on craigs list or for yard sales and things of this nature. You can score a decent saw for $200 easily.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Coated-Blades-Lapidary-Cutting/dp/B000OVNRP0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1516685167&sr=8-2&keywords=diamond+scroll+saw+blade Why wood you want to abuse your tools scrolling hard material such as that. If doing stone than diamond stone blades are the only blade to cut it and they would best be served used water cooled. The dust from those material needs serious vac and not left on the floor where it is kicked back into the air. Antler is used alot in pen turning and is nasty stuff and again serious health problems from the dust. Same with any bone material. Seriously folks you need to study the material you are working with as well as finishing products. Health issues are nothing to take lightly.

Practice will cure your cutting problems. Sand the back with some 220 grit sandpaper after cutting or try using reverse tooth blades. These blades have a small amount of teeth that face upward and cut the backside as you cut. I use them all the time. Does not elliminate all fuzzies but many of it. Use better blades. Flying Dutchman and Pegasus blades best on the market. That wood looks too delicate for puzzle work and that pattern looks too delicate for a puzzle Should never ever ever ever be a need to sand in any fret work holes after it is cut. If you go off line when cutting do a gradual steer back on line and leave it be. Once you take the pattern off the wood no one will ever know you went off line. Do not be so hard on yourself and enjoy the hobby. I always sand both front and back with 220 grit paper before I cut. I use blue or purple painters tape under the pattern. Always easier to take off than trying to sand glue residue off. Purple is a lighter tack and used for more delicate work. The key when using painters tape is not to let the project sit too long. the longer the tape stays on the harder it gets to take off. Good luck and have fun.

I always ran mine at just abit above half speed. Full speed was not needed for me. Cherry is some tough wood to cut without burning too so I would think you need to slow it down.

The new ones have a plastic lens cover that covers the bulb. Not sure what they will be at the show. I am sure there will be a few vendors that have them as usual.

Something on the lines of what Les brought up As I said I have something like this and it works for working on watches and small detail stuff but to use it for scrolling it would want to make me bend over more and get hunched because they are not powerful enough to be too far away from your work. When you scroll you want to sit straight and be relaxed or at least I do. Using a magnifier lamp works for me because you set it and forget it. Even if you move your head. Some people use them in jewelry making and even pen making if they are tweaking a fountain pen. It may work for you. never know.