ThCubed

Here is my first attempt at lamps I made for our bedroom night stands. I didn't have a pattern, I just knew what I wanted them to look like.

I've been gone for awhile, but I'm getting back into the shop. I sure have missed it!! Here are a few of my latest projects. They are gift card boxes I made for my mother-in-law to hand out as gifts. There were 10, bu these are just a few of my favorites! And before anyone asks, NO I did not paint them. They are stickers I picked up at Hobby Lobby!!

Thank you Kevin, that is so sweet of you!! I worked extra hard on the joints to make them look like one piece. I didn't think anyone would notice though!! lol

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped me out. I was finally able to finish the windmill (after having to wait for my two broken thumbs to heal enough that I could use them again -- the planer hit a knot and threw the wood back at me snapping both my thumbs like twigs!! OUCH ) It is made out of cedar and walnut and the blades are made out of plywood. I only painted the blades and put a few drops of paint on the walnut face for design. It isn't perfect, but for my first windmill I think it turned out pretty good. And my neighbor loved it!! Here is a picture of it finished...

Thank you to everyone for your advice!! I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use cedar for the supports and walunt for the top? I have a lot of extra walnut, but I'm not sure if it would hold up to the elements that well. I just received my pattern today and I'm getting ready to go pick up the lumber. The top is going to be painted, with a finish on it to protect the paint. The cedar isn't going to be painted, but it will have a finish on it to protect the wood. If walnut is not a good idea, since it's going to be painted, would plywood be a better choice or should I do all of it in cedar?

I am going to make a windmill for my neighbor. This will be my first one. But I don't know what kind of wood to use, since it will be outside in the direct sun almost all the time. Also I don't know what type of finish to put on it. I have never made outdoor items before. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you, Terry

I have seen the quick set blade chucks for this model as well. When you put this on, do you remove everything off the upper arm (remove the allen screws on top and take everything off)? If you do, when you look at the upper arm, does it tilt slightly to the right? Since we noticed that mine does, we are wondering if the arm is defective. If it is suppose to look like that, then I will definately get the quick set blade chuck for this saw too. Thank you everyone so much for all your wonderful help!!

Thank you so much Travis!! You have been EXTREMELY helpful in all this frustration!!! I ordered a few replacement parts for the Delta and we will see if that will fix things. However, I also called Grizzley to see if they have the Dewalt in stock and it is on backorder. I did place an order for it and they will call me when it comes in and I'm more then willing to drive the 2.5 hours each way to go get it!!!!!! It kills me to be without my saw!! There is one other thing, if you all don't mind. Travis sent me a diagram of the Delta and that helped us in being able to take the blade mech. off the upper arm. However when we did we noticed the top of the upper arm, where the blade mech sits, leans toward the right. Is this the way it is suppose to be, or is there a defect in the upper arm? If anyone has taken off the blade mech, did you notice this on your saw? You can't tell from the diagram if it is suppose to be like that or not. Again, thanks to everyone for your help. Travis you have been a true jewel!!!

I have a Delta ss350. The screw that holds the blade in place became stripped and bent. My husband took the entire blade holder off to try to fix it. He was able to find another screw like it. But when he put it all back together it won't cut a straight line at all. He doesn't know a lot about scroll saws (I had to tell him how the pieces looked before he took it apart). We don't know what to do to fix it. He told me I could buy a Dewalt, but I think a repair might be less expensive . But maybe I should take him up on the offer!! Are the Dewalts a lot better then the Deltas? I don't know much about any saw other then the Delta. I've been quite happy with it up till now! Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated!!

Ervin, Thanks for the information. I took the saw apart tonight and I can't find the blower. I'm not real knowledgable on scrollsaws, so I'm not sure how to locate it or fix it. I'll keep trying after Terry recovers from her surgery and gets back in the shop. Everyone has been very helpful on this site. Thank you all for your information!! Steve

that is just too cute. since you made the pattern yourself are you willing to share the pattern? steve I'd be happy to share it Steve, thanks for asking! I posted it in the new patterns folder. Send me a picture of yours if you make it! Terry

John, I like the aquarium pump idea. I even have a couple laying around here somewhere. But not sure how to put it on the saw. Could you give me an idea how to set it up? Thanks for your help!! Steve and Terry Steve way back when I first started scrolling aover 25 years ago, I had a Dremel 2 speed scrollsaw. They were all the rage because all these big companies were not around yet and these things everyone who scrolled owned one. But the blower was not good with it so I used an aquariam pump. All I did was place the pump off to the side. I eventuall made a little shelf for it and attached the shelf to the dremel stand it came with. I then took the clear flexible tubing which you can buy in home centers today and at that time got mine in the fish store. Attached it to the arm of the saw using tie wraps which again you can get at home centers. Cut the end on an angle and put a loop it in so that the dust would blow away from me and not torward me as most saws have. I used a two way adapter on my chord and turned it on. It stayed on till I was done. I have one of those power strips where all my scrollsaws are plugged into and at night all I do is turn the power strip off and shuts down everything that is plugged into it. Worked great and was quiet. They are cheap and you can probably find them in yard sales or even ebay. John, Thanks for your help! I'm definately going to give this a try! Steve

John, I like the aquarium pump idea. I even have a couple laying around here somewhere. But not sure how to put it on the saw. Could you give me an idea how to set it up? Thanks for your help!! Steve and Terry

Here is a clock I made for my husband's cousin. She collects frogs and asked me to make her a frog clock. I tried to find a pattern, but couldn't so I made my own. This is my first homemade pattern. I made it out of Birds Eye Maple because I thought the grain looked like little warts on the frog.

Just a note when people talk forstner bits, alot of times they are referring to a sawtooth bit. A true forstner bits does not have jagged teeth going around the outside edge. These are sharpened differently than a sawtoothed bit. But here is a chart that shows bit speed and also a couple photos of sharpening. The one key thing is to never touch the outside of the bit with a grinding wheel or file. This will change the dimentions on the hole it cuts. Always sharpen from inside out. A small diamond file are very handy to touch up the edges of the bits and if you keep the file flat against all cutting edges a few quick passes and it is good to go. If you google forstner bit sharpening you will see many examples of how to do this. Good luck. Here is the chart. http://www.wwch.org/TechData/Forstner_B ... Lo_Res.jpg John, thank you so much for that chart. It will come in handy for future cuts. The picture of the bits looks like the bits we bought, so the chart will also be helpful in sharpening them as well. Your help is greatly apprciated!!

You did a great job!!! It turned out beautifully!!!

Maybe you could put a felt backing that covers the hole. If you use the type that has the adhesive on it you can take it off and on. Or use felt without the adhesive and use glue dots so you can take it off and on when needed.

Thank you all for your help!! I am using a drill press with the bits. Someone said to keep them sharp, how do you sharpen them? I'm sorry, I'm new to these type of bits. And I'm sure we didn't buy the best bits. They weren't cheap, but they weren't the real expensive ones either. I like the tennis ball and fish pump ideas. I'm going to have to look into both of those untill I can find a replacement part for the bellows. Any other help would be greatly appreciated. But so far ya'll have given me some great advice!! Thanks, Steve and Terry

I have a Delta SS350 scroll saw and the blower is barely working. Is this typical for this saw? It has been like this since I bought it. If not is it an easy fix that I could do or should I send it in for service? It is no longer under warrenty. My second problem is, we purchased some forstner bits from Grizzley last week. The first time we used it we had no problems, but the second time it burned the wood quite badly. Is there a way to lubricate the bits? Did I do something wrong? Thank you for your help, Steve and Terry

These are for last Christmas, but they knew it was going to be late.

Instead of saw dust, my scroll saw has been collecting just plain dust. But I finally got out the air gun, sprayed her off and put her to work. Here are a few of the things I've made for Christmas this year after taking 2 years off. I have more I'm still working on...yes I know Christmas is over, but I hope these are worth the wait. I'll post them when I'm finished. I forgot how much I love this hobby!!