oldhudson

Very nice!

Any pictures of the hinges?

I'm not providing a direct answer to your question, however I'd like to comment on the question itself. Because we are talking about either art and craftsmanship finding objective measures or what is the BEST is pretty difficult. I think it's largely a matter of opinion. None the less there are some measures you might try to employ, if you are trying to follow in someones footsteps. Published: One area might be if a scroll saw artist is so good and well known that a publisher foots the costs for a book. Juried Exhibitions: Folks at the sharp end of the arts & crafts apply for entry into national art exhibits. There's one at the Smithsonian Institute in DC, the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver and so on. Regardless of the medium (fiber, wood, photographic paper, metal etc. entrants works are examined by professional (weavers, woodworkers, photographers, metal workers) and graded and only the best are included. Seminars: Each year there are regional woodworking shows. Often there are seminars/presentations and those who are asked to do a presentation on scrolling or in-lay or pattern design or whatever are in the top group. Originality: When I make a scroll saw project from Steve Good or Sheila Landry pattern I may be (or not) a fine craftsman (because I can run a saw) but I'm no artist. Art is original and I've never done anything with a scroll saw that could qualify as original. Good luck with your search.

I think that's a pretty interesting way to add some bling. Did you try it out on some scrap first? Good job.

Nice job and good for you providing a item for the community. Is that your pattern or ???

Really excellent craftsmanship Ron, well done! Let me ask you is the 'body' one piece of stock that you scrolled out the cavities and then added a bottom or are the corners joined in some way?

I agree with the others that a PV glue seems be the best option. But don't forget you have to clamp the pieces together for hour or two, while the glue sets up. So think about how you can do that. You may need to purchase some clamps although you can use rubber bands (binders) or even painters tape.

I've been a subscriber to Woodsmith from issue one and the same with Wood. I also get Fine Woodworking and finally Scroll Saw Woodworking and Craft. They're not always great and yeah there can be a boat load of adds but I usually get some ideas or inspirations and frankly I just enjoy them.

I don't think you can do much but stop and retract the bit cleaning the flutes by hand. If you do it often they clear easily with the thumb and forefinger. You might have better luck with a brad point bit? Try McMaster Carr they will have them. I've never had any luck with those lubricates sold for router bits and circular saw blades. Once in a while I use paraffin wax. Don't overhead the bit it can loose it temper and never hold an edge. What kind of speed are you running at?

I can see why'd you would be proud of that one - very nice!

I love it.

I have a bench mounted magnifier/light and two different head mounted units - I'm not happy with any of them. My wife would say I'm just a crabby old fart.....?

That wood is rare and desirable, can't wait to see what you do with it.

The customer isn't always right. But the customer is still the customer! If you want to try and make money doing custom work - be careful. I walk away from jobs where I don't feel a fairly high level of confidence in the customer. I probably miss some opportunities but I haven't been burned.

As you know Kevin, it depends on the size or your wallet.

You got 10 board feet so it comes to $3.00/bf - I'd call that good for cherry and maple. Assuming the wood is clear and straight. Cherry goes for $5/bf and hard maple $3.50. Soft maple is about 4 bits cheaper.

Very nice, it sure feels like 21st Century work. Is the top a "lift-off" or "hinged"? Are the corners of the box mitered or? What's the size it 'looks' about 7"? Finally, were the handles just glued to the top or are they held by some mechanical fastener?

I'd echo what Bill said.

In the Twin Cities area I have Rockler and Woodcraft who both sell true Baltic Birch, but I purchase both Baltic Birch and hardwood plywood from a local lumber yard. And while I've never purchased pw on-line I've purchased hardwoods and I've been very happy - delivered to my front door.

I've never seen Baltic birch other 5' x 5', not even on-line. Although I've heard appleply is a true Baltic birch made to the more common Imperial size of 4' x 8' Regarding the staining of a sheet - when I do real cabinet work e.g., a vanity and I purchase a 4 x 8 sheet of birch or some other hardwood pw I often put the finish on the full size sheet before cutting the panels. Typically I don't stain the cases of a cabinet, but I do apply 3 coats of General Finishes Polyacrylic, a water based top coat.

IMHO The first step is to select wood that does well outside like cedar and cypress. I've used McClosky's Spar Varnish and General Finishes Outdoor Oil. But in my world, no clear outdoor finish really works, if you want an outdoor project to look good over the long haul you'll need to re-finish every few years. Here are a couple of pics of a bench I made four years ago in cedar. I used the GF product mentioned above. This has been outside since completion - one year on the south side in the middle of the yard and 3 years on the NW side, with no sun exposure and near the house for protection. One pic was taken when it was new and the other today. For me the real answer is paint. A coat of primer and two coats of a high quality oil based paint. The window boxes I made about 10 years ago still look great. Anyway that's my 2¢ One final thing, here's a link to a Woodsmith Shop video on this subject. I thought it might be of value. http://www.woodsmithshop.com/episodes/season7/709/?play=144

I thought it came out great and thanks for all the detail in the post. A lot of time there's a story to go with the project and I appreciate the ruler which gives the viewer a sense of scale.

Let's see if I can answer your questions. I think at first glance a track saw looks like a circular saw with a fancy edge guide. Really it's more than that. A track saw does a much better job of dust collection. The track saw plunges so there is no guard getting in the way when you start a cut. A track saw greatly reduces or eliminates chip-out when cutting pw. They are very easy to set up right on your layout marks and cross cut, rip, bevel or miter sheet goods. The tracks come with a couple of strips of a high friction material on them so many cuts do not require clamping the guide to the stock before cutting. Of course you can make a nice guide for a couple of bucks, that will be easy to set up and reduce the chip out - but really it's like the difference between driving a BMW and dump truck. Here's my cutting table made from 4 - 8' 2 x 4's. The pieces are held together with half-lap joints I cut with a circular saw and a chisel. When not in use it stores nicely in a corner of the garage. I painted all the parts bright orange to prevent me grabbing one for something else by mistake. I also painted layout lines on the garage floor to help me position the saw horses. This table is completely sacrificial, I cut into it all the time. It takes just a couple of minutes to set up or take down.

Great job!

You mentioned a router table, but not a router. Personally I find the router (I have 4 of them) the second most used power tool in my shop. Mounted in a table and or hand-held. I'm making a lumber storage rack/cart this week to try and organize all my cut-offs. I used the router to cut a number of groves and dados. I often use one for routing profiles and rabbets, especially for picture frames. But you can cut mortises for mortise and tenon joints, do in-lays, cut circles, and they're great for cutting patterns. Also, if you do a lot of work with full size sheet goods a track saw can be invaluable. I'm on my third. I had a shop made one for a couple years, wish I still had it. Then I tried a Eureka Zone (I think that was the brand?) But now I have a Makita. Another item, again if you use sheet goods is a cutting table. I've used a shop made cutting table for about 10 years. I know you said to not mention saw horses but they're really important. I have 3 sets and I've been thinking of making a new set that will fold up. Another tool I've had for decades is a Black and Decker Workmate. Even though I have two work benches and an assembly table I still pull out the Workmate to help with some projects. Just my 2¢