vykus

Here is my offering

That is some tight work, great work.

I have been busy with a lot of things this last year and most of my projects have been utilitarian rather than fun scroll saw projects. I was able to make this puzzle and I finished it up on Fri night. Sat. my family had booth at a flea market, trying to get rid of old stuff etc. and I had a small table with what scroll saw and other art I had to sell. Not the best venue for this type of item but this little puzzle sold first and without haggling, they just payed the asked for price. I expected to be talked down a bit. It was the only scroll work I sold but I was ok with that. I also sold one of my Colored Pencil paintings. between all of us we were about $200 over booth costs. And the weather was perfect, wish it was the same throughout the country.

I can relate I'm a substitute teacher.

Keven, I also had to make her a sturdy non-slip step to take with in the car. It's only 3 1/2 in. But it gets her high enough to sit and then pivot into her seat.

A rail on the wall side is not needed since she will be using a walker from now on and it's unlikely that she will be free of it. If she were walking alone or even with a cane I would agree but she has the support she needs from the walker.

Well it was a busy winter and spring so I have not had anything to submit here in a while. But I have been looking in on everyone else's wonderful work. If you recall (and if you don't, that's OK) my saw broke near the end of fall last year with no way to repair it. That continued this spring for a while but I was able to fix it finally and now that I am done building this ramp I can get back to scrolling. This ramp is in my parents garage. My Mom slipped on some ice last Dec. 23 and shattered her femur right above her artificial knee. Thankfully there was a new type of knee and femur replacement that they were able to use and save her leg, otherwise they likely would have had to had it amputated to above the brake, very high up. She spent more than 3 months in a rehab facility and my Dad was convinced that when she came home she would be able to handle the small step from the garage into the house. She did OK most times but it scared her and once she was very close to falling. So it was up to me to build the ramp my Mom would have rather had there when she got home. Having seen other ramps of this type I am aware of some of the pitfalls that can happen. The platform would be 5 3/4 off the floor so I needed boards of 5 in so I had to rip cut those myself with a circular saw The main concern I had was the stability of the posts, I did not want them to be wobbly so that meant joinery. For the post meeting the wall I used a modified dovetail, I don't remember it's proper name but I did get the idea out of a book on timber framing. A full dovetail would have compromised the footprint of the 4x4. The next post would be joining with the 2x5 of the platform and the rib going from there to ground level. I lap jointed the two boards and then I cut a channel down the center of the 4x4 so it could sandwitch over the lap joint, added a little glue and some screws and it was solid as a rock. The final post was done the same, I made a 1 1/2 wide channel down the center angled to correspond to the spot on the rib that I wanted to place it. I installed it with glue and screws but due to the fact that the rib was so shallow at that point it was not as stable as I wanted it to be. I thought about it for a few days and decided that I needed to add a buttress to add extra stability. It took a while to get the piece modified to the point that it supported the post rather than just be a piece that is screwed to it. The rail is just a rail off the rack from home depot which I secured with some walnut dowel I had left over from a previous project. I knew that would be strong enough that it would not splinter like your average dowel likely would while you pound it down into the hole. I finished the rail with plastic covered wire threaded through the posts. At some point there will be some textured painted added to the walking surface things get slippery here in the winter. So now that is project is complete I have started on my scrolling again and hopefully I will have something to post soon, I am working on a cribbage board and a Green Man intarsia, I'll let you know how those turn out.

I use a pin vice and micro drill bits and make the holes by hand, using a drill would just break the bits. It's difficult to get it in straight on thicker boards but on 1/8 or 1/4 BB it's easy to keep it straight so there is no angle that could pull the blade in another direction when you start your cut. This the only way I have found to insert a blade on the smallest line without having a noticeable hole, which would drive me nuts. I have no problem getting a #3 UR into these holes but more often I am using a 2/0.

We, as a country are in a state of uncertainty after the election. In times like that, even if the economy is doing well, people tend to be tight with money, in case something disastrous happens. Sociology class was good for something after all. But it looks like you have some great product, I'm sure after the inauguration things will settle down, at as much as they are going to, and people will go back to spending their money.

Here is a picture of the little slot that the nut fits into in the arm. I can now confirm that it is a custom part, it is neither a 1/4 in or 6mm. I am aware of the service pack that contains this nut but I don't really have that much money for a nut at this time. I think I am going to try rethread the bolt to a 1/4 in. to match the nut I made. If I fuck it up a new one of those is included in the service pack that I would then be forced to buy. Wish me luck.

Sam, that just might be it.

I have considered picking up a die and re threading the stud, I just don't want to F it up, that piece is a lot harder to replace than a nut.

about a week ago I stripped the nut that goes with the tension lever on Dremel 1800 and after considerable research online and at hardware stores I have not been able to find a replacement. The nut I need is a square 1/4 fine thread nut. it's easy to find the larger thread nuts. So what did I do, I attempted to create my own nut. It looked like I had done it correctly but for some reason it will still won't thread. I'm at a loss as to what to do. If I can't tension the blade the whole saw is useless. I am also right in the middle of a $60 commission. I don't have the money to buy a new saw. even a cheap one on craigslist, not if I want to buy my kids Christmas presents. On a long shot, does anyone have one of these that is broken down that you could cannibalize? I would be willing to pay shipping, I am getting desperate.

I better get going, looks like I am the only one who has not submitted.

Sure, I'll do it this year. I have already designed two, what's three more.

I made the cross with the black background the fall that I started scrolling 4 years ago. Although the first was a good cross for a beginner I think this latest one turned out really well. But have to say looking at the pictures on the computer show the small mistakes in really sharp detail. This one was commissioned by someone who had seen the first one on the internet, I have been getting more and more outside work and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I am also making some custom ornaments for this same person but this is taking away from my own personal projects. I have limited time to cut and when it gets cold I will have to stop for a while. I like the extra income but I also want to make my own original art. Rant over. I hope you like the cross

I use Dropbox. It's an app you install on your phone and then on your computer and it will automatically transfer any photo's you take from your phone to your computer when they are connected to the internet. I have my set to only use WI-FI and not my wireless plan, that would take way too much data. But if you are lucky enough to have unlimited data that would be the way to go. It's a simple set up and totally worth it.

My old dremel is the same way so I just started clipping off an 1/8th or from the top of the blade. Although, now that I've been doing this for a while maybe it's time to figure out how to fix that.

I would suggest that when you spray your backer black that you identify areas that will not show through your cutting and put down some tape first to provide areas, especially around the edge, that are free of paint. Gluing works so much better wood to wood without the paint there. After that I just just Titebond II and sometimes a few dots of superglue to lock it in place if I think it might shift. Then clamp it up. Another thing I think a lot of people do is use too much glue, you need much less that you would think, just a thin coat will do, give it about 30 seconds to get tacky (then add superglue if you are going to) and put together.

Love the paint. I have been adding more to my projects lately too. I like a splash of color.

I have a collection of jeweler files that I use if I need to do some adjusting. The ones I like the most for getting off fine fuzz in tight places are the bead reamers. They are long and thin and have the diamond abrasive on it, they are meant to be used to file out the center of glass beads after they have been fired and have sharp edges. You can find them in the bead section of any hobby store. All you have to do is run it along the edge of the fuzz and it comes right off. as to what you have going on up there, What kind of wood are you using? is it dry enough? I personally don't use spirals for anything but that is just a personal choice, I can't seem to control the stupid things.

Jim, I've thought about doing that. The blower starts up quick enough, I don't see why it would not work. If I have a chance I'll give it a try.

Kevin, I have a style?

I started this quite a while ago, the pattern was harder than you would think, that sweater is complicated. I stack cut 3 pieces of 1/4 BB and cut the pattern I then traced outlines on 1/8 BB as a backer cutting them to the shape of the state. I marked the backer as to where it needed to be painted red versus black. I have painted for quite a few years so I was using fine art paint and brushes rather than craft paint. I know a lot of you have said that you have problems with brush strokes showing and all I have to say is that you are probably keeping you paint too thick, thin it with water (you should be using acrylic not oil paints) until it is the consistency of ink. It should practically be sucked into the wood and show no brush marks. Of course If you can get fine art acrylic paint I would highly recommend it, if you get the smaller tube of the student grade it should not be much more expensive. The difference is that it has a far greater pigment load than craft paint, and it is also much creamier and just easier to use. The next step is to glue it up. I am debating whether or not to tint the front piece with maybe Danish oil or something. It just seems to raw compared to the painted background. What do you all think?

I was just looking online for more info about this pump, it's being sold on ebay for $50