jerry1939

Kevin, Nice cutting on a nice pattern, but I have a question. You asked for a pattern 1 day and showed the finished product the next day. Do you ever sleep? You are certainly fast. Most people that watch me, consider me to be only half fast. jerry

Jim, For Word Art patterns, I tend to lean heavily on "HOLLANDALE HEAVY" For signing it, I us "MVBOLI" When doing a pattern, type letters that need bridges (i.e. A, D, O, P, etc.) in the center, or to the right. Click different fonts and watch for something you want to work with. I only click on what appears to be Bold. Hope this is of help Friend. jerry

Credit for this pattern outline goes to Phantom Scroller, as fount in the Library under "Religious". A Lady at our Church recently lost her husband of many years. I asked Roly for permission to change the wording on his pattern. Being the Kind Gentleman that he is, he readily agreed to allow me. Picture was taken before it is to be sprayed with a Clear Enamel, as it photographs better without the shine. For a backer, my go to color is Rust Oleum RED METAL PRIMER. Also use it on many other things, Sue Mey patterns being an example. It's a nice dull red, that doesn't detract from the cut piece. If any of you try it, be aware that the red scuffs easily between the time it is applied and a finish applied. For you beginners: When sawing a rectangle such as this for a base, draw your lines to extend beyond the corners. When starting to saw, start outside the rectangle, and get yourself lined up with the rectangle before starting it. That prevents the first "attempt to start sawing a straight line" jerry

Hi Friend. IF it is just the thumb screw causing the problem, one suggestion would be to take it to a hardware store. Use a nut to determine the diameter and the number of threads per inch. Using that same nut as a guide, find a cap screw that fits it. Use the cap screw as a temporary "fix" while doing your current project. Hope this helps. jerry

I agree with Clayton & use FDUR # 5 and a few times # 3. Do yourself a favor and don't buy your blades from a big box store. You will soon find out how poor the quality of the steel is. As for tight turns: FDUR blades have teeth on the right side (kerf) as the blade is mounted. It is MUCH easier to make a tight curve if you are turning the wood clockwise as you saw. Plan ahead so that you can do that as much as possible. I have at times put a pencil arrow on the pattern to remind me which way to curve from the entry hole. Most times, on an intricate piece, I attach a "sacrifice board" (1/4" luan ply) to the top and sometimes another on the bottom of the piece I want cut. I consider it cheap insurance against splintering my piece to have it "clamped" between luan. You MUST have the blade 90 degrees to the table. Very simple to check. Take a scrap at least an inch high. Saw slightly into it. Turn the saw off, swing the wood around and hold the saw mark against the back of the blade. If the blade slips into the slot, you are good. If not, keep adjusting until you can make this work. Don't waste time and money on a protractor. This is free and 100% accurate. Good luck Friend and have fun. jerry

I don't use felt, so perhaps this may or may no help. I only glue the cut piece directly to a painted backer. First I make all the inside cuts. Glue that to the painted backer. Lastly, I cut the perimeter, which gives a perfect match. Hope this gives you ideas Friend. jerry

I would echo everything above. I use a staple gun from the "top" and the "bottom" on 2 sides of the waste perimeter. jerry

In the past, I read about people having issues with blades slipping. Whenever I put in a new blade, I sandpaper both sides of each end of the blade. I don't have your problem, if that's what it is. http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/15942-my-new-command-control-center/?hl=command jerry

AmazingKevin, You asked about the ratio of BLO and MINERAL OIL (not mineral spirits). A looong time ago I asked on this site about preserving a trivet that is subjected to high heat. I wouldn't begin to know where to look for the post, but it was late last summer. Received a number of conflicting responses, but it seemed that slightly more people used BLO and MINERAL OIL (buy it in the pharmacy section.) (If you look it up, it's a laxative ) Because I only did 1 trivet last year & will do 3 this year, I kept the mix, but sure as heck don't remember the ratio. Hopefully someone else will chime in and help you. One of our sons uses an untreated piece (I don't know what kind of wood). You might experiment with whatever species you want, take an untreated scrap & try to ruin it. If you can't, it doesn't need anything. As usual, any time you need a little help, let me know. I'm about as little help as you will ever find. jerry

1. I am notoriously lazy about posting pictures of my work. 2. The design & cutting of this is certainly nothing special. BUT I did learn something. In the past, before sending a picture of my scrolled item to a friend(s), I didn't consider it "done" until I sprayed a shiny finish on it. WRONG. The shine acts as a mirror to the flash and you get a bright spot in the middle of the photo. This was taken right after the pattern/blue tape was removed. For those of you nice people that post pictures of your work, give thought to taking the picture BEFORE you apply your finish of choice. After doing 2 more trivets for siblings, will dip all 3 in BLO & Mineral oil. Wood is 3/4" poplar. jerry

You call yourself a "Newbie". Am certainly looking forward to see how far your talent takes you. Nice looking piece. jerry

I totally agree that you have every right to display it proudly. As a footnote; I seem to do most things backwards!! I personally don't like the (depth)(thickness) of cutting 1/4" for the front. As a personal preference, I sandwich an 1/8" BB between 2 sacrifice boards for sawing. Glue the 1/8" cut piece to a 1/4". Just my "go to method." Again I praise and admire your piece Friend. jerry

This applies to any & all shapes or letters. As an example, suppose you want to remove a rectangle from your piece. You drill the entry hole near the (middle?) of the line, on the inside. Saw your curve to the line and proceed, possibly all the way to the corner. WITH THE SAW RUNNING, BACK CLEAR ALL THE WAY TO THE ENTRY HOLE. Rotate the wood 180 degrees and back into the first cut, far enough to where you were on the pattern line. Now when you saw towards your original taper from starting, it is MUCH easier to continue straight, because the first cut is holding the blade in alignment. If you don't do it this way and keep sawing in the original direction until the piece drops out, it is harder to get a sharp, crisp line when you try to clean up the first, and succeeding, taper(s). If it's a thicker piece of wood, you have a tendency to (crowd)(bend) the blade. Hope this didn't confuse you. It sure did me!! jerry

Roly, Guess you will either have to swim the pond or drive your car over here to find out because I'm not telling !!! jerry

Roly, Re; your request. jerry

I was passing through the Craft Section of WalMart today. Noticed different colored sheets of what "looked like" acrylic. Was pressed for time so wasn't able to really examine them. They were not paper, but gave the appearance of plastic. I didn't pull a sheet all the way out, but would guesstimate they were 18" X 18" or larger. 77 cents each. Will give them a look next time I want a colored backer. jerry

Good work Kevin. Would suggest that you move them. As shown, a lot of the keys on you computer are not accessible. Keep up the nice work Friend. jerry

Dan, There you go. Thinking again! Thanks for the great tip. I will try that. jerry

Russell, Thanks Friend. Will give it a try. jerry

Every 3-4 weeks I go to Font.com searching for the elusive "perfect" font. The last time I loaded 4 or 5 and thought it slowed down Inkscape. Went to; START-CONTROL PANEL-FONTS and it showed a LOT of fonts. Uninstalled a bunch (about 1/4 - 1/3 showed a screen saying that one, or group, were protected & the would stay. Long story short, I thought that it helped to "throw out some of the trash." Another part of our problem could be that we are still using one of the first computers made. It is attached to, and is powered by a treadmill, as opposed to those new fangled ones that plug into a wall outlet. (I tried running faster, but that spills the beer onto the keyboard.) jerry

Hi Friend, My starter saw was a PERFORMAX (Menards)(No longer made under that name, but identical to the SKIL, except for the color). I got a lot of years of use out of it before it died. In this posting, I called it a SKIL, because nobody ever heard of a PERFORMAX. Here is a link to what can be done with a (PERFORMAX)(SKIL); http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/topic/15271-some-of-my-stuff/ The first thing that came to my mind about your saw was "Defective Motor" or "Switch". Would suggest you talk to your Lowes manager, in a calm, not mad tone, and ask what he/she would suggest. Politeness goes a looooong ways. Our Lowes will bend over backwards to keep their customers satisfied. Our manager even called me on a Sunday saying that they found that they had overcharged me on something. jerry

Another display of your great talent Dan. What the heck DO you do with all your free time Buddy?? Inquiring minds want to know. jerry

Dan, We have a peep hole in our door for Religious Reasons. We are Devout Cheapskates. jerry

Danny, I tried and failed. Next you posted your screen shot, your SELECTED rectangle was in the canvas, my wasn't, but that shouldn't matter. Went back to Inkscape and the computer FINALLY cured it, per your instructions. You are cordially invited to come over to our place. We will reward you with free beer all day TODAY. Thanks again Friend!! jerry

Danny, Thank You for your attempt Sir, however your instructions didn't cure my problem. The first box you mentioned is labeled FLAT COLOR. Clicking it changed nothing. I can still choose any color, but the rectangle stays white and on the little box on the lower left, the left half is still a checkerboard and the right half is whatever color I chose. Thanks again for your prompt attempt. jerry