TXScrollsawartist

Have fun making sawdust with a great saw!! (I agree with Lee, that thing is way too clean! It needs that fine sprinkle of sawdust!)

I mounted the back of my saw an inch higher then the front. I might have to try a steeper pitch to see what happens. Thanks for the interesting pictures.

I was asked to do a commission piece this weekend. One of the patrons at the show this weekend wanted a large House Gnome with a special frame and background. It is an old pattern I bought years ago through Wooden Teddy Bear. The wood is 11x14 1/8th inch Baltic Birch with a boiled linseed oil finish. I used FD-UR #5 blades to cut the piece. I have been trying to take before and after pictures lately and thought I would show both. It is a nice design that cuts quickly and makes people smile.

That looks like a fun pattern. You could turn it into a light box to put in the window.

Good explanation Kevin.

I was wondering how scrollers in northern climes could apply finishes in the winter. I am entirely happy to NOT live where that un-natural white stuff falls in the winter, I will file this idea for the future because even Houston has been known for getting in the 40's in January. Thanks!

Don, Two points. If you would have used an FD-Polar #3 or #5 you would have had tear outs - not just fuzzies - on the bottom side of a piece of 3/4 poplar. I think if you used an UR #5 you might not have as many fuzzies. Does anybody else know about increasing the size to a UR #5 for cutting hardwood? Mke

Keefie - I created it after cutting hundreds of puzzles designed by Judy Peterson. Each of her books has a How To section on how to create and cut puzzles. I took the principles she presents on how to create an interesting puzzle design and created a series of two wheeled stick push toys and 4 wheeled hand push toys.

For those of you who have seen some of my other pieces, you might have read between the lines and figured out that I do lots of street festivals and art fairs. We are currently vendors at the Texas Renaissance Festival just north of Houston. We have one shop for my scroll art and another one for hand crafted toys. I created a series of push toys for toddlers a number of years ago. This dragon is my best seller. It is a simple design but has some nice detail that sells well. I use a child safe wood tint and then weather proof it with linseed oil. In the category of ironic, for every piece of finely cut, nicely framed scroll art I sell for $100, I will sell 10 push toys for $20. I cut and frame lots of art but I make lots and lots of toys. Mike

I am getting sold on them the more I use them. I cut two new stack cut pieces last night and the slight fuzzies that were produced were very easily sanded off. Anybody was to buy 6 or 7 gross of various sized Polars? Thanks for the comments and insight. This is what I was hoping to get from this group. Mike

I presume and hope that some of you guys are going to try to cut this piece. A word from experience, cut the interior free standing pieces first and then protect that area with clear packing tape. Also, I recommend stack cutting at least 2 thin pieces of ply because the piece is so delicut you might not successfully sand the bottom piece without breaking things off. (I stack cut 4 pieces and finished sanding 2 without breakage.) I recommend hand sanding all of the interior parts. Good luck!

This works for simple designs like ornaments, etc. Make a copy of the design using the darkest setting on the copier. Transfer the pattern by ironing the design to the wood. Sounds strange but it works.

When you start using the DeWalt you will find that the tilt arm will allow you to stack cut 4 or 5 pieces of 1/8th inch stock. I would rather cut two stacks of five pieces of stock and have 10 finished pieces rather then cut the same design 10 times. Have fun making lots of sawdust with your new toy! Mike

Don, Like Kevin said watch the screws. I ended up using plumbers nylon tape to give the screws that slight extra grab so they don't work loose. I also found that the front mounting bolt holes were ackward to use when I mounted it to my bench top. I bolted the saw to a piece of plywood and then screwed that to my bench top. If you are going to use the stand, you are not going to have that problem. One more thing. I wasn't born with three hands so I cut a 4 inch block to hold the arm up so I can hold the piece being cut while threading a blade through a tiny pilot hole. You will understand this as soon as you have to move your blade the first time in a piece of fretwork that is larger then 5x7. I hope my two cents helped. Mike

I wanted the opinions of other scrollers on the pros and cons of the Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse. I have been using the Flying Dutchman Polar and New Spiral blades for years and years. Depending on the project, I use Polar #3, #5, & #7 and New Spiral #1 & #3. I like how tough they are, how fast I can cut with them and how I can get good cutting time on each blade. The negative - in my mind - is the amount of rip out and fuzzies which need burning and sanding to get rid of. Based on a recommendation, I bought some Flyng Dutchman Ultra Reverse #3 and #5. The good points of the Ultra Reverse is how clean it cuts - no rip out or fuzzies - and how tight I can cut on delicut sections. The negatives are that they cut slower and dull faster then the Polar. I think I will treat them like a specialty tool that I only use in specific situations. As I see it the Polar is a tough blade that has good cutting time but creates rip outs and the Ultra Reverse is a blade that cuts very cleanly and has great control in tight designs but only lasts half the time of an equal size Polar. Is the need to sand extensively worth the cost of using twice as many blades? I am not sure if I am expecting too much from these blades. I will state that I cut aggresively, I stack cut 4 or 5 pieces of 1/8th inch Baltic Birch because I generally cut 10 to 15 of each design in order to have pieces for the art shows I do. Does anybody else have an opinion of the Ultra Reverse? Thanks, Mike

Good job. Stain them with a semi-gloss finish and they will make great ornaments. I would use the dunk method to fill all of the interior surfaces to be sure the wood is completely sealed.

This piece is one of my favorites from the Western art series I cut for a livestock show and rodeo show I do every year. It is cut from 1/8th inch red oak and is in an 11X14 red oak frame. I used #3 Flying Dutchman Polar blades because I like the control I have when cutting the wiggles and squigles. I used linseed oil to bring out the grain and tung oil to seal it. (Design by Gary Browning.) I hope ya'll enjoy this one too. Mike

Spirithorse Yes. I order most of my designs from Wooden Teddy Bear to make sure the pieces I cut are legal to sell. Mike

I completed this piece last week. I used both spiral and #3 straight blades. It has a coat of boiled linseed oil to bring out the grain and will be finished with a coat of gloss spray for shine. It is 16 by 20 inches and will be framed & matted under glass. (The design is by Bob Shellenbarger) Comments?

Thanks to everybody for the welcome messages. I just created an album and put pictures of a few of my finished pieces in it. I sell LOTS of scroll art at the Texas Renaissance Festival each year so quite a bit of the art is aimed at the Renaissance Festival crowd. Comments are always appreciated. Suggested designs are deeply appreciated. Thanks, Michael

Howdy! I have been scrolling for the last 12 years and have been selling pieces for the last 10 years in the greater Houston area. I look forward to seeing what other scrollers are doing! This is an example of what I like to cut. The pattern is from Gary Browning's Western Art design book.