Bill WIlson

You'll love it! I got one a few years ago. They are great.

There are several methods. You can wrap them with tape. You can drive short brads into waste areas. Some use small pieces of double backed tape. I've even read a suggestion of using round toothpicks, driven into pre-drilled holes. Personally I use hot glue on the edges of the stack. Only downside is that if one of the edges is a finished edge, you need to remove the glue after cutting. Otherwise it works great for me.

IIRC, the owner told us that they used to demonstrate at all the woodworking shows and scrollsaw gatherings. I don't think they show at as many these days, but then again, there aren't as many of those kinds of events anymore. Occasionally I see one of their adds in a magazine. Advertising costs a lot of $$ and they are a pretty small company.

Like I've said before, you can give 6 veteran scrollers the same project, using the same wood and they will each use a different blade. My go-to blade, of the Olson persuasion, for general fretwork with a fair amount of detail is the Mach Speed #3. For really fine detail, in thinner material I would use a #2 or #2/0 reverse tooth blade. However, I've been using more FDUR blades lately and wouldn't hesitate to cut that with a #1 FDUR. See? I can't even agree with myself which blade I would use.

The owner of PS Wood came and spoke at one of our scrollsaw club meetings several years ago. Nice folks and they are local to us here in Western PA. As I recall, the saws are pretty beefy, but perhaps not as refined as some other saws. I think they are belt driven. Their blades are decent, but far more expensive than other blades. I bought a couple dozen, just to try them out and they cut straight and stay sharp, but they didn't offer a reverse tooth blade. That, and the cost make them impractical for me. I actually feel kinda bad, because I would really like to support a local business.

I get that quite often, with the very small, numbered bits in the Dremel. I figure as long as it's still making holes, it's no problem. When drilling hundreds of holes for a portrait, I tend to feed the bit too fast and I've never been able to find the sweet spot in the speed range of my Dremel. One setting is too slow and the next one up is too fast, so I tend to err on the side of too fast.

Well, there is a reason you have been married 56 years (congratulations, by the way). You have a wise and healthy perspective on married life. I wish you two many more years together.

Could be re-purposed as a remote holder or a mail caddy. Although I suppose TV remotes are quickly becoming a relic of the past as many people now stream TV on their IPads. Mail will probably be going away soon too, as people do all of their correspondence, bill paying, etc, on-line. Oh well. Put it in the attic for 30-40 years and then it will be an antique.

I cope crown molding by hand with a coping saw, but have also wondered if it could be more effectively done with a scrollsaw. For short pieces, it should work well, but for longer stock, I suspect it's far easier to do by hand. You got me thinking though. Using spiral blades and a support roller on either side of the saw, it would be feasible. Only problem is I would have to move my saw outside to cut anything over 3' long.

I often wonder how much easier it may have been to learn this craft, had I had access to all the great information available these days at the click of a mouse. Back when I started scrolling, it was mostly self taught, trial & error. I already had a background in carpentry and woodworking, so most of it came to me fairly readily, but with some of the more scrolling specific stuff, having a place to ask questions & share ideas would have been helpful. I joined a scroll saw club in 2005 and shortly after that discovered some of the scrolling resources on the internet. This forum is a favorite because it's pretty active. I don't chime in much, because as others have said, most of the time the question is thoroughly answered by the time I read it. However, like others, I still learn some new tricks, even after 20 plus years of scrolling.

For great, traditional fretwork patterns, I like this designer; http://www.finescrollsaw.com/

I typically sign everything, using my initials and include the year made. I even do this with Christmas ornaments. I use an ultra fine point Sharpie and will often write on the edge of the ornament (if the wood is 1/8" or thicker), if there isn't an otherwise inconspicuous place to sign it. Very often when I give them away, the first thing people look for is to see if I signed it.

I'm a bottom feeder, but when installing a new blade, I always clamp it in the top first, then lower the arm to get it lined up with the bottom clamp. I can look through the slot in the table to see if the blade is in the clamp, don't have to stand on my head to look under the table. I don't touch the bottom clamp again until it's time to change the blade.

Welcome Travis. I'm not from TN, but we visited Gatlinburg on vacation in August and enjoyed our time in your state very much. As for the spiral blades, I have a suggestion. Don't feel like you have to spin the piece and make those sharp turn in one motion. I typically will follow one line into the point of the corner, then back out a little, cut across the waste to the intersecting line and cut it into the corner. Then I turn the piece and resume cutting the line out of the corner. It takes a little longer, but you will get nice sharp points that way. Spirals are a useful blade and I encourage you to give them a try, but I wouldn't necessarily use them on that particular pattern.

Well, welcome back Heppnerguy. Should we start calling you CasaGrandeguy now?

For something that size, I would be tempted to try cutting the flat side, freehand with a chainsaw, using a rip chain. Then smooth it with a hand plane and remove the bark with a draw knife. It will minimize the amount of sanding required. Logs, especially odd shaped ones, like the one in the picture, can be a challenge to resaw on a bandsaw. If you have a bandsaw that is big enough and you can hold it securely, you could get away with it.

Getting lumber directly from logs can be rewarding and also a lot of work. How big are these logs? If there are full length logs from the trunk of the trees, my suggestion would be to check on sawyers in the area that have a portable bandsaw mill. They will come to the logs and mill them on site. Trying to do it yourself, without the proper equipment will be pretty tough. A standard bandsaw is not the tool for cutting boards from logs. You may be able to handle a couple shorts this way, but not much beyond that. Air dried walnut is usually preferred over kiln dried as it is believed to better preserve the rich color of the walnut. Some folks claim that kiln drying walnut can cause the color to look faded. Air drying is something you can do yourself, but you will need to create the proper conditions to get good results. Be aware that the lumber you get from logs will be a mix of grades. Not all of your boards will be furniture quality. In fact depending on the size of the logs, the yield of top grade lumber may be pretty small, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of usable wood in those logs.

Drying time for BLO is typically measured in days. Some folks will say to let it dry for up to 10 days before use, 4-5 is more typical, depending on conditions. It isn't intended to be used as a final finish, because it really doesn't offer much when compared to other finishing products. It does darken the wood somewhat, which will help accentuate the grain, especially on darker colored woods like walnut or cherry. However, once dry it's very dull looking and provides little to no practical protection from scratches, abrasions, household chemicals, heat or moisture. It's easy to apply and to keep the wood looking fresh, it needs to be periodically re-applied. However building up too much BLO on the wood will lead to curing problems and perhaps even a gummy residue that attracts dust & dirt like a magnet. I like BLO and use it as a colorant, but almost always topcoat with something else.

Dgman is from the Southern Ca area, I believe. I know he's a scrolling instructor. He may know if any local clubs exist.

Back a few months ago, Pegas blades were the subject of several posts on this forum and other scrolling forums. Personally I've never used them, but generally speaking, the reviews were pretty positive, as I recall. They are definitely worth investigating. I would just warn against getting too many irons in the fire at one time, when it comes to testing blades. It's a journey and it took most of us years to develop our own personal bias'. Most scrolling supplies are best found on the internet and/or mail order. There are several good suppliers of patterns, blades, hardware and other scrolling specific items. I've mostly used Sloan's Woodshop and The Wooden Teddy Bear for Olson and FD blades. I can't say where to buy Pegas blades.

I highlighted your statement above. That is really the only true way you will ever be able to determine for yourself, what works best for you. It's a process and it isn't as daunting as it may sound. No law says you have to try every blade out there, but the more you try, the better informed you will be. Blade preference can be very subjective. You can give 5 scrollers the same pattern and wood to cut and it's likely each one will use a different blade, so polling other scrollers will only get you so far. Take the info you've learned so far and run with it. Start with Flying Dutchman and Olson blades. Determine what type of scrolling you will be doing most. Blades with reverse teeth will be best suited for most fretwork, so that narrows down the options a little. Smaller blades for thin stock and fine detail. Thick blades for heavy cutting in thick stock. Skip tooth blades are often used for compound cutting, where you are cutting very thick stock, but don't have to worry about any tear out on the bottom side. Spirals work best for portrait type cutting, where there aren't a lot of straight, smooth lines or sharp corners/points. Puzzles and metal both have their own specialty blades. Generally speaking, the qualities you find in a particular blade will be the same in the other sizes of that same blade style/brand. There are some exceptions to this rule, but typically, the only real difference will be the thickness of material it's best suited for. Different brands will exhibit different characteristics, but the same general rules apply. You will quickly narrow down the candidates and get a feel for which blades to use for different applications. Good luck and have fun making sawdust.

I use hot glue on the edges of the stack. I just stack the blanks with the edges flush and hold it together with some spring clamps, then run a few small vertical strips across the edges. This works best if the cutting is contained entirely within the edges of the stack and if the blank isn't particularly large. If the cutting shares an edge, then you will have some glue to remove from the edge of a finished piece.

At its most basic, the primary function of a spiral blade is to permit the cutting of pieces that are otherwise too large to spin around within the throat of the scrollsaw. There are other functions where they perform quite nicely, such as veining. Patterns without a lot of straight, smooth lines (such as most portraits) are best suited for spiral blades. Any fretwork that incorporates straight, smooth lines and sharp points & corners doesn't lend itself readily to the use of spiral blades. Spiral blades tend to leave a little rougher cut edge, so I don't use them on anything that is thick enough that the cut edge is highly visible. The ability to use spiral blades seems to come more naturally to some than others. I taught myself to scroll using straight blades, but have been able to adapt to using spirals, without a lot of trouble. I know several veteran scrollers who won't use them because they can't control them. I think, like most skills, using spirals can learned, with practice.

I don't keep a journal. Used to take pictures (35mm film, pre-digital era), but have gotten away from that, mostly due to the fact that I don't have a cell phone capable of taking, storing & displaying them. I too get asked the question all the time as to how long it takes me to make stuff. I simply say "I don't know", because I don't bother to keep track. It's a hobby and I'm not on a time clock, so it isn't really all that important to me how many hours/days it takes me to make something. If I made stuff to sell, I'm sure I would have a much different perspective. I do maintain a list of the Christmas ornament I make each year. Every year, since 1993, I choose a pattern and make dozens of ornaments from the pattern to give away to friends/family. The first few years, I probably made 30 or 40. Last couple years, I've made just under 100. I keep a list simply to avoid using the same pattern twice. I do record what it was made from and how it was finished. That's about all I keep track of.

As others have stated, the 788 is capable of both top and bottom feeding. It does benefit from the addition of an aftermarket lift arm assembly though, such as the Jim Dandy Easy Lift.