RangerJay

You have quite a team rooting for you - let me join the rest of your Scrolling Prayer Warriors in their prayers for a complete and speedy recovery for both yourself and your bride. Jay

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. DW: Yes - found a need to sip on the occasional beer while doing these ...... Thanks, Jay

Took a while - but these are finally done ..... This is my second "batch" of these guys - this time around I departed from the original pattern to better fit our towns theme as the Canoe Capital of Canada. So instead of a kayak there is a canoe, instead of a kayaking double blade paddle there is a traditional single blade paddle. Neither did I include the hanger for the Christmas tree - they are made to sit flat and be displayed (hopefully) year round. They are a pain to make - but their desirability makes the effort worthwhile ..... kinda ..... sorta ...... every couple years or so ...... maybe .... Thanks to Ruth Chopp for the original design - hope she doesn't mind the changes I've made. Jay

That is a beautiful piece of work - and you might already be aware - with some very minor modifications (or not) - you have yourself a very impressive wood-carvers lap-table: http://sundaywoodcarver.blogspot.ca/2010/11/improved-carvers-lap-table-tutorial.html The perfect choice - pasta or carving ..... Life just doesn't get any better ...... Jay

Funny how the simplest of things - overlooked - can get us into trouble. I'd agree that it is very fixable without a lot of extra effort - and can still come out looking great! Jay

Wow - looks like there is a bunch of us that keep pretty good company ..... I've always had lower back issues but in recent years have developed mid-back pain that gets aggravated when sitting too long at the scrollsaw. To keep it to a minimum I try to rotate between workstations every 1/2 hour or so - the point being not to stay hunched in any one position for very long. Seems to work unless I forget - and if I do my back will soon remind me ..... I also do the Tylenol/Ibuprofen thing (which helps) and, on a long day in the workshop, take longer breaks outside of the workshop (i.e. take the dog for a walk, cut the grass, throw darts at pictures of my favourite politician .... anything to break the cycle of being hunched over). All seems to work - but it is a conscious effort to make it work. Jay

Not sure why - but I have a ridiculous collection of hand drills - 3 corded and 3 cordless ..... my favourite is an ancient Makita 7.2 volt cordless that my wife bought me 30 some years ago - now on the 3rd battery. It is great for small jobs and perfect for use with the sanding mop on fretwork projects that need a little gentler touch than the drill press will give. Jay

Welcome from the wilds of Northwestern Ontario ..... Jay

Time and practice mean a lot - with both you will find yourself becoming more relaxed at the saw (a big deal), you will become adept at picking the right blade for the job, you will know what issues to look for if you're not getting the outcome you want, you will recognize there is a moving sweet spot between saw speed and project feed - you will ultimately find a comfortable flow to your cutting that will give you what you want - I know there is more - lots more - but the point is that you are in a learning curve - we've all been through it .... I'd also agree that you'd find a dremel tool handy - no matter how great you get - you will always find imperfections that you need to deal with - the dremel sanding drums and small carving burrs are always at the ready on my bench - they will do quick work of the imperfections you have shown in your photos. Jay

Beautiful work. Jay

Is this going to work into a searchable list of end products? i.e. if I wanted to check out available fretwork patterns of hummingbirds across all pattern makers - would that be doable? Thanks, Jay

Got my second knee replaced just before Christmas so I've also been in a waiting game before making more sawdust - recovery going well but I'm getting tired of sittin' in front of the TV watching old dusters - decided to got out to the Shed just before noon today and fire it up (despite the cold) - projects-in-waiting that I am kinda excited about are: finishing up a fleet of Paddling Moose (all parts made for 15 Moose - just waiting for assembly and finishing); refinishing an antique desk (thinking its about 80% done) and; making a swinging cradle for our 1st grandchild (expected to make her appearance in late April). Have a lengthy list of other projects on my wish list but these are the three that will be done before anything else is started. Gonna be a busy and fun year. Jay

I've had a workshop of some kind all of my married life. With the exception of some short-lived experiments in the basement all the others have been outbuildings that have had to deal with Canadian winters. There are a few things I've kinda come to believe: - focusing your need for a comfortable "bubble" of heat around your bench or main workstation is the main goal - if you achieve that the rest of the workshop will probably be just fine for the shorter stints away. - A small baseboard or oil-filled radiator type heater under the bench and against the wall sets up a nice air circulation around the bench. An additional ceramic type heater on the floor and blowing warm air across the front of the bench (and your legs) can become important as the winter temperatures deepen. - insulation in the workshop is really important - this is a big deal - my first workshop was a larger aluminum backyard utility shed (10X14??) insulated with one inch styrofoam and heated with a single 1500 watt plug-in baseboard type heater. This set-up worked well for me over 2 winters (course - I was younger then .......) - if you are sitting at a scrollsaw a small foot rest to get your feet off of the cold floor goes a real long way to keeping your feet and legs comfortable. - firing your heaters up an hour or so ahead of your work period gets the bench and your tools warmed up. My current shop is well insulated with a ceiling mounted propane furnace - but I still use an oil-filled radiator type heater under the scrollsaw bench on the coldest days - it makes a heck of a difference. Jay

Ditto. But one thing that doesn't work well for me by going straight to the "Unread Content" button is that - once read - the thread disappears - meaning - that if I want to revisit a particular thread I need to go searching for it in the forum that it was produced - sometimes a bit of a chore when I don't pay attention to what forum it came from. Jay

We gotta be careful here ...... or people might start to figure out we're hiding a secret ..... and want to get in on it ..... I gotta show a picture of my workshop - these pictures were taken a few years ago - the poorer quality picture was taken on a morning the thermometer hit -43 and just after the shed was fired up. Today my scrollsaw sits on a the bench in front of the lit window. There is nothing more enjoyable than spending a chunk of a winters day in the "Shed" under conditions like these - icing on the cake is when the bird feeders are active, snow is falling, wildlife is visiting and, of course, making some sawdust ...... pretty tough to beat. Jay

I guess if you live in areas where winter weather and a few days of extreme cold is a deal breaker then you've got a problem .... those folks who hate the cold around here and have reached retirement age seem to like spending their winters in Florida, Texas or Arizona. Fortunately we enjoy every season - winter included. The deal breaker for us is summer heat - and we ask exactly the same question of those who live where summer temperatures sore to extreme levels: "Why the heck would you live there?". Jay

Here - not far from International Falls (about 2 hours west of us) this cold snap has meant nighttime temperatures between -30 and -40 the last few nights. To add insult to injury we just returned home after spending a family Christmas in Thunder Bay - the street we live on is a frozen mess of ice and running water - seems there is an issue with the fire hydrant at the end of the block that has yet to be repaired - apparently it looks we will be living with it until after the New Year when Public Works returns to full staffing levels. Still have water but I'm guessing not much more than a couple pounds pressure. As far as the workshop goes - not gonna be in it for at least a little bit - recovering from my second knee replacement (Dec 18th) - but recovery is going well so I'm hoping just a few days. Jay

Beautiful work.

Impressive Kevin - you never cease to amaze me - I can't imagine myself churning out even even a tiny fraction of the great work you have obviously generated daily for years - you are a serious and capable professional! Jay

Don't worry about dusting ..... every now and then just add another coat of wax over it all ...... in a decade they'll "ohh" and "ahhh" over the "patina" ..... in another decade (or so) after that your heirs will take it to the Antique Roadshow ....... and it'll get appraised as a priceless heirloom ...... or ....... maybe not ...... Jay

Ed, Welcome. For your first project I see absolutely nothing wrong with what you've done so far - you will change a few things in future projects as your experience grows - but heck - if you whipped off perfect work your first time out you'd get bored of the scrollsaw pretty quickly!! A thought for you ..... This time of year is ornament time - and Christmas ornaments are a great way to go through basic learning curve(s) quickly and thoroughly without a lot of pain. They are generally small projects and relatively quick to do - they'll give you lots to learn and practice on in cutting skills and experimenting with different blades - your family, neighbours and friends will love them, and if you screw up the occasional ornament - so what! - you will not have lost a lot. So my thought would be to set aside your wolf project for a short while - try out a few ornaments for a week or two - and see where they take you. Your wolf will look a lot easier, and you'll have gained a lot more confidence, once you have a few cutting hours behind you. I'm thinking you will find lots of free ornament patterns in the pattern gallery of this forum. And - if in the end - it your wolf project doesn't work out exactly the way you had hoped then do not worry - you will be in very excellent company - there is not a single one of us who has not been there done that ...... heck ..... I save mine for an annual campfire .... invite the kids next door ..... we have hot dogs ...... but if I am any judge your wolf project will never be destined for the designer firewood pile ...... Good luck! Jay

Very nice tribute. Sorry for your loss. Jay

Those look great - but I confess to a bit of a chuckle - I read the first one as: "To the world you are a Mother - but to your family you are the Word" - seems to work pretty well - and I think our kids would agree ...... Jay

Very nicely done! Jay

Every afternoon in the "Shed" is its own treat ..... ..... and every step in the "scrolling path" is a genuine high: wood prep, pattern prep, cutting, sanding, framing, finishing. What can make each afternoon even better is: an old duster on the TV (the TV is mounted on the wall behind the scrollsaw). busy birdfeeders (the scrollsaw is mounted on a bench in front of a large window - feeders off to the side) a winter snowstorm When this all comes together its pretty tough not to recognize that woodworking contributes a lot to a very good life. The lows?: anything that means more than a few days away from the Shed Thanks, Jay