tomsteve

thank you for the compliment on the frame. I don't have precision to get perfect miters for the corners. pretty darn close but not quite.l hence the padauk in the corners. it covers up the slight gap ( only on 2 opposite corners) and seems to be a nice contrast- not blaring and not blah.

actually the same goat but since using 1/8" BB, I stack 2 for a bit of extra support. this is spinach. he was a goat at a sanctuary near me( a country "near" ). the sanctuary is a perfect example of what sanctuary life for animals should be. about 3 weeks ago, spinach couldn't walk. the woman that owns the rescue did a whole lot to find out what the cause. a week of veterinary care at the rescue resulted in nothing so off to MSU large animal hospital, who the owner has been using for years and is one of the best in the nation. 3 days of imaging, bloodwork, and all kind of other tests resulted in no conclusion so the decision was made to let spinach go. everyone involved- the owner, volunteers, and followers were crushed. I've known the owner for a few years. we have been a part of a group that worked diligently to get a scam rescue shut down and the manager held accountable, which the owner was found guilty of felony cruelty/ abandonment 25+ animals( 65 total) and took a plea deal for another charge of felony cruelty 5-10 animals. with everything the owner has done over the years ( she only takes in animals that are true sanctuary animals- no chance of being adopted), I wanted to do something for her. spinach inspired me. I hope she likes these. there's a good mistake in one of them. might not be found unless I point it out.

I haven't been scrolling like I once was but have been doing some.mostly work using straight blades. its been a minute since doing a portrait, but came across a time I wanted to do this for a friend that owns an animal sanctuary. shout out to Charles Deering for making the pattern. this is going to turn out awesome when done and framed. using #1 FD spirals for this, I'm using a rather small drill bit- just big enough for the blade to go through. I've had this saw for about 12 years now.i put the light on the left side when first got the saw. im a bottom feeder and left handed so I lift the right side of the work up to feed the blade through. at least I think I do it this way because I'm left handed. with the light on the left side it could be a bugger finding and fishing the blade through the holes. not enough light to see the holes. 12 years of owning this saw it FINALLY occurred to me today;"maybe I can put the light on the right side of the saw." what a difference! I can see what I'm doing when trying to feed the blade through! 12 friggin years to finally have THAT thought. I've already done twice the cutting in half the time as when I had the light on the left side! amazing how something so simple can speed up work. and take an eternity to think about!

I would not be surprised if temu shipped a picture of the wood rather than the wood itself

I started with a craftsman bought new 20 years ago. didn't take long for me to get a wee bit addicted to scrolling and that saw to start falling apart. bought a DeWalt 788. had many hours on it when the motor shorted out. bought an Excalibur. I cant say the DeWalt and EX cut easier but they both definately smoother cutting than the craftsman. I do feel the EX cuts slower than the 788,though. IMO having the saw bolted to the work surface can help quite a bit, too

nice project. standard water based wood glue isn't fond of oily surfaces. myself- I use CA glue on backers. run a bead around perimeter then dabs in fragile spots and here and there, slap em together weight em down for a while. then I spray a coat or 3 of poly. im not sure how CA works with BLO, though.

finish to get into all cuts and corners and dry quickly. when in that situation I use lacquer in a rattle can. I spray light misting coats from angles working at getting the nooks and crannies. light misting coats- I'm not trying to get full coverage in one pass but want to get full coverage in 2-3. then a final coat spraying on top and done. works pretty good for me.

as with others, my go-to depends on what I'm doing. when I built the dome clock, red oak was the main choice with purple heart, bubinga, lacewood, cedar, and a few others in the mix for detail work. I've scrolled all 3 species you mention. imo hickory was just about like scrolling red oak. birch and poplar just about the same. idk about poplar warping right off the sawmill. IMO, pretty much any species can depending on how the tree grew, how it was dried, and how it is stacked.

side by side comparison of their $299 DC, it appears less CFM, less HP but same prop 65 warning. I've read of people making adapters for air filters to fit their DCs.

box elder can be absolutely beautiful freshly cut. blink and the color can be gone

16" craftsman 20 years ago. I think I got it as a Christmas gift. I learned on it and really got into scrolling quick but it started having issues after about 30 hours of scrolling on it. broke down and bought a DeWalt 788 type 1 major improvement. about 5 year later and countless hours, the windings in the motor shorted out ( or something like that. cant quite remember." got my current ex16 11 years ago. although I haven't done much scrolling in a while its ready to roll after hundreds of hours of use.

since I have a brad nailer I shoot some brads into scrap areas to hold the stack together

if ya haven't picked a finish yet and have the capability to spray, check out general finishes conversion varnish. https://generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-professional/water-based-topcoats-and-sanding-sealers/enduro-conversion-2k-varnish

ive made quite a few frames over the years. some have been simple with just rectangular wood and others stacked up trim of various profiles. the possibilities with frames are just about endless.

im not quite to the numbers other are but I have cut hundreds of ornaments out of 1/8" BB. soaked in BLO for a minute, dried, add a little red string to hang, put in a little white gift box. they sell for $15 and up depending on the detail.