Jennifer Moon-Child

I got my Porter Cable in September. I used it off and on but in November started using it almost daily to make gifts for Christmas. By December it was in the shop, it was squeaking and vibrating. I tried lubing it to no avail, and then it stopped working altogether. The repair man said there was a set screw tucked in the back that was missing entirely. He replaced it and it worked fine for 6 weeks. Back to the shop; I thought it was the same issue but this time it was a different screw towards the front of the saw. Both times the people at the shop weren't happy to see my saw; apparently Porter Cable is notoriously difficult to deal with warranty-wise. This past Monday (about six weeks from the last time) it started acting up again. It rattles and squeaks and vibrates, and just when I think I've got it fixed, it starts up again. This is the third strike for me. I'm not driving an hour to take it back for repairs, and I'm not dealing with it anymore, warranty or no. There is very little information online about how to fix this saw yourself, and apparently another thing Porter Cable is notorious for is not stocking parts for their tools. If something needs to be replaced there is a good chance that it won't be available. Since this is a fairly new model there are parts available online but some are already in limited quantites. When it is working properly, it is very quiet, like a sewing machine. It was definitely a step up from the Dremel Moto-Saw I started on. For occasional use this is a fine saw but if you are planning to really get into scroll sawing I can't recommend it. It does not come with a foot switch; there is a dust collection port. It takes both pinned and pinless blades. I always feed the blade from the bottom with it. Blade changing is easy once you get the hang of it.There is a plastic insert in the table that is not flush with the table so if you are working with small pieces of wood they can catch on the edge between the plastic and the metal table which is very annoying. Also the plastic gets chewed up by the blade very easily (especially when you are just learning how to use a scroll saw) and then you have a large ragged gap. The gauge for the table tilt was off by several degrees. The stand is nice and sturdy but it is standing height (for me anyway, I'm 5'1") or you can sit on a stool with it. I paid $199 for it and I guess I got what I paid for; I certainly used it a lot though there was a lot of downtime while it was being repaired.

I love ash, I think it's underrated. Not only is it more affordable than say, cherry or walnut, when you can't get it for free, the grain is often very beautiful, more interesting than maple but still a light color. I order it from Ocooch all the time.

I use easycast, mixed with a little acrylic paint to tint it to whatever color I want, I spray the whole board with a sealer and put felt pads on the planchettes to avoid scratching. The resin is a lot of work, although it's more forgiving than you might expect; mistakes can be sanded and redone. Your way is much easier.

Hey I make those every now and then for fun; I never thought of doing it like that with the clear sheet of plastic. I cut the letters out of the board and then fill them in with resin. Looks nice!

I use the dremel workstation, I have it set up right next to my saw so I don't have to get out of my chair to drill tiny holes. For larger holes and other usages, I have a regular drill press. And I use my lower-powered dremel in the workstation and my newer, more powerful dremel for detail sanding. It's funny how you start out with just a scroll saw and next thing you know, not only do you have every other tool under the sun, but more than one version of some of them.

I love the look of the box and the inlay, and I think the same box would look really cool with some other inlaid patterns, like a celtic knot sort of motif.

Wow, really nice! The watercolors really look amazing!

Sheila Landry is really great. I ordered a few patterns from her last December and she accidentally sent me one for the wrong (but similar) ornaments. I emailed her about it and she immediately (within less than 5 minutes of my original order) sent me the correct one and told me to enjoy the one she had included by accident. Her patterns are really easy to follow and extremely detailed.

1/4" bb. Some of the pieces were stack cut but most were not.

That's really pretty, I was looking at that same pattern to make a plaque for my cousin.

Hi everyone, whipped this up today. Got the pattern from this book http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Own-Model-Dinosaurs/dp/1565232445/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428450936&sr=8-1&keywords=dinosaur+skeleton+scroll+saw It was easy and fun. In the picture, the tail is upside down Realized it after I took the photos. The finished skeleton is just under 2 feet tall! oops, forgot to attach photo, edited to do just that.

Wow, that's pretty cool. I have a bunch of foreign coins that are basically worthless that we inherited from my husband's mother, and I bought some Iron Man FD blades on a whim last time I ordered...Might have to give it a try, though I doubt my attempt will look anywhere near as good.

Thanks again for all the welcomes!

Thanks, everyone! Courdorygirl, it is nice to see someone else my age; I haven't run into anyone else who scroll saws who is close in age to myself. AmazingKevin, I just figured out how to put photos in my album so now there are some there.

Hi everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I am Jen, I am 32 and I live in Delaware. I have been scrolling for almost a year. I still can't believe how addictive it is. A couple of weeks ago I upgraded to a Excalibur 21 and today I finished the sandpiper picture below. I cut it out of two layers of 1/8" baltic birch plywood and the segmented bird is 1/4" bb plywood. I coated the beach layer in mod podge and then sand (which I'd never done before and would do a little differently next time), and stained the bottom layer with blue acrylic paint mixed with acrylic stain medium. I also make a lot of other projects, anything from coasters and napkin holders to wall hangings, and lately I've started doing jigsaw puzzles. This forum seems like a great resource! Thanks everyone for all the info and inspiration!