orangeman

Does this count? This month I am conducting 3 scroll saw workshops in my shop for a maximum of 4 attendees each time. Open to all 40 members of our community's woodworking club which consists of 40 members. I've done 2 so far and one more to go. Covers the basics of scroll saw tune up, blade selection, wood selection, planning the cut, sanding tips, and finishing tips. Attendees get to cut out a puzzle on one of my 3 saws. I provide a handout with tips and resources. Plus some patterns they can use to make puzzles for our local Toys for Tots Program. I have never taught anything before and it seems to be going well.

Take your measuring stick to the grocery store and measure. Big difference between brands. Some manufacturers will increase the size of the tube so you think you are getting more wipes per buck. bb

I often get questions if there are any choking pieces in a puzzle which folks are looking at for children. So I researched the government guidelines and came up with this device which I take to shows. A piece is considered chokable by the government if it can fit within the cavity of the device. bb

Too bad Mike is not around. great guy! I mis - ordered one time and he made it right! And I have lots of FD blades gathering dust because I switched to Pegas Modified Geometry blades as my go to blades for 3/4" hardwoods. But I still use the FD superior puzzle blades for 1/4" plywood! bb

Ouch. 18 blades comes to $18.45 with shipping. Over $1/blade. They should be terrific at that price. bb

Is anyone familiar with this scroll saw? https://www.micromark.com/16-Inch-Scroll-Saw-with-Flexible-Shaft-Attachment I can't read the brand. bb

Kevin, I recently bought a led/magnifying light over the internet - can't remember the brand. I don't like the magnifying part as it makes me nauseous when using. Around $60. My advice is to check out the lights at a store before you buy. I like my older fluorescent magnifying lights much better. bb

Interesting re slowing down the DeWalt. Will be interesting to see if that improves the life of the DeWalt. Typically I'll get 10 months out of a DeWalt before it needs major servicing. Last time I got close to 12 months before servicing under warranty at no cost. Like you I cut a lot of puzzles.

I like that wheel deal. May have to make one for my late 90's vintage Hawk.

Blade breakage on my Hegner has always been a problem and I can't figure out why! bb

Doesn't look like they have a single puzzle in all the back issues. bb

Very nice indeed. Just wondering if you could do the UCLA bear with a pair of Chinese sunglasses? Might be a good seller these days bb

My all time favorite: Been looking for another one that I like but haven't found it yet. This was published in SCWC mag many years ago. bb

corrected earlier post. 36 sq ft, not 3.

May have to try the shelf liner. The cheapest I could find is $5.64 for 36 sq ft. or $0.15/sq ft plus shipping. I just paid around $0.25/sq ft of the blue tape inc shipping. bb

When using temporary bond adhesive on patterns and then packaging tape over the pattern I find that is difficult to sand the adhesive off entirely. The result is a blotchy effect when I dip a puzzle piece in food coloring. I have solved the problem by adhering blue painter's masking tape to the wood and then adhering the pattern over the tape. There appears to be no residue left by the blue tape. The only downside is that it takes a little more time to remove the blue tape from the puzzle pieces. The end result is that I wind up with much better colored pieces. I have not tried clear packaging tape on wood instead of the blue masking tape because I know it would take much longer to remove the clear tape. For those not familiar with the advantages of tape, it is used as a lubricant for the blade and prevents burning of very hard woods; blades last longer too. I believe it was Mike M. (of flying dutchman fame) that discovered it is the lubricant on the tape - to prevent the tape sticking together on the roll - that is the secret ingredient for us scrollers. bb

Scott, will be interesting to see what you discover. I found that by having puzzles out for "play" attracts folks who spend time in the booth playing and then don't spend a dime. I used to have my mini puzzles out and kids would play with them and then the parents would hustle them out of there without buying anything. We don't do that anymore. bb

My "go-to blade" for your type of puzzles is the Pegas modified geometry #5 blade! bb

I use a 3M sanding wheel mounted in a lathe. can also use in a drill press. https://www.apdmro.com/3M-Scotchbrite-9416Na-p/70070905693.htm some Ace Hardware stores carry single wheels . bb

My granddaughter drew a river otter for me a couple years ago. I could always make it into a puzzle. What a great story line re their lifetime partnership! Maybe two otters face to face with a heart in the middle. How romantic! bb

Penguin puzzles always seem to do well for me. Both the $16 and $24 versions. bb

Jim, Only the Shadow know! This year I sold out of my owl puzzles - one version priced at $28 and the other one at $36. In 2016 owls were not "IN" so I didn't make many to sell in 2017! Seems like they only flew off the shelf later in 2017. What will be "IN" in 2018? Again, only the shadow know! One year it was pigs, then cows, then roosters. How do you get a handle on this? bb

Interesting. Home DePot includes the stand whereas Rockler does not. Same price. Except Rockler has an additional $19 charge for shipping. bb

Pigma Micron pens will do the job. WalMArt has them on their website - don't know about the stores. Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn's should have. Bought mine at Michael's. https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=black+micron+pen&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=174263046953&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15514013717601503630&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010843&hvtargid=kwd-3771046245&ref=pd_sl_9fl5paz7lq_b bb

I have designed around 10 state wildlife puzzles in order to use scrap pieces of wood. If the scraps are a little larger, say 3" x 4", I will cut "mini" animal puzzles with 3-6 pieces. bb