Old Joe

I have done several of Alex Fox fretwork patterns and several of his baskets. Between the many zigs and zags, and the often close bridges, I think he is a very mean man! (Just joking, but many of his patterns are challenging !).

John, it’s a funny thing. I put this up on Lumberjocks the other day and I got a letter from a well known member on there yesterday that really liked this piece. He makes really nice bowls and asked if I would be interested in swapping the cat for a couple of his bowls. I told him that I might be later, but that I had just finished this and my wife wanted to keep this one around for a while. We agreed to do a rain check.I did put a fair amount of time into this one and if I sold it for cash I would want a fair price, otherwise I’d keep it, barter it, or gift it. Thank all of you for your kind compliments. It’s always nice when other terrific artists/craftspeople like you folks appreciate one’s efforts.

Very cool!

I’m going to answer you, km, and JT in one post. JT, I have a spindle sander, but will use the drill press occasionally for small projects as I had for years before I had dedicated sanders. My Delta drill has a reputation for developing that wobble. I think it’s an inherent design/manufacturing flaw. KM, I consider the Grizzly a vast improvement to the Dremel plunge router for getting perfectly straight holes. And easier to deal with, though in large projects, as you mentioned, there can be an issue with the center.

I think of it as being more like a small Wen press but a little more substantial.I really like the small footprint of this one. I have a full sized Delta tabletop, but it has developed a slight wobble in the chuck that hasn’t gotten bad enough for me to deal with, but is on my list.

I just finished an Alex Fox pattern with 330 cuts and I just wanted to share with you folks how much easier my scrolling life has been since I added a Grizzly Baby Drill Press to my shop a while back.This drill is very versatile, and though I have a full size Delta, a couple of Dremel contraptions, the Grizzly has become my go to unit for scrolling. It takes the tiniest micro bit, yet I also use it with sanding drums and Forstner bits. My only minor complaint is the depth control, though accurate, is a bit tedious to set. Unfortunately, the price is now about $20 more than I paid earlier this year, but it is still worthwhile, IMHO. Check it out:http://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-5-Speed-Baby-Drill-Press/G7942?iparcelcountry=US&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm9DyjNG_3gIVgVqGCh3VJQqMEAQYASABEgLY3vD_BwE

Thanks, Charlie. It’s 8 1/2” x 11.”

I just finished this Alex Fox pattern. 330 cuts, Baltic Birch Natural Danish oil, mounted on 3/4” Poplar board stained about as dark as I could get it. I may move on to ornaments, or baskets, or maybe boxes for awhile.

I don’t like conventional frames for fretwork and if possible I cut a backboard of ideally 1” stock, but will settle for nominal (3/4”) 1” stock. I feel that for many portraits they display better without being enclosed in a frame. I also virtually always rout out a keyhole slot for hanging them.

Great, and varied advice, folks! Personally, I usually pre-drill all of the holes, start cutting in the center and work my way out. Ithink it’s kind of fun to look at them from the back as I go along.

Fantastic project and impressive workmanship!

Thank you all for your compliments, and for sharing your experiences and advice regarding selling detailed portraits and other scrollsaw pieces. I don’t really get much joy from stack cutting ornaments, and the thought of trying to stack cut four of some of Alex Fox’s patterns is daunting to me. This one pictured here would be challenging to get a blade through the micro holes on multiple layers of wood, but the Girl With the Violin has fretwork with some bridges that are not any thicker than the blade. As to the cost of the wood, I buy Baltic Birch in 5’ square sheets at a pretty low price, but virtually all of my fretwork is mounted on true 1” hardwood, or occasionally 1” nominal. The backs all have keyhole slots routed into them and a personalized Steve Good “Hand Crafted”coin inlaid in the back, giving them an overall professional finish.I literally would rather give them away as gifts than to sell them for too cheap. That said a local gift shop was interested in selling some of my bud vases but they only wanted the most simple designs. The thought of sitting at my saw knocking out dozens of the same vase has no appeal to me. But, getting back to topic, I have been getting folks asking me a price for both the fretwork portraits and the vases and I just don’t know where to begin to set a price.

I put a picture of this on a social media blog and a couple of people expressed interest in buying it. I wasn’t actually trying to sell it, just showing off, but one lady seriously wants a price. I have no idea how to price this, or another Alex Fox piece I did a couple of weeks ago, the Girl with a Violin. Because the patterns are not my originals, I feel that lessens the value somewhat, but I also feel that in both cases the work was done well and they are very intricate pieces. Any suggestions from those of you that have experience selling your work?

I bought mine at that price from them about 3 years ago. It was the best price then, and it is the best price I’ve seen anywhere since until this sale came up. It’s a great price for a good saw.

I just finished this Alex Fox pattern. It took a while, and my Dewalt developed issues when I had about 75 cuts left to do and I nursed it through. 1/4” Baltic Birch, mounted on nominal 1” Poplar. 252 cuts!

I know a few people that would love this medicine box!

I agree 100% regarding Steve Good. He has been, and continues to be, a huge influence and inspiration to this old man.

Love them all! Great cutting!

Well done, Sir!

When doing most of the fret work that I have been torturing myself with lately I rarely use anything larger than a #3.

If your saw is like my Dewalt , the saw’s blowers on your left side. If so, if possible I would recommend putting your box fan to your right side rather than behind you.

The ceiling fans like the Wen, Jet, Shop Fox, etc removes fine airborne dust particles and helps to improve the overall cleanliness of the shop. My box fan with a furnace filter sits on the floor next to my saw and it sucks up a ton of fine dust. I hate wearing a respirator and rarely use one unless I am cutting some exotic woods or MDF. So, my system is as follows: I have the ceiling unit on most of the time, and usually set it to run for 4 hours when I leave the shop for the day. I also run an unfiltered box fan on low from about five feet, on a bench, away pointed towards my sawsaw. Then I have another box fan with a furnace filter cable tied to it on the floor a couple of feet away from the saw. I find this works great to keep the scroll dust out of my face and lungs.I learned the box fan trick years ago when working residential remodel work. I have seen examples on-line of extravagant boxes that people have made to put the box fans in, though I believe in the KISS theory on this i.e. Keep It Simple Stupid. If you want, I can take pictures of my setup and post them tomorrow..

I like Pegas and Flying Dutchman. I found Olson to be less consistent and less responsive. The difference in price is negligible.

I bought the Grizzly version of this and I think it is basically the same thing. I buy Wen filters from Amazon for it and they fit perfectly. Also, I took a $15 box fan and cable tied a furnace filter to it and it sucks up a ton of stuff, about as much as the more expensive hanging version. The timer on the hanging unit is key for me.

Kevin, you probably don't remember, but when I first joined this blog and bought my Dewalt saw you encouraged me enough to get past the beginner's wall, and for that I will be forever grateful.