CharleyL

I too made "The Keeper of Time" some 25 years and three saws ago. His pattern was in "Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts" back about then. He kept me busy for quite a while. Mine is made from two pieces of red oak slats of a pallet, joined side by side. I matched the grain as best as I could, and now can't tell you where the seam is, but it's horizontal and about in the middle. The base is mahogany. Since then, my wife has forbid me from making things that require intricate dusting. With him, I just take him out to the shop and blow him off with compressed air about once a year. I wanted to make a grandfather clock, but since I wouldn't be able to do the same with one of them, I never cut one out. For about the past 20 years or so, I make smaller things, and give them away, so she doesn't have to dust them, and I don't either. Charley

You can also move the blade over or make it closer to straight up and down in it's travel using the Allen screws that are located on the opposite side of the blade clamp bolts. These sometimes will back out from saw use too. With the blade removed, turning both a bit counter clockwise the same amount will move the blade to the left and turning them clockwise will move the blade to the right. With the saw running very slow, watch to see if there is no blur in your view of the blade with your head down and looking straight across the front of the table and watching the blade. Increase the speed gradually while watching. If your view of the blade is a solid straight line you are good. If not, either the top or bottom one of these set screws needs to be turned slightly, but always remember to make the adjustment with the blade removed. When testing for blade/table truly vertical, I use a small block of wood about 2" cube that I cut perfectly square and then check with a try square to assure that it is. I hold it up to the side and back of the tensioned blade and look for gaps between the blade and the block. A bright light behind shining toward the block helps to see the gap. Once you have adjusted the table and/or the blade as square as possible, make a shallow cut into one side of the block just to make a kerf line. Then remove the block and look to see if the cut line is parallel to the side of the block. It also sometimes helps to turn this block around and see if the blade easily slips into this cut line from the back. If it does, the blade is exactly 90 deg to the table side to side. Front to back is more difficult, since there is no real adjustment for that. If it is not 90 deg when checked against the block of wood with the block against the back of the blade, loosening the blade mechanisms where they are screwed to the upper and lower arms of the saw will let you move them slightly forward or back in the screw holes may be enough, but you may need to dis-assemble and then file these screw holes in the arms a little to get more adjustment. Before doing this try to just move the lower back and the upper forward, or the reverse of this, and tighten the screws. Then run the test with the block of wood against the back of the blade again to see if you made a difference. Only do the filing if absolutely necessary. Whenever I install a blade, I always put moderate finger pressure down on the upper blade clamp as I'm tightening the 2nd blade clamp. Doing this assures that you have removed all of the play in the blade moving machinery, and your tension adjustment will be the same every time. Happy scrolling. Absolute adjustments like this aren't necessary until you begin cutting thick wood, stack cutting, or 3-D cutting. Enjoy your saw. Charley

I can't imagine what use you will have for a printer that big to print patterns for scroll sawing, but printing big can be a lot of fun, and rewarding, if you are willing to create big signs and posters. I almost got into this BIG printer idea myself and still have thoughts in that direction. I have two wide format HP printers, one is an HP5000 and the other HP5500. The HP5500 can print both sides of a sheet and both printers are roll fed. Both use 48" by 150' rolls of paper, but both have been in storage for several years, so they will likely need ink feed restoration and new ink. My intent was to put one in my photo studio to print full size stand-ups of people, etc. like the baseball player and race car driver stand-ups so often seen in stores for advertising. Remaining available space in my photo/video studio, after everything else has been moved in has pretty much put an end to this idea, but maybe I can squeeze one of them in there. Each printer is about 8' wide, 3' deep and on stands, so about 4' high. Really BIG Printers. Anybody want the other one? I can be very reasonable on price. Charley

@BadBob and @Meflick, I really appreciate your replies and comments. Ray, I appreciate yours too. You can "like" everything, and it's OK with me. At least it tells me that "someone" has seen it. Those are interesting reindeer Bob. Sort-of like what I make, but with elaborate antlers. How large are they? I have made a few band saw reindeer on my band saw, a Chiwanese model, but the pattern did not cut well and the resulting reindeer were about 16" tall and not very interesting to me. The saw needs a 1/8" blade and super tuning to get any success at all on reindeer, but does fine for my other woodworking needs with a larger blade. My bandsaw is an 18" model with a 111" blade and actually not designed to use smaller than 1/4" blade size, so getting it to work at all was quite tricky, and I had to repair the blade several times when it broke. At that time I had the welders and tooling to repair it, but not now because of my pacemaker installation, I have given up on band saw reindeer. The blade became too short to be able to continue using it in my saw from the need to re-splice and weld it so many times . Charley

I agree to that. In my 17 years of making and giving away reindeer I never found anyone who said "Hey, I can make them too". Most men who are woodworkers make me tell them how I do this and then they want one, but other non woodworking men will ask questions, but won't take one for themselves. Most of the women, however, can't seem to get enough of them. When I first started, I was cutting them out and then using a re-purposed air powered dentist drill and 1/8" shank bits to round their corners to make them look more of a proper reindeer shape, but it was very time consuming. Staining and finishing was also done to the early ones, and it too took a lot of time. Then I found out that they liked them unfinished just as they come out of the saw, so I cut out all of the finishing steps, but I still do QC on them to remove any splintering of the edges, put eyes and red nose on them with marking pens, and spray them with clear lacquer so they, especially the ones that become jewelry, stay nice looking. At least some of you have now made some reindeer, and even made other 3-D items. I was hoping more would try it. My first 3-D items were from Dianne's books, but then I started looking everywhere for other 3-D patterns because I enjoyed doing the 3-D cutting so much. Others liked what I was making and most couldn't comprehend how magically the item being cut came out of the middle of the block of wood. When I first got the idea to make the reindeer I had watched it being done on a band saw, but what they made was over a foot high. I wondered then if I could do the same, but much smaller on a scroll saw. After a few attempts at drawing my own and not being happy with the result (I'm no artist who can draw pretty pictures), I found the little 3-D reindeer pattern on www.woodgears.ca that Mathias had made. Then I used his pattern and Photoshop to clean it up a bit and resize it. I also used Photoshop to put as many copies of the pattern as I could fit on one sheet of paper before printing them, keeping the edges of each in line to make it easy to cut them apart from the sheet later. Once a full sheet is made, as many full sheets of that size reindeer are easy to print out or even photocopy. Once I could cut them out reliably, I then decided to see if I could make them smaller, and did so. I now make 4 sizes in quantity, with the largest (original) about 4" tall, and the smallest about 7/8" tall. I did make some even smaller, but the number of bad to good ratio convinced me that it was a waste of time, if I was going to make things to give away, quite a challenge though. Then friends discovered that I was making them, and it seemed like everybody, but especially the women, went crazy over these, so I began making and giving them away. They do make nice Christmas presents. The middle sizes look great as a necklace or pin, and the smallest make great ear rings. I also make 3-D Christmas Tree ornaments in quantity. Another production item, but they take longer, so are only given to close family and very close friends. A gift of a dozen or so sure lights up faces when they open their package. I have always enjoyed scroll sawing, since I began back in about 1965, but once I began doing the 3-D patterns I have never seemed to want to cut anything else, although I still do flat work occasionally. For me, 3-D cutting on a scroll saw was yet another slippery slope in woodworking, and it was almost straight down for me. It sure is a great way to reduce the scrap pile of "nice, but too small" pieces of wood. Much of my waste wood is now so small that my #2 son, who heats his home with a wood fire, complains that it isn't very good even for kindling, but he keeps coming back and cleaning out my scrap bins for me. I have also been designing and building Science Exhibits, off and on, for the NC Science Museums since 1996, mostly for Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC. For these, I usually begin with a request for something from them and work to develop a concept to suit their need. I usually then do the cabinet making, wiring, programming, hydraulics, pneumatics, etc. to complete the project. Sometimes I work in my own shop to build them, or work on the sub-assemblies in my shop for the larger projects, and then work with them in their larger shop to complete the exhibit. So I do anything and everything needed, except for the graphics, but they have a department for that work. Photography and woodworking are now my two main hobbies, and both at a bit out-of-control professional level, but I still tackle electrical and electronic projects frequently. I was into metal working pretty heavily too, until I had the pacemaker installed, and my heart doctor put an end to my metalworking. I gave most of my metal working tools, torches, welders, etc. to my #2 son, because he is a certified welder, fabricator, and senior certified refrigeration technician. He now makes the metal parts that I need, and his home and shop are just across town from me, so I can go there and use my tools and his that don't make sparks, if I need to. His shop is 6 X the size of mine too. Charley

Ray, Thanks for your response. But then you respond to everything that I post no matter what. And still nothing from anyone else. Charley

So, only 1 "Like" for the above post with my photography assistant's picture attached? In fact, nobody has made a comment, like maybe "How dues an 80 year old guy find a 20 something year old beautiful assistant to work with him?" Well, that was kind of a test to see what response I would get from all of you, and it looks like I scarred everyone but @Octool Guy away, and he only posted a "Like" with no comment. The truth is, she is a mannequin. The cheapest mannequin that I could find on Amazon at $86. Her hair came from the Halloween section of Walmart for $7 and her dress from Goodwill for $5.50. Her jewelry was all donated by my wife and neighbors wives. When first setting up my photo studio I asked my wife to pose for me while I adjusted the lights and took some test shots. Ten minutes after she asked how long it was going to take. I replied "about an hour". With that, she got up and left, saying that she had better things to do. Other photographers that I know told me to "get a mannequin, one with glass eyes so you can see the catchlights (reflections of the lights) in her eyes)", so I ordered a mannequin from Amazon. she's just a full size "Barbie" with the right shape for a woman. No sex features, but shaped like a woman. She has been perfect for helping me adjust the lights and take test shots, but this has gotten more complicated since, and I will explain. My wife wasn't very happy, at first, that this new woman was in the house even though she wasn't real, but she was quite pleased that I was no longer asking her to pose for me. When I ordered "Linda" I had no idea how pretty she would look, but she does improve the environment of my otherwise plain studio. It took me over 2 months to get over the feeling that "someone was watching me from behind" while I'm sitting here at the computer though. Linda is usually in the gear closet, unless I'm making changes to the lighting or trying new ideas with the camera. I had just been setting up 8 LED light panels, each containing 480 LEDs (8 X 480 = a lot of LEDs) so that I could get adequate and shadow free lighting for a video shoot that will be happening soon. Linda was out of the closet and helping me get the lights adjusted. This was just one of the test shots that I took of her. Attached is a photo showing some of these LED lights that are attached to the studio ceiling. Sorry, I don't have a wide angle lens wide enough to get them all in the photo, but there are truly 8 of them total in a kind-of wide U positioning. I was working to get them placed in such a way that would allow me to leave them up, yet still let me use my strobe lights below them for still photos. Each of these LED lights can be controlled via an APP on my cell phone that lets me turn them on and off, and also adjust the brightness and color, so no wires to deal with, and with them attached to the ceiling, no tripod stands to trip over. Charley

Ha! It's when your gold migrates into your doctor's Ferrari fund. Getting old is definitely not for sissies. I hate getting old, but I'm not fond of the alternative either. I've been falling apart quite rapidly since early 2000. So far, my doctors have succeeded in putting me back together every time one of my parts starts falling off or needs replacement, but the replaced parts are not nearly as good as the original. I'm becoming "Bionic". The last time that I went on an airline flight I made a comment to the security guy running the scanner that "I had a lot of metal and plastic in me". He shrugged and waived me on. When I came out of the scanner he yelled out quite loudly "Man, you twinkle like a Christmas tree". I felt a bit awkward when everyone turned and looked up at me. I've now had 7 heart surgeries, so lots of metal, titanium wire, and plastic in my chest, and two full knee replacements, so lots of titanium down there too. Also a pacemaker that keeps my ticker running at the right speed. I guess I did light up his scanner screen, but he let me on the airplane without a problem. I guess nothing metal in me is shaped like a knife or a revolver, so not a threat to the airline. I've also survived cancer twice, so far. Not many have ever done everything that I have done in my lifetime. The list is too long to post here, so lets just say that I have had many different kinds of jobs and many significant adventures in my life, some of which were quite hard on this old body, but I've always strived to be very good at whatever it was that I did. I built my own Pro Photo/Video studio, beginning about 2 1/2 years ago, because I have always wanted one of my own. I've been a photographer since high school. It was a challenge for me and something "New To Do", but "not so great timing" for me, because I was ready to put it to use just about the same time that COVID arrived. I've been using it, but not very often, because "we are all in isolation" from each other as much as possible. But it was a "Bucket List item" that kept me busy building and creating. I have never been happy if I couldn't create in some way. So without anyone to photograph, I got an assistant who lets me adjust my lights and photograph her whenever I want to try something new. Linda will pose for me for hours and never complain. She's quite pretty too. Charley

It's easy, once you have the right set of tooling for good results. I spent a fortune on what didn't work, before coming up with what works well for me. I have a Leigh D4R with a special top plate for cutting box joints. I used it once, and it's been hanging in my shop ever since. The D4R makes great dovetail joints, if you use it right, but I wasn't at all happy with router cut box joints, no matter what jig I tried. The Incra I-Box jig is designed to be used on a router table as well as a table saw, but again, I wasn't happy with the tear-out that I got when using it on a router table. A spinning router bit cuts in both directions, so you really need a sacrificial backer on both sides of the work when cutting box joints. The Incra I-Box jig only has one and it remains in the same position, so can be used over and over. But to protect the back side of the work you pretty much have to clamp a second sacrificial piece to the back side of the work, and the jig does not offer a way to keep it in the exact same position as you increment the work to cut the additional notches. If you hot glue or somehow clamp a sacrificial strip to the back side of your work, it will move with the work piece and receive cuts just like the workpiece. Now you run into the problem of how to position this already cut sacrificial strip in the exact same position on the next piece being cut so it can protect the shoulders of each cut the same way that it did on the first work piece. Any miss-adjustment and the edges of the new cuts will be chipped. Use the I-Box jig on a table saw, and the blade only cuts in one direction, and in exactly the same place for every cut. So you can get away with only one sacrificial piece on the side of the work that the blade exits the work. Since you move the work piece for each cut and the sacrificial piece and jig maintain the same positional relationship, you are cutting in only that one position. It's the work that moves and not the cutter or sacrificial strip. The I-Box jig holds it's accuracy well between uses too. I built yet another box to hold my I-Box jig. If I will be cutting the same width using the same blade on my Unisaw, the only things that I need to do before cutting more of the same size box joints that I did previously is to set the saw blade height for the thickness of the wood being used and then make a test cut to be certain that I have everything set right. I then move the sacrificial strip over to an un-cut position, and begin cutting my box joints. For the same width box joints, there are no other adjustments needed. While on the subject of boxes, here is a photo of two sets of "Apple Boxes" that I made for my photo studio. The name for them was coined in the early days of movie production, possibly by someone using apple crates to raise a short person, or the camera tripod in order to get the shot desired. Each is 12" X 20" and they come in sets of 8", 4", 2", and 1" tall, so any height between 1" and 15" can be attained using different combinations of height stacked together. They are hollow and don't open, just "Very Sturdy" spacers. For these I used 1/4" Baltic Birch Plywood for the sides, and 1/2" Baltic Birch for the top and bottom. Inside are two more pieces positioned to act as stiffeners and to transfer the weight through the box from top to bottom and on to the next box in the stack or to the floor. Of course, the 1" high is two layers of 1/2". glued together, so solid wood. Are they strong enough to stand on? Well, I jacked up the front of my 3 ton Jeep Grand Cherokee and placed a stack of these under each front tire. Then let the Jeep down so the full weight of the front of the Jeep was on them. I didn't even hear a click and no sags were visible at all. I just wanted to be absolutely certain that anyone, even an elephant, could be supported safely with these before using them in my photo/video studio. Each was made just like my tool boxes and totes with box joints on all corners. I'll be making two sets of 1/2 Apple Boxes (!0 X 12") soon for the studio too. Charley

Mine can't, but I'm certain that if you look long and hard enough, you will find some that can. I don't have trouble with them, but at this level of magnification, only someone with a significant difference between their eyes would really need them. Don't expect hobbyist pricing though. The last time that I visited my dentist, I was trying to talk him out of one of the pair that he uses. They have separate monoculars attached to the lenses of what look like regular glasses. I would guess that since they were separate, that they could be separately adjusted. Charley

It's been years since I bought my magnifier headbands, but these two on Amazon seem to be close to what I have. https://smile.amazon.com/mlogiroa-Magnifying-Headband-Magnifier-Interchangeable/dp/B099DSLDTJ/ref=sr_1_36?crid=1GO2PSVZU7LFO&keywords=headband+magnifier+headset&qid=1641839918&sprefix=head+band+magnifier%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-36 amazon.com/Magnifying-Head-Mounted-Binocular-Magnifier-Electronics/dp/B082D8TSCL/ref=sr_1_16?crid=1GO2PSVZU7LFO&keywords=headband+magnifier+headset&qid=1641839918&sprefix=head+band+magnifier%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-16 Again, not exactly what I have, since I have no idea where I got mine. None of mine have lights included. My lights are attached to the upper arm of my scroll saw and not to the headband magnifiers that I use. Charley

That photo of the wood that you are presently using tells me that you need a new and sharper high tooth count blade on your table saw, and a zero clearance insert to minimize the opening around the blade to just wide enough for the blade to come through. Both will stop the chipping of the edges of the wood blanks that you are cutting to size. If using a hand held circular saw, there are ways to make a zero clearance insert for it too. Ask, and I'll provide the info. Charley

I make many boxes, and now mostly make them with box joints. I have made box joints using DIY jigs, purchased jigs, table saw, and router tables. I now use an Incra I-Box jig, my Unisaw, and usually a Freud SBOX8 box joint blade set for 1/4 and 3/8" box joints. For 1/8" box joints I found a Freud ripping blade that has a FTG (Flat Tooth Grind) on the teeth that makes great box joints for tiny boxes. For box joints larger than 3/8" I use my Freud Dial-A-Width DADO blade set. It doesn't make great flat bottomed cuts, but on these larger box joints, it isn't as noticeable in the finished box. The I-Box jig makes it easy to change from one size box joint to another because as you change the width of the cut, it automatically changes the width of the pin to match. The second feature in the I-Box is the sacrificial strip that minimizes chipping of the cut edges. Each time I am about to make a new box joint size, after making all of the adjustments to the saw and the jig, I make a test cut to be certain that everything is right and then I move the sacrificial strip to a fresh position. Then I proceed to make my box joints for as many boxes as needed at that setting. The sacrificial strip is just a piece of 1/4" MDF with 4 screw holes in it, so the original can be copied to make many spares, but Incra sells them in 3 packs for about $10 plus shipping. Since this piece can be moved and used again for each use, and flipped over to use the top edge too, many box joint cutting sessions can be done before this piece needs replacement, but I found it easy to just get a 2' X 4' piece of MDF and make a bunch of these by copying the original in a little over an hour of shop time. I doubt I'll live long enough to use all of them, but it was fun shop time at a cost of about $6 for the MDF. I think I've found the ultimate way of making chip out free box joints with this combination of jig, saw, and blade. I was once told "You can't cut box joints in plywood", but I do it frequently in Baltic Birch plywood and solid wood with no problems. Attached are a few photos of some of the boxes that I've made. Most are just to contain tools and jigs that have many small parts that would be easily lost if not in a specially designed and built box to keep them together. I have more photos, but want to keep this post short. Charley

The LED lights that I have seem to be obsolete now, which is probably good, because the LEDs and their plug-in power modules don't last very long. I have cannibalized several lights to keep the ones on my saw working. Lowes seems to now be selling these as the replacement for the version that I have. I can only hope that they are more reliable. The configuration is about the same, but mine are stainless steel and these are powder coat painted. The clamp and head are different too. https://www.lowes.com/pl/Led--Desk-lamps-Lamps-lamp-shades-Lighting-ceiling-fans/4294798229?refinement=4294836652 Buy the clamp lights and not the desk top base version. The end of the gooseneck is different in the weighted base version and not as easy to modify for a DIY bracket. The DIY bracket is just a 2" wide strip of 1/16" aluminum that I bent to form an upside down "U" over the upper arm of my DeWalt Scroll Saw, leaving it long enough to be able to bend 3/4" tabs outward from the bottom of the scroll saw arm. These tabs should be right at or just slightly above the bottom of the scroll saw arm. I then made a bottom plate of 1/8" aluminum 2" wide to go under the scroll saw arm and extend out under the tabs of the U shaped piece to allow bolting the tabs of the U piece to it and beyond the tabs long enough to allow drilling a hole to attach the end of the LED lamp gooseneck to. Both ends of this piece should look identical, so a gooseneck lamp can be attached to each end. I lined the inside of the U with a strip of sticky backed thin Weatherstrip material to make it less likely to slide on the scroll saw arm after it is attached. Two 8-32 X 1/2" bolts and nuts secure the tabs of the U piece to the 1/8" flat piece that holds the goosenecks for the lamps, one on each side of the saw arm. I positioned my light bracket about 1" behind the plastic piece with the saw speed control on it's top. I modified my lights, removing the clamps from the goosenecks and attaching them to a DIY aluminum bracket that wraps around the upper arm. You have to dis-assemble the light head and disconnect the wires from the LED PC board and pull the wires down through the gooseneck to be able to remove the clamp, then attach the gooseneck to your DIY bracket and install the wires through the gooseneck to the light head. Since LEDs are direct current lights, the polarity of the wired connections is important. Get it wrong and the light won't work, but it won't hurt anything. Just switch the wire connections and test it again before re-assembling the light head. Mine has a white line running along the - (negative) wire) and both + and - connection points labeled on the PC board. Another trick to get it right, if you don't see the labels as you are dis-assembling the lamp head is to cut one wire free, leaving a piece about 1/2" long on the PC Board. Then cut the other wire free, but about 1" from the PC board. It will be easy to see from the wire lengths, which wire goes where as the lamp head is re-assembled. Just unsolder and replace one at a time. I don't recommend splicing, since there is too little room in the lamp head for a splice and it's too easy for the splice to short out. Soldering to the PC board points is the best method. If you can't do it, find a friend who is good at soldering. It takes the right tools and experience to be able to solder electronics connections properly. I was self taught, but then had to go through the NASA Soldering class to learn how to do it to their specs. I re-learned a lot from that class. They didn't want a bad solder joint to ruin a flight to the Moon. Now, 64 years later, I doubt that I could pass their class, but I can still solder well enough for Earth projects. I was looking through my photos for a picture of this bracket and haven't found it. I can take some and post them, if anyone needs them. I think my description above should be good enough. The bracket, as I made it, will only work with a DeWalt Scroll Saw, since the design of the upper blade arms of other saws are different. Each kind of saw will require a different design of the light bracket. The added weight of my two LED lights and bracket has not kept my Jim Dandy Arm Lift from working without even needing adjustment. The Jim Dandy Lift depends on a spring to counterbalance the upper saw arm so it will stay up when lifted to insert blades and it still works to hold the arm up with the lights and bracket attached. Charley

That dotted line really isn't that important as long as the fold line is at 90 deg to the reindeer's feet. If it is a little more or less to the left or right, as long as your fold line is vertical and between the face and side views, your reindeer will cut properly. The closer the fold line is to the side view, the farther back inside the block of wood that your reindeer will be located after you have completed cutting him out. For my smallest 7/8" tall reindeer, I actually narrowed the space between the front and side pattern views so that I could use thinner blocks of wood. You do need some space between the fold line and each view to keep the blade from breaking out of the work piece and into your clamp as you cut close to the edge of the block of wood though. It is absolutely necessary to keep the front and side views attached together as one piece of paper. This keeps the two views in line with each other during the cutting process. You will fail if you cut the front and side views apart and attach them to the wood separately, since doing so will loose the pattern alignment needed. After preparing the blocks of wood and separating each reindeer pattern from the sheet of paper, I pick up one of the blocks of wood and place the side view of the reindeer on the block of wood, positioning it so his feet touch the bottom end of the block of wood and the face view of the pattern is hanging off the edge of the block of wood. I then run my finger down the fold point, creasing the pattern where I want the fold line. On the dotted line, if there is one, or just between the face and side view of the pattern. I then remove the pattern and complete the fold so it is about 90 deg. Then I do the next and the next pattern in the same way, until all that I have prepared have been folded. With all of the wood blocks and patterns prepared, I am now ready to glue the patterns on. I pick up a block of wood and orient it so that the folding edge and bottom end have the cleanest cuts. I then wipe stationery store rubber cement on the face and side that will receive the pattern, covering 100% of each of these two sides. A full coat, but with no excess. I then pick up a pattern and place it onto the glued surfaces, gently aligning it and pressing the pattern fully against the block of wood to completely attach the pattern to the block of wood. I then set this one aside, laying it on my bench with an unglued side facing down. Then I repeat this to glue the next reindeer pattern to the next block of wood. Doing this preparation and gluing in batches is more efficient than only one at a time, and it gives the glue time to fully dry before you begin cutting it. With 3-D patterns there is never a need to remove the pattern from the finished work piece, because the finished piece never has any of the pattern left on it. The pattern is on the scraps and is just discarded. When I make up batches of blanks with patterns on them, I have built some wooden totes that I stack them in. They are 6" X 12" and 4" deep. Each tote is usually dedicated to one pattern. I have 12 of these totes and the feet of each are positioned so that the totes are stackable and interlock with the tote below it. My totes can be seen behind the mailbox in the photos for that above. I stack these with the tote that I am working out of on top with it at my saw's approximate table height and next to my saw, so I can remove each blank, cut the pattern, and then place the finished cutting back into the tote. When I'm ready to cut a different pattern, I just re-stack the totes so the one containing the new pattern is on top and I'm ready to begin. I have a similar sized, but taller hinged lid box that contains all of my scroll sawing tools and most used blades in prescription bottles that I also keep next to the totes, usually sitting on top of a milk crate so that I can reach the needed tools and blades easily. A larger box full of prescription bottles holds the blades that I use less often. It holds about 24 bottles, each containing a different type or style of blades. I swap out prescription bottles of blades between these two boxes, depending on what I plan to cut, so when doing out of workshop classes or demonstrations, I only need to take the smaller box with me. Charley

I've never cared for the magnifiers that attach to the saw, bench, or other, but do use magnification when scrolling small things. I use a 3X or 5X magnifier that is attached to a head band, so it is in line with and moves with my eyes and head. I have several versions now. My lights are LED gooseneck and mounted on both sides of the upper arm of my DeWalt Scroll Saw. I position each high enough not to interfere with my hand movements, and slightly forward of the blade, aimed down at roughly 45 deg. so there are no significant shadows around the blade and cutting point to distract me from cutting where I want to. Blade shadows or flickering shadows from the upper blade grip getting in the way of the light can really affect how well your eyes see the cutting point. Eliminating these shadows makes for much higher cutting accuracy and less eye strain. If you cut for hours at a time, like I do, you won't be near as tired at the end of a long cutting session. Charley

Rolf, I use pine selected for minimum and light growth rings for the larger sizes to keep them from looking like Zebras after cutting and to keep the cost down since I make so many. A carpenter friend was dropping off 2 X Shorts of SPF for me that I was cutting down to 3/4 thickness, but the growth ring problem had increased to the point that 2 years ago I had told him to stop. The smaller reindeer usually don't survive cutting, let alone handling if cut from pine. For me, cherry burns too easily when cut, so I've gone to using hard maple, especially for the ear ring 7/8" tall size. I was using the same maple when cutting the 1/2", but at that size their legs become so thin during cutting that they are just way too delicate, if they even survive the cutting. Two and three legged reindeer live in my scrap bin. The stork and reindeer in your photo look very nice. Diana Thompson's pattern books for 3-D characters are about the best available. Have you made the mailbox yet? It's in the same book. I modified her pattern because her mailbox flag comes out of the top center of the mailbox. The change that I made makes a separate piece for the flag, but within the block of wood being cut for the mailbox. Then I glue the flag on after I finish the cutting. It's the only pattern from her books that I have modified. Charley

"Mike's Woodshop" and "The Wooden Teddy Bear" are now the same company, but still using Mile's website to take orders as well. Mile sold his business to The Wooden Teddy Bear several years ago when his health began to decline. Both websites continue to work for orders, but eventually they will likely be shutting Mike's website down. Just keep this in mind if you suddenly can no longer find the "Mike's Woodshop" website some day. Charley

I'm finally getting back into my woodshop and making something again. Health issues had just about completely put an end to my woodworking two years ago. I lost almost total use of my right leg, and none of the doctors could figure out what was wrong with me. Then last January a mild, but large bruise formed on and around my right knee, and the pain started going away. By about April I was able to put weight on it, but then it took me until about June to walk on it without cane or crutches. The bruise gradually went away along with the pain. I still have some balance problems, but I'm walking again. Just not nearly as well as before all this. I started going back out to the shop in the Fall, but at first I just stayed an hour or so, looking around, and then went back to the house. My son was doing the required maintenance for me when something absolutely needed to be done, but his idea of putting tools and supplies back when finished using them is in a pile just inside the shop door. I still have a significant pile to put away, but I was eager to see if I could make reindeer again. This one is the first in almost 2 years. I made 7 total Wednesday afternoon of the two larger sizes that I make. This is Mrs. Rudolf, slightly smaller than Rudy, the largest, who is almost 4" tall. She is about 3 1/4" tall. The next size down from the Mrs. is Trudy the teen daughter and then the smallest is ear ring size at about 7/8" tall and I call him Rudy Jr. I named the sizes years ago as a way of keeping track of the quantities and sizes that I was making. I've actually made smaller, at about 1/2" tall, but the average success rate of about 4 good in 10 made me quit. I've been making reindeer every year since 2004, except for these last 2 years. Well, with these, this year now isn't a total bust, so only one year, last year, without making any. Every Christmas Season I've just been making and then giving them away to any woman who helps me in some way during the Christmas Season. Every sales clerk, waitress, nurse, etc. gets one if they want it. For some strange reason, the women and teen girls seem to love these things. Most men are insulted if offered one, but I do give them away to woodworkers who want them. As I wish the women a "Very Merry Christmas" at the completion of my business with them, I hold my hand out palm down with a reindeer in it, then drop it in their hand when they reach out. Their excitement makes it worth doing. I've been hugged and even kissed on the cheek, but the smile Is all I'm after, and the chance to improve the "Christmas Spirit" in them. I lost exact count, but it's somewhere around 15,000 total reindeer that I've made since starting this. Reindeer are not the only thing that I make, but it usually keeps me busy from September on, when I'm in the shop and not working on a larger or more pressing project. I took this photo immediately after cutting her out. No eyes or red nose yet, Not even de-fuzzed yet. The eyes and nose are put on with black and red marking pens after de-fuzzing. Then a coat of clear lacquer. These were completed yesterday, before we went shopping, and one has already been given away. I've been avoiding it as much as possible this year, but Suzanne wants to go to the big mall, and traffic is very likely to be a mess around there. She doesn't handle driving in heavy traffic well any more. I don't either, but she thinks I do better than her, but we are very likely to make this venture to the Concord Mills Mall today, so I doubt I'll be making any more reindeer before Christmas this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get started early and make a bunch of them before the Christmas Season next year. For those interested, that's the clamp that I used to hold the pieces of the reindeer blank together while I'm cutting it, and most 3D patterns, that the reindeer is sitting next to. It's about 6" long and made from 12 mm Baltic Birch plywood about 1" wide, two 6" long pieces of #8-32 stainless steel all thread, four hex nuts, two #8-32 wing nuts, six #8 flat washers. Only the all thread needs to be stainless. I use the stainless steel all thread because the mild steel version are too soft and stretch easily with many repeated uses. I don't have that trouble with the stainless all thread. Charley Attachments First 2021 Reindeer IMG_20211221_161725.jpg 78.8 KB · Views: 15

If the blade is burning the sides of the cut, you are doing something wrong. For many new to scrolling that I have taught, they run the saw too fast when first learning. They think that running it faster will do a better job and they can finish faster, but this is not the case. When the blade is burning the wood, it is also an indication that the blade itself is overheating (it's likely well over 300 deg). When a tempered steel blade overheats, it looses it's temper and begins getting dull very quickly. The result is usually blade breakage a short time later. It may also stretch and loose it's tension long before it breaks. The blade teeth are tiny and can only remove tiny bits of wood, and they usually fill very quickly in use. When the teeth have cut away enough to fill them, they can no longer remove any wood, so no matter how hard you push the wood into the blade or how fast you run the scroll saw, the blade can only remove a tiny amount of wood per stroke. Beyond that, you are bending, breaking, and overheating the blade and causing excessive wear on the saw. A dull blade will not cut straight, and loss of blade tension will both make it very difficult to follow the pattern line, even if you have considerable experience of scrolling. Your blade will last a very long time and your work won't be burned. You will be able to follow the pattern lines better too. Enjoy the scrolling journey. Let the destination (completion of the project) happen whenever it does. Your work and you will be better for it. Charley

Barbara, Scroll sawing is a journey, not a destination. Take the time along the journey to be accurate, and happy with the process. Eventually, the project will be finished and you will be proud of it. This is the destination, but if you enjoyed the journey, it is the beginning of the next journey. Strive for accuracy at moderate speed and enjoy the journey. Look constantly for ways to do better. If you come up with an idea that makes you more accurate or faster without sacrificing accuracy, then pleas tell us about it. People who don't love the journey of scroll sawing, usually give up quickly. (this is where I find slightly used good scroll saws cheap). Those who expect scroll sawing to be easy and fast give up quickly. When their scroll saw starts collecting dust or keeps getting in their way, they sell it, and I try to find their sale before anyone else does. Work at being more and more accurate, and continue to enjoy the scroll sawing journey. You will likely sell or give away the result (destination) anyway. Charley

Learn to feed and steer with just your fingers, not your elbows. Your precision and your arms will thank you for this, and the quality of your cutting will greatly improve. Rest your palms on the front of the table, when you can, and just use your fingers. No, it doesn't work for all cutting, but it sure improves intricate work. Charley

In case you haven't figured out why Linda looks so perfect, she's a mannequin. I posted the photo of her to see if anyone realized what she was. Barbie? Well, sort of. Ken? Not likely. I only need one human figure to adjust my lights and camera settings. I could have bought either, but like the look of a female better, even if she's plastic. I bought Linda from Amazon after I had talked my wife into posing for me while I adjusted the lights and that led to failure. It lasted about 10 minutes and she asked how long it would take? I said, "about an hour", and she got up an left and wouldn't come back. Most other portrait photographers have a mannequin head, or whole body to practice and adjust their lights with, so when my wife wouldn't come back to help, I bought the cheapest full body mannequin that Amazon offered. Her clothes came from the local thrift stores and her hair from the Halloween Section of Walmart. All for less than $100. At first my wife wasn't happy with me buying Linda, but that changed quickly when she realized that I didn't need and wouldn't be asking her to pose for me any more because Linda, the mannequin, would do it for me. My wife seems to have fully accepted Linda now, because every once in a while, she comes home with another article of clothing "for Linda". She even had one of our neighbors helping her find things for "Linda". But this has caused problems, because Linda's wardrobe is beginning to fill my photo equipment storage closet. I only needed one outfit so she would look decent, but Linda is building a wardrobe of clothing and accessories without even going shopping. Do all women do this? So Linda has become a piece of my photography hardware, just like my lights and cameras, and you wanted to see my studio and equipment, so I started by posting Linda for you all to see. I mostly wanted to see how many of you thought she was real. Now, come on guys. Do you really think a woman this young and pretty is going to want anything to do with this 79 year old relic? Charley

I'm good with Photoshop and now learning Affinity Pro. Inkscape works considerably different, and I don't book learn well, so I'm sticking with what I know for now. I have over 20 years of Photoshop experience. Affinity was bought a year ago when I had a bit of a "falling out" with Adobe. It seems more capable of some photo editing than Photoshop, if I can just get my head wrapped around it. Only $50 and no monthly rent for it either. Charley