FranMike Harley

Welcome, Rick !! You will find, as I did, that the folks here in this Community are great !! Lots of knowledge to share so pick their brains and their expertise !!

Hi Brian.. Poughquag is north of White Plains a bit (folks might know Poughkeepsie, it's close to that) and about 1 1/2 hours south of Albany.. I have flown out of and into, the White Plains airport many a time and in fact, have eaten at the Mt. Kisco diner before as well.. Small world we live in...

Wow - very nice work !!! Thanks for sharing..

You know what they say, Dick - "Happy Wife = Happy Life" !!!

Hi all.. I found the attached in one of the woodworking books I have. Might be helpful to print out and keep handy next to the saw ? (well.. At least until you memorize it !!)

"pattern modifications" - Love it !!!

I would like to thank everyone for your kind words and comments.. Very much appreciated and love the feedback.. We are still considering other options on how to display the piece.. Marge (on a base) / Len (backer): Base: We've discussed the base option with a little spotlight placed in front of it so it would actually show the shadow of the piece on a wall. Backer: We've also talked about putting a light blue backer where the cutouts of the sky and water are. @DW: If we do eventually hang it, it most likely will go in a window where a casting shadow in the house might be a great accent. Thank you all again !!!

Thanks for sharing such a beautiful piece !! Very nicely done indeed.. Was this the first piece you cut with the new saw ? How do you like the Excalibur compared to what you used before ?

Very nice and touching tribute to your Grandfather !! We thank him for his past Service to this Country !! Piece came out great ...

Very nicely done and finished !!!! Great work there, Jim !!!

Hi all.. Ok so here's my latest completed project.. My Wife and I love Aruba and the Divi Divi tree is their local variety of a tree. It has an unusual shape, they say, because of the constant winds there.. We came back last year with one of the local artists painting of the tree and I thought it would be a good project for this newbie to tackle.. Thanks to this Community, I found posts about INKSCAPE, downloaded it, watched a few YouTube videos, and used it for the first time with this project - mainly using the "bezier" tool. (BTW - I would HIGHLY suggest INKSCAPE to anyone who wants to create their own patterns, easy enough for a novice to use.) I've attached screen shots below of the original drawing and the steps I took to get to the final project.. It's roughly 9.5 x 7", 1/4" birch, stained with Danish Oil. All in all, the entire project, from scanning the painting --> Inkscape --> modifications --> pattern --> cutout - took me about 4/5 hours, give or take.. I was going to put it on a base but the Wife wants to hang it up instead.. I'd love to hear constructive criticism - which will help me improve.. For only being my 4th or 5th project, I don't think it came out that bad but then again, you folks are the experts and I value your opinions.. So please, opinion away !! Not sure if the photos will post in order so I numbered the steps.. Thank you !!!

Hello Malcolm and Welcome.. I'm a "newbie" myself and already have found this Community to be very valuable and friendly !! With the knowledge and the resources that's here, we'll both be enjoying this hobby for a long time to come !! Thanks for being a part of the Community !!

Just curious because I know there will be a time when I need to look for a new machine - which "drive" folks prefer.. I see that PS WOODS makes a belt driven saw but what if you needed to change speeds (for whatever reason) while you're working on a piece.. You have to stop and manually roll the belt up or down ? Isn't it just easier to turn a knob to do the same thing and get instant results What are some advantages / disadvantages of both ? (Sorry if this has been asked here before.)

Beautifully done, Sparkey !!! What's the overall dimension of that piece ?

I just want to thank everyone for your warm welcome and your positive comments on what I've been able to do so far.. Very encouraging !! Looking forward to being a part of this Community for a long time. Have a great day ahead.

Hi everyone. My name is Mike and I just found your Community. I am new to the hobby of scroll sawing having started less than a month ago. My Wife surprised me with a scroll saw for Christmas - she knew I was looking for a "hobby" and I've always enjoy watching people create such wonderful things with wood, whether it was carving, turning or scroll sawing.. Always scouring the web for new ideas, suggestions on blades, techniques, scroll saws, etc and happy to find this Community ! I'm looking forward to being a part of a Community that has the same interests, questions, concerns - sharing ideas, getting feedback, etc.. The saw my Wife got me was a Porter Cable from Lowes. It's a good entry level machine (to me, at least) and it's doing the job for me but I can see that as my fondness for the hobby continues to grow, I'll need to move "up" to a better machine. Been reading alot about DeWalts, Excaliburs, etc.. I'm also finding out that the blades make a huge difference in the steadiness of the cut, etc.. So I'm here to learn and share and get better and better.. Thanks for having me and look forward to being a part of the Community.. I'm attaching a pic of what I've done so far.. Have to give credit to Steve Good at the "Scroll Saw Workshop" (www.scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com ) for the patterns and really giving me the info. I needed to at least get started in the hobby. The last piece I finished just yesterday was the horse in the circle. I left it out for my Wife to see when she got home from work and at first she thought I bought it ! I guess that's a good sign that I'm getting better.. Starting out small and not so complicated but working on it !! Bye for now ! Mike