Jim McDonald

I didn't see any issues with the text. I continue to follow your exploits and wish you all the best.

Johnson's Paste Wax--in the yellow can.

Ever since I got my 788, I have been a confirmed top feeder. I always load the top hold first and then feed through the cutting and line up on the bottom clamp. That said, I worked in a photographic darkroom for many years, so hitting the bottom holder without being able to see it is almost second nature.

Don't know what the weather is in your locations, but here in the Midwest USA, it is a marvelous day to drag the saw out onto the patio, blow it clean, scrub the table and apply a couple of coats of wax to the table. The sun has moved around to the south , but is still plenty strong to heat up the table and open the pores to get a good deep coat on it. Went for two coats while I was out there.

I'm to go WAY out on a limb here and ask the obvious question: Is it possible you have the blade in upside down? The teeth should be pointing down to cut on the down stroke and be smoother on the way up. Everyone here will admit (privately, of course) to having inserted a blade or two up side down, and that will make the wood come up off the table and buck around.

Several years ago, I made a box to hold a gift card and then become a small jewelry box. I glued up several species of wood in varying thickness until it was about 2" high. I drew the box on the wood, drilled holes in all four corners and cut out the inside, then cut the outside to dimension--leaving a wall of about 1/8". Cut a bottom to fit and then made a lid. My niece now uses it store her grandmothers' pearls that she received when she finished her CPA. So, you can cut a blank slightly larger than the photos, then a bottom and get some small hinges from Hobby Lobby to make a top.

He is hiding in his design lair getting ready to amaze us with some cutting so small he used a microscope to see the veining lines.

Wooden Teddy Bear did a great service in preserving Mike's website when they bought the business. The link for the site is https://mikesworkshop.com/

Iggy hit most of the high points. You WILL get a feel for blade/species/thickness questions. My absolute go to blade is a FD-3UR. But, in my stuff are various sizes of FD, Olson and Pegas blades and I will switch depending on my feel at that point. There are some here who cut 95% with one size blade and that is their comfort level. They know what to expect and they can make the blade do their bidding. It seems to me that I am always about 1 size large than the consensus, but it comfortable for me and I can do what I want. I also keep my blade a little tighter than a lot of folks. Unfortunately, there is no set chart that has been published. It is up to the artist to choose their tool.

I have used tape on smaller stacks (1/2" total depth or so) and tried using brads--but I usually have the wrong size loaded. I just keep going back to hot glue. I have used a plug in craft gun for years, but just bought a Ryobi that is part of their 18V took system.

A lot of folks have great concern about the path of this storm and prayers are offered for the safety of all.

Spent a day there on the way to a Fox Chapel open house and it is a great place to visit. Did the museum first and bought a set of CDs to play in the car as you tour the battlefield and stop at the various battle sites. It is eerie to stand on some of the high ground and imagine how horrific that hot day in July must have been like for the thousands of young men down in the fields. Also spent some quiet time walking around in the cemetery that is located on the edge of town. A very reverent place. If you are ever anywhere close, take the time. We will be back someday.

I use them frequently. I like that there is two grits on the same board and I can use a pair of heavy shears to trim them to fit what I need if the board is too large out of the package. I used some of the sanding strips with my old Hitachi saw, but like said above, they don't work with a DeWalt.

Smart woman! No use dragging a perfectly good puzzle cutter through the mud.

Any type of lettering is hard and you did a good job on this. Been scrolling for years and I still have some "pucker factor" when doing lettering.

I have that pattern to cut for a charity outing here I'm involved with, but it is not until next June--so I have time. Thanks for showing what it looks like done. Hope I do it justice.

BackLIT would even be better. Would be a shame to put that good looking piece in the backlot

I had the Hitachi for several years (it is the granddaddy of the P-C) and it worked very well until it gave up the ghost. I looked at the P-C, but when I saw the very low insert (probably in excess of 2mm)--I had to pass. Fathers Day and anniversary were coming up, so my dear wife said just order the DeWalt and call it even. Smart woman.

Some requests just automatically go to the top of the "gotta cut" pile.

I have used "Baby Soda Bottles" for years. They are the unexpanded blanks of a 2 liter soda bottles. Very tough, lids are tight and you can write on the tops with a marker and clean with alcohol if you need to change sizes--or you can label. Now I need to make a hanger for my saw.

I'm sure you are the topic of conversation at the post office. My grandmother retired from the post office and I'm sure she is smiling at your act of kindness.

Been there and wore the bandaid to prove it. Luckily, I've only drawn blood once on the scroll saw, but I do occasionally trim my nails with a 1200 stroke per minute vertical clipper.

From the looks of it, that saw is very industrial. Built in dust collection, large square table and built in foot rests make me believe this was built for production level cutting--six to eight hours a day. Depending on how the blades attach and tension, this could be a good saw.

excellent job. Sure to be displayed in the office as a treasure.

Perhaps you are confusing gratitude with "schilling". When I started scrolling about 12 years ago, there was not a huge library of material to learn from and the magazine and their forum taught me a lot about the hobby. At one time, I subscribed to both magazines and could find good and bad with every issue of both publications. As a former print journalist who worked in newspapers and specialty publications, I appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes in publishing a niche magazine and the lead times for such work is unimaginable. As I write this (June 26), those folks are probably putting the final touches on Christmas publications and getting them ready to head to the printer--where they will probably fall in line with other holiday print jobs. So, it is not a advertisement for the magazine--but who else is publishing something geared to our hobby in English? There are supposedly one or two printed in Europe--but not in English. Sure, Steve Good, Sue Mey, Shelia Landry and a host of other designers have websites for patterns and ideas and you can go and look to your heart's desire, but the folks at Fox Chapel and the crew at the former "other" magazine care(d) enough to scare up advertisers and content for a magazine for a small segment of the general woodworking population--which is another small segment of the general population. Am I advertising for the magazine--MAYBE. But I am advertising for continued support of the advertisers who provide supplies for our hobby. Imagine trying to find blades if you didn't know the names of Flying Dutchman, Pegas, Olson, et al. Same thing with quality wood stock. Not only are the articles informative, I use the advertisers to learn who, what and where to buy.