Vott1

Thanks Marg. The white ivory is sanded to 400 grit and I clear coat the bark w lacquer while the pattern paper is still on. The bark would come off in little flakes eventually

Thanks Kevin, they are about the size of a 50 cent piece, I should have put a quarter in the picture. From what I've read before they're dried the inside of the nut is jelly-like and is edible. Once dried it's like ivory though

Thanks for the info, I'll check it out

Thanks, they actually cut nice as there is no grain to deal with. They are not fragile at all, I keep the slices between 4.5 - 5.5 mm and cut with flying Dutchman 2/0 polar blades

I got an order for a set of 5 tagua slice pendants. Shipped em out today. This hobby is great fun, but its even better when it pays for itself

Very nice dreamcatcher Denny. Nice cutting, I like allot of Sue Meys southwestern style patterns

Great script cutting Kevin. I like that first font as well, and I love the little trick to deal with the y below the line. Hope these pay off for you!

I really like the standing birdhouses Denny. Nice cutting, and I can't believe thats only 1 coat. What brand of shellac do you use?

Great work on the cutting and pattern. Thanks for sharing this!

Thank you Ike, I'm happily cutting away on a 690 delta (also called the gray Dewalt). I've got some pics in my gallery and some of my tagua necklaces posted in bragging rights. I'll have my latest project up soon. I'm having a lot of fun here in the village!

Both very nice cuts. And now I'm hoping the extra o was intentional, though that does give it a whole new meaning lol

Thanks Kevin, sounds harder than it really is, about 8 to 10 minutes to get from whole nut to cutable slice

Thanks Larry and Dave, I gotta say, as there isn't many scrollers in my area, I'm having alot of fun here in the village

Looks great, nice cutting. Wood reminds me of western cedar

Great job on your first show! I was so confused about the "bitterly cold" part until I realized your in New Zealand.......lol. It's 94 degrees here in South Florida today

also, I use tungsten micro bits for entry holes as hss bits tend to leave burns around the hole

typically I use flying dutchmans 2/0 polars, but if there is alot of detail I'll go to a 2/0 peguin silver for a little more control. The polar blades last longer on the tagua though.

Thanks to all, and yes Steve, tagua is a nut that grows on tagua trees (alot like a palm tree) down in the amazon basin in south america. The inside of the nut, once dried, is a vegetable ivory, pretty much identical to animal ivory, but renewable. They are maybe half again the size of a walnut. I buy whole nuts, mainly cuz I wanted slices that were a little thicker than what I was finding pre-sliced. Basically, I belt sand (50 grit) the nut untill I get the face of the slice the size I want, then use a table top band saw w/ a home made fence to cut the slice (I have a special push stick I made for this), then I smooth up the face and back on the circular sander (400 Grit). and I have a slice ready to cut. After I cut the slice I clear coat the bark around the edges to lock it down (it would eventually flake off). I do this with the pattern paper still on the face so I only coat the bark. Since this is basically ivory, cleaning off the spray adhesive and pattern paper is a snap with mineral spirits. Drill a hanging hole, and you've got a necklace. Alot of the locals in South America carve whole nuts into chess set pieces, which I find amazing as thats outside my skill set.

I thought I'd share a couple of tagua slice necklaces I've made since its not the normal thing you see in scroll saw work. In size their between a quarter and a half dollar coin.

She is one of my favorite pattern designers

Same hear, I wouldn't have known anything was missing.

I haven't used them all, but out of what I have used I find flying Dutchman to be the best

Very nice cutting, and good choice now woods. Great job!

Wait jerry....... Cheapskate is a religion now! How did I not know this! Where do I join?

I bought tubes from Sloan's Workshop they have a hanging hole on the cap they worked out nice