JOE_M

Congrats. Do the ribbons say Pinal County Fair? Is that the one up in Casa Grande?

111 degrees. But they say it's a dry heat. That means you stay out too long and slowly turn into people jerky. No worries though, the monsoons will soon be upon us. That means it will still be 111 degrees but with much higher humidity so if you stay out too long you boil like a lobster in the pot until the evening thunderstorm hits and the temperature plummets all the way down to 107 and you have to grab a sweater to keep the chills away.

I've cut the fake stuff (aluminum?) with metal shears. It's thin enough to flex and cuts fairly easy.. If I had to cut it on the scrollsaw I'd glue it to a backer board and use the Flying Dutchman blades that are made for aluminum.

Yea, I tried too, as a pair and individually. Rather disappointing as my google-fu is usually pretty strong. I didn't see much from the last few years but they are referenced in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts from 7 years ago. Perhaps an email to their editor might provide a bit of info.

I don't put any clear finish on top of my puzzles or on the back. I used contact cement at first. It worked but had its quirks. Then I used some 3M photo mount spray and it was perfect. I thought I'd discovered the holy grail of puzzle glues. But when I went back for a second can I found that nobody in town was selling it anymore so I bought the 3m 45 spray glue. It works fine too. I found when spraying it really does help to shake the can and keep it moving when spraying or you get clumps of glue that turn into bumps under the picture. I spray the wood only, making sure to cover every bit of it. Then I slap the picture on, use a rubber roller from hobby lobby to make sure there aren't any bubbles, and then I put it in a simple press I made of two pieces of melamine and some all-thread and let it set for a while. Although most any picture will work although I did have a set of thick glossy postcards that turned out to be too thick and when i cut the pieces there was a lot of white showing on the edges. Old calendars have worked good and I've used old art books with glossy pages from the used bookstore by the library. I don't use backers or make frames. There's nothing wrong with making a tray puzzle, but for me those are for little kids puzzles and I was making my puzzles for relatives a bit older. I use the flying dutchman puzzle blades. I very lightly sand the back of the board before cutting - it only takes a couple swipes with 320 or 400 grit paper to make it feel smooth. Then when I'm done cutting I blow of all the dust and check the back for any fuzzies edges to scrape off. If any edges of the photo lift up it means you didn't hit every bit of the wood with enough glue. You can take a toothpick, lift up the paper and smear some white glue underneath. Clamp it in your fingers for a few seconds and set aside to dry and nobody will be able to see the repair. I've still got the book "Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles" by charles w. ross. It's got some decent information in it if you pick and choose your chapters. If anyone wants it they can have it for free provided they're in the US (I'm not filling out 20 pages of customs forms just to mail a book) and they're not in a hurry (I drive into town once a week). And if you're really into puzzles, these are the guys who first gave me the idea years ago before I had a scrollsaw. They take wooden jigsaw puzzles to a whole other level. https://www.stavepuzzles.com/

https://www.google.com/#q=dremel+3+jaw+chuck

Looks good! You might consider putting a handrail on the wall side. Then if she gets tired or starts to slip she can lean into the wall, not over a railing, and when she gets up to the door it's easy to hold on to with the right while turning the doorknob with the left.

For less than 8 bucks plus shipping you can buy a 3-jaw chuck for your dremel. That solves the "find the right collet" problem. As for the "never having the right size bit in the rotary tool" problem, a mini drill will just turn that into a "never having the right size bit in the mini drill" problem.

Are you talking about making a regular jigsaw puzzle where you take a poster or print of a cat, glue it to 1/8" plywood and cut it out? Those are the type of puzzles I like to make (but on 1/4" plywood). If so, what kind of questions do you have?

You could also check and see if you're still using the same tape - there are lots of blue things on the store shelves these days. The 3M tape has a solvent/water resistant back, the Talon brand is masking tape with a regular masking tape back.

I've rebuilt a lot of tools, never had a "cheap" bearing go bad on me or perform in any way different than an expensive one. The specs, including machining tolerance, are clearly listed at intech. I guess I'm just luckier than others.

That's a nice savings. I ordered bearings from BearingDirect when I rebuilt my 18" bandsaw - they do ship quickly. But there might be even better deals out there. I'm restoring a 1950's 12" bandsaw now and I ordered some 1623-ZZ bearings last Friday from a company called intechbearing.com - BearingsDirect wants $8.40 each, I paid $4.80 each at intech. They're due to arrive today.

We have absolutely zero bookstores in town now so I haven't seen a scrollsaw magazine in at least a year. Are there any worth buying a subscription to? I'd be looking for something with a variety of patterns and projects,and not a lot of non-scrollsaw craft or fluff.

I use Flying Dutchman only because I have to buy blades online, and they were the first link I heard of when I bought my saw so I bought a few years worth. They're good blades. I use the thin puzzle blades the most. They cut clean and don't break on me. Having said that, if Olson blades aren't giving you any issues, there's really no point in changing.

I'd normally use my CNC router for stuff like this, but it was tied up with another project. I wanted to try a new (for me) hinge, experiment with different wood combinations, and spray lacquer from a gun for the first time. Erik = Santos Mahogany with Figured Eucalyptus inlay. I learned from this one that it looks better when the figure is on the box and the letters are plainer. Sherry = Bubinga with Guatambu inlay. I like Bubinga, thought I had some yellowheart scraps for the letters but couldn't find it. Edward = Low figured Leopardwood with Wenge inlay. The blade went a bit wonky on the final d. Both nice woods, but next time I'd brush on a 2nd or 3rd coat of sealer before spraying because the pores are very open. All approx 5W x 9L x 2.25H.

That's quite an accomplishment. If you could please - Whose design is it, how tall, what type of clockworks? And how long did it take you?

He called it well built, said it had little to no vibration, and cuts real smooth - he just doesn't like the blade clamping system because he finds it a lot harder to use than the Dewalt that he's used to - he thinks a $1200 saw would have a better designed system for blade changing - and he wishes that they'd put the on/off switch somewhere else. That doesn't sound like bashing to me - it sounds like an honest review. " Oh yea oil and grease it to because if you do not it falls apart. China loves this part." That does sound a little bashing. Maybe it wasn't, but that's the way I read it. I have the Dewalt, I want to upgrade because I find it too aggressive and it's wearing out so I get shake/rattle at top speeds. I like the clamping system on the Dewalt. It would be hard to get used to a different system. I also have this weird thing where the more I spend on a tool, the more I expect from it. If it costs 4x as much, I want it to last 4x as much, be 4x as enjoyable and be 4x better designed. At the $1000 point for a simple scroll saw there's little wiggle room for mistakes. That's just me, others might not care as much. There aren't any Hegners or Hawks or other high-end saws in my area to test out in person, all I have to rely on is online reviews or observations like the OP's. I'd rather read an honest negative comment than a dozen glowing reviews that gloss over or ignore every possible shortcoming.

Have you tried a friction polish? Something like Shellawax, Crystal Coat or a home-made mix of equal parts shellac, BLO and denatured alcohol? You can apply multiple coats quickly and the shine is almost instant.

I haven't seen bonanza in 35-40 years, still recognized them immediately. Great job!

I'm in the SW too and I resaw a lot of my lumber to 1/4 or as thin as 1/16th. I found that many of the exotics are air dried and still a bit wet and will move a bit, especially this time of year. So if I need 1/4, i saw to 5/16 and let it sit for a few days before running it through the sander or planer. On the other hand, I have some air dried walnut that has been sitting in my lumber rack for at least 5 years and if I saw off a 1/8th slice it stays flat - I guess it finally reached a moisture level it was comfortable with. I bought some plywood from O'cooch a few months ago and they had instructions for dealing with warpage of thin woods: http://www.ocoochhardwoods.com/care_of_thin_wood.php

The cutting looks real good. Glad the finish worked out for you. I myself only use minwax poly when I hate the recipient and want to give him or her a piece of sludge-covered wood that will remain tacky for another three years, or until it is completely covered in cat hair - whichever comes first. I've just had nothing but bad luck with it.

I think I like the cluttered one more than the other. That's a great idea that would work with a lot of states.

According to their website, Wildwood Designs hooked up with Cherry Tree in 2005 and merged catalogs in 2008, and if you can't find a pattern to contact them. http://cherrytreetoys.com/wildwood-designs/

Thanks for the review. I'm so glad I hesitated. I am not as forgiving as some when it comes to such stuff. If anything, the higher the price of the tool the more anal retentive I get in my expectations and at $929 I'd be completely unforgiving of at least half the things you mention.

I know what you mean about not wanting to overdo it with family, I don't know what I'll do when they run out of room for my stuff. You might consider leaving a couple in the waiting room at your next dr's visit - give the patients something to do besides reading a bunch of old magazines.