BadBob

This time, it's bats in a bottle.

I have the Klingspor MAC Mop and the Klingspor Sanding Mop. The Mop is less aggressive and leaves a smoother feeling finish. I think mine are also 240 grit.

I use two plastic spring clamps. I like them because they don't loosen as I cut, and no tape is required.

I have a project to cut 250 small pieces from 1/2-inch bloodwood. They originally wanted hickory but switched to bloodwood. It sounds like I will need 250 saw blades. BTW: I love the heart tree.

What kind of blade did you use for bloodwood?

I am working on a custom order for some Christmas ornaments. They want them made from hickory. I know it is tough and very strong, but I have never cut any with a scroll saw or any saw. Do you have any experience with hickory?

The glue hasn't cured yet, and I am trying to decide whether to do anything else to it. I have never made anything like this before, and it was a bit more difficult than I anticipated.

I need a simple monkey pattern to make cutouts from 1/2-3/4 thick wood about 3 inches tall. I want something a child could play with and not be too concerned about breaking. I have not been able to find one that will work for me. Do you have any ideas?

You always need to run the numbers. I use a lot of poplar and would need to have it shipped to me or make a long road trip to get it. That would require me to buy a lot of wood per trip to make it worthwhile. I made a little spreadsheet and plugged in every source of poplar I could find. Surprise, the local big box stores were the lowest cost. Things that tipped the balance: Near zero waste and no additional shipping.

I rarely encounter warped or cupped boards. Because most of what I make is small, using small pieces, these are easy to flatten by sanding. I stack mine flat on wire shelving with no stickers.

I like them too. I have only tried the maple plywood panels. I have no local supplier, and Home Depot is a primary supplier. I get a discount and free shipping.

I lived through another one—my house was not damaged. However, a huge tree fell across the street from my home and took out all the power for several days. My daughter was closer to the eye wall and was without power until Sunday after noon. I've seen much worse. I'm in Tallahassee, Florida

Every project I make involves measuring using rules or squares and sometimes both. I don't see how anyone could scroll without measuring unless they buy wood that is an exact fit for your project. If I need a 1/2-inch piece of wood, I look through my stash, measuring the thickness. I am measuring to see if a piece of wood is wide or long enough for the pattern. I measure to see if I can get two or three pieces out of a piece of wood. I use Inkscape to size patterns to fit the wood I have selected and sometimes to arrange parts. Sizing patterns to fit is measuring. Just yesterday, I printed patterns on half-sheet shipping labels and measured their size. Using Inkscape, I resized the pattern to fit the label and measured the size of the smallest internal cut to be sure I could drill a hole small enough for this size pattern to work. I make puzzles. If I have made them before, they are usually sized to fit 1x6 wood. In this case, I use the pattern to measure, apply the pattern to a longboard, and then cut it to fit.

I have heard that, but my blades vary in which end the notch is on from batch to batch. I have mounted blades upside down, using the notch as a guide. I feel the teeth to see which way they go.

I've had my new lenses for over a year. I have not had any issues with scrolling or anything in the shop. I don't wear glasses 90% of the time, only putting them on when I go outdoors, the same way I have done for years. I like to do a bit of competitive shooting, and so far, with handguns, I can shoot with or without prescription glasses. Shooting rifles with optics is not an issue, but I haven't had time to figure out iron sights yet. I studied the issues with different lens types, focal distances, and nearsightedness vs. farsightedness. I chose the nearsighted lenses with the highest contrast. I used what I think of as the 90% rule and asked myself, "What do I do 90% of the time, and do I want to wear glasses while I am doing it?" This choice was the opposite of most people's choices, and I had to explain my choices repeatedly to medical personnel. I have been nearsighted my entire life. Changing to farsightedness would significantly disrupt my daily routine, and then there are the reading glasses. I don't want to wear glasses whenever I need to look at something up close. So far, I have only made one adjustment. Because the focal length was closer, I had to move my computer monitors closer. I use two large monitors, and it was a pain to figure out how to mount them so I could read both screens. I bought some prescription polarized sunglasses for flying radio-controlled aircraft. Now that my prescription is not going to change, I decided it would be worth the money. Wow, what a difference! I can see much clearer with the polarized lenses. Now, I can look at the sky all day and not come home with my eyes feeling worn out.

My Pegas blades are notched on one end. I'm not sure why. Maybe @Denny Knappen will know.

These are awesome. I have seen them before somewhere. I have a trusted friend who has sold at shows for years, and he would not go to a show that was not juried.

Years ago (1980ish) I made a large batch of cars and trucks from Norman Marshalls "The Great All-American Wooden Toy Book". I still have a box of leftover parts, but not enough of anything to build another one. Most of what you see in the photo are truck and car parts. There is a bag of chess pieces, animal cutouts, and shelf pieces that were some of my first scroll saw projects.

It's man glitter. My girls both have two memories: Dad smells like smoke or wood dust.

I got a good laugh from that sign. I am not much into signs, but I think I would cut this one for me if there were a good pattern.

If you use an airbrush with the little jars on the bottom, you can get lids that will seal the jars. The jar only holds 3/4 ounces, so I usually don't save it unless I'm going to add another coat. There are also caps that fit on the spout for temporary use. There are airbrushes that you can spray a few drops with. These are all top feeders. Some of them can do both. An airbrush is much easier to clean than an automotive-style paint gun. I know because, in my past life, I also painted cars.

I have a wood burner that doesn't work very well for me. It is cheap and pretty crude, with no temperature controls. If I had a better one, perhaps that would work. I have some toys I made for my kids that are now being played with by my grandkids. I added the details using a Sharpie. They look good after close to 40 years, even though the toys have been broken and repaired several times.

I sell one item as a kit: a skeleton that needs to be assembled. I have sold 10 of them. It has terrible photos, but I sell some around Halloween every year.

I forgot about that. I have a stack of them on a clipboard.

I have considered selling kits. Sell a toy with all the pieces cut.