BadBob

I keep mine in a jar of mineral spirits. It works. I never have a clogged nozzle. I don't know why people have so much of a problem with 3m 77 overspray. I use a flattened-out box with an old catalog or magazine on top and flip the pages as they get sticky some get on the box but not much. I've been using the same box for several years. Lately, I have been experimenting with Elmer's X-Treme Glue Stick. So far it works well for smaller things you just need to be careful to get it on the edges. It's not as sticky as 3m 77 by a long shot. but if I'm careful it doesn't come unstuck while I am cutting. It dissolves with alcohol. If I am concerned about getting glue on my fingers or need to place tiny patterns precisely I use hemostats to handle the pattern.

I use clamps. I started with tape and found it to be too fiddly for me. I switched to a shop-made clamp similar to the Steve Good clamp. It works but getting the clamping pressure even was a pain. The problem I have with this method is that adjusting one side affects the other. I bought some patterns, and in the instructions, they were using bar clamps. I have some small trigger clamps and gave them a try, they worked sort of, but they would not hold tight. The vibration caused them to work loose. Then I switched to my little Jorgensen bar clamps. The Jorgensen clamps worked great. They could clamp tighter than I needed, and they are independently adjustable so I can easily tweak the clamp pressure as I cut. I haven't tried spring clamps yet, but I'm going to give them a shot the next time I cut a birdhouse.

The Klingspor sanding mop is a great tool. I learned real quick the t I needed to run it at slow speed. I use it so much that it is almost always on the drill press.

I have multiple palm sanders because I found that changing paper on the sanders wore the paper out fast. Mostly, the hook and loop papers would get to the point where they would not stay on the sander.

Please don't take my word for it. Do your research and vet your sources. Wood has toxins in it. Some are very bad for humans, and some are not so bad, but they all have toxins. Mineral oil has issues too. I did a bit of research into mineral oil, not random people on the internet but actual research papers. Mineral oils are absorbed through your skin and can cause health issues. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the information is behind a money wall where you have to pay to read the research. Mineral oil is a liquid byproduct of refining crude oil to make gasoline and other petroleum products. As far as I know, it is illegal to sell finishes in the US that are toxic when cured and has been for many years. Dry is not cured. Some oil-based finishes can take weeks or months to cure. Polyurethane is essentially a plastic coating. Is there a difference between a wood toy coated with polyurethane and a toy made from som mysterious injection molded plastic. My definition of nontoxic is that it means that if you touch it or ingest it, you will not need to be rushed to the emergency room. However, some years later, you may be diagnosed with some debilitating disease caused by contact with this substance. Toxins are all around us. I have beans in my garden that, if eaten raw, will make you ill and may kill you. Unfortunately, if you are selling, many of your customers believe in myths, not facts. I am slowly tracking down all mentions of toxins in my shop listing and removing them. I tell them what the finish is, and they decide. If they ask about it, I will give them my opinion.

I put a label on the invoice of each package I send out and also have this warning in my listing description.

Pure mineral oil doesn't work for me. Dipping is far to messy. The oil puddles in the tight places and I have found only two ways to get the oil out. I can blow it out with compressed air (messy), or put in my oven on warm. In the oven, the oil thins and gets absorbed better or drips off. The smoke point of mineral oil is low, and it burns. So be careful if you try this. In my experience, paint cures faster than mineral oil soaks in. Shellac if fast but has its issues. Butcher block finish works better, but you are paying a lot of money for mineral oil with a bit of wax in it. Better to make your own. That is what I do. I mix mineral oil with beeswax and just a bit of carnauba wax. I'm still experimenting. I don't dip anything except the ends of axles for my toys.

I started a chess set years ago and never got it finished. My kids kept running off with the pieces.

I stopped using tack cloths because they would leave a sticky residue that I could feel with my fingers. The cloth wood sometimes hang on the wood and leave a bit of lint behind.

I like this idea. I started with the two pieces of wood and threaded rod thing because I had it already. That didn't work so well because I found it hard to get and keep even pressure. Next, I went to using small bar clamps. Bar clamps are what is pictured in the instructions I received with some birdhouse patterns. The bar clamps worked much better. However, I still needed to keep tightening them as I cut, but I could adjust them individually. Using spring clamps should eliminate adjusting as I cut completely. I have a bunch of Bessy spring clamps I got very cheap a few years ago.

Is that plywood you are cutting?

hidden checks. In a batch of toy trucks, I made recently three of them did not make it through the build because of defects that did not show up until after they were cut. Then there is just me being clumsy. I once dropped a toy covered with wet paint. The toy was covered with dirt and damaged to boot. The worst I can remember was when cutting some dragon puzzles from a poplar 2x6 that normally will yield 8 to ten puzzles I only got four usable dragons. I don't repair any of them. If something goes wrong the go in the kindling bucket.

I'm always keeping an eye out for a deal on a used saw. I have an old Hawk with the two-speed motor that I bought cheap. I refurbished it and added all the upgrades I could get. It cuts great, but the blade changes are a pain. It cuts very well, but because of the blade change issue, I would like to replace it with something else if I find a bargain in a used saw. If not, I will probably buy a Pegas or something similar to my EX21. Scroll saws are scarce in my local area. My shop has got to the point where I don't feel like it is a good idea not to have a backup.

Unfortunately, that is almost 400 miles from me.

I make toys, as you might have guessed. I also take lots of photos. I have made lots of cars and trucks. many of them one of a kind because I was experimenting with something or had a and interesting piece of wood that wasn't big enough to use with anything else. This toy was one of those. Check out the cores in this plywood.

It does say Car Show. That sounded like an open invitation to me.

Very nice.

The photos are not very good they were what was in the ad. The price has come down since I first noticed this. It's starting to get low enough that I'm getting interested. Can any of you hawk owners tell me anything about this one from looking at the bad photos. The current asking price is $350.

It's not a car, but if you have a car you might need a tow truck. I've made several of these and have a smaller one in the works. This one is part of my grandsons fleet.

Here is one of my favorite toys. These little monsters are a bear to cut on a scroll saw. The body width is right at the limit of the scroll saw. It will remind you real quick where to keep your fingers.

The world is full of toxic substances. Many of which you can't live and be healthy without.

Itty Bitty Mini Model-T is only three inches long.

I use it for some toys and shop projects. MDF produces some very fine dust and paints very well. It is not strong enough for some things, but neither are some woods. The dust is a problem, but not any more than the dust I get from sanding wood. MDF is heavy. I see lots of people making all sorts of claims about MDF's health hazards, but I can't find any authoritative source that says it is any more hazardous than wood. Wood is full of toxins and has naturally occurring formaldehyde. This car body is made from MDF. The paint is the most hazardous part.

This one is not real sporty, but it is different—everything except the axles. While making these toys, I discovered that it is easier and quicker for me to cut wheels on the scroll saw than using hole saws.

My grandson saw a photo of something similar and asked for one. That started the ball rolling.