Chunkthekid

I know I am just a pup and most of you have been working your butts off longer than I have but I am right there with you when it comes to back pain. I have been bucking shingles since I was 18 and there were a few times that I had some serious issues but since I was young and invincible I just kept working through the pain. Well now that pain never really goes away. Sometimes it's my lower back and I catch myself standing like a question mark. Other times it creeps up to between my spine and shoulder blades. The "tens" unit that Kevin is talking about is basically a smaller version of what they hook you up to when you go the chiropractor. They stick different electrodes on the problem areas and then pump electricity through them. Its like a deep massage and feels really good. I bought a home version at walgreens and it is surprisingly powerful. It is no bigger than a small ice pack and runs for about 20 minutes. I spent around $30 for it I believe but you have to buy new sticky pads every so often, $14 for 2 sets. I wish I had a solution that really helped but I am to the point that the only thing the gets me past the pain is to grin and bear it.

Old dust collection vs new! I still plan to buy a ventilation unit that will clean the air while I am working but this upgrade sure put my wife at ease for now. Has anyone had any experience with this type of collector? It is about as loud as my shop vac but has a deeper hum instead of the squeal of the shop vac, which I can live with. Most of the time it will be running I will have headphones on anyway. Seems to have good suction so far, although my shop was pretty clean when I installed this last night so I haven't really tested it yet.

The Big Book of Scroll Saw Woodworking is the what got me started. I did a few projects out of that just to get a feel for the process and I was soon very comfortable to work on other projects without needing instructions. Just remember, everyone has their own little tricks and hints that may be completely different from the next guys. I learned what I could from reading articles and working through a few projects from the books. Then I learned A LOT more just spending time reading the forums on this site. There is a wealth of knowledge floating around here... scroll saw knowledge anyway

I just made the switch myself, and I wont be going back to blue painters tape. The shelf liner is tops!

Finished this up today. A pretty easy and quick cut. 1/4 butternut over 1/2 walnut. Spray poly finish.

Thank You Sir

I bought some from JGR as well. I haven't used many, I have a ton of FD blades that I am just used to, so I always reach for them. I did cut a small welcome sign yesterday out of 1/2 red oak using the #3 Platinum and I was pleased with the result. Barely any chip out on the back side.

I have had my eye on that pattern as well. It turned out great.

Very Cool!

A great piece done by a great person

Thanks everyone. I really enjoy cutting Alex's patterns.

Here is the first completed cut of the new year. It is my first time stack cutting something this detailed but it went just fine. The wood is 1/8 cherry? I think. FD 2/0 spirals. I'm not sure how I will frame them yet. I finally found a roll of the adhesive shelf tape that so many people on the site have recommended, and THANK YOU. It will be the only thing I use for fret work from now on. The pattern came off in less than 3 minutes and all in one piece except for one tiny sail.

That is awesome! Great pattern and cut. That's the second Firefly themed piece I've seen on here recently. Makes me want to watch it all over again... again.

I wanted to give a couple updates on the new space. I haven't gotten a whole lot done yet but I suppose I can't move in and spend all of my time in the new shop, there is still the rest of the house to contend with. Plus I am still trying to get the other house ready for sale. Stack on the holidays and I am just now realizing how busy I've been I attached a couple pictures to show my progress.

I use FD new spirals as well, usually 2/0. I had the same problem when started I using them and found that I really had to watch the bottom of the blade when clamping. Sometimes I would bend the blade slightly backwards towards the saw when I clamped it and that would result in a very short blade life. Once I learned to take a little extra time to get the bottom just right I haven't had any problem with breaking blades. And just a heads up. After my first sample pack of FD new spirals, I realized that I really liked them and would probably be using a lot of the 2/0, so I bought 6 dozen. Well, I wasn't paying any attention and accidently bought the Reverse Spiral instead. They are VERY aggressive and don't leave a very clean cut. From reading in the forums I notice people that use FD spiral blades always use the NEW Spiral. So if you go the FD route, make sure you watch which blades you are ordering.

I have been putting off learning inlay, it may be time. I already have a pair of projects planned for my sister and brother in law but have yet to bite the bullet and give it a shot.

Looks Gorram good!

Awesome work!

Hello folks, I have been pretty quiet lately, there has been a lot going on with the holidays and other projects. My wife and I have been tossing around the idea of moving into her childhood home so I have been hesitant on starting anymore projects in the garage since we might be packing it all up soon. Well, yesterday we were told we were ok to start moving in right away. I know none of that matters so I will get to the point of the topic. The house we are moving into is much bigger with a finished basement. My wife has already told me the basement is mine. So I am going from a cramped little garage that is full of every tool I own (lawn, auto, wood, metal) all stacked on top of each other, to a basement with room to spare for my woodworking and a two car garage for everything else. Needless to say, I am VERY excited! Being able to start from scratch with this much space is about as much fun as I think I can have lol. And now I can buy tools without having to worry about where the hell I'm going to put them. I will be picking the brains of all of you that have shops in your basements soon to figure out the best ways to ventilate. Here are a few pics of what I've got and what I'm getting. The garage doesn't look as bad as usual as I had already taken a load of stuff to the other garage. Have a good day everyone.

I had the same problem when I started using spirals and still do every now and then. Like Larry, I use FD new spirals and have found that I can get the bottom of my blade in place pretty easily, and when trying to tighten the top I will twist the blade just a bit until it sits in the clamp properly. Once I tighten it for my first few cuts, it usually stays that way and I don't have any problem after that.

Looks good John!

Good morning everyone (or good evening for our fine folks on the other side this big blue ball). I was sitting at my saw last night and kept thinking about how much being a member of this site has really made me fall in love with this art form. I bought my first saw last march on a whim and joined this site shortly after. I haven't looked back since. The knowledge I have gained from everyone here has given me the confidence to try things I never would have thought of on my own. I make it a point to look here everyday to see what useful tip is being discussed and not many days have gone by without me learning something new (or at least getting a chuckle from Jerry' s cartoons). So to everyone that has ever posted ANYTHING on this site, thank you.

High: Finishing the last tiny cut in a piece of fretwork and knowing that for the rest of the project you wont have to re-thread your blade every 5 seconds. Low: My wife's cat deciding it doesn't like the way my intarsia project looks all put together and scattering the ready for sanding pieces across my garage.

Good cutting! I have this pattern at home, ready to cut..

I haven't been doing this long so I haven't built up a very good collection of tools. I do all of my sanding with a spindle sander, a dremel, and by hand. I bought a bunch of different types of sanding wheels for my dremel and I use it all time, especially when I am doing intarsia (or when I have the patience to sand every edge of my puzzles)