new2woodwrk

Thanks @Iguanadon, I'll give it a try - I think it's a bit advanced for me at the moment :( but something to strive for!

Very cool - thanks for this! I specially enjoyed the sea turtle video and the shrink wrapping video - I had no idea you could do that with a heat gun LOL Question: What speed are you cutting that sea turtle - it looks very slow, until you stop the machine, then it looks very fast?

Yah I know what you meant LOL I don't hold bad spelling or bad grammar against anyone Heck there are times I can't type to save my life and miss all kinds of adjectives and adverbs - my posts read like english is a 3rd language for me :(

I'm liking the test tubes - but I think I like the pvc more - since I have so much of it and it's real cheap LOL Thanks all so far - good thread this one! Update: I went and priced the tubes on amazon and bought a dozen - they were .25 each - if I were to buy 1/2" pvc it would cost me twice as much. Now I'll just make a stand for them once they get here

I got a few blades with my new Wen saw - how do you tell what they actually are so I can organize them ie- TPI I guess I could count, but what about the number. Some them the teeth are barely visible for these old eyes even with a magnifier! Thanks in advance

Hey, where are your pictures of your turntable? LOL Good thread - currently, I'm keeping mine in the containers they came with (bubble packs) since I don't have that many yet anyway. I saw pictures of blades in tubes standing up and laying down in a drawer. Amazon sells these tubes - not sure where you would get free tubes like that or be able to make something along the same lines

I know everyone is different, and some take to skills better than others, however... How long would you all 'guestimate" it would take a newbie to become "proficient" (not expert) enough to be able to display their creations proudly - I'm not talking about selling. As it is right now, I don't even want to take pictures of the crap I'm doing For example: I've done 6 basic cut outs so far (from a book I have) - simple bells and simple trees (no inside cuts) - and not a one of them would I consider hanging on my wall LOL! I've been using 1/8" hardboard for the most part to practice with on medium to high speed (not all the way up) with an Olsen #5 skip tooth blade. While they have gotten better, I still feel like I am extremely far from getting curves and specially angles cut well enough to display. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

Oh my - I think it must be a generational thing - I can't tell you how many teachers I've had that were terrible teachers - in fact most of them should never have been given a license to teach. I know this because during the early 80's I developed computer curriculum for and used to teach at a technical school in California. As I looked back on the self serving, favorite playing so called instructors that called themselves :teachers during grade and high school, I have to laugh. It was because of them not due to them I became what I became in my life. These so called teacher only taught to students who excelled, the rest of the class was left behind to fend for ourselves and discarded as lower class students. Yeah, right! I can honestly say, there are only a few real "teachers" I had before I dropped out of high school during my Junior year and went to a GED training academy! One of them was a typing teacher - she knew I was a young aspiring musician and taught me to type by showing me how to relate it to playing the piano! By the end of class I was the fastest typist in class and still today I can easily type 60-70 wpm (words per minute) - maybe not without errors, but that is what error checking is for LOL An english teacher who knew I hated to read (at the time, now I love it) and gave me very short books on interesting topics to me to read! No Shakespeare, no Hemingway until I was ready. In school I could barely get through algebra let alone geometry! The teacher used to hit me behind the head when I failed to divide properly calling me "stupid" With my GED teacher, I was able to get through college level II Calculus! Yeah, he was terrific In fact I modeled my own teaching style after the few good teachers I actually had: Teach students in terms the pupil can understand, not in the terms you WANT them to understand. Teach students using examples THEY can relate to, not what you WANT them to relate to. If they don't get it at first, it is the teachers responsibility, not theirs to help them understand and learn - no matter how long it takes It is not the fault of a student who wants to learn and can not, it is the fault of the teacher who does not prepare lessons appropriately and takes the "easy" path to Tenure. Do not teach to the best in the class, teach to the middle and have the better students assist others when possible with proper tutoring techniques It's a shame what has happened to our educational system Oh yea, this is a very sore subject for me...

I have used 3m 45 on lots of things - sticky? You betcha - it's supposed to be LOL - over spray? You betcha - all over the place. However, I use one of those thin tubes like the ones that come on a WD40 can and can focus the spray of the 3m 45 - works much better this way and no where near as messy In the past 2 days since I've set up the Wen 3920, I also got ELMERS Repositionable Mounting Spray Adhesive, 10 Oz, Clear (E454) as well - it is much less messy than the 3m 45. I set up a gluing station just for the scr oll patterns, and this really helps to focus the gluing and pattern set up. When I glue patterns now, I also lay down a sheet of brown paper (in the background) on the glue station. Now there is very little mess - works for me anyway

Is this something you want to use in your browser, or a word processor? I use an old version of ms - word (2002) and the spell chk works fine - I also use an old version of Firefox and it's spell checker works fine.

I found this to be a problem for me as well. What I did was: Bought some of those rubber mats at HF and laid them down behind my work bench - that helped a lot because they are about 3/4" thick and cushion the area. Much easier to work there now. Also, I had some thin rubber mats - not sure where I got them but I've laid them down in front of all my rolling tool carts. If I'm standing at a cart to work, having that cushion below my feet really helps - I can stand for a much longer time with those. I'll probably replace them with more of the HF mats soon For my new scroll saw, I plan on building a short bench and getting a short back support chair to work - that way I'm not leaning over as much - of course Rockler has a sale on the chair I want usually 59.99, now 39.99 - not sure the wife will let me since I just spent my budget on tools LOL I have other chairs any way, some are high back and very good to sit in which I may have to move to the shop! Hope that helps

No worries @Brianr24 I Appreciate you taking the time to respond Yah, it doesn't have to last me a life time, just long enough to see if I'm even going to use and enjoy it. So far, my bandsaw is on my crap list and that only cost $100 as well - no big loss there It's just how I do things - for example: I had a craftsman table saw for many years and hardly used it - I think it cost me $60 at the time on sale (maybe that was expensive back then, not sure). Then I started getting into woodwork about 1.5 years ago and quickly outgrew that saw. I bought a Delta 36-725 on sale before they were discontinued and sold the craftsman. I really enjoy using the delta much more than the old craftsman.

Thanks @dgman Yah, I use the level to confirm the saw is level to the table and my table is still aligned LOL I tuned it up with a 2" square and it's at 90 and it's level LOL Thanks @lawson56 Tell me about it - I had a feeling she was going to like doing this! Makes it easier for me to buy an upgrade if needed LOL Thanks @amazingkevin Can you post a pic of what you did? I'm having trouble picturing raising the back 12" that seems like quite a lot?

I know right? LOL

Thanks @Brianr24 The $199 for the PC was double my budget. I bought the Wen for $88 - it seems to be an ok saw so far So far so good.

I get 300 miles on a tank of gas - the car I would take is the Equinox. I never drive with less than 1/4 tank So maybe not 3 tanks, but 2 - 240+ miles give or take round trip

That depends how yoiu look at it @RockytimeLOL

Got my new Wen saw yesterday Mounted it to 3/4" ply with rubber footing front and back And my pool hose works great for a dust hose once again! Have it mobile mounted to my bench - hopefully it will fit under one of my rolling carts... Did a cut on it this morning - the one on the left is mine - the bell - yeah I'm going to suck at this LOL The one on the right is the wife - yeah, she's a show off! I took the left side panel off (it looked a dust cover and had the so called "toolbox" attached to it It's much easier to get to the lower blade with it off, and I can stick a dust extension in there to minimize the dust. The blower on top isn't the best, but my lungs seem to work fine for now - I think I have an old aquarium pump around that would work better. Got a foot switch, some extra blades, a training book and spray temporary adhesive - think I'm good to go for now.

Please forgive my ignorance, not sure of the names of things yet... I've been looking at the gallery (great bunch of work btw) as well as looking at online images of others work. My question is what types of backing would you use for say a cut out (I know poor choice of words since pretty much everything is a cutout lol) - here's and example of what I'm calling a cutout: Would you use colored paper, cloth or something else? Also, if you put a back on piece of work, do you also frame it? Do you add any type of protection like acrylic or glass in the frame? Thanks in advance

@Travis Thank you - that is very helpful! I'll post a few tomorrow that I just learned while reading a new book

Thanks @hotshot Yah I saw that - Pensacola = 2 hours away :(minimum 5 hour trip both ways) ( So $75 + 3 tanks of gas @ $30 per = $165 - If I didn't haggle it down. The reviews I've been reading say the Wen is good beginner saw to start with - it;s cheap, so if I decide I like scrolling, it won't be that bad to resell it and upgrade to the Dewalt. That's what I think anyway .

Thanks @MrsN However, I was ridiculed in another forum for asking too many questions - I was told to "research" and "read" and find my own answer so I tend to be skittish on asking

Thanks @SCROLLSAW703 I'm in NW Florida I don't know what I want to do so I bought a Wen 3920 for $88! This should work for me for awhile until/if I decide I want to upgrade

I've trying to look up many of the abbreviations scrollers use and it's not easy LOL I've been able to find some, but many are alluding me. Does anyone have a link to common abbrevs? BB - Baltic Brich? Balsa? TPI - Teeth per inch SWWC - Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts? any others you can think of I need to be aware of?

Very nice build - thanks for sharing