FrankEV

This project is my own design, and this finished product was an experiment. I was asked if I could make a small plug in Nite Light with a Dragonfly Shade. I told the lady that I thought I could, and she should get back to me after she returns home up north, and I would show her what I come up with. The panels are 4” square. The Dragonfly Image is from a bundle of Dragonfly SVG files I purchased from Etsy. I added some cattails for background and positioned the image in a surrounding, 1/4" wide, perimeter border. The panels were stack cut face to face out of 5/32” solid core Maple Ply from my, ever growing, pile of cut offs. I mitered one edge of each panel where they will be joined together to form a 90-degree open shade. I cut a triangular piece of the same 5/32” thick material to act as a base for the bottom of the shade. Glue up was a catastrophe. When I do more of these, which I plan to do, I will need to make a jig to hold the panels while being glued along the one mitered edge. And, also, to hold it while gluing in the triangular piece for the bottom. For this one, I wound up using AC glue because there was no way to clamp the parts together. After it was finally assembled, it looked OK and I should have just applied a clear coat to finish it, but I decided I wanted it to be darker, so I decided to Air Brush it a darker color. The first coat I applied looked horrible, so I did a second coat that made it a darker muddy Brown. Now it was too dark so, I added a light purple color just to the Dragonfly. Admittedly not well done, and it needed touch up that I did not do well, as is very noticeable in the photos. OK, after finally applying a Clear Gloss Acrylic protective coating, I glued in, the Orange plastic which I had previously applied a velum sheet to the inside to make translucent. The Nite Light itself is a product from Florida Shells and Gifts.com but I originally ordered them on Esty. They don’t appear on the Florida Shells and Gifts website. However, you can find them by searching Esty for: 3 Pack: Night Light Base Set - Standard On/Off Switch - complete with Bulb and Mounting Clip - DIY Night Light Parts. They are also available as a Single or 6 Pack. They each come with a clip that you can use to attach something (like the shells they sell) to act as a shade. I first tried to cut the shape of the clip out of the bottom triangular piece, but it had no give, so it would not slip on and when I opened it up just a little it became too loose to hold the shade in place. So, I opened the cutout area more, I created a slot for the clip, and then secured the clip to the wood with AC Glue. All in all, when viewed from a distance during the day when unlit, it looks OK. When it is in a dark room, and it is lit, it looks great! The cutting took less than an hour. The assembly and finishing took much longer than I will admit to. Unlit Lit Inside upside down showing the glued in clip Comments and critiques are not just wecomed, I really need to hear them. I’ll post just the Pattern of the Dragonfly panel in Pattern Exchange. However, if you decide to try and make one, you are on your own after that.

Very nice. Wondering, are you keeping it or planning to sell? If planning to sell I would like to ask what price will you ask, but don't realy expect you to answer. However, if you dont mind, will you be able to price it at an amount you will at least get you material investment back?

This forum is called "Bragging Rights". So if you post here, automacticaly you are brsgging. However, realy not the point. It is the feed back by your piers that tell you if it really is a Brag or not. Like others have said don't be so hard on yourself. And, like othdrs, I think they are cute and well done. If you like what you do then don't hesitate to post with a positive attitude. You will know quick enough if it is good or not. I, for one, will not hesitate to criticize a post if I feel something is not correct or poorly done. So let us be the judge.

Syd, All look great. This was one of the earliest pieces I made when I first started to do Scrolling. It sits prodly on display by my desk!

Thanks. I considered it, but my ego got the better of me. Didn't, and don't, want to dimiss the myth that I'm nearly perfect and I never make the big bad mistakes, and I always do everything worth bragging about. That is far from the truth and my post was condescension enough. I don't often make too many cutting mistakes but I freuently do make the big type mistakes and many of my cuttings wind up in the fire tinder pile well before, or even during, colorization and finishing. If I'm not happy with how it looks, then nobody else gets a chance to see it, usually not even my better half. I believe most out there can relate. However, in the case of the Whale Tail, the better half did see it and she was the one who convinced me to start over from scratch. When she says it is bad, It is really BAD. I'm sure you get the picture

Thanks, but you might want to read my post in General Scroll Sawing re: Lesson’s Learned (Just an FYI).

All the very nice comments that I received to my post in Bragging Rights re: ‘Whale of a Christmas Gift’ were based on the final work I showed in my post. However, that is not quite the whole story. My first conversion of the Whale Tail Image I found was not done correctly. Simply adding bridges to a line type image, I created in Inkscape using the Trace Bitmap command, may produce a scrollable pattern but doesn’t always result in a visually correct pattern. My foreground and background were kind of reversed and after a long tedious cut and an attempt at adding color, the panel was a disaster. The White of the Whale flukes were in the background and the Black was on top. The White was almost invisible and visually, the cutting just did not work. In addition to the cutting being visually wrong, I attempted to add color to the ocean on the foreground cut panel. Well, I’ve always admitted that, although I add color to my work, I’m not an artist when it comes to creating an image by painting. I just could not make the ocean water look like ocean water. So, I finally cried Unkle and decided to start over. I revisited the pattern and reworked the image, keeping the same general line work I started with, but changed the pattern to make the Whale area background all Black and the White of the Flukes and Body, on the foreground cut panel. This resulted in a scroll saw pattern that produced a “typical scrolled dark and light’ image that was visually appealing, and that I was able to add my colorization efforts to. Well, I wasted a Maple plywood panel I use, maybe 15 to 20 hours of cutting time, quite a bit of Air Brush Paint and a lot of paint application and dry time, but I’m very glad I came to my senses and redid the panel. And, although I feel my scrolling abilities are fairly decent, I’m still learning to use Inkscape and the ‘Art’ of creating well designed, visually correct, scroll saw patterns. So, this project was not a complete waste as it resulted in some valuable ‘Lesson’s Learned’. Sorry no pics of panel....fire pit tinder.

I was asked by a client, who had recently purchased two other pieces from me, to make a Breeching Whale cutting to give to her daughter for Christmas who is a ‘Save-The-Whales’ advocate. I found the popular Humpback Whale Image, converted it into an 11” x 17” scroll saw pattern and sent it to the client for approval. Her reply was that what she wanted was an image of a Whale Tail and, in her reply, sent me a photo image of what she was looking for. Although the photo was not appropriate to make a Scroll Saw Pattern from, I was able to find a similar image which I, once again, converted into an 11” x 14” scroll saw pattern and sent it to her for approval. In the text to her (with tongue-in-cheek and an emoji) I said, “If you like I could make the pair!”. Her reply was, “I like that idea” and proceeded to drop off the deposit I require before starting the cuttings. Both cuttings were made in 5/32” thick solid core Maple Ply panels and affixed to a 1/4" thick BB Ply backers. Color was added to both the Backers and the Cut Panels with an Air Bruch using Artist Acrylic Air Brush Paints. The assembled panels were finished with multiple coats of Deft Clear Gloss Lacquer. I made my usual 1 3/4” rail frames out of Poplar and applied a High Gloss Black Lacquer finish. Comments and critiques always welcome. Edit: Patterns posted in Pattern Exchange.

It looks great. Scrolling an oval is easy if you can keep the blade slightly outside the line, then use a bench belt or disk sander to finish it to the line. I think you will find the double stick tape is not permanent. I use Titebond III. Gives you plenty of time to align the panel on the backer. I just apply the glue to the back of the cut panel with a 4" foam roller making sure to get an even thin coat so there is no squeeze out. I use my homemade press to clamp the panels together.

Ya did good!

Just a quick final update. WEN came through and shipped me a new base. Wasn't sure if I was going to install it or not but decided I might need the base to attach a vise or clamp to, to hold a long piece of work. I cut two 1 1/4" long sleeves, one for each bolt, from 1/2" steel pipe to use between the underside of the base and the bench. This worked to prevent, the 1/2" bolts I used to attach the base to the bench, from bending the britttle base and break it like I did to the original. I was able to tighten the bolts down well so it is firmly attached to the bench. It runs quite and smooth. Here are pics of the final instal: I guess you can say I'm happy with the results.

I've made night lights that are fully enclosed and use up to an equivalent 40W LED bulb without any concerns. Today's LED bulbs are very cool. If you are making a lamp shade of the same size as an existing shade, there should be no concerns at all, whatever bulb size you use.

Yes, beautiful is the only word to use for this piece. Aboslutely beautiful.

Another Cartoon character for my collection. At a recent Art Show, a gentleman asked me if I could do a special Tazmanian Devil like the one he had tattooed on his arm. Basically, it was the Loony Tune character with the Tornado at the bottom, and it had a Dumbbell in one hand and a Wrench in the other. The inference, I think, of being a “Body Mechanic”. I found a ton of images available and found this image that I modified to mimic his tattoo and sent him a copy of my pattern for his approval. He liked it and said he would think about it and get back to me, but I feel the price tag was a little above what his pocketbook could handle. I will be happy if he does, but I don’t expect him to get back to me any time soon. In the meantime, I liked the original image and decided to make it as I found it. I converted the image into an 11” x 14” Scroll Saw Pattern. The cut panel is a 5/32” solid core Maple ply affixed to a 1/4” BB Ply backer. Color was added to both the Backer and the Cut Panel, with the original image as a guide, using Artist Acrylic Air Brush Paints. I think my coloration came out well and is close to the original. The painted and assembled panel was finished with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Acrylic Coating. The frame is my standard 1 3/4” wide rails, primed and painted black. I’ll post my pattern in pattern exchange for the Cartoon maker bunch among us. As usual, I welcome comments and critiques.

When I had my shop in NC and had my big lathe, I also did a lot of turnings. After sanding, to get a really smooth final finish,a handfull of shavings was the choice prior to applying any kind of finish. For a very fine, hard and smooth finish I often used thin AC glue. Had to work fast but worked great. when I had my sho

As I said earlier, if you stain or ,paint your wood Poly or Lacquer are the best choices. It sound like you may have a spray booth and spray equipment. If you do, buying either Poly or Lacquer in bulk is going to be much cheaper. Either, purchased in rattle cans is also an option but tends to get pricy if you use a large quantity. I highly suggest you give a clear gloss or satin Lacquer a try. It will give you a finish as good as Poly with a much faster dry time. With multiple coats the finish get smoother and no, or very little sanding, required. I also find it brings out the beauty of the wood better than Poly. The Laquer oder is strong, as is Poly, while spraying, but diapates quickly. Lacquer area overspray is dust, Poly is sticky. Spray Lacquer gets into small crevices and onto the vertical cut surfaces better than Poly also. The dip process you used with the oil is better at getting all surfaces coated than spraying so you need to take care not to spray either Poly or Lacquer too heavy a coat or you will get puddling and runs. I have also experienced blushing with both if I apply too heavy a coating. A follow up coat of Lacquer will eliminate the Blushing as a follow up coat of Lacquer melts the previous coat, but a subsequent coat of Poly will not.

I have the Epson ET-16600. Looks a lot similar. I got mine over a year ago at office Depot for a significantly highr price. It works great. I print a lot of 11x17 and I only recently had to add new ink. I like the ink tanks much better than the cartriges. I bought a ream of the 13 x 19 paper on line and it will last me a long time. Don't use too much of it but it sure is nice when you need it. it is great for utilizing the full 12" project panels I use. I often need just that extra 2 inch width you can't print on the 11" wide paper.

Great for solid wood projects like statues, puzzles, toys, etc. IMHO, not practical for fretwork type ply panels, with or without backer. I like lacquer because I can get a nice, quite smooth, finish with no, in between coats, sanding needed. Multiple coats with only a short dry time in beween, tends to get smoother and smoother. I prefer poly for finishing stained wood frames, but don't take it to the extreme Ron does. Still experimenting with clear acrylic coatings.

Ace

Even Clear varnish tends to yellow over time. And, I personally do not like oil finishes because even when they feel dry to the touch it will attract dust to the work. For the same reason I would not use any kind of wax finish. Most appropriate choices for uncolored or stained wood include Clear Spray orWipe-on Ppolyurathane and Clear Spray Lacquer. I use rattle can lacquer but it is available in bulk at much lower cost per use as long as you have the equipment to spray. For wood that you add color to, it depends on the paint type. Clear acrylic sprays are best for pieces painted with Acrylic (water base) Paints or stains. Polycrylic is a name brand that tends to be expensive, but I have found Krylon and some store brand maufacturers have Clear Acrylic protective coatings at much lower costs. I use Clear Spray Laquer over acrylic painted pieces also, with out any problems. A craft store, like Hobby Lobby here in the USA, has the acrylic spray cans at much lower cost that the hardware stores that only handle the Polycrylic brand. For any oil based painted pieces I would stick with polyurethane or lacquer. Both Lacquer and Poly create a hard durable surface. IMHO, if it good enough for most furniture manufactuers, it is good enough for Scroll work. Clear Acrylic coatings are also good, but, again in my opinion, not quite as durable as Poly. Lacquer and the acrylic coatings have the advantage of a very fast dry time, while poly takes forever to dry just to be able to handle, especially if the humidity is high. For me a BLO finish takes too much work and time, that to me is not warrented for the product our hobby produces. And, last, Poly is the only protective coating I will use for any piece that will hang outside.

I went on the WEN website yesterday and filled out a warranty request. And, after sending a follow-up email to them providing Proof of Purchase and a photo of the broken base as requested in their auto reply, their auto reply said they woud get back to me in 1 to 5 business days. I found an email from them early this AM asking me to confirm a $0.00 purchase order for a new base. I confirmed the order and it should arrive in 5-7 days. Now, that is what I call customer service. If I reinstall the DP on the base and once again try to use the 1/2" bolts to attach to the bench top, I will shim up the void area under the base so it can't break again.

What kind of wood? How thick? What size panel (W & H)? Backer? Frame or not? Love to see what sombody else does with a pattern I provided. Just need details!

I've posted about my upside down dremel a while back. I just flipped the press on the shaft and mounted underthe shelf. This arrangement allows me to drill blade holes in boards up to 22 inches wide. The shelf is level so It is close to plumb and square. Accurate enough for tiny blade holes, which is all I use it for. AND, that is also why I bought a real drill press.

Yes and the base for the sanding station, more than 18 years ago,

NOT ENOUGH!