FrankEV

I note that there are many readers but not as many commenters. I've also noted there a number of members who add to their gallery but do not post anywhere. I wondered about this for a while now.

Last Thursday (4/21/22) Bernd (munzieb) posted his very nicely done Tissue box Cover that his wife had asked him to make. I mentioned that I have cardboard cube type tissue boxes all over our house and I would like to make a box cover for them. However, I also mentioned I would have to make them with a Hummingbird design as my Lady loves Hummingbirds. This led to discussion and searches for Tissue Box Covers with Hummingbird designs. Steeve Good, The Wooden Teddy Bear and Sue May all have patterns for Tissue Box Covers with HB designs, but I just was not happy with any of them. Also, I’m not a fan of Steve’s joinery, and Sue Mays pattern is just butt joints, a not so nice look. Then, there is another part of the design for these box covers I’m not fond of… the open fretwork. I don’t really want to see the cardboard tissue box at all. Using ¼” thick material and adding an interior backer starts to make the cover bigger and heavier than needed. Also, making the covers out of solid wood can get very expensive. Soooooo, I thought why not create my own version, in this case, of a Cube Box Cover with a more attractive HB design, AND, why not think about adding color as well. My design uses a double layer of standard 5/32” thick solid core ply to effectively create a five-sided, Cube type Tissue Box Cover with ¼” thick walls. Just like doing my Art panels, each side is comprised of a cut panel and a backer, as is the top. Of course, the top needs to have the tissue access hole in both the cut panel and the backer. Each panel, again like my Art panels, is Hand Painted prior to affixing the cut panel to the backer. Simply using contrasting color panels would also work if painting the backer is not your thing. The typical Maple/Walnut, or Walnut/Maple, combination would look very nice also. Now a little about my actual HB design. I freely admit to having found a nice abstract image on-line that included the HB and Flower. I had to modify the Image considerably to make it scrollable and do a little resizing to make it fit the 5” wide cover side panels, but now it is not just a Tissue Box Cover, but a Piece of Art as well. To make this HB Cube Tissue Box Cover, you will need to think small. The side panels are easily stack cut. A #2/0 MGT R is best suited to cut the HB, and a #2/0 Spiral works best to cut the flowers (I use Pegas blades). I tried a FD #3/0 spiral and even though the smaller size was better, cutting was much too slow in the stack of four panels. Also, it should be noted that, unlike the simple pattern such as Steve uses, this Tissue Box Cover will take a lot more time to cut (as it very delicate), paint, assemble and finish. But, in my opinion, worth the effort. My design uses mitered joints so there are no visible plywood edges unless you look closely at the tissue access hole. Never to be seen while a tissue is popped up during use. However, I do need to talk about my construction execution on this first attempt. Even though the pattern is delicate, it is scrollable. When assembled, the cover does fit the standard cube tissue box nicely. My mitered joints do work and would have looked better if I was a little bit more careful. I used a 45degree chamfering router bit to bevel the edges but my set up was not as accurate as it could have been. As a result, I did not get the real sharp edges that is needed. After the box was glued-up there were slight gaps along each joint. I decided to hide the gaps by rounding over the corners but made the mistake of using my bench belt sander and took too much off exposing the solid core material. I’m happy with the overall look, and my Lady loves how it came out, but the corners could have looked much better. My final finish is multiple coats of Deft Clear Gloss Lacquer. Sorry for the long read. For those who might like a challenge, I will post the Pattern in the New Pattern Announcements for your use and enjoyment. And you all know the drill, Comments and critiques are always appreciated.

I share many of my converted patterns in Pattern Announcements, or just message me and ask. I don't share patterns that aready exist by others (like fron the pattern gallery) or those I may have purchased and have not done any kind of conversion that makes it unique to me. Just note that most of my patterns need to be printed on 11x17 paper.

PLEASE, by no means is that true. I'm often happy with my work that other yawn at, and, often not happy with work that other rave about. So, me being happy with my work is the only true irrelevant opinion. In the real world, none of our opinions matter about anything. However, in this SSV world, opinions of our piers is what keeps us going and striving to improve. If, for example, most of the replies favored the lighter color, I would know that for a similar project not to do the darkening. And of course, visa-versa. In this case the light vs. the dark is mostly split. That also tells me a lot. So, again PLEASE, know your (and anyones) opinion is not irrelevant.

I used Mahogany I purchased from Ochooh. As mentioned by others the link is to Amazon and it is a 30 min Hourglass.

I ordered the one the link sent me to. It is a 30 Minute Houirglass,

I found this one on her site: https://scrollsawartist.com/cube-tissue-box-cover-hummingbirds/

Checked it out. I dislike TWTB because they are afraid someone is going to steal their patterns from the picture. Their photos of the subject is so small you can't see the pattern. And they don't do digital downloads. Price plus shipping becomes annoyingly high. I checked out Steve Good's site and he has two patterns for the small square tissue box, both have a Hummingbird pattern included. I don'g care for his joinery, but I can do my own. I will need to make at least six for all the boxes we have arround the house. I see a lot of stack cutting to be done..

Very well done! Very nice appropriate fretwork pattern. Is the end panel a different color by design or is it just the photo? We have the square tissues boxes all over our house. This is Pollen country and sneezing and snifling is a regular thing. I just might make a couple for the square tissue boxes to match our furniture, but I know I will have to have a pattern with a Hummingbird in it for my Lady.

Grocho?

Here are the two Hourglass's I made. As I noted in the original post, I was considring darking the wood a little with Mahagony stain. And, as you can see in the photo, I did just that. Not sure which one we like the best. My Lady is leaning toward the original lighter one while I kind of like the darker a little better. Staining the wood, did add some time to the build to allow for drying time and it was a PITA to get into all the fretwork because I only had Mahogany in the Gel Stain. If I had the regular type it would have probably been a lot easier to dip the fretwork pieces.

Enjoy your new toy. I have the same Pegas almost two years now and it is still doing fine. A couple of things. I, and others, have found as time goes by the tension knowb at the rear tends to move durring operation. Simplest solution,,,a little tape ( I now use some duct tape, as the blue tape dries out and come loose). Also, I was spoiled with my previous cheap Porter Cable saw that had a small spot light on the arm that could be aimed at the blade. The Pegas does not have that so I added a magnetic base flexable arm light that I have mounted on the saw arm. I found that just a Magnifier Lamp was not adequate. I like that the added light can throw a nice shadow of the blade makeing it easier to track the blade on the line. I removed the plastic sheet under the table and actually built a wood sawdust collector that is mounted on the stand just below the blade hole. The box is hooked up to my dust collector. Works good if I remember to turn on the dust collector. And BTW, you can remove the hold down device as you wont need it. Just gets in the way.

In a reply to my Sands of Time Slipping By post in Bragging Rights, meflick wrote: “I think with Steve’s (Steve Good) patterns, he aims for fairly easy to do projects that don’t take a lot of time for new scrollers and those with little time to work on big projects. I think that serves a large audience and is needed, especially in bringing new people to the hobby. However, You, Dave and many others on here are much more advanced and detailed in your work so I can see where you would not regularly find things on his site appealing to your needs. That’s why it’s good we have other good artists who do more intricate and detail patterns as well. Plus, you and Dave both like to come up with your own ideas or spin on things…“ The part of his reply is something I have been giving a lot of thought to of late. I for one, get bored easily so doing the same type of projects over and over makes me get bored very quickly. That is why finding and choosing what Scroll Saw Pattern’s to do has becomeo difficult. The following is intended to just open a discussion with no right’s or wrong’s, but maybe just some insite’s as to how WE, as individuals, treat this part of our activity. Here is me waxing out load: Yes, we have great Artist/pattern makers that produce a wonderful array of patterns for those of us who are not so talented in that area of this hobby. However, that to me is a slight problem, as I don't care to be a "copycat", if you can understand my meaning. Also, portraits (people faces) are not my thing nor is many of the other typical topics such as Indians, western scenes, cabins, mountains, etc. And even though I have done a lot of Eagle patterns, many bird patterns, a quite a few big cat patterns and others, some domestic animals (Cats and Dogs) as well as many wildlife patterns are not on the top of my to-do list. And, this is just me, but I do not generally do religious patterns as I feel they are in the category with political work that expresses an opinion that may not be appreciated by all who reads these posts in SSV. Then there is the fact that I like to add color to my work, and many of the “typical” Scroll Saw patterns are mainly intended as a B&W (dark and light contrasting wood colors) image. Patterns of florals, birds, butterfly’s, etc. are all subjects that lend themselves to having color added. Also, as current resident of Florida, my taste in subjects, especially for my “ART”, is more “southern, ocean, beachy, boating, tropical, etc” which, with few exceptions, are not typical Scroll Saw Pattern subjects. Although I consider myself as a somewhat talented Craftsman who produces “ART” with a Scroll Saw, as I stated above, some of us are not the talented Artist/pattern makers that we would like to be. As a result, in order to keep from getting bored with the subjects I cut, I have been forced to become somewhat skilled at working in Inkscape and have resorted to kind of pilfering (free, non-copyrighted, royalty free) images from varied on-line sources that I can convert into scroll saw patterns. Some of which have turned out good and some not quite so much. I still have a lot to learn. Now it is your turn to jump in and add your thoughts.

The second part of your reply addresses something I have been giving a lot of thought to of late. Not to take up room on this post I will be opening a discussion about patterns in a seperate post in the General Scroll Sawig forum in a little while. Watch for it,

Very nice. Relatively simple image that says a lot. Frame is very well done.

I receive Steve Good’s daily E-mails with his patterns. His Email, with this Hourglass pattern, was received on April 7, 2022. Many of Steve’s patterns are simple and not the kind of work I like to do. However, this one caught my eye and, although not my usual work, I knew it was something I wanted to build. A big THANK YOU goes out to Steve. That same day I ordered two of the Hourglass’s from Amazon and the next day I ordered two pieces of ¼” x 12” x 24” solid Mahogany from Ocooch Hardwoods. I stack cut as much as I could and with careful layout of the pieces on the board’s I was left with two scrap pieces of decent size that will be put to good use on a future project. The multiple Top and Bottom pieces were cut from stacks of four, while the fretwork pieces were cut from stacks of three. All cutting was done using Pegas #1 MGT R blades. Only broke a total of 3 blades. The last one broke about ½” away from the end of the very last cut. I just finished the first one and second is all cut and in the process of being sanded and finished prior to assembly. Although Steve’s pattern is very accurate, the glass is not as precise. I needed to make some very minor adjustments on this first one, that would allow the Top and bottom to capture the Hourglass snug. Not sure if it will be the same for number two as I have not done a dry fit up yet. When I cut the mortises, I was very careful to make sure I did not cut them too large. As a result, I did have to do a considerable amount of filing to allow the tenons to fit. All pieces were finished with multiple coats of Deft Clear Gloss Lacquer, prior to assembly. I’m considering enhancing the wood color with some Mahogany stain on the second one. I used Locktite Super Glue Gel that allows for more assembly time and much less glue squeeze out. I did use clamps to make sure the Top and Bottom assemblies captured the Hourglass snugly. I hope you enjoy and as always, comments and critiques are much apprciated. BTW, my Lady went GAGA over this one and it will probably wind up living on her desk. If the sceond one comes out as well, it will be displayed at the at the Gallery with a nice hefty price tag.

GreatJob, but I too, like it better before the Oil. Some sort of clear non-yellowing finish may have been a better choice, My favorate is Lacquer. On another note, are you not worried about cracking and curling. I've worked with burl in the past, specificallly for turning bowls. Over time they get better with age, but all curl and crack. Was the slab you used dry...less than 6% moiture ? Most slabs need to be either kiln dried or stacked away to dry for a long time in order to become stable at less then 6% moisture.

NIcely done! Fun coloring the vertical cut surfaces, isn't it? Solid Pine? What is making the differen color band around the beveled perrimeter?

Whenever I cut, what I call a "positive" pattern, I will cut all the individual pieces out of a full sheet. I drill blade holes near each individual pieces so the cut out pieces can be located on the backer using the full sheet which is exactly the same size and shape of the backer. The loose pieces can be painted or stained individualy and then using the cut panel glued pecisely in place. Works like a charm.

It is called "A lot of Work", but it looks great. Cutting is very well done, especially the Script. I too, am a Harley guy. I made the basic logo many moons ago, but never saw this version. I like it a lot and I know your Brother will also. Was it a SS pattern or did you create the pattern from an Image.

For the samll amount of CA I need in this hobby I have gone to using the Loctite or Gorrila brand CA, but in the gel form. More expensive than using the larger bottles available, but I do use up these small bottles before they can dry up, as long as I put the cap back on quickly. The loose liquid CA is too easy to spill or drip and makes using a very small amount difficult. I can put a single drop of the gel on a break or the like much easier. Afte it dries, it can even be cleaned up with some Dremel Burrs as needed. I have also mixed it with sawdust to fill a voild. Works better than using Titebond and sawdust.

Hobby Lobby has many different stencils and precut letters/numbers.

I never have any trouble turning tight corners when using #2/0 blades...then I use spirals most of the time. When using any flat MGT R blade, and have a very tight inside corner I tend to use the double cut method. Cut to the intersection, back out cut a cross over to the opposite line and cut into the intersection. Turn the piece around the free blade and proceed to cut the line. No difficulty with any blade. For very pointy outside corners I do a loop pattern beyond the point and start the scecond side cut just beyond the point to get a very sharp point.

I looked at the pic for about 10 minutes before I saw the image. Not your fault...my eyes played tricks on my brain. Like one of those puzzle B&W images where you need to find the hidden image. Oh well. I guess that happens when you get to be my age..achient! Very nice cutting, now that I know what I'm looking at! You might want to consider useing a sanding sealer and a wood pre-stain conditioner before finishing. I use a lot of Poplar and I find it necessary to use the pre-stain conditioner in order to get a decent finish. Although in the photo your finish looks very nice. I have only one very minor comment. Would have liked to see the image exteded down below the buffalo's feet in some way. Maybe some squigly horizontal lines or a little indication of some field grass. The blank open area pulls my eye away from the cutting and this may have been the reason I did not see the image in the first place.

I found getting the correct color of the mouth difficult. Too pink, too orange, too ???. Nothing seemed to work just right. What I wound up with, looked OK to me and looks better in person. The Photo seems to make it much redder. I also noted in the photo, the underbody color is quite green where in real life it is more cream. Edit: I added a camera raw image to the original post. Color is a little truer and detail is more visible. My art paint blending skills still needs work. And Yeah, I can't spell! Went back to original post and corrected the spelling. Thank you. I really do appreciate the critique.