FrankEV

Yep...I ditto what Scrappile said. Use e piece of painters tape on the back to hold it in place while the glue dries. a large piece like that is an easy fix...it is the tiny pieces that are hard to deal with.

This is another free bird pattern which I found on the Craftsmanspace website. I used Inscape to resize and convert to a red line with light grey Pattern. The cut panel is 5/32” x 10” x 14” Birch solid core Plywood affixed to a ¼” x 12” x 16” BB Ply backer. And, although the site stated that it was a scroll saw pattern, it was a very difficult cut as many of the lines were very close to each other, just about touching, even at the larger size I chose to make it. Also, this pattern was different in that the cuts created both a “positive” and “negative” images making the coloring slightly more difficult as both the backer and cut panel required to be painted. After applying a coat Gesso to the backer and areas on the top panel that was to be painted, all the painting was done with Acrylic Art paints except the border which was painted with a Blue rattle can spray paint. The final panel was protected with multiple coats of clear gloss spray Lacquer. There was no colored illustration available, so after looking at some bird photos, it seemed to me that the birds looked a lot like Black Cap Chickadees, so it was yellow for the birds with red flowers and green leaves. And, once again, the panel was set loose in a simple 1 3/4” wide Poplar frame, which after treating with a wood condition, was stained with Minwax Honey Maple stain and then protected with spray clear satin polyurethane. I’m thinking this will be the last of the “birds” I do for a while as I’m sure most of you are bored with these posts. I have to find some new different challenges.

Very well done. A nice bright color under the cuts will make it outstanding. Not sure what the wood you used is, but it looks nice, so a natural stain to enhance the grain might be the way to go with a couple coats of Wipe-on Poly. For everyday use it needs a good protective coating that would be easily cleaned.

You are doing good. Gaurentee, you will learn to break blades!

Very nice. Great cutting.

Congrats. For both the Great Gand Daughter and a job well done on the plates. .Since you did not include a date in the cutting make sure you sign and date the back so all will remember the event.

Good job. Waiting for paint to dry is always my biggest annoyance. I very impatient!

Boxes are great projects and you did a wonderful with this one. I understand about having blinders on when looking for projects. I'm kinda into a rut with coloring portraits of "Birds". I really do like inlay work, but just havn't gotten up the nerve to try it yet. But it on my to do list. Again, very nice work.

I often use the Walnut 5/32" purebond Solid Core ply I get fron HD. Add some Walnut stain and it even look better. Finishes beautifuly.

It is a great piece. Very well done. I concur, thiner cut panel would have been visualy better. I have found that to be a truism for most fretcut projects where the background needs to show through.

Very nice!

Very nice and well cut. My lady looked over my shoulder at the pic and said "I like!". That's two likes in one reply.

Beautiful, well done! She, and not just her feet, looks very happy!

If you like living in a area like you do and only want to relocate for "other" reasons, Central Florida would be a good choice. I think the weather would be quit similar although we do get a few cool (low 40's) weeks a year, and probably more rain then you are used to. There is the rainy season and the dry season - which ios just not quite as rainy, The West Coast (Gulf side) is very nice, but quite populated and lots of traffic around the Tampa area. The East Coast (Atlantic Side) is a little more spacious, less crowded (as long as you stay awey from the Orlando and Attractions areas), and trafic is not too bad most of the time. Like everywhere, poetically speaking, there are the nice side of the tracks and the not so nice side. All it takes is some research to know what kind of area you want to live in and to know what your pocketbook can afford. We live in Ormond Beach on the East Coast about 7 mile north of the worlds most famous "Daytona Beach" and the home of the Daytona International Speedway. I'd say OB is on the little bit more upscale side of the tracks . We had down sized considerbly when we move here and have a small 1600 SF 2 BR duplex on a very small piece of property (A reaseon my shop is so small) but it is free and clear while utilities, taxes and upkeep are low. More than enough for just the two of us. especially at my age. However, OB has some very upscale areas with high end homes as well. The city maintains the roads and public spaces very well. Although CA is a Blue State and FL is a Red state it won't make much of a difference living wise. I personaly just keep my head down and my mouth shut when any thing politically arrises. Mostly others just do the same. And don't forget...no state income tax. But, also, just remember, there are not many native Floridians, just mostly all us transplants call Floridiotes!!!!

Me also!

Havn't seen any snow since moving to Central Florida in '14. Last snow I had to put up with was in NC...and that's what made me move to Florida. Getting old and snow just does not go together!

It is good practice to protect both exposed wood and painted wood panels with a clear coat of some kind of protectorant. I like lacquer, but others use Poly and other protectorant products. Our work is usually exposed to the enviroment and not mounted under glass. Because a wood medium, and even if painted, they are suceptable to absorption of moisture and dust and dirt can build up on surfaces. A good quality finishing protectorant prevents moisture absorbsion and makes cleaning easier. Just don't forget to coat all surfaces and not just the front.

You can't just save it as a JPG like you can for a PDF. In the drop down menue under "File" you can find the command "Export as a PNG. A PNG file is a photo file similar to a JPG. Most Photo programs can handle either file kind. If you save it as a PDF, you can convert it to a JPG for free at: PDF2JPG.net I manipulte and size my patterns in Inkscape and save them to PDF's from which I print them. I don't save patterns as a Photo files like JPG or PNG.

I'm by no means an expert, but may be able to help you out a little. The next time you want to convert a pattern from B&W to R&G let me know. Send me a PM with the pattern and we will do it together step by step. There are a few tricks I know that you may be overlooking.

First, let me start by saying I do own a Epson inkjet color printer that can print up to A3 size, but I ususally use the standard American tabloid 11" X 17" size. A number of months ago I asked the question of how to turn a B&W pattern into a Red line. The answer I received back then was "Inkscape". At that time I was not very adept at using Inkscape and it forced me to learn how to use it...and I'm still learning. It is a great program but not very intuitive to use. Any .jpg file (*) of a pattern can be converted into a .svg file using the "trace bitmap cammand" which allows the line work and background colors to be manipulated as well as line editing and much more. I change the line work to a slightly pinker red and do background infill in a light 10% grey. The contrast between the red and grey makes it even easier to so see the blade vs. line. However, the biggest trick I have found was to change the red linework thickness to a very thin line which makes following the line much easier. I find I do not have to worry about splitting the line when I cut but can work close to either side to allow me more freedom to cut those "close to each other" or "loop back" lines while working under the mag light. * If you happent to get/find a B&W .pdf file of a pattern it needs to be converted to a .jpg file that can be inserted into Inkscape. There is a FREE on-line service that will do just that called: pdf2jpg.net BTW there are new inkjet printers on the market now that use ink tanks that are refillable. I havn't priced one yet as my printer works just fine, but I do understand the price of the ink reduces the cost per sheet considerably.

In my previous post under Scrollers Q&A about preparing wood before painting, in his reply Dave Monk included a pic of his cut from this pattern by Jenevski that can be found in the SVV Patterns Library. It kind of jumped out at me, and since Eagles is my favorite subject, I just had to cut it. The cut panel is 5/32” x 11” x 14” Solid Core Birch plywood which I affixed to a 1/4” x 12” x 15” BB ply backer. Cutting was completed with a Pegas #0 spiral blade. Coloring of the backer was completed a little different for this project. I did prep the panel with a sealer and then used Krylon Spray Paint with Primer to paint the Red, Blue and Gold. I did use a lot of blue painters tape to mask off the various areas so I could paint each color. Of course, after all painting and assembly was completed I protected the panel with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Lacquer. The frame is 1 3/4” wide Poplar that I added a store bought decorative bead detail available from Lowes. After prepping the frame with a pre-stain the frame was stained with Minwax Water Based Semi Transparent Royal Pine (Blue) stain and then finished with a coating of Minwax Water Based Polycrylic Clear Satin Protective Finish.

The one I made works fairly smoothly. Te mesh of the teeth seemed to be fairly consistent. My problem was the size of the hole I made in the gears was too big (did not have the correct bit as specified) and the allignment was very sloppy. Did not think a 32th of an inch would make a big difference but it did. However, by adding some tape to the dowels I was able to center the gears and now all works fine.

Have no idea, but will send you each of the .pdf files in a PM.

Great job. Detail is amazing.

I think you should be bragging loudly. The project and cutting is fantastic.