FrankEV

Very nice project. Neat box and very lovely fretwork panel. Hope you dated it somewhere so you and your other half will remember which anniversary you made it for.

NO, wish I was. Just learning enough to make some minor changes when needed.

The pattern for this11X14 portrait is from Dugly Graphics Website. The cut panel was 1/4" solid core Walnut Plywood and afixed to a 1/8" natural BB Plywood backer. The cut panel was selectively colored with various color stains except the leaves which was done with acrylic craft paint. The panel was cut with Pegas 2/0 spiral blades except for the perrimeter border that was cut with a Pegas #5 MGT R. Don't know why, but this seemingly rather simple pattern gave me more fits than the much more complicated patterns I have previously done. The finish panel looks much better in person than the photo shows. When a image is superimposed onto a backer, such as in this case, shadows tend to be more pronounced and distract from the image. An 1/8" cut panel may have been a better choice. The panel is set loose, using framing points, in another simple frame, made form Red Oak that was brightened using Minwax Sadona Red stain. and then protected with spray Polyurethane.

Looks good on the cut and paint work...But...other than some sort of shield I have no idea what it is!

Eagles and Hawks are some of my favorite scroll saw subjects. However, my flat fretwork portraits pales in comparison to your outstanding work.

Very nice. Time consuming font but perfectly cut. Colors make it even better. Nice piece to hang where guests can see it immediately.

Nice job, to bad it will get broken.

Great well done piece that should provide a lot of good memories in the future of a devoted pet.

Sorry, this is a long story. I found this free SVG pattern of this Jaguar on a website called www.craftsmanspace.com and it was specifically stated as a scroll saw pattern. I’m including a photo file of the presented finished product as shown on the website for you to look at very carefully. If you study the photo you will see that there are many parts of the pattern that are “islands” (eyes, whiskers, fuzzy chin, area above the neck and lower right area). I really do not think this should be touted as a scroll saw pattern, but I liked the image and I decided to try to make it usable. The original SVG pattern was positioned within an A4 border,and when printed, a lot of the cut lines were touching. Many of the cut areas were shown with very wiggly edges (I presume to depict fur). Even when resized and repositioned to suit an 11X14 panel, the pattern is filled with extremely small details that were even smaller that the width of a Pegas 2/0 spiral blade, which I used to cut the panel. Before attempting to use the pattern I spent a lot of hours in Inkscape reworking the pattern to add bridges between “islands” where I could and slightly modifying the pattern. I did not try to add bridges to the eyes and had to glue them to the backer individually. I also added a 1/4” wide perimeter frame as part of the cut panel to allow the panel to lay properly when framed. Using the modified pattern, I cut 1/8” BB Plywood and applied it to a 1/4” BB Plywood backer painted black. After cutting the panel is very flimsy and I had to use a lot of painter tape to hold the cut area together while sanding and staining. Boy of boy, those whiskers were not easy to cut!!! So, following the original photo, I selectively bleached and stained the cut panel. I used Minwax Natural stain tinted with a little orange and brown oil based paint. The eyes are painted with Acrylic craft paint. The 1/4” perimeter cut frame was painted black so it would not be seen under the frame. The panel was finished with spray Lacquer. Again, like I have done before, I made a simple poplar frame and painted it with rattle can Black gloss spray to maintain the illusion of the Pretty Kitty emerging from the darkness. Here is my finished product. Anyone wanting my modified pattern, feel free to message me.

Thanks for the comments. So JFYI: Unlike Pine and most other wood, Poplar takes almost any color stain verey well because the grain is very uniform and has very little pitch/sap. It also paints up well also. I'm getting to a point that I do not like using regular straight cutting blades. A lot of portrait work lends itself to the use of Spiral blades and cutting time is significantly reduced using them. A lot of practice is the key. For longer straight or curved cuts it is definately dificult to get a smooth cut with a spiral blade, but I have found if I tend to err on the waste side of the line, I can clean the cut up using a shaving action that is possible with a spiral blade. I actually find this technique is often more forgiving than when using a straight cutting blade for similar cuts.

As always, your work is wonderful. What I realy want to know is, where you found a piece of White Oak 23" x 15" x 1" thick. I live in Central Florida and can not find any place that sells any hardwoods other than Red oak. Purchasing large heavy wood online is really cost prohibitive for a hobby endevour.

This is a H. Botas pattern that I slightly modified to suit a 11X14 panel. The cut panel is 1/8" BB Plywood, left natural, affixed to a 1/4" Mahogny solid core plywood backer that was darkened with Minwax Mahogny stain to improve contrast. Cutting was done with Pegas #0 and #1 spiral Blades. The finished panel was finished with Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer. The panel is set loose in a simple custom made poplar frame that was also stained with the same Minwax Mahogny stain and protected with Clear Gloss spray Polyurethane.

Very nice. Maybe someday I'll try that compound cutting stuff.

That is a very lovely gift. I hope you signed and dated it as it could be a keepsake handed down in the future.

It is very well done. However, you left us out on the perverbial limb. What is the purpose of the sign...residential/commercial? indoor or outdoor? How wide/tall? Material and Font?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all.

Welcome from across the pond on the coast of Central Florida USA. Post up pics of some of you projects so we can see what you hsvr been up to before joining.

Good work on the gift for your neighbor. Looks great.

Very very nice. I did something similar with a dragonfly cutting I did for my Daughter-in-law. Only diference was that I used craft acrylic paints to paint the backer in specific areas. Color certainly adds to the beauty of the finished piece. Really like that overall patern. The fretwork below and above the circle sure adds a lot to the piece.

A lot of Harley riders here in Florida have long white beards and big bellies looking more like a real Santa than the bell ringer Santas do. But, much too warm to wear a furry red suit here, even in December.

If Santa was riding his Harley in my front yard here in Florida he would be wearing a T-shirt, Shorts and Flip-flops. Great decoration.

This is my solution! The Dremel drill press as is, because of it is only 3" from the bit to the post, is imparactical to use for drilling blade holes in almost any fretwork larger than 6" wide. However, I had the idea in my head I could do something to make it work and Home Depot near me had the Dremel Drill Press/Tool Station in stock for $45. I took a chance (knowing I could return it if I could not make it work) and bought it this morning. After I got it home and did some investigating how I could make it work the light bulb lit up in my brain and this was the result. There is a shelf above my workbench that was just the correct height to allow me to mount the base upside down. I slid the Drill press body on the post opposite of what is normal. The press can be rotated around the post allowing it to be swung out of the way if necessary. I use a piece of 1/4" ply as a drill backer and set the stop so the bit will not punch into the workbench top. Very easy to locate the bit ove the point where the hole is needed. From the bit to the wall is about 11" so as positioned it can accomodate panels up to about 22" wide. I have two Dremel Rotary Tools so this one will be a dedicated drill for drilling blade holes, although the tool holder body can be rotated up to 90 degrees and used for other operations. I don't think I will be braking as many drill bits with this setup. I located it near the rear corner of the workbench so it should not interfere tooooooo much with other workbench usage. As the say, where there is a will there is a way. And when space is at a premium, you have to think outside the box and make evey square inch count.

As mentioned many time before, your technique is amazing. Absolutely wonderful. I'm sure the church's members a very pleased, as should they be.

Color makes the world a brighter place....great job.

Body 11.43 square x 25.4 tall, Base 12.7 Square X 3.81 Tall, Top 12.7 square x 1.27 tall. Overall 30.48 tall. I have an app called "Universal Unit Conversion" on my pc so I can translate metric to US dimensions so when you (the colective you) post you dims in cm's I can do a qick conversion to know what I'm looking at.