Dak0ta52

Welcome from North Carolina.

WOW! Talk about delicate!!! Great job, Paul.

A North Carolina welcome to you.

Welcome from North Carolina. There is a lot of knowledge here so don't hesitate to ask questions should any arrise.

I agree that in some cases a bridge would look bad distracting from the piece. I wasn't knocking your piece. That's why I added that I've also done that in the past.

Outstanding work with a fretsaw. I'm seeing a few areas without bridges also. It looks like the nose would have a drop-out. I know I've cut pieces before where I've kept the piece and secured it to the backer after the cut was finished. Regardless, and again, outstanding work!

Here is the Lab pattern. Making it a Chocolate lab shouldn't be any problem. Just stain or paint your backer brown. Glad you like it and I hope your piece turns out as nice as mine did.

My year (2024) has been rather busy. This was the first year I really got involved in vendor shows and attended a little less than a dozen. As most others have experienced, some shows I did well, and others were a flop. But something I enjoy more is getting commissions from customers who come up and seen my work. The black lab (pattern is in Village Library) I created for a lady who had a vendor booth set up across from mine at one of the shows. She had recently lost a black lab and unfortunately didn't have any pictures. I was able to find a picture, create a pattern and make the cut. She was extremely pleased and said the piece did look like her dog. The Silky belonged to a lady that is in a dog training club with my wife. This was a champion dog in both conformation (Best In Show) and obedience training. I made the pattern from a picture she had and if I remember correctly, the pattern has around 650 cuts. It was tricky, but a lot of fun to cut. The heart was added at the request of my wife. Unfortunately, the dog had passed just before I got the commission. The two cowboy pieces are patterns by Jim Blume. I love his patterns and have cut many of them over the past couple years. The most challenging was the six team stagecoach going through water. That piece had a few cuts short of being 1500. These pieces didn't have near that many, but they were challenging because of the delicate places with small bridges. I guess the reason I like Jim's patterns is because they challenge me. The last piece I cut for a local restaurant chain. Obviously, it is a Mexican restaurant, and I cut it at the request of one of the wait staff. When I finished it and brought it to them, the manager seen it and had a fit. (Good fit.) He had to hang it up right away. The young lady that asked me to do the cut was pleased and had intended to hang the piece in the restaurant anyway. I felt kind of bad for her, so I cut one of the 3D bird houses and gave it to her once they had their Christmas tree up. She did hang it on the tree but once they took it down, she kept it and hung it in her car.

Awesome piece, Jim. Nice to see you're still around. Haven't seen much of you lately. You know I love your work and great patterns!!!

Black is my go-to backer board color. I do use stain and not paint. If it was my cut and I was about to stain, I'd use a black backer and stain the front with Ipswich. That is just a little darker than Natural.

First of all, welcome to the Village from North Carolina. Secondly, I started my wood working with carvings (other than general remodeling which I have done most of my life). I made a few carved pieces and enjoyed it when I came across scroll saw work. That intrigued me and I purchased my first scroll saw from WEN. It turned out I enjoyed scrolling more than carving and before long I was hooked. I've invested in a much better saw (Pegas) and must say I'm sincerely addicted. Be sure to post pictures of your pieces. I am often inspired by other's work. Additionally, you'll receive praise and constructive criticism to help on your journey with scrolling.

My experience with "Birch" in box stores is the veneer is very thin and you will encounter voids. I do a lot of portrait scrolling and experienced delamination with the box store Birch. Unfortunately, you don't realize the piece has delaminated until after removing the pattern. Most of my pieces are 500+ cuts which means a lot of time has gone into a piece only to find it has become a piece of kindling after removing the pattern. For that reason I use "Baltic Birch" ordered from Ocooch Hardwoods. The wood isn't overly expensive. The shipping is the killer. I will say I have had fairly decent experience with the box store 1/4-inch Oak plywood. I don't know if the veneer is thicker or sturdier but it has held up pretty good. Also, with the grain in the Oak ply, it can give you a "cloud" effect should the piece you're cutting needs such an illusion.

Welcome from North Carolina. I can't help with parts for your Delta but hopefully someone in the Village can assist.

A North Carolina welcome to you. I also started with a WEN and graduated to a Pegas.

Welcome to the Village. Be sure to post your work. I promise you will receive both positive responses and constructive criticism.

I can't say much about the saw other than what I've heard. However, most (if not all) scroll saws use a 5-inch blade. The difference is either blades with pins or pinless. From what I understand your saw uses pinless blades. There are many brands (Pegas, Flying Dutchman, Olson to name a few) that would work on your saw. It's not unusual for blades to break so they are usually sold by the dozens. Denny, a member on this forum, sells Pegas blades which is my primary choice. His website is artcraftersonline.com and is very helpful in helping you select the correct blade for the work you intend to do with your saw. I would suggest giving him a call to discuss your needs.

Welcome to the Village.

Welcome from North Carolina. I know nothing about the Craftsman scroll saw but I'm sure there are members here that have knowledge where parts may be available.

Welcome from North Carolina.

Beautiful piece, Wayne. Something to be very proud of.

First of all, welcome to the Village from North Carolina. With that out of the way, there is a bit of a learning curve using a scroll saw. The blades that work best for you as well as the project you're cutting. Scroll saw projects usually require a higher quality and sometimes exotic woods. This can get expensive. Some of the members here only cut projects for gifts or donations to various charities and organizations. Others strictly build their inventory to sell at vendor shows where they can recover some of their expense to maintain their hobby. I personally started with a $107.00 WEN saw and after a year decided I enjoyed the hobby so much I purchased a $1,600.00 Pegas. I sell my projects by making pieces on commission as well as vendor shows (which I hate). But, again, it is necessary to help recoup some of my materials cost. I typically cut portrait type projects to sell, but I also like to cut 3D projects that I take with me to shows and typically give to children that come to my booth. That helps negate some of the "hate" I have for vendor shows and also draws parents in to look over, and hopefully purchase, some of my projects. Depending on the direction you go with your projects, you could contact your local services for information on where your projects may be beneficial: hearts for aging adults, toys for child services. There is a lot of knowledge by the members here in the Village and members are eager to share their knowledge. Don't hesitate to ask questions and remember to post pictures of your projects. You will receive encouraging praise and occasionally gentle criticism. Happy Scrolling!

Awesome job!!! This piece would have been challenging on a scroll saw. Unbelievable talent using only a fret saw.

Welcome from North Carolina!

Just to throw this in, and something I have experienced, if you're cutting a turn and rotate the piece to quickly without allowing the blade to "cut" through the turn (especially sharp turns), it will bend the blade. This is more noticeable with the larger blades because the kerf has more surface area to bend the blade before it is allowed to cut it's way though. Concerning the tension: I bottom feed and there are times when I'll feed the blade through the piece and it will not be directly aligned between the clamps. I'll clamp the blade to the top clamp, apply tension and as I do, it moves (aligns) the piece between the clamps. I'll then remove the tension, unclamp the top, and then reclamp the blade with the hole directly between the clamps. I've also found that if I'm experiencing excessive drift or I'm having to excessively rotate the piece to follow a curve, I know the blade has loosened and needs to be repositioned in the clamp for proper tension.

Welcome from North Carolina. You're venturing into a very addictive hobby. Lots of knowledge on this forum so don't hesitate to ask questions. And by all means, be sure to post pictures of your projects.