jimmyG

I don't clean for looks... A clean shop is a safe and efficient shop. Clean blades, gears and tracks and not tripping on cords and debris makes my hobby more enjoyable.

I moved into this home 24 years ago this month and first thing I did since the garage was a clean slate was tape,spackle and paint the drywall. The floor was an epoxy coating that was pricey but has held up fairly well for the abuse it's taken over the years.

My small one car garage shop used to be my man cave and even though it stores some household it was a place to hang out in and was super clean. A year ago I decided to try woodworking so I took everything out and gave it a nice paint job. It still stores a few non-woodworking items. There's a lot of stuff packed into the area but everything is super organized in a logical order and no wasted space but still able to walk around the work bench. Having tools on wheels was the best thing I ever did. After having such a clean man cave before, I can't bring myself to letting my work area get dirty and dusty since I don't really make a lot of big projects to begin with. You're correct about online sales being the pits. Craigslist doesn't seem to be monitored any longer and it's mostly business ads, at least in the DC area. The problem with Marketplace is people know who you are and have no problem learning your personal information. Used Ebay back in the day but they now cater to the buyer not the seller so it's easy to get ripped off trying to sell something. Sad!

Been cranking out a bunch of projects lately with 1/4" BB plywood, wasn't paying attention and ran out. So while waiting for Ocooch's order I decided to clean the shop. Not the smartest day to do it since it's been 99 degrees with a triple digit heat index. Every tool rolled out of the shop into the driveway, blow and vacuum every speck or sawdust off/out of them, clean all the blades and lube moving parts, vacuum the floor corner to corner, drain compressor, organized the contents of drawers and cabinets and swiffer dusted all surfaces. Spotless! How often do you do a big clean??

I scrolled this 10" guitar for a friend who custom builds the real ones. Figured it would look good on one of his metal shop cabinets!

Not off topic, spot on...

Guitar holder

I don't know, maybe I'm just going for it since the weather is nice to work in the garage, while it lasts. Maybe because there's a bunch of scraps laying around. I see a pattern that looks interesting and the next thing I know I'm logging many ass hours at the saw again. My closets are full with hundreds of "things" I just had to scroll. I believe I'm right at the line between hobby and addiction!

Maybe I'm not a seasoned enough scroller to understand the need for speed? My lowest setton my Dewalt seems to get the job done on anything I've cut my first year. I tried increasing the speed and couldn't imagine cutting anything half or three quarters high and having the whole cast iron plate vibrating. But hey, that's just me!

Started scrolling a year ago and tried the Wen and returned it and almost decided to forget about the hobby until I bought the Dewalt. I learned quickly using a high quality tool and made plenty of projects so far. Best shop purchace I've made for my new woodworking hobby, next to my Dewalt table saw I will not buy cheap power tools that are vital to my craft!

Only been scrolling a year now and made a couple of hundred items on my DW788 Dewalt and barely moved the speed knob from it's slowest speed and that works for me and my accuracy. I've bent a few blades but never broke any working with Baltic birch 1/8 - 1/2 inch and occasionally some 3/4 pine.

I wish I knew of that idea about 12 projects ago. The front and back would get way too much paint trying to get into the fret area. A super time saver. Even better when you only want the interior cut area painted.

Can't remember who said they leave their pattern attached when spray painting to avoid getting too many coats applied trying to get those cut areas covered. Leaving the pattern on stopped me from having to apply a thick coat when pattern was removed. Works like a champ!

I don't have a lot of open floor space to devote to a scroll saw area and still be able to move around. I have my saw mounted on an angle on top of a portable generator and the shop stool's legs were shortened. My feet are on the ground but I still find myself leaning over when I'm scrolling. I feel if I could get closer I could sit up straighter but I can't get my knees under this set up. What is everyone's comfortable set up??

The number of items add up quickly when you make a lot of smalls: tea lite and cell phone holders etc that I give away. I'm retired and with a bad back and poor circulation in my legs, I want to be efficient with the amount of A H spent scrolling. To me efficiency means progress at what I set out to do.

Bought my Dewalt scroll saw a year ago today and created hundreds of items with it. Scrolling was easy to learn, safe to do and it's a very rewarding experience to transform a piece of wood into something beautiful. I have so much more to learn but the helpful members in this group have made my progress much easier. Thanks!

Wichman was right.. The little fibers will not go away and I will not paint it black like another project I did before with this wood... So I decided to cover the back with stiff black felt (my go to thing) and kind of like the contrast so I'm going to call it done and make a note to self (No more basswood)

Was using Olson #5 mach speed and it was slow going. Tried smaller and it didn't cut well at all. Smoother but had trouble following the line and super slow. Gotta some day find some decent pine boards at the blue & orange stores that aren't cupped or twisted. Even Baltic birch ply isn't what it used to be. I don't mind paying the premium price if it's usable.

If you do use it what blade do you use and how do you make the interior cuts smooth??? The cuts with the grain aren't too bad but against is rough looking no matter how long I sand...

Thought about shelves also but I definitely don't like putting holes in the wall since my mind changes like the weather. I'd have to be really sure on the area before I commit!

Awesome, like all of your projects!

I usually do only drill a few holes at a time, "usually" not this time, mistake #1. The eyes really wouldn't have been a problem if I just used the shelf paper properly. I do try and scroll a potential problem area first.

I was mentioning before how I only ruined a few projects this past year... Jinxed myself. Been rolling lately getting a bunch of things done. Decided to sand plywood and leave sawdust so shelf paper would be easier to remove. Bad idea... Pattern was lifting and made pieces chip out on the really tight curves, especially the eyes. Should have started there and saved me 3 hours of A H.... Once so much veneer was chipped out or split, and the eye was ruined I got pissed and it made its way to the chop saw. Time for a break from the scroll saw for a while.