rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 (edited) just a fore-word.. EVERYTHING in this thread was made on a 1947 craftsman scroll saw. sometimes i take it apart to clean it, tighten things, change the oil, etc.. has never let me down though! i love it. the only real modification is i made the throat 1" deeper with my angle grinder, and i've upgraded the flathead screws that retain the blade to allen heads. still has the original belt. kinda flaps as it goes around, but it makes me smile. i've made a bit of money with this 'ol saw. here's a pic of the saw, and a screenshot from quickbooks. i'm not bragging. far from it. i sat in front of the thing for so many hours i go crosseyed.. i'm sure many of you can relate. it's not about the money. i like seeing the work i do around town.. i like it to be stuff i make, not stuff i order. as long as i can pay my bills and have a little fun sometimes, i'm happy. that in mind, the saw has become 12.4% of our company income.. by "our company" i mean my mother and I. she opened a sign shop in 1976 and is slowing towards retirement. she hand paints with a brush, i airbrush and play with the saw. our business was turning towards people just wanting cheap crap. vinyl lettering on plastic, paper signs, "whatever's cheapest".. it was sucking the fun out of it and the life out of us. scroll sawing my way around town kinda made work fun again. i've scrolled my way to $32,000 with a $10 saw... i think i'm about ready to upgrade though. i've tried to hire friends in a pinch - nobody else seems to be able to use this saw, or the letters turn out like the yellow 'S' here.. Edited May 6, 2017 by rob342 spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 (edited) these are made with 3/16" foam board. you get a fuzze edge sometimes but it literally wipes off with 180g sandpaper Edited May 7, 2017 by rob342 Lucky2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 (edited) these are made with sign foam, also called precision board, hdu, etc. cuts and sands super easy, lasts well over a decade outdoor, and costs a bit more than everything else i use, like $400 for a 4 x 8 sheet. the small letters under VSC are 1/8" plastic called "sintra" Edited May 7, 2017 by rob342 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 this is more sign foam. here's a before, during, and on TV. when i saw it on TV next to Bishop Tudor Bismark i really smiled. the lighting crew did great and made it kinda look like it was 3D Tramsey4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 these are all made with pink panther (affordable foam insulation from home depot). sometimes we paint it, sometimes not. the gold letters are real 23kt gold leaf like we use on glass or firetrucks. JOE_M and Tramsey4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 i have other cool materials to show off, including the one i use most often. kinda feel like i'm talking to myself though. since i'm new it keeps telling me my post count is 0 and my posts require approval. i'll come back when i can. hope someone enjoys this kinda junk. -robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 this is 1/4" plastic "sintra" with brushed gold vinyl on top. this is in a TV production studio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) this is all a material called "maxmetal" or "alupanel". it's an 0.005" aluminum sheet with a plastic core. looks great and comes in a bunch of colors. great stuff to work with. cuts easy and with a little practice requires no sanding that ampersand took 3 hours, which probably doesn't seem long looking at some of the intricate stuff i see on this forum. seemed like forever to me, and required quite a bit of thought to reach all those curves with a 12" deep saw. part of it was cut with the blades teeth pointing away from me Edited May 7, 2017 by rob342 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 this job made me want a better saw. 192 little letters because this is applied to both ends of the display. the oval was too long for my saw so i twisted the blade 45° with a needle nose. the maps actually go quick. the little letters are punishing though Tramsey4 and jollyred 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Some very nice "stuff" you have done. That scroll saw looks about like the first scroll saw I ever used as a kid. My dad had it and we made Christmas present for my Mom on it. We were not good, but she pretended she loved the things we made.... rob342 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Wow... what fantastic work.. amazingly beautiful signs. No one would ever suspect they would be done on a scroll saw...very impressive Dick heppnerguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedo scroll Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 I really enjoyed looking at your work. Amazing what you do and with a 70 year old scroll saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 6 hours ago, rob342 said: just a fore-word.. EVERYTHING in this thread was made on a 1947 craftsman scroll saw. sometimes i take it apart to clean it, tighten things, change the oil, etc.. has never let me down though! i love it. the only real modification is i made the throat 1" deeper with my angle grinder, and i've upgraded the flathead screws that retain the blade to allen heads. still has the original belt. kinda flaps as it goes around, but it makes me smile. i've made a bit of money with this 'ol saw. here's a pic of the saw, and a screenshot from quickbooks. i'm not bragging. far from it. i sat in front of the thing for so many hours i go crosseyed.. i'm sure many of you can relate. it's not about the money. i like seeing the work i do around town.. i like it to be stuff i make, not stuff i order. as long as i can pay my bills and have a little fun sometimes, i'm happy. that in mind, the saw has become 12.4% of our company income.. by "our company" i mean my mother and I. she opened a sign shop in 1976 and is slowing towards retirement. she hand paints with a brush, i airbrush and play with the saw. our business was turning towards people just wanting cheap crap. vinyl lettering on plastic, paper signs, "whatever's cheapest".. it was sucking the fun out of it and the life out of us. scroll sawing my way around town kinda made work fun again. i've scrolled my way to $32,000 with a $10 saw... i think i'm about ready to upgrade though. i've tried to hire friends in a pinch - nobody else seems to be able to use this saw, or the letters turn out like the yellow 'S' here.. Looks like you were in the right place at the right time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatie Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Oh WOW, they all look so perfect, people would swear that they were done with a laser cutter. You are brilliant Robert. May I ask how long you have been scrolling? Marg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Scroller Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 And very good at it you are I love your lettering work. Roly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWSUDEKUM Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Very nicely done Rob on all of your projects. I have a saw that looks just like that one, It is my backup and it was given to my father some 62 years ago and then to me some 25 years ago. Thanks for sharing all your works with us. DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfie Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Nice work thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob342 Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 8 hours ago, wombatie said: Oh WOW, they all look so perfect, people would swear that they were done with a laser cutter. You are brilliant Robert. May I ask how long you have been scrolling? Marg I've used it as a tool since i was a kid... you know to cut aluminum to make a bracket, or to cut carbon fiber to make an RC car chassis.. the lettering/logos... work use, started about 5 years ago. it seems to be picking up steam. thank you everybody for the kind words and shared memories! this is something i wrapped up about a week ago. after cutting i painted the letters with "slow set gold size", waited 12 hours for it to get sticky, covered them with copper leaf, and then clearcoated so it doesn't tarnish. i think the word "Center" was the most difficult thing i've cut, as it's all on piece. it's 36" long but the saw only has a 12" throat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjR Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 AS a long time scrollsaw junkie; WOW==WOW! A 12" saw is just too small of throat. Really amazing that you can cut what you did with that small of saw. rob342 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Monk Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Just totally awesome work. rob342 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iguanadon Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 (edited) Outstanding work. I'm glad I clicked on it. Based on the title, I was a little afraid to... "just my junk"... modern slang almost scared me off as I was afraid of what I'd see pictures of... :-D Edited May 8, 2017 by Iguanadon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meflick Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 Some absolutely stunning work - especially since it is lettering (my nemesis it seems ). Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 An absolutely beautiful body of work and to think it was all cut on what you call a $10.00 scroll saw. Thanks very much for showing us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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