The Highs and Lows of Scrolling

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I was watching a show that I love to watch and is called Handcrafted in America. On there was a gentleman that makes watches by hand. It showed a quick glimpse into what he goes through to make all the components and painstaking labor to put it together and work flawlessly. The (pun) time and effort is tedious to say the least. It got me thinking of what we do here and that is scrolling. Even if you are relatively new at it or an old timer such as myself there always are those highs and lows that come with the artform. The longer you do it the more of these you get to be part of. I thought it would be fun to list some of these highs and lows and I am sure we all will say oh yea I agree with that. What we do is tedious also and time consuming and you grow into the love of it or else we move on. It is a hobby not for all. Patience plays a huge role and at some times it can test our inner selfs. 

Lets say a high is just like having *******  a candy bar (what did you think I was going to say) and a low is like denting your car. 

Here are some examples to get things rolling and hope others will jump in.

Highs

Sawing along and you decide you need to change the blade. The first cut with the new blade is like heaven.

Picked out a pattern that had so many cuts you thought you would never finish but you make that final cut and stand back and you are proud.

Had someone compliment your work and go on and on about how well it looks and maybe even buys a piece.

You find that perfect piece of wood to work with in both looks and in cutting ability. Not all woods cut well.

 

Lows

Put hours in on a piece cutting many frets and when done accidently drop it and it breaks into a million pieces. Now that is the low of lows to me. (we all have been there)

Spend many hours making things and go to a show and nothing sells.

Cutting an intricate pattern and within the board are hard grain lines that constantly throw your blade off course. Had this with oak boards because of the heavy grains.

Cutting fine details and suddenly you sneeze and there goes a fine cut.

 

OK that should get things rolling. There are many many more and we all have lived them. Lets see what you come up with. Hopefully all our highs and lows even out and we continue promoting this great hobby. Happy Scrolling. 

Edited November 4, 2017 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[MrsN]

The first high that came to mind Pealing a pattern off the wood in one smooth piece.

The low, only seeing that one spot of a finished project. you know the one, no one else can see it but it screams at you. a spot something broke and you tried to hide it or a wavy spot in a straight line or the one corner that isn't sharp.

[JustLarry]

High - cutting the wood

Low - getting the wood ready to cut

Larry

[Scrappile]

High, cutting a detail fret work, removing the pattern and getting the first real look at what you accomplished.

Low, having to clean the fuzzies and applying finish.

low, making a frame for the picture.

High, giving away a finished piece to someone that really appreciates it.

Low, what to do with all these finished pieces.  Running out of room.

Note, on one hand I feel excited to finish cutting a detailed picture, yet there is a sadness, because I enjoyed the cutting and me and the piece have spent considerable time together at the scroll saw, now it is over...

I'll think of more, I'll be back.

[stoney]

High:   Finding the perfect pattern for a project.

Low:   Turning a project into designer firewood on one of the last cuts.

[lawson56]

High.cutting.the piece.I really enjoy the peace and quite of my shop.even with the saw cutting.

Low,finishing the cut just to have it break while sanding it.Bummer

Second Low breaking a blade which causes a piece to break.

[Scrappile]

High:  Lawson is correct, the peace and quiet of my workshop

Low:  "PAUL, WILL YOU BRING ME SOMETHING OUT OF THE FREEZER!!"

"PAUL, WILL YOU SEE IF THE CLOTHES ARE DRY IN THE DRYER AND BRING THEM TO ME!!!"

"PAUL, WHAT SHALL WE HAVE FOR DINNER!!!!"   well you know what I mean.....

 

[Rolf]

High my Wife bought me a new Delta SS350 at our clubs wood show.  She says I have a "happy walk" when I get a new toy.

Low cutting a design that I disliked from the minute I started it until the end. A large Honda gold wing fretwork. 

High first sale of an ornament

High First ribbon.

Real High, New Hawk  G4

High seeing my first clock project on the cover of SSWWC

When the scrolling luster diminishes I stop and do some turning or other project.

Back to High when I fire up the saw again. 

 

[stoney]

High:   Having a customer really happy with a custom project.

High:   Seeing your work proudly displayed by the recipient.

Low:   Seeing one of your projects destroyed by someone's careless behavior.  

High:  Setting down to an expensive scroll saw a seeing how well it performs.

Low:   Having a blade break on the expensive scroll saw and have the bottom blade clamp fall out and disappear.   Really!!!?

 

Edited November 4, 2017 by stoney

[Dave Monk]

High.....Trying a new technique for the first time and it coming out good.

Low........Gluing my project onto a backer upside down. Especially if there is lettering.

[Scrappile]

Told you I would be back:

High: getting to join Scroll Saw Village and meeting all the fine scrollers

Low: Not knowing my wife is standing behind me when I wrote my last response to this thread!!!

 

I may be gone a while....  Just kidding...

Edited November 4, 2017 by Scrappile

[jerry1939]

I am a perfectionist (If you don't believe it, ask my sweet wife).  The slightest imperfection on a difficult piece will scream at me until my ears hurt.  Have thrown away a number of things that a lot of people would have kept.  I'm darn careful with what I put my name on.

It's a curse that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Highs - Give a large part of my work to the Stephan Ministry at our Church.  They give them to select people that come to the Church suffering from depression, dealing with the loss of a loved one, divorce, medical problems, etc, etc.  We hand them to the Church secretary & she gives them out.  We don't know who gets them, but she hugs us and says, "You have no idea how many lives you've touched."

Makes it worthwhile.

[banderson]

High: new pattern, new blades, new something to try on the scroll saw that you haven't done before.

High: making someone happy because the piece just made was personalized just for them.

Low: Random problem with the saw, not broken but must be addressed before work can progress

Low: Cleaning up.

Thanks for the post.  loved reading the comments.

[Chunkthekid]

High: Finishing the last tiny cut in a piece of fretwork and knowing that for the rest of the project you wont have to re-thread your blade every 5 seconds.

Low: My wife's cat deciding it doesn't like the way my intarsia project looks all put together and scattering the ready for sanding pieces across my garage.

 

[WayneMahler]

High would be finishing a very detailed piece and getting the pattern off with out breakage.

Low getting the last of the pattern off and dropping it 

High when a customer walks up and says I love that and want it

Low when someone asks me to accept $50.00 for a &200.00 piece

Low " What kind of Laser or CNC do you have "

High the way their eyes go wide when they find out it is done by hand and scroll saw

Low When you finish cutting a custom piece and realize a word is mis-spelled and nobody noticed.

I will say that the highs out weigh the lows by far. Just the enjoyment of sitting at my saw and working is a huge high. 

[SCROLLSAW703]

highs - the compliments i get on my projects

lows - the clean up afterward

high - sittin' at my saw, in my shop, enjoyin' the peace & quiet, & the saw is hummin' along doin' a great job, things are runnin' perfect!

low - like Scrappie, my phone hollers I'm gettin' a phone call from my bride wantin' to know how long it'll be before I come home. And I'm just across the the street.

high - I'm a severe perfectionist. My wife gets very frustrated w/me because of it. I'll be finishing up a project, & see something I need to fix. She's naggin' at me the whole time. I get it fixed, finished, ready for customer pick up, & they're lookin' it over, & the first thing comes out is WOW! What an excellent job!!

low - they give you a hot check

[Blaughn]

Highs:  Designing a piece, cutting it and loving the result.

              Seeing the look on someone's face when you give them a gift designed specifically for them.

              Completing a project and wanting to start the next one immediately.

 

Lows:  Designing a piece, cutting it and THEN deciding the balance/composition/elements don't work together.

             Losing a dropout on the last cut of the project.

             Knowing you are tired but deciding to press on with the cut anyway    -      with disastrous results.

[RangerJay]

Every afternoon in the "Shed" is its own treat .....

..... and every step in the "scrolling path" is a genuine high:

• wood prep,
• pattern prep,
• cutting,
• sanding,
• framing,
• finishing.

What can make each afternoon even better is:

• an old duster on the TV (the TV is mounted on the wall behind the scrollsaw).
• busy birdfeeders (the scrollsaw is mounted on a bench in front of a large window - feeders off to the side)
• a winter snowstorm

When this all comes together its pretty tough not to recognize that woodworking contributes a lot to a very good life.

The lows?:

• anything that means more than a few days away from the Shed

Thanks,

 

Jay

Edited November 7, 2017 by RangerJay

[lawson56]

This was Fantastic reading.I Loved it.Reading all of The Members Highs & Lows so many we all have went thru.I myself have done.This was really Awesome.I enjoyed it a Great deal.May all of you and Everyone here at The Village have an Awesome evening.

[Oldmansbike]

I had a low just a little while ago. Cutting out a portrait of a Dodge Challenger. I had five more holes to cut. The phone rang in the middle of a cut in a big area so I stopped and answered the phone. Done with call turned the saw back on to finish the cut and I didn't back the blade up. Needless to say it caught and broke off a big hunk of the portrait. There were a few choice words then in the kindling box it went.

[jbrowning]

The high for me was selling all my puzzles I made over the summer in one day at a craft sale. The low was getting 3 - 6ft boards and attaching 40 dragons to them and telling myself "I have 4 weeks to cut over 50 puzzles before the next craft sale". Now the panic has kicked in . A nice problem to have.

Edited November 8, 2017 by jbrowning

[hotshot]

Highs:  Meeting Hawkeye at his shop, meeting a small group of local Scroll Saw artist at Sloans, meeting fellow scrollers at the Atlanta Woodworking show, then meeting Denny and Fibber at Art Crafters

High:  Giving a Navy Emblem to a retired Navy security guard where I work.  I got an emotional response I did not expect.

Highs:  Those first few moments of cutting with a fresh blade.

Highs:  Finishing my first puzzle box and scroll saw dovetail box.

Highs:  The highest tool related high was receiving the EX because it was my first premium saw, and it was an awesome improvement to what I had been using.  All the rest of the decent saws I've gotten since have been high spots.

Highs:  Getting through the "Two Horses" coin the first time.  This one gave me the confidence to continue.  Then getting the inlay coins to work as I felt that was something completely new to that sector.  I think anytime I try something that I'm uncertain that I will be able to do, there is a high with success, and a bit of a low if the idea doesn't pan out.

Lows:  Making something out of Spalted Maple, and have it crumble at the end.

Lows:  Coin prep.

Edited November 8, 2017 by hotshot

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Have to thank all for adding their own highs and lows and boy there are some that just ring true with us all. I do hope there are always more highs than lows and whatever lows happen we learn from them. Continue adding to the list. It makes for a great read. Happy Scrolling.

[crupiea]

My problem is underestimating the actual work involved in a piece.  I do segmentation like fretwork but i save all the little pieces i cut out.  Looking at the pattern it never seems like that many pieces until i start cutting them.  I end up usually with a giant pile of tiny pieces that all need to be sorted out and painted the right colors.  Once they get into the hundreds and you still have many to cut it really starts to suck.  too late to turn back of course though by then. 

[SCROLLSAW703]

I use hard wood in all my projects. I've learned thru trial & error that it works best for what I do. I cut my own feathers for my dream catchers, they are 3/16" thick, & I do stack cut them on occasion. My crosses, dream catchers, napkin holders, & specialty projects are all walnut, cherry, maple, oak, & red oak. I've found that once in awhile, somebody will want a picture frame, or somethin' like it. It's a good way to use my hard wood pieces, & make somebody smile That's whats this is all about, in my opinion. To see the the smile on folks' face when they get a project I made just for them. That's a high that don't go away!

 

 

 

 

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