Scrollsaw Magazine

[Scrappile]

Could it be a matter of expense?  I mean would it take massive storage and is that expensive in the commercial world.  I do not know how it all works.  I have had a couple digital magazines and I did not like reading them that way so much, but I would like to have the patterns digital.  I hate having to remove them from the magazine, not being able to resize them, having to either cut up the sheet of patterns or fold it all up to copy on my printer... It is all just real awkward.  I have a pattern out of one of their magazines right now that is waiting for me to take it to a print shop to get a size/copy I can use.  I do not want to have to destroy the other patterns on the sheet of paper.  I live 20 miles from a print shop.  So I will wait until I need to go that way for other things... or I will just move on to other patterns...

[Rockytime]

I'm fortunate to live only 10 minutes from Office Max. All fretwork is converted to red. 

[Sycamore67]

I am pretty certain the reason they do not offer digital patterns is due to people sharing patterns violating copyrights.  While most of us would not do this, there are too many who would.

[grandpuppies]

SSWC does have CD collections of multiple issues. They have just released 2 new CD's.

[kmmcrafts]

11 hours ago, grandpuppies said:

SSWC does have CD collections of multiple issues. They have just released 2 new CD's.

Yes they do.. but it's all past issues that we already have purchased once in magazine form.. But that is a start I guess...

[jerrye]

On 9/21/2019 at 4:22 PM, kmmcrafts said:

The other thing with digital.. you can clip certain topics that peek your interest.. and save them to your clipped topics.. Sort of like cutting clips from magazines..

I do this with blog posts and articles through Pocket

[ike]

I have been taking this mag. sor several years now and find about 4 things to make per year the last was from last spring it was a fretwork shelf which came out real nice I put it on bragging  page . I gave it to my neighbor who is a great help to us. I am 80 and she is 78 so we sometimes need help and she will not toke money so I made it for her.

IKE

[NC Scroller]

On 9/22/2019 at 10:45 AM, RabidAlien said:

My medium of cutting is Lowes "whiteboard" (cheaper than pine, if you don't mind knots all over the place) or scrap from nearby construction sites, so I don't have the different flavors of wood to try out intarsia.  Still, I love looking at what is possible, and think "maybe I'll come back sometime and give that intarsia dragon a try".  Even if I don't find a pattern I will cut, I still find some nifty tricks in the articles.

 

That said, I got my first subscription earlier this year, after finding both Spring and Summer issues at Barnes-n-Nobels.  I haven't gotten the winter issue yet, just a Holiday scroll sawing pattern collection that came with the Autumn edition.  I figure they sorta have to hedge their bets...there's so many different things one can do with a scroll saw, and only so much space inside a magazine, that there's no real way to "center" a magazine like this.  Topics will slosh heavily towards one style one month, then swing back to a different style the next month, etc etc.  At least, that's what'll happen if the editors are smart, which it seems like they are from my limited exposure so far.

 

Keep sloshing, FoxPublishing! 

You can take any intarsia pattern and cut out of a single piece of wood.  Then you can shape and stain/paint the various pieces.  It is called segmentation and pieces made this way can be a beautiful and rewarding as any intarsia.  Though I would suggest poplar vs pine as poplar stains and paints better.

[Woodrush]

i think i have cut at least 1 item from every magazine ive purchased. i do find that they need more written articles

[Fran L]

I enjoy the magazine. Something to page through and see what others have done while watching the boob tube. I've only been scrolling about 5 years so I'm still developing the nerves to try something new. For instance, I generally passed over the puzzles and toys but with a 5 month old granddaughter now, I'm looking at them a little more closely than before..

[herrwood]

There have been s few references in this thread to a digital copy.

If they would make one I would rescribe again.

I have reached the point in my life being 68 yrs old that I like to keep things simple .I do not want to spend my time digging through magazines when I can just print out article or pattern that interests me.

Which is why I still subscribe to woodsmith even though I do not do many big projects anymore.

I think the publisher is missing a big audience market by not going digital at the very least they are losing money and marketing targets with me because If they were digital I would buy there  scroll and carving magazines.

[John B]

I had a subscription for many years and even had an article printed in one edition.
I got a lot of enjoyment out of the Mag, but found that I very, very rarely cut a pattern.
I Cancelled my sub about 7 years ago when I gave scrolling a break for quite awhile.

[hotshot]

I always look forward to the mag.  I have a very narrow areas of things I would cut, but I still like to see what everyone else if doing, even if I'm not interested in doing it myself.

For me, I get a tinge of excitement every time I look in the mailbox and see a new Magazine.

 

----Randy

Edited November 1, 2019 by hotshot

[Rolf]

I have said this before, as a test cutter for SSWWC I am asked to cut projects that would normally not interest me. Having said that, with rare exception when I am done with those projects, I end up having really enjoyed making them. Each project has its own challenges and some have design issues that I try to find and correct before it is published. 

My point is try cutting something that initially doesn't pique your fancy you might be surprised.  

[kmmcrafts]

39 minutes ago, Rolf said:

I have said this before, as a test cutter for SSWWC I am asked to cut projects that would normally not interest me. Having said that, with rare exception when I am done with those projects, I end up having really enjoyed making them. Each project has its own challenges and some have design issues that I try to find and correct before it is published. 

My point is try cutting something that initially doesn't pique your fancy you might be surprised.  

This is so very true what you say.. and just to take it to a selling thing.. Some of my "Best" selling items on my website are things that either me or my wife say who'd buy THAT!... Many many things I make I have no interest in whatsoever.. and for me... I just enjoy the time in front of my saw no matter what I'm cutting.. short of.. I'm not a big enthusiast of cutting things that go slow... NOT meaning projects that take forever to finish.. more like projects that the cutting goes slow... I hate cutting real thick wood because the cutting seems to go so slow I could fall asleep.. LOL..  I don't know how you guys enjoy cutting those 1+ inch compound type cuts.. I'd rather cut a portrait out with several million cutouts..  

[amazingkevin]

I stopped getting my subscription 5 years ago after not receiving my latest .I contacted them and they said they sent it again.i have yet to receive either .I miss reading it but I guess i'm stubborn

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, amazingkevin said:

I stopped getting my subscription 5 years ago after not receiving my latest .I contacted them and they said they sent it again.i have yet to receive either .I miss reading it but I guess i'm stubborn

Kevin, I had the exact opposite experience. They bent over backwards to keep me happy. I recently bought all of the back issues and I'm thoroughly enjoying them. Actually I feel that the older magazines were better than the new ones. I really enjoy the "letters to the editor". Too bad they don't really do that anymore.

[Denny Knappen]

I too am a test cutter for the magazine.  The latest is the Fall issue page46.  I never would have cut these cute little Halloween characters as I am not into Halloween. They were fun to cut.   I enjoy looking at the wonderful pieces of scrollers all over the world.

[hotshot]

8 hours ago, octoolguy said:

........I recently bought all of the back issues and I'm thoroughly enjoying them. Actually I feel that the older magazines were better than the new ones. .......

I bought the very early magazines digitally.  What I liked about the early mags was the experimentation in different media types, of course those of you that have known me a while, this kind of thing is right up my alley.  I think back when everything was "new and exciting", there was more exploring/experimenting.  

Where things are considerably better now is in the area of fretwork/portraits like Dearings' work for example.  Some of the early attempts in the mag were terrible in my opinion.  But, that is just part of iterative improvement.

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by hotshot

[OCtoolguy]

2 minutes ago, hotshot said:

I bought the very early magazines digitally.  What I liked about the early mags was the experimentation in different media types, of course those of you that have known me a while, this kind of thing is right up my alley.  I think back when everything was "new and exciting", there was more exploring/experimenting.  

Where things are considerably better now is in the area of fretwork/portraits like Dearings' work for example.  Some of the early attempts in the mag were terrible in my opinion.  But, that is just part of iterative improvement.

 

There were quite a few of the low numbered issues that I wasn't able to get. How do you go about getting them digitally? I had no idea they were available that way.

 

[don in brooklin on]

1 hour ago, octoolguy said:

There were quite a few of the low numbered issues that I wasn't able to get. How do you go about getting them digitally? I had no idea they were available that way.

 

If you look at this link you can find them if you keep going down.  Not the easiest web site to navigate.

https://foxchapelpublishing.com/magazines.html?cat=208

I have all six CD's.  I gave up trying to communicated with the publisher about doing something about the broad sheet inset but they just were not interested so I just wait till they put out the CD.

It seemed pretty easy to me to just issue a promo code in the book with your subscription number and you could go and download.  they were supposedly "working on it" about 3 years ago.

 

 

[barb.j.enders]

My complaint is that they offer a "bonus" for new subscribers - my dad always contacted magazines that he subscribed to for years and asked what they would do to keep him as a subscriber?  Ultimately he received the bonus offer.  I tried the same thing with their latest offering of the Celtic Knot patterns.  Didn't work out so well.  I was told to subscribe for the year.  they would meld my current subscription with the new one and then I could get the pattern book.  Not so sure I trust that as it took quite a while to get the subscription sent out correctly.  I have a two year subscription then ends next year.

[Rolf]

Granted I have been working with the magazine since 2010 so I may be a bit biased, there have been some staff changes over the years, but one thing that has been consistent is the customer service. They have always been very accommodating and certainly friendly. Kevin if you are having trouble getting your magazines, maybe there is a local issue at your end. May be a neighbor that is also a scroller.

As far as content goes, that is a difficult thing, there is a new Editor in Chief that took over when Mindy left, and two new editors Kaylee and Danielle taking over for Mindy and Bob. They of course bring in new ideas and projects. They are charged with trying to keep the magazine fresh and with new ideas without alienating us old guys. 

with my test cutting I have done lots of John Nelsons shelves, they sit in boxes in my basement.  I won't hang them on my walls as they are not to my taste. So I am excited to see new more modern directions in what the magazine offers. The Lion and Tiger geometric inlay come to mind. They were very challenging and I will be interested in seeing what kind of reaction I get from the public.

[don in brooklin on]

Rolf.  Since you have an in maybe you could share this thread with the editor.

 

[OCtoolguy]

Rolf, ask them to put back in "Letters to the Editor" also. Letters might give them insight as to what folks like or dislike and what we want.