Favorite Project - Scroll Saw Challenge

[Travis]

Christmas is over and we start a new year.  Whenever January rolls around, I often reflect on the previous year.  I like to think of the special memories, accomplishments, and time I spend with my hobbies.  So this month's challenge, think back to what you created this year and post your favorite scroll saw project.  Let us know a little bit about it.  Why was it your favorite?  Was it a gift for someone?  What was it for?  I always enjoy the stories behind the project.  Can't wait to see your favorite project!  

[Fab4]

I'm going to cheat a little on this reply
This was not done last year but rather 38+ years ago after I started this great hobby
I may be off topic a bit, so I apologize for that 
When I came out of rehab(drugs and alcohol, the good old days) I needed something to keep me busy
Long story short, I found a scrollsaw which I knew nothing about and bought it when I saw that the
pattern book had Christmas ornaments.  I'll make some ornaments, have my son and daughter paint them.
Then I saw this little guy and just had to try and cut him out of wood.
He's precious to me and it was a great moment when I finished him. (see the pun there....LOL)
So, he's sitting there as I was one day, wondering if I made the right decision with rehab and this life changing time
for me, my wife, my kids, my job, friends...
Well, I can honestly say that this little guy and I both agree that it was and has been the best decision I ever made in my life.
38 +years sober and drug free and it hasn't been all that bad. 
Still married to a wonderful girl who could have easily walked away but she never did.

 

[jerry walters]

Congratulations Paul, you did well on both accounts.

Jerry

[Scott M.]

Here in Sherwood Park Canada , we have taken in (our community) many refugees from the Ukraine / Russia war. My wife volunteers at our local church and asked if I could come up with something that might make the ones we have made acquaintances with, something special. They were attending ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at the church along with a lady from Mexico. I came up with these... The Ukrainian Tryzub (Trident) and Mexican Eagle are contained within the Maple Leaf. Both are cut with @3 degree angle relief cut so they "pop". They measure about 5" wide and 4.x5" tall. BTW Congrats to Fab4!!! Keep it going!!

[Scrappile]

I have three!,  I have three!  First and most important are the military emblems I make for veterans I meet. I will just show the latest one, but it was worth every bit of effort just to see the appreciation for them.  Even saw some tear from a couple.

Second, my street organ.. My most complicated build ever, taking the longest and most dedication and resulted in meeting some very talented wood working people and was very fun to share with audiences. 

Third, my kayak,  not as difficult as the organ and did not take as long but I did need to use the scroll saw to cut out the framing.  Could be done on a band saw but did not have a good enough one at the time, could not use the kayak because of back problems, but worth the effort/satisfaction just to build it.  The picture is sent to me from the guy that bought it from me, paddling on beautiful  Lake Coeur D'alene, Idaho.   Hope he didn't sink!

The main point for me is the scroll say is just not a tool for intricate, portraits, fretwork, it is a useful tool in other project, just like table saws, routers, and planers... 

Edited January 5 by Scrappile

[OCtoolguy]

After seeing all these great examples, I'll refrain from posting my work. You all do amazing work. I'm in awe.

[Wichman]

I liked making this vanity tray for my granddaughter 

[flarud]

I'll include two.   My brother in law passed away a few years ago and my sister asked me to make a box for some of his ashes.  I had some hesitation at first because I knew that I would have to be the one that added his ashes.  Cremation and ashes freak me the heck out!  I figured with enough personal protection gear I should be alright!  I was looking for some ideas for a nice box and never could find what I wanted.  So I decided to think outside of the box.  We are truck people, my brother in law always had nice trucks so I decided to make a truck to hold some of his ashes.  This is what I came up with. 

   

 

The next one is something that I had planned on making for my Mom for Mother's Day.  I bought the plans and bought the wood sometime early in 2017.  But kept putting it off thinking that I had plenty of time.  Well before I knew it Mother's Day was here and I never got around to making it for her.  So I told myself that I would make it for her next year for Mother's Day.  Mother's Day 2018 was coming soon and again I procrastinated and never got it made for her.  She passed away 4 days after Mother's Day.  This was the very next project that I made after she passed away.  I have it sitting in my entertainment center.  It is made with Walnut and Leopardwood.   

 

[BadBob]

I don't know my favorite so that I will go by volume. I have made a few thousand animal cutouts. I taught myself to use the scroll saw making these. Kids love them; several sets are still in use after 40 years.  I keep patterns ready to go in the shop, and when the pile of cutoffs gets high, I will cut animals from these odd pieces.

 

 

 

 

[RabidAlien]

A couple I did last year, can't really decide on a fav.

 

John Wick....cuz.....John Wick.    Cant' remember where I found the pattern, pencil holder was added by me because my warped sense of humor found it amusing.  All these big bad tough mafia-types, when they talk about John Wick, the thing that scares them the most was his use of a pencil.

 

Jellyfish, if I had to pick one, might be my fav, just because I took a risk on the spraypaint and it paid off.  I was going for that blacklight purple you see them bathed in at the aquariums.  Two different shades of rattlecan, started close to the project and backed up as I sprayed downward, then picked up the other can, started close at the bottom, and backed up as I moved upwards.  Moving away reduced the amount of spray hitting the piece, so the colors tapered off.  Starting on opposite ends gave it a gradual blending effect.

 

Flowers and butterfly were papercutting patterns I found.  LOTS of little details, and the outside cut took about as long as the interior cuts combined, but they're well worth the effort.  Had a lot of fun doing these.

[ChelCass]

These two are my favorites. Hubby was a Marine and in Vietnam and has PTSD.  He is just now starting to accept  the fact that he doesn't need to feel guilty about being in Vietnam.  It's been a long road but he is getting there. 

[barb.j.enders]

These are two of my favorites. The floppy wood guy mostly for the reaction it got from people.  Made people happy. 

The robin because the pattern came out in the spring and I was very happy with how it turned out.

[BadBob]

I like these toy cars a lot. I originally made two of each color, but some of them were gone before I thought of making a group photo.

[Hudson River Rick]

I made this as a wedding present for a very special cousin, he and Lauren are great people, but they have no attachment to any organized religion, so I honored that.  

It started out as a Steve Good pattern, it was the first time I tried to do some carving and I was pretty happy with it.  The base is maple and the HERAT and lettering is Sapele.  Thanks for looking.

 

[Travis]

16 hours ago, Fab4 said:

I'm going to cheat a little on this reply
This was not done last year but rather 38+ years ago after I started this great hobby
I may be off topic a bit, so I apologize for that 
When I came out of rehab(drugs and alcohol, the good old days) I needed something to keep me busy
Long story short, I found a scrollsaw which I knew nothing about and bought it when I saw that the
pattern book had Christmas ornaments.  I'll make some ornaments, have my son and daughter paint them.
Then I saw this little guy and just had to try and cut him out of wood.
He's precious to me and it was a great moment when I finished him. (see the pun there....LOL)
So, he's sitting there as I was one day, wondering if I made the right decision with rehab and this life changing time
for me, my wife, my kids, my job, friends...
Well, I can honestly say that this little guy and I both agree that it was and has been the best decision I ever made in my life.
38 +years sober and drug free and it hasn't been all that bad. 
Still married to a wonderful girl who could have easily walked away but she never did.

 

I love this so much!    There's a lot of meaning to you and I can see why it is important to you and your family.  Congratulations on your continued journey.

[JessL]

I just started really getting into it last year. Did my first fretwork pieces.  I am so happy with all that I have done so far but these two are my top ones I suppose. 

The Cross was a Mother's Day gift. I thought it quite challenging with those many skinny cuts, but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  My Mom LOVES it and shows it off often, which is my favorite part. 

The Dragon was a piece I thought would be really challenging. Come to find out it is just a bunch of cuts and not many difficult ones at that.  This piece taught me to not be afraid of a pattern that looks tough, and just start cutting.

 

[Kris Martinson]

Halloween haunted house I made for my Voodoo Lounge bar. Steam locomotive pic I made just because I like old trains. Horses I made for my wife.

[Scrappile]

8 hours ago, RabidAlien said:

A couple I did last year, can't really decide on a fav.

 

John Wick....cuz.....John Wick.    Cant' remember where I found the pattern, pencil holder was added by me because my warped sense of humor found it amusing.  All these big bad tough mafia-types, when they talk about John Wick, the thing that scares them the most was his use of a pencil.

 

Jellyfish, if I had to pick one, might be my fav, just because I took a risk on the spraypaint and it paid off.  I was going for that blacklight purple you see them bathed in at the aquariums.  Two different shades of rattlecan, started close to the project and backed up as I sprayed downward, then picked up the other can, started close at the bottom, and backed up as I moved upwards.  Moving away reduced the amount of spray hitting the piece, so the colors tapered off.  Starting on opposite ends gave it a gradual blending effect.

 

Flowers and butterfly were papercutting patterns I found.  LOTS of little details, and the outside cut took about as long as the interior cuts combined, but they're well worth the effort.  Had a lot of fun doing these.

Ha did not see the pencil thing at first....

[MarieC]

I would have to say my favorite scroll saw project was the first I ever made which was May of this past year.  I made it as a Christmas present for my Daughter and her Husband.  It is a silhouette of her and her husband at their wedding.  The wedding was late in the evening and she loves the Moonlight and trees.  Later in August I decided to enter it and another piece (a tree) I had done into a Juried Wood Art show.  I ended up winning a couple of ribbons.  I was so supprise by the ribbons that I wanted to surprise her and her husband with it.  Now she new I entered the Tree piece but she had no idea that I had even made her the Moon piece.  So when she and her husband came to the show they at first saw my Tree piece and then they both saw the one I made of them and they said "Wow, I wonder who did that one, it is really pretty (and then a pause)...HEY, that is us!"  The judge happened to be there and got a good laugh as well.  Anyway, I ended up wrapping it up and gave it to them this past Christmas.  

 

Edited January 5 by MarieC

[Scrappile]

3 minutes ago, MarieC said:

I would have to say my favorite scroll saw project was the first I ever made which was May of this past year.  I made it as a Christmas present for my Daughter and her Husband.  It is a silhouette of her and her husband at their wedding.  The wedding was late in the evening and she loves the Moonlight and trees.  Later in August I decided to enter it and another piece (a tree) I had done into a Juried Wood Art show.  I ended up winning a couple of ribbons.  I was so supprise by the ribbons that I wanted to surprise her and her husband with it.  Now she new I entered the Tree piece but she had no idea that I had even made her the Moon piece.  So when she and her husband came to the show they at first saw my Tree piece and then they both saw the one I made of them and they said "Wow, I wonder who did that one, it is really pretty (and then a pause)...HEY, that is us!"  The judge happened to be there and got a good laugh as well.  Anyway, I ended up wrapping it up and gave it to them this past Christmas.  

 

Every ribbon very well deserved! 

[Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Kris Martinson said:

Halloween haunted house I made for my Voodoo Lounge bar. Steam locomotive pic I made just because I like old trains. Horses I made for my wife.

Wow, very impressive  fret work Kris!

[Hudson River Rick]

All you guys and gals, did beautiful work.  Thanks for sharing.

Rick

[Liz Weir]

I don't have anything to show since I just got my machine. I just want to say that I am seeing some amazing work here and I hope that I can someday produce work that equals yours! I especially love to see the military related designs and stories; I have been married to two soldiers (both have passed away now) and I know the sacrifices made by our military personnel and their families. 

[MarieC]

22 hours ago, Scrappile said:

I have three!,  I have three!  First and most important are the military emblems I make for veterans I meet. I will just show the latest one, but it was worth every bit of effort just to see the appreciation for them.  Even saw some tear from a couple.

Second, my street organ.. My most complicated build ever, taking the longest and most dedication and resulted in meeting some very talented wood working people and was very fun to share with audiences. 

 

Paul I love your street organ, could you post your video of it again while you are playing it...please 

[Roberta Moreton]

My favorite from 2023 is my North Carolina State Fair winner!