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Ok, I finally got a chance today to sit down and give some compound cuts a try. I learned a lot from all of you who shared "how to information" in this thread (especially @CharleyL's detailed instructions and photos he provided in that threaded.): http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/24171-compound-cutting-wood/ Thanks Charley for all that great info. Thanks also to @Bill WIlson, @dgman and everyone else who provided information and help in that thread as well. I used Poplar wood. I created a cutting jig from Steve Good's pattern and instructions found here: http://www.stevedgood.com/3djig.pdf I cut the bird house pattern from Steve's blog found here: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/2017/12/compound-cut-bird-house-and-stand.html (I still need to cut out the birds for them) and the "Love You" from Steve's site here: http://www.stevedgood.com/3dloveyou.pdf The snowman pattern was created by @smitty0312 it says back in 2012. I thought I got it off the village here but now that I am looking for it to link to I am having trouble finding it! - If anybody can point us to it please do. Thanks Smitty for sharing it. (The snowman was my first "official" 3D compound cut.) Not perfect for sure, especially the words, but not too bad for a newbie. I will try more again but probably not until after the holidays. Too many other things I want/need to do. Thanks for looking and thanks again for all who shared information/help on cutting compound cuts. I appreciate all of you here who share so freely with beginners like myself.

This it the Schwiboggen That I cut in Sept. 2016. I finally added lights a couple days ago. Pretty disappointed in the lights I used. They are really weak. I think I will try to get a string of LED lights for it. But wanted to show how it looks lit. I do finish project,,, just a little slow at it.

The man who bought ten items at my last indoor craft fair tracked me down at my local outdoor twilight market last night. He had bought one of my NZ hearts and wanted another two but with NZ centred in the heart. So here they are, cut from rimu a friend of mine saved from a builders firewood pile from a cottage renovation. Finished with tung oil and beeswax. I had to enlarge the heart in order to centre the cut out and personally I think I prefer my original version but the customer is always right they say. Which do you prefer? Rob

After I posted about the mini reindeer in an ornament, several people commented that they liked it. It got me to thinking about other things to add to similar ornaments. So I tried making a miniature tree and a star. This is the result. My thanks to those encouraging comments. This shows the value of the forum and people's comments.

These were trying but i've done so many ,no problem

My boy is working for a local Ace Hardware. He asked if I'd make some ornaments he could give the employees. This seems fitting. I did the same thing when my wife worked there about 8 years ago.

My best friend’s mother passed away recently so I combined their first names in the piece to honor their special relationship. Walnut and alder.

Got these done for some folks so feel great about it, sort of the last of the items people asked for. Also my Christmas tree for the shop for the work free days. Got a few of the Southern Calif. seasonal brews to enjoy except for the Nankasi which is in Eugen OR. I like there stuff a lot. Jim penquin

Same pattern , different woods. One, Pine, maple, and bois d'arc and one cedar, basswood, and bois d'arc. Boxes measure 6"x8"x3" 3/8" thick wood.

Hi All. I added a new feature to SSV. I've created a listing of scroll saw clubs. It is located under the Resouces tab in the menu bar. You can also access by clicking here. We used to have an article with the clubs listed in a table, which worked OK. But it was hard to update. Now we have everything in a nice database. It automatically sorts the clubs by state, but you can sort it by city, club name, etc. If you want more information on a club, just click on the club name for more information. You can add comments about the club there. It's super easy to add a new club. Just click the "Add New Club" button in the upper right corner of the main page and fill in the information. If an existing club needs updated info, just click the club name and click the "Update Club Information" button in the club info page. This new database feature was a challenge to implement. I've been messing with it on and off for the last few months. I'm not a programmer, so there's a lot of trial and error and talking to people smarter than me. But I think I got a pretty good handle on it now. I'll be adding other directories soon as well. But for now, enjoy the club list. Please do me a favor. If you belong to a club, check to see if the information we have is correct. If not, please update it. If your club isn't listed, please add it. Thanks All! Just one more step to making SSV even better.

This is a Sue May pattern. I enlarged it to about 6 in wide. Its cut from 2.5 mm bamboo. I stack cut two pieces and in the center I but a piece of Transparency Film and then colored it in with Amos Glass Deco. It's a stained glass effect that you make yourself. Basically it's a kids thing but it works great on Christmas decorations. You can get both the transparency film and the Amos Glass Deco from ebay. Marg

This was tricky as the cupids were cut in 1/34" wood then glued in place and cut around them again .not finished yet she wants a gold glitter on top the shiny gold ,red hearts and black letters .will post again when finished also my latest teak box needs 1 more side cut,So many and can't focus on one project.

one suggestion i have: start with the lightest colors and go to the darkest when painting

Special orders again.

Birch plywood, 1/4 inch Flat blades #3 LuxTools

My grandson (6) wanted a gift for his teacher. So he drew an apple and a reindeer. I applied his pics to a piece of cherry and cut them out. He then applied walnut oil with a paper towel. He was a very happy camper!

Melanie, you did an outstanding job cutting these out, especially, considering it the first time you've ever compound cut. You should be pleased with these results, they turned out fine. Len

Thanks again to @CharleyL for his detailed information and instructions with photos in this thread and to @Bill WIlson and @dgman and others who answered questions and gave helpful information on blades to use and more - I finally got a chance (or took the time to just do it) to do a few compound cuts today. No Reindeer yet, but I'll get to them one day! I have shared what I cut in the Bragging sub-fourm here: http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/27019-first-try-compound-cutting/ - Not too bad for a beginner I don't think and its thanks in large part to all of the information, tips, and such that you guys shared in this thread. I appreciate all of your kindnesses in helping out people like me here on the forum. Thanks.

Lot of work in that project Paul. It would be nice if the bottom part would show up a little better but it is still pretty.

Beautiful job on both! Jeff

I always enjoy seeing what beautiful inlay work you have created lately. One day I hope to give it a try. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

Very well done especially as a first try. We will be watching as you try new things with it.

Well done Melanie! Glad you got the chance to try them. They're fun to cut aren't they? The cool thing is that most people will look at those in amazement, with no idea how you did it. I tell them it isn't has complicated as it looks.

They look great, but I'm with you, i prefer the original design. Much more balanced imo. But, gotta give 'em what they want. All of them are well done, and as always, like that wood. Russell

I built one and made all the parts. It is powered by my Shopsmith. It cost me less than $50 to build.

They all look great !.....Love the wood !

Very nicely done Rob. Thanks for sharing these with us. DW

Excellent work Monti. Marg

Great work Melanie! Not as hard as you thought, huh? The Love You is a great seller. I usually make two or three a year, and they always sell out! Again, great work!

Wayyyyy too expensive and always has been. For what it does. A performax drum sander can do the same and do much much more for less. Never could see the fascination for these. But everyone is different.

Looks like you have it well figured out. Very nice work.

Nice work thanks for sharing

Very nice an artist at work is the best I can come up with

That turned out great, Marge !....Nice !

Hi Marg: It may be a kid's thing but I'm sure the adults will love it Well done, looks great Fab4

Super job!

When I'm dead, and this site is no longer in existence, feel free to give my patterns to anyone you want. I hope many years from now, people will still be cutting and enjoying my patterns. Just don't download all the free ones and put your name on them, or sell them on your site. I saw a blog where a woman cut my free bowl/basket pattern, she put the link to this site so others could come and get the free pattern. If this site was no longer here, i would hope she would post the pattern for others to use. I made it and posted it as a free pattern so everyone could cut and use it for free. If this site is gone, feel free to give it to others. Russell

I am trying to cut out Animal Puzzles and finding difficulty in getting the Blade to cut the puzzle pieces so that they fit together when attaching from the top and the bottom. The puzzle pieces are a little bigger on the back side ,so the pieces only go together from the back side. I have tried realigning the blade with no luck. I am using the #1 Blade. I have OCD and this is driving me "Nuckin Futs", LOL Thanx in advance for all assistance in correcting this issue, Guy

reads like either table not square to blade or forcing the wood into the blade. gotta let the blade do the cutting. checking square is pretty simple- i think theres a video or 2 on YT that shows the process.

As others have mentioned, with 3/4" thick wood, you need a thicker blade. I use #3 Olson Mach Speed, but many folks use a #5 blade. The thinner the blade, the more "flex" that occurs as you're making turns and that's what causes the issue you're having. Good luck, let us know how it goes. If you're still having issues, don't drive yourself crazy checking and double checking if your blade is perpendicular to the table, try tilting it slightly to one side, test again, and if that doesn't work, tilt it the other direction and then test again. Keep testing until you find the "sweet spot"

One good blade check is take a block of wood and cut a 1/16th deep cut in it then turn the wood upside down and see if the blade falls right in.If it does your righ n the money for doing puzzles the come apart front or back.

I made the bowl for our friend Betty because she saw the one my wife has and loved it. I made the Army Veteran for our cousin David. David is retired Army. I made the Air Force Veteran for our cousin Mario. Mario is retired Air Force. Not scrollsaw related but I made the big basket for my wife.

My "go-to blade" for your type of puzzles is the Pegas modified geometry #5 blade! bb

I already showed this but will add it to the list here. For my Nephew.

I made Ribbon Racks for my 3 grandsons who are big into hockey. Each a little different. Carter is both goalie and a forward, Cooper is only goalie, Caleb is only defense so the racks match. For the girls I made a shelf as they are not into anyone sport.

This one for my daughter in law. She also always helps me.

This one is for my mother. She always behind me because my visits to the hospital every month.

I showed the prototype before but all the dangles(19) ready for Christmas, We use as table place markers.

This came just in time as I just finished making gifts for my family. I decided to make rather than buy my gifts this year so here they are: for my grandson Yoda, another grandson soccer pic, my daughter alphabet, dil Noel, son eagle, my wife O Holy Night. Thanks to all the designers Steve Good, TD, Scroll Saw Magazine. I modified several to add my personal taste to the designs.

Okay, pictures, as promised. I was cutting the smallest size reindeer this week to make ear rings for Christmas Presents, but the technique is the same no matter what size reindeer or compound cut pattern that you decide to make. Whatever the pattern is, it needs to have 2 views to make up the complete pattern and they need to be attached together on one piece of paper, so you can fold the pattern between the two images (the front view and the side view) They must remain attached to each other in order to preserve their alignment with each other. You fold them and then place the fold on the corner of your block of wood, so the face view glues to one side of the wood block and the side view glues to the adjacent side of the block of wood. Again, I use Stationery Store rubber cement, to attach my compound cut patterns because it's cheap and easy to work with, and because all of the the pattern pieces get trashed while still attached to the scrap. For reindeer, I like to use a FD #1R blade and I use the same blade for all four sizes that I make. I always apply paraffin wax to both sides and teeth of a new blade and again after each reindeer or other pattern is cut. I run my DeWalt scroll saw slow enough that the cuts don't burn. With pine, this can be faster than when using a hard wood like hard maple. For cutting 3D Christmas Ornaments from other kinds of wood, I adjust the speed to suit the wood that I am cutting. First picture. Again, this is of the smallest reindeer that I make. He is just a little over 1" tall and I always use hard maple for this since they are so delicate, but again, I use the same method regardless of the reindeer or other compound pattern size. You can easily see the face and side views of the pattern folded over the corner of the block of wood. The little extra wood near his antlers gives me a chance to correct before actually cutting the pattern, should I have a new blade that doesn't track the same as the previous blade. The reindeer's feet must touch the bottom edge of the wood and the wood must have a perfect cut on the bottom or the reindeer won't stand correctly when he is complete. Second picture. Here you can see the clamp that I use alongside the reindeer that I will be cutting. The clamp is made from two strips of 3/4" birch ply about 1 X 6" in size with 10-32 stainless rods between them and wing nuts on the long all thread side to tighten and loosen the clamp. All of the 4 sizes of reindeer that I make are cut with this same clamp. It's one of the first clamps that I made when I started compound cutting and it has a few battle scars to show for it, not all caused by me. I teach scroll sawing and have several of each size clamp. I let my students use any clamp to prove that it isn't the clamp that's giving them trouble because they can even use the one that I just demonstrated with, but even with all of it's battle scars, this one is usually my first choice. We've been through a lot together. When you install the reindeer and tighten the clamp, make certain that the reindeer block of wood and the clamp is flat against the saw table. Third picture Ok, ready to cut. The clamp is as tight as I can make it without hurting my fingers and the blade is passing through the space in the clamp above the reindeer. I always start at his top right antler and work clockwise. I cut all the way down and exit the bottom of the block of wood at his right hoof. Then tighten the clamp (about 1 turn) and then cut up the inside of the right leg and back down his left leg and out of the block and out of the block of wood again. Then I start cutting at his right hoof and go all the way up to the top of his antler and out of the top of the block of wood. Then I again tighten the clamp. Then a short cut down between his antlers and back out of the top of the block of wood completes the face view cutting. Fourth picture When you remove the clamp you should see this. All of the face view has been cut and if the pieces are separated they should look like this. No put them all back together and in perfect alignment with each other, open the clamp wider, and place the block of wood back into the clamp, but this time with the side view facing up. As you tighten the clamp, make certain that the bottom of the clamp and the block of wood are again flat against the saw table .Again I cut this side view in a clockwise direction all the way out of the wood at his hoof, then tighten the clamp. Then cut up between his legs and back out the bottom of the wood at his hoof. Then cut up from his hoof to his antlers, but this time I continue to cut all of the antlers before exiting the wood about where I began cutting. If all cutting is complete, you can carefully remove the clamp. Fifth picture - At this point you should have a perfect little reindeer (if you carefully followed the lines of the pattern) inside all of the scrap pieces, kind of like a chicken about to be hatched. The next succession of pictures will show the removal of pieces. I attempted to remove only one piece of scrap in each picture, but life and gravity made this nearly impossible, so the next group of pictures was after me cutting a larger reindeer and then attempting to remove only one piece at a time. It didn't go perfectly well either, so picture five is the completely cut larger reindeer. . Now to begin removing one piece of scrap at a time as best as I can Picture six and seven Show the top surface layer of scrap removed . Although you can see a complete reindeer in the top center of picture seven, it iis only a scrap side view. The reindeer himself is in the center of the larger piece with scrap surrounding him. Picture eight and the following show the rest of the scrap falling away Picture Nine Shows the two reindeer that I made during this photo session, the llargest and the smallest that I make together with a ruler scale under them to give you a size comparison. Picture ten Is a completed set of reindeer ear rngs mounted on a card and in a gift box. Picture eleven Is the result of two afternoon's production. Yes, I do wear magnification when cutting these.