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A few projects I finished yesterday. The last one still needs the backer, but I ran out of material.

I make another one clock with the passion of Christ. The wood i use is for oak. .

Got a few of these mini birdhouses cut but not assemble yet and no finish on them. will wait for a rainy day to this, it is too nice when you can cut outside and the sun shine on your back. Also got a sea puzzle done will apply some color to it to jazz it up a bit. Enjoy

Im Happy with this but if I ever cut this pattern again I will modify the lower coons head to look more like the other I think it looks better that big chunk cut out. If I ever get inkscape working again.

I've no idea why the bottom left of the cross is not as wide as the rest of the cross.It took 3.5 hours to do???????????????????????

Hey, I know I haven't been around much lately due to a bookkeeping snafu ( post abut this later in the week ) and I am now just dropping in post a picture of my latest "ornamental firewood" LOL Had a request for a Aston Martin desk clock.. so I put together a pattern.. showed the customer the design and she loved it but told me to make sure I change the spelling as I had it "Aston Marton" Guess what? I changed it alright.. see photo.. I didn't even catch this until I was listing a add on the website..and my spell checker went off on a typo i did and not even on the car name.. on another word but then I looked and somehow caught it.. I had already sent out the invoice to the customer and was getting ready to mail this out today.. glad I decided to make a Made To Order listing on etsy where I caught the mis-spelling.. LOL.. Anyway enjoy the good laugh while I get back to work.. many orders to fill this week and the bookkeeping snafu.. I probably won't be around much this week yet.. just had to drop in to say I'm still around.. just very busy..

If those blades came with the saw they are probably low quality blades. I wouldn't worry too much about what # they would be as the numbering system isn't really standardized. A #2 blade from one company may have a slightly different kerf and thickness than another company. If the blades work for you and you're happy with them, by all means use them. When ordering new blades try different brands in various sizes and teeth configurations to see how they work for you. We all have favorite blades, but we all don't agree on what we think is best. It's a personal choice.

It depends on the toys you are making. I make a lot of toys out of poplar. If I am making a toy for someone under the age of 3 it is a hardwood; maple or beech. Kids will eat the poplar and pine right up.

This is the one I used for quite a while. I'll take pictures tonight of my current system. I would recommend a system that has covers for most of the tubes. I knocked this one over a few different times before I added more pvc caps

Shhhhhhhhhh she may well hear you and plug me in

Here's mine. I do several demos and teach several classes a year, so I decided to make mine a little more appealing. Made from Mahogany with a BB overlay on the back. The overlay is a Steve Good pattern. The tubes are from Sloan's Woodshop. I make the labels with my Brother Label maker.

Here is a picture of the replacement.. I do at least one stupid mistake like this every year.. then I get to relaxed and don't check / double check. Last year was gluing a backer and mistakenly glued to the front side LOL

Here is my system. I even got a chance to try my HF trim router.

If they weren't marked in the package they came in, it would be a total guess as to what brand, type, size, etc. Best thing to do is buy some variety packs of Flying Dutchman or Olson, or whatever brand you're interested in and be sure to keep them in the packaging they come in until you set up a blade sorting system. P.S. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what blades to try/use. :-) Just don't overthink it.

Had computer problems and spent all night working on it.Then my friend ,the pest calls and wants me to be on stand by in case he needs parts as he's changing his rotors and pads on his car.So i kept awake doing some scroll work as he bought me a coffee! And someone showed up for breakfast too!

Just curious on some of the largest projects some of you have attempted? By large I mean the most pieces or elements that come together to completed one large item and/or project. I'm a huge baseball fan, collected cards and memorabilia for about 35 years now (drives my Wife nuts). Last week during the 2018 HOF announcement, several of us at the fire station were debating about what makes a HOF ball player and the total number of HOF inductees was brought up. As of the 2018 Class of Baseball HOF there are 323 inductees.......255 are ball players, the rest are either Managers, Umpires or Pioneers / Executives. Well, guess what? I have decided to scroll saw a portrait of each HOF'er and have them as a collage on the wall in my man cave / baseball room. Any tips or suggestions on achieving something this size? Be Safe! Skip

As noted, there is nothing necessarily wrong with pine. Personally, I would probably prefer a tight grained, medium hard wood, something like poplar or soft maple. Both take paint well, are hard enough to hold up well to normal use & abuse, without being too heavy or so hard & dense that they are difficult to work with. Open grained hard woods like red oak are somewhat more prone to splintering, especially on sharp corners, so they may not be the best choice.

This is an interesting thread here's my input. I suffered from back pain for years couldn't bend over had to buy velcro shoes couldn't do my laces up. Then I bought an inversion table 5 mins a day hanging like a bat and within I'll say two weeks all the pain had gone and it has never come back and I don't use it anymore due to my knee replacement last year. I'm not a doctor but the army and footballers and weightlifters use them and doctors don't tell you about them I wonder why perhaps they wouldn't have any customers. It's what's between the vertebrae that hurts in most cases and I'm still not a doctor. Probably won't work in all cases but what you don't try you'll never know. Roly

If you live in the upper Midwest, Menards carries packs of Olsens. Higher than mail order, but if you get caught and need a blade in a hurry...

Pine works just fine for playable toys. Heirloom toys well hardwoods look better setting on the shelf. Just my opinion. Fredfret Wichita, ks

Dan the Poet. Good one!

I agree that pine is fine.

I have made lots of toys out of pine. Like scrollerpete mentioned it is soft so if it gets rough play (or teething) it can get marks. I think those marks add character to the toys so it never bothers me. I also like that it is a bit lighter than most hardwoods, which makes toys a bit easier to play with. Pine is also easy to find in 1 1/2 thickness (think 2x4) and most hardwoods are harder to find thick. The most importat thing is to make sure that you are not using treated lumber (the stuff used outdoors) Poplar is another good choice for inexpensive wood that will be painted. It cuts well and is a hardwood.

I have made a lot of toys out of pine and poplar......so far so good !

A friend of mine has been making toys for years. He uses nothing but pine and they seem to hold up for him.

That is good advice, the only thing that I have to add is stay away from the big box store blades,rockler and woodcrafts have good blades . i am trying pagus now and so fr they seem like they are a good blade, but Lowes and Home depot have cheep blades at a high price for the quality. IKE

Some Great advice up there.

Same as Iggy's,Found the pattern over at Steve Goods site.I do the same same the lable and wrape it around the tube with some tape,place it on a shelf within arms reach,I'm good to go.

I really hope I don't get on too many peoples nerves, but... attached is something I just put together listing the different things I use such as the shelf liner, shrink wrap bags, mineral oil, etc. Since a lot of folks ask me about this stuff I finally put it all together with links to where the items can be bought. Obviously this is just a listing of what I use, not necessarily the best options or choices, but things I've found to be useful or good quality. Let me know if any questions. Iggy _Woodcraft By Scott - Items Used In Puzzle Making and Selling.pdf

i keep my blades in pvc pipe with 1/2" ends. I keep close to 30 different sizes & types of blades on inventory. When I order blades, I take inventory from the pvc tubes, & put the the label on the tube. I have the tubes in racks cut from 1/4" underlayment. YEA! It's kinda cheap, but it was what I had handy at the time.

I'm in agreement with Dan. If those blades came withe your saw, my advice would be to use those blades for practice, or trying to cut different woods. You'll drive yourself to drinkin' tryin' to figure out those blades. My advice would be to go to Flying Dutchman, Olson, whatever breed you decide on & get yourself a sample pack of their blades. They ain't goin' to have every blade they sell, but, they will have the general blades used in most projects by most beginners & starters. From there, write down the blade numbers that work best for you in the projects you have interest in. Keepin' in mind, you're "finesse" of changin' of & settin' your blades will improve greatly as you keep changin' blades. Stick with pinless blades, if at all possible. You'll have less headaches, & gain more knowledge of your machine.

There is no rules and/or regulations on the number(s) voted into the MLB HOF per year, only that the player has been removed from the play field for a minimum of 10 years. There has been some years that no eligible players received enough votes to be inducted. Some years there have been up to (six +) players inducted........ie (years 41-43, 50, 60, 90 no players inducted...........2006 had ten players inducted. I really do like your idea of a larger board for each year inductees......I think that will give more room for the names and have one larger heading with the HOF year........Do you mind if I use your idea / suggestion?

This looks like it’s missing electricity. Lol reminds me of an electric chair. a nice one tho!

Saw blades are like your fishing tackle box, you pick up a lot of choices but usually only use a couple of the same ones all the time.

I like to look like a professional as opposed to the one trick pony hack that I am. LOL Yes, I use 2 blades... one for the word puzzles out of poplar and one for the kids puzzles out of pine. :-)

I use PVC pipe a little longer than Rockytime with end caps. (it's real hard to seperate them when you drop with out caps) made a rack to hold them the sizes I don't use very often #7 spiral, #12 skip tooth are in the sane tubes in the tool box. Fredfret

I purchased these tubes off Ebay a couple years ago. They were dirt cheap and I've got to find them again, I am running out. They work great, and I roll the label that come with the blades and insert it in the with the blades so I know what blades are in there. The box they are in is from some chisels or something I bought from Harbor Freight.

How do you folks work in your shops without making your back scream at you. I can't stand on my feet anymore. If I sit, it makes my back sore. Anybody have any input on how you help your back? I inherited my Dad's bad feet so I have a terrible time getting shoes that are comfortable too. I'm a mess. I'm just curious as to whether anybody else fights the lower back pain. Ray

Problem Solved: Wen Scroll saw Pinless Adapter and inside cuts. If you have or are thinking of purchasing a Wen scroll saw, one of the issues with it is cutting inside patterns. You have to remove one of the adapters to thread the blade through the drill hole. When you remove the top, the bottom falls down. If you remove the bottom, it's difficult to impossible to reset the set screw to secure the blade! It's really inconvenient and a PITA trying to get the adapters back on the holder. Today I've solved the problem, at least for myself. I placed a magnet on the bottom adapter to hold it in place: Now I can undo the top adapter, let it hang free while I insert the blade into the drilled hole and then re-tighten the set screw Now it's not nearly as difficult trying to thread the blade through a drill hole

I couldn't decide what to cut after leaving the hospital.i had broncidus for a week and didnt know it.

I just went through this same problem with the saw I bought. It came with a bunch of blades and I had no idea how to sort them. After reading all the answers to my question, I bagged them up and put them in a drawer for possible future use. Or trash. Whatever the case might turn out to be. Best advice.......go buy some good quality blades of the 3 main brands. Flying Dutchman, Olson, or Pegas. It's a crapshoot as to which ones you will like but you gotta try them all for a while. I'm in the middle of that right now. Ray

In this 'semi' computer literate society, just cut a wiggly line under Auston and tell them the wood's spell checker caught it! Russ

I have difficulty on the phone because I am hearing impaired. Perhaps I can have my son-in-law track them down. If I can locate the board I can certainly install it. Most everything is plugged in with just a few solder joints. Thanks for the information.

based on the qc4100 number it looks like it was made by quantum controls of MN. dont know what they cost but i am pretty sure they can point you in the right direction as to what might be wrong.

That’s the chair I use, craftsman’s, but black, very comfortable, RJ

Not without a schematic. Someone with electronic experience could possibly but that's way beyond the scope of my intelligence. Many years ago, perhaps 60 or so, I used to do TV repair. I know nothing about solid state. But thanks for the suggestion.

I use something like Iggy's holder - It was a Steve Good pattern he created. It can be found here: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/2017/01/scroll-saw-blade-holder-pattern.html - he lists a site to get the test tubes from on Amazon but that is not the ones I got. I ordered some previously from another site. Mine have flat bottoms and are plastic with a plastic lid. I had 24 test tubes so I modified Steve's plan so that it would hold 12 each (his pattern has 5 each side so 10 each.) I also do like Scott and Paul and cut the labels off and roll and insert inside the tubes for each blade type. I don't use as many different types of blades as Paul shows (yet ) so this has worked well for me.

Like when I cut a keychain for my wife and mispelled her name (we'd only been married for 25 years at the time. Luckily, my daughter caught it before I gave it to her. Stupid - I didn't toss the bad one and the wife found it in a shop drawer a couple of years later. Then she though it was funny. She still has it and pulls it out to tease me every now & then.

Squirrels are everywhere when i open the door and they come right in as they know exactly where in keep the raw peanuts in thev shell.Wish i could just get raw unroasted

I have several of Sue's patterns. She has a great collection of patterns with a ton of variety. I love her work.