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Not sure where she came from she’s cut out of 1/4” birch ply it’s aprox 8x10 and cut with #1and#2 spirals

I have cut this pattern just a few times in the past, but I wanted to post here because this is probably the best I've ever cut it. This is one of those patterns that gives me opportunity to improve myself with every cutting. I don't cut it often because it doesn't sell well . . . . because I have it priced way too high . . . because it is a pain in the backside to cut. (Cross Posted to SSWC) In case some of you wonder how I can cut that small, especially since my eyesight is not the best . . . I am of the belief that most of the veteran cutters on this forum are better cutters than I am, but I cheat by using 4+ reading glasses plus a magnifiying lamp along with plenty of light. Here is what it actually looks like under heavy magnification. The trick is not cutting small because in metal that is easy. The trick is clearly seeing the pattern. Of course seeing it clearly, sometimes means printing it on quality paper, not cheap copy paper. (CA glue seeps through some paper, making it fuzzy/muddled)

When I saw the "Kinetic Gear Toy" , Alex Fox did, I had to try it. I didn't have 4 mm BB so I used 1/8". Cutting the pieces was quick and easy. I had some 1/8" dowel so decided to use it for the pins. Well that didn't work, the dowel was too soft, too small and just kept breaking. So I re-drilled the holes to 5/32" and used bamboo skewer for the pins. Then came the gluing. First I tried "Contact Cement" because it was stated that it was the closest thing to what Alex uses. I could not get it to hold. The gears that needed to stay stationary on the pins,,, didn't. Then I use Titebond II, and it would not hold. Keep in mind there is a very small gluing surface to glue the top gears to the pegs. So I purchased some "Gorilla Super Glue" and it appeared to work,,,, well almost...... turn your sound off, I may have said something I shouldn't have.... Oh, well It is worn out from me gluing, sanding, re-gluing. Going to take a break and try again with 1/4" BB and 1/4" dowels. Still I have had fun trying... https://imgur.com/U2UHURj OOPPPSSSSSSS!

i stack cut this about a month ago. kept 2 pressed between 2 other boards until i decided how to mount it. this was the result.

2 patterns from the SSV pattern library..... with a twist...

Cut in ply using #3 Pegas , framed from reclaimed shelving, pattern by me, nice to make some dust for a change been practising my patterns and been stuck outside making planter orders and bench orders for a while.

Just finished cutting this for my Dentist. It's made from 4mm Baltic Birch Ply and finished with 2 coats of sanding sealer and one coat of lacquer. This is the second one of these I have cut, the first was a few years ago and was for my Dad's Dentist. Many thanks to Grampa for the great pattern.

Good day all. My name is Dick and I reside in the Bruce Peninsula area of Canada. I found this site through another site and have been loving since. I haven't used my saw for a lot of years but hope to get back to it. Life gets in the way all to often. Most of the stuff I do is fretwork. I did try one intarsia project. It was a snowman for my Mom. Here is some of the stuff I did. Can't show pics of most because i have given most of it away.

When a loon is nesting and, later, when the chicks have been hatched but before they can dive, if a person or animal gets too close then one of the loon pair will move some distance (at least 20 metres) away, rise out of the water, flap its wings, a call out. Note that sitting on the nest, looking after chicks, and causing a diversion are shared male and female job -either of the adult pair can fill either roles. Most often, two chicks are born each spring. Also, a chick often rides on the back of one of it's parents. I've attempted to capture all this in a pair of scroll-sawn works: Loon Distracting: Loons Protected: The pair, entitled 'Loon Family on Alert' have been hung some distance apart in order to reflect what happens in nature: The creation of the patterns for these pieces can be found in the thread: Both the foreground and background pieces of this pair have been made from 3mm thick Baltic birch plywood. After assembly, a couple of coats of clear satin Varethane was prayed on. I made the frames out of poplar, stained them with Samen water-based stain, then applied several coats of Polymerized Tung oil. My design was inspired by a painting by Glen Rabena a copy of which I placed into the thread that was referenced above:

Was a fun little project I made for a friend that has a collection of beetles. Cut with #3 Pegas MG blade cut from maple.

Fiberboard 3mm Here are video of cutting and assembling And pattern triplane.pdf

Just a little trivet I made up the pattern came out of adult colouring book it’s 9” round and on 1/4 “ birch plyw

Wife took me to lunch today, and on a whim we went pricing picture frames at Joanns - way too expensive. In fact I saw one similar to one I made last week for $20. But then we found paradise - I've never been in this store before and we found all sorts of incredible items and I kept asking "this is how much?": frames, picture backings, poster boards, glittering bags (for backgrounds), wrapping paper (for backgrounds), psychedelic paper (for backgrounds) and so much more I had to get out. Then we go to the cash register and I'm thinking, geez gonna be high.... OMG $18! Everything for $1!!! Dollar Tree - everything is a dollar! I bought 10 frames for $10, one of my diy frames alone cost $5 in materials! Now I have 10 (although mine is quite a bit wider) but still - 10 for 10 works for me!

My students made lamps earlier this year. For the shade part I bought a plastic ceiling panel. The kind used over a light in a drop ceiling. It was on clearance because it had cracked corners, but worked for the project because we were cutting it up.

To add a note about getting better baltic birch plywood - if you are in an area that has some of the larger crafts stores (Michael's, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, etc.) you can check and see if they carry some and what sizes. Some in my area carry some pretty good sizes and you can get and use their coupons on it. Usually almost all of them have a 40% off coupon every week, sometimes its a good week and they have a 50% off coupon.

For ornaments I use 1/8" Baltic Birch and I will stack 5 or 6 . The more detailed the less I stack. For freestanding puzzles I use 3/4" hardwood. For picture puzzled I use 1/4" Baltic Birch. For portraits I use either 1/8" or 1 /4" Baltic Birch. I stack 2 -4. 1/8" fits better in store bought frames. For others: If you buy patterns from most designers they normally recommend a thickness. I normally try to follow their recommendations. I have done test cuttings for Sue Mey. I can tell you a number of thickness woods are tried before one is recommended.

about a year ago i bought this reflective paper at dollar tree. stopped yesterday hoping they had more... but nope. chris

The plywood you get from the big box stores is not a good choice for scrolling. They are made with inferior fillers and glues. I always use birch ply which is really good stuff. Using sharp blades and if they bend, they go into the trash and another blade is installed. Never used the sanding strips, a good quality blade leaves little sanding to be had. At any rate welcome to the village, hope you visit often and there are no "stupid" questions. You'll find most folks here are happy to help or supply with their opinion.

Hey a newbie. Lets welcome him but I am not buying your first name is Just. We are friendly here so tell us your real name Anyway welcome to the site and as mentioned it is a good idea to use good quality plywood if you are going to use plywood at all. Many people use Baltic or Finnish Birch and this is because the layers are thinner and the core is not junk wood. You get very little if any blowout if using the proper blade. Also though when scrolling plywood you will go through more blades because they dull faster because of the glue used in plywoods. As far as bending a blade and using it again, depends how bad you bent it and where. if you bent in cutting area of the blade then I say just toss it and move on. No sense ruining a project for a few cent blade. Sanding strip is something I never used and do not believe in them. Practice your cuts and you will get smooth with the actions of cutting and that will eliminate the need for sanding strips. If I have to knock off a bit in a cut I just use the blade as a planer and if the blade is sharp it will plane it very easily. I do not know what a 9/6 blade is. Never heard it referred to as that. If it is a #9 reverse tooth blade that seems rather large. But doable with 3/4" stock depending on the fret work needed. little tougher turning that large a blade. Anyway love to see the project your working on and again welcome to the world of scrolling.

First of all, if you are going to use plywood, use a high quality plywood like Baltic birch. As far as scrollsaw sanders, I have never used them. If I need to correct something, I go back and clean it up with the blade. if I bend a blade, it's trash. It gets tossed!

Well folks - the one done with the spiral blades is the one with the red lantern - it and it's sister clock were completed at the same time - one as a gift for an Aunt of mine and the other is in our home. The clock with the bucket was done with straight blades (excepting a small section in front of the seat) and completed in 2012 as a gift to my youngest son on his enlistment as a fireman for the city of Thunder Bay. I've included a couple extra pictures of detail in the clocks I finished last year - should point out that the Whippletree was made and provided by the gal who did the horses and the harnesses. You're all winners in my book - be glad to host you for a serious BBQ if you ever get up this way!! Thanks, Jay

For me it all depends on the project at hand. Word art is normally 1/2", portraits are 1/8". Some plaques for hanging are 1/4". I have very little steadfast rules for other work. All depends on the project and desired effect I am looking for. As you can read from the replies people choose different thickness for different projects. I fully agree that most of it will depend on eye appeal which is very important if your selling your work.

I agree scrolling is subjective to what people find the eye likes. I make clocks mainly and they range in 1/2" to 5/8" in thickness but again it depends on the clock. Now if there are layers to it then that needs to be considered too. I do not make many portraits but have done in 1/4" material. I do not do scrolled ornaments any more. I turn ornaments now. I have done many clocks with 3/4" material also but again style is the key there. No hard fast rules.

I'm not sure there is any kind of rules as to sizing.. I typically cut my clocks from 5/8 ish solid wood... usually Cherry.. I plane it down to 5/8 for two reasons.. One.. I think the thicker wood for clocks starts making them look too bulky.. not to mention taking longer to cut the thicker wood.. also.. planing it down removes some weight.. since I sell online.. weight is a factor to consider.. while I don't pay the shipping anyway.. it still adds up for the customer.. One could make clocks out of much thinner wood than 5/8 even.. but too much less than 5/8 especially once you get down to 1/2 or less.. then it makes me feel like its too thin and sort of cheapens the look.. This is solely just my opinion so who knows how the customer feels.. but I sort of feel 5/8 is sort of in the middle of the two and seems to be what I like.. When it comes to ornaments.. some I make are 1/4 and some are from 1/8... again just an opinion.. but I feel the 1/4" ones are a little on the bulky side.. and for me 1/8 is very slightly on the thin side.. some folks use much thinner than 1/8 for ornaments.. I think it was Rolf that cuts them from 3/32? not sure what the size was he uses but it's real thin stuff.. Personally I like to cut the thinner stock due to being able to stack cut.. typically stack cut however many it takes to get 1/2 - 3/4 thick stacks.. so if I stack 1/8" I get to cut double the amount.. weight on something like ornaments doesn't change enough to matter which one I use... For a while I had planed my own lumber to 3/16.. for the ornaments.. I liked them in between.. but I typically stopped doing that because the cost factor in time.. Being a business sometimes you have to make a choice in these factors to keep the cost down for customers.. so I generally now just use 1/8 BB ply.. Portraits for me... are always cut from 1/8".. mostly BB ply but also have done many from 1/8 Red Oak.. and afew from 1/8 Oak ply.. If it's a plaque type wall hang that isn't framed.. I typically cut from 1/8 and glue to a backer that is 1/4.. Many patterns recommend X size.. I many times will cut patterns that recommend 1/2 or more.. I cut them in 1/8 and glue to a backer.. why 1/8? because my mind is in production type mode.. and I feel like way only make 2 from 1/4 when I can make 4 from 1/8.. so my mind thinks in these terms.. from a business standpoint.. I factor in productivity and weight into my final piece.. to help keep cost down.. Cannot mention on segmentation etc as I haven't done any of that yet..

U made a couple of these 'Angel with Dove" pieces from a Sue Mey pattern. I make these fairly often and send them to friends who have come down ill and I am in hopes that this little wall plaque might help them know that my wife and I are thinking about them and hopefully when they look at this little angel they might find a little comfort from it. It is not a lot to brag about but I just wanted all of you to know I am still working in my shop some. Dick heppnerguy

One of my new neighbors asked if I would like to donate a piece of my woodworking to her Church fund raiser and of course I said that I would be delighted to do so. This is the first on several that I am donating. I am keeping it simple so that I will be able to give her several pieces. She was looking for a cross to start with so this is the one I decided on Dick heppnerguy

Found this pattern on Pinterest and really liked it, decided to cut it on a plaque that I had laying around. Stuck the pattern on top of the plastic wrap, figuring it would make removing the pattern a dream. That part went well. What I did not anticipate was the pattern bouncing while cutting because it was on the plastic, not the wood Thank goodness for tape and finger nails. Lesson learned, will use Press and Seal wrap next time AFTER I remove the plastic. Jeff

go for it!!! it is fun. i am also playing with glow paint hint hint!!!

That is some cute Frank.you did great on pattern also. I had a homeing pigeon...I sold it seven times ,waiting for it to come back,have another sucke..rrr customer.

Excellent and very creative backings! I am so stealing err... borrowing that idea!

You did a super job on the stars! Thank you for posting, Bob

Great work! Very festive! Makes me smile just looking at it!!!

The top blades I would say is the Pegas and Flying Dutchman, best place for Pegas ishttp://www.dndsawbladesonline.com/ now for Flying Dutchman either the Wooden teddy bear or Mikesworkshop

Thanks! for all the replies. Good info. I knew what the answers were going to be....just curious. When I get my project farther along I'll post some pics. You will understand the questions about the plywood. The blades I am using are Olson. Package labels them as 9/6. ....so, I'm still learning the nomenclature. How do you reference these blades? What is a good source for blades?

First off welcome to the Village... I'm very new at this as well and I have the same saw as you AND I bent a blade yesterday during a set up AND I have sanding strips AND I have used the box store plywood. So here are my discoveries from a newbie scroller... The bent blade - caused me more headaches to install and fret than was worth the cost so I threw it in the trash, got a new blade and no more headaches - worth the cost of the blade The sanding strips - I have used them installed on my Wen, IMO they work great if you have no other means of sanding or getting inside a cut to sand. So IMO they work fine if you want to use them. However, they are not the most efficient means of working a project. I use home made strips from Popsicle sticks and I use needle files as well for touching up - I am new after all and I make lots of mistakes that I so far have been able to "clean" up with the files Plywood - During the first few days of getting my Wen saw, I used the plywood I had on hand which was what I had purchased for other wood working projects -box store special. and I as well got so much blow out it was very frustrating! After being advised here about the quality of box store ply (which I had no idea before I came here there even was a quality issue, I thought the only difference was sanded or not), I opted to buy some BB from ebay (1/4 inch BB , 1/8 inch BB ) - once I got my plywood and glued up a pattern and cut it - it was night and day Blades - You didn't ask about this, but the box store blades also are not the best quality - I've tried Dewalt, Olsen, Flying Dutchman (FD) and Pegas blades and I am a Pegas fan forever - or at least until something better is available. Hope that helps somewhat

Thanks Travis. I'm always late for things but I do catch up, eventually. As for being here for a while I think Kevin and I should get a gold crown for the longest serving members, notice I didn't say oldest. Marg

Birch plywod, 4mm watch the video to see how it works and how it was made:

Nice cutting. I did a Mickey Mouse 8 x 10 where I had to take the pieces out and paint them and then put it all back together.

Looks great. I like the background.

Awesome job! I've started covering the wood in strips of blue painter's tape, then taking my pattern and spraying Super77 spray adhesive on the back and sticking it to the tape. Tape peels up easily, especially if I overlap the strips enough and remember which direction it was laid down in the first place...:) I've read elsewhere where folks use clear packing tape for the same purpose, apparently the silicone in the packing tape also lubricates the blades while cutting? Haven't tried that yet.

I hope this isn't cheating - my pictures aren't exactly what you asked for ..... I've made this clock 3 times - one with straight blades - 2 with spiral blades - I will leave it up to others to guess which is which (hope the dates don't show up in the properties of the pictures .....) - but I am guessing that it will be difficult if not impossible to tell - both clocks include tons of fretwork, some sweeping curves, some straight lines - all of which were done by either the straight or spiral blade that was used throughout the particular project. In the straight blade project I should tell you that my 16" saw was not quite sufficient to use the straight blade throughout so this particular project actually became my first introduction to the spiral blade so I could finish it ..... I will be happy to show a few more detailed pictures of the finished spiral blade project - and the results you can get with a spiral blade. Thanks! Jay

As above you definitely nailed them the Hendrix backer is sweet and suits the cut really well Thanks for showing us

portraits are all i can speak to... to me it is a matter of how many and what backer. at Christmas i need 8 copies of each portrait. i used 1/8th" luan. it is thin enough to put in store bought frames. i also do this for clients. my "rock stars" i stack 1 layer 1/4" birch , 4 layers of 1/8" luan, 1 layer 1/4" birch. these are all backed with 1/8" melamine. i went to get 1/8" luan and got 1/4" by mistake. just used it for 2 portraits each stacked 4 high. i love this stuff! my choice always comes down to is how many do i want/need.

1. I typically use the recommended thickness for any clock patterns I make. This is especially true of any 3 dimensional clocks, where assembly is required. On these you can adjust the thickness of the wood, but you have to compensate in the dimensions of the various pieces that fit together, especially if there is tab & slot joinery involved. Also, you need to consider how the clock workings fit into the piece. That sometimes determines thickness. I don't stack cut anything where the total thickness of the stack would exceed 3/4" thick. 2. I think portraits benefit from using thinner stock. I prefer 1/8", but I accumulate cut offs of 1/4" BB ply from other projects that I will sometimes use for portrait style projects. 3. Over they years, I've cut thousands of ornaments. If I'm using BB ply, then I cut them from 1/8". I think thinner material looks better and it's easier/faster to stack cut them. If I'm using solid wood, I may go 3/16" thick, especially if the pattern is delicate and potentially fragile. I've made solid wood ornaments from 1/4" before and I think they look to chunky. It's a matter of personal taste. 4. I don't do a lot of segmentation, but the few things I have done tend to be from thicker stock. It's very similar to intarsia, in that you need some thickness in order to shape and add dimension and depth to the piece. As you stated, it can be a very subjective thing. Scrolling mostly isn't restricted by specific rules and standards when it comes to stuff like this. Scrolling is a very aesthetic type of woodworking. You don't have to worry much about the same kind of structural considerations that you do with cabinet or furniture making. Let your eye and taste be your guide. Make what appeals to you. That is, unless you intend to sell, then I guess you are pretty much forced to make your stuff appeal to others.

Nice work thanks for sharing

That turned out beautiful!

Nice looking job. Good looking piece of wood.

There between 1/16" & 1/8" thick

This is one I have been working on. It is a pattern posted here last month by Kenny Hopkins. I thought it would be fun to do because my son has a tattoo very similar to it. I have done two versions of it. The first picture is following the pattern. Second is my modified version Comments welcome.

Birch plywood, 12 x 8 inches (recommended pattern size 15 x 11 inches) pattern by Alex Fox Here is video of cutting and final result