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This was the 2011 People's Choice pattern winner in 2011 in SSWW&C. Saw it when going through some old issues and had to cut it. Pattern by Kerry Hallam and he was nice enough to send me the pattern (he also did the patterns for two others I have cut, Battle Cry and Waiting, two of my favorite cuts). Stack cut three 1/8" BB ply, approx 13 X 17 inches, cut using Sawbird #3 UR and #2 spiral. Probably 90 % of the cuts were with the spirals, so they are not really "dreaded" any more lol. Frame made out of some old drawer sides. Jeff

I bought some laminated wood to make the Alex Fox 3 D pattern that I did a couple of weeks ago and had some left over and thought I would use it to experiment on a couple of patterns. Well, I did discover some rather interesting results that I am passing on, with the reason I did not like it for the items I made here. First of all I had a chip in the laminate that makes me not want to use this product for anything again. Secondly I lost of lot of what could have been some appeal for the outside of these items. Thirdly it helped me to understand something I have been overlooking on the baskets I have been making, and that is BB Birch is not a good source for basket because is only leaves a dull outside appearance. I somehow did not see that until now, partly because of the lessor price of BB Birch over solid woods and I am cheap. On the other hand, using BB Birch for plaques is perfect. That being said, I am going to download the three baskets that I experimented with. The first two are Steve Good patterns and were extremely easy pieces to cut. I did not find them to be very useful, individually so I combined them and made what I considered a more useful basket and also one that has more eye appeal with the two colors. None of the baskets in the photos below are glued together but only stacked. so the last one is where I alternated the two baskets and gave it, what I considered to be more of a useful and more of a decorated basket as well, but because of the product used, it has no eye appeal on the outside part of the baskets. I hope this might help others that may be not seeing the lack of luster using BB Birch for the wrong applications, like I have been doing for years. On the other hand, If one is using BB Birch and leaving it in it's natural color then in my opinion, it looks fine, like in the last example Dick heppnerguy

Weather either too hot to play golf or rain, so in the shop I went and made some new sawdust. Some the finish has not been apply yet.

I ran against this pattern several years ago in ARPO and always wanted to cut it but never got around to doing it. So today I decided to give it a go. I found a peace of wood laying around and decided to give it a go. I especially liked the lighter color of the wood, even though it had a crack in it. Since it was only for the fun of cutting and was not an order for anyone, I decided to cut it. It turned out that it was not a good wood choice as it was too thick for the small pattern and would have been a lot better if I had used 1/4 inch BB Birch instead. I guess this has just been a day of bad choices for me. But at least nothing was lost as I got in some shop time and that is always worth my time. I will redo this one again when I get a new wood supply Dick heppnerguy

I wanted to make a portrait for our best friends. Picture was taken last year while they were on a cruise. My wife did the primary cleanup in Photoshop and then I'm back to MS 3D Paint to gobble pixels. The faces were pretty easy but the shirt and curly hair is a Pita. I need to learn how to simplify things.

No, but here looks to be a good deal on a Hawk in my area.. You buy it, I could pick it up and deliver it to you next time I go to Portland.... In the mean time, I could try it out and keep it warm for you...... https://kpr.craigslist.org/tls/d/rbi-hawk-20-scroll-saw/6642687280.html

Nice pieces. I don't understand why anyone would play golf when they could be scrolling???!!

I will let you know what I think of it in a week or two. I'm planning on cutting on it totally for a week or two. Nice thing to me is that the Hegner is tall enough so I can stand up and cut on it and then when my legs get tired, I can sit down and cut on the Hawk because it is the perfect size for cutting while you're sitting down on a stool.

Spirals take more tension. I also think they stretch a bit in use. I try to check the tension now and again and if I have the room I mainly go forward. Just easier for me.

I have had a busy summer and have not spent much time online. I have been building out my new shop/studio, but have still been doing a fair amount of scrolling, and just did two takes on Alex Fox’s C15 basket. I used 1/4” Baltic Birch, #1 FD Ultra Reverse blades. I oiled one in Natural Danish and the other one in Medium Walnut Danish oil. In the pics I light the lighter one, but in person I like the walnut better. If I do another one I might alternate the colors on each layer.I also bought some of Steve Goods signature coins and used them for the first time. The coins are 1/8” thick and I use two Forstner Bits.have made one sacrificial Forstner bit by removing the point. I start the hole with a regular bit to center it, then finish it with the sacrificial bit to just over 1/8” so as not to drill through the wood.

Nice work, Dick. I like the two colors one, but it makes my head spin a little. Looks like for a second the dark is dominate then something switches and the light color take over. But I do like them with more than one color. I did one of Alex's bowls with a hard wood and it worked fine and I think looked nice. I tried another one that had more "loop de loops" in it, with the same type wood and it broke apart. Because the gain running all in one direction it was just two fragile in narrow places that ran with the grain. Hence the advantage of the BB plywood. I don't know if any of this makes sense, but I know what I am trying to say....

Hello J, Regardless of whether it is a flat blade or "regular" spiral you're using, they do require more tension than a flat blade. Like Roberta mentioned also, they do stretch in use. Especially if you are doing quite a bit of side to side work with them. When I set the tension on a new blade, I always set it just tight enough to get a good "pluck" on it. Then I run the saw for a minute or so on half speed. This "stretches the blade, and takes the "new" out of it. Then I adjust my tension on the spiral blade to a good, snug tension. Not enough tension it pulls out of the blade older, but good and tight. You should hear a high pitched "ping" when you strum the blade. You are ready to make some sawdust! Remember to let the blade do the cuttin' and you just guide and feed your project. Adjust your speed to the point where you can keep up, the is doin' a good job of cuttin', and you're not forcing the project into the blade. When you start that, check your tension or replace the blade. Hope this helps. God Bless.

I would be interested to hear which saw you like better after you drive them for a while.

Howdy All. I'm dangerously close to retiring my 16" Craftsman scroll saw and buying a new scroll saw. Fairly recently, Excalibur re-emerged on the market. Other than it being made in a different factory, has anybody had any experience or heard of anything worth noting on the new saw?

Thanks to the help from Blights69 for the pattern.

Yesterday when I posted the items from my day in the shop and the experiments with the baskets, I forgot to add this one. I particularly fond this one to point out to me the problem with using MDF for baskets, as the outside was again left uncolorful and I found it took away from what could have otherwise been a rather nice piece. I understood from this that when this item was sitting on a desk, the eye would first be attracted to it by the outside and not the inside of the piece. Now that I understand this better, I believe I will be way more satisfied with the results of this kind of scroll items. I also added a simple inside cut to help bring a little more interest to the piece. Dick heppnerguy

My wife restores an also makes new stained glass windows. She found this panel at a antique store. It was in very bad condition. She asked me to make a frame for it. It is made out of padauk with inlays of yellowheart & oak. The frame is 3 1/2” x 3/4”. This was a challenge for me because of not doing very many inlays and cutting such hard woods 1 1/2” thick. Also I used half lap joints.

What a lovely project to hang on your wall Jeff! You did a super jon on that, Thank you for posting, Bob

I was on the Woodcraft.com site the other day and noted that they had both the new King 16-inch and the older Excalibur 21-inch saws for sale. I think they are both discounted. I believe they are still being made by the same company as when GI sold them.

So I finally took a break from editing pictures to set up my new (to me) Hawk 226VS. I took the older Dewalt 788 apart to stored it so I could have the Hegner and Hawk as my go to saws. Well here is what it sounds like with a blade in it. Oh and the blade is a FDUR#5 if that matters to anyone. Hawk Saw Running with Blade Thanks everyone who has helped me with this. I'm very happy with it. Now I just need to get some more walnut and cut out more racers. Thanks Jim PS Is there any tricks to getting the blade into the top blade holder? Or is it just something to get used to?

Thanks Kevin, I will take a look at that tonight.

When I see a pattern with a lot of fret work, I always think of you and know it would be your pattern of choice Dick heppnerguy

Ditto, Dick. And be sure and do not use the hardwood I did..... coarse I do not remember what it was... so as usual, I'm a big help!!

Jeff, this is a wonderful pattern and you sure did it justice. I am glad you are not afraid of the spiral blades as they certainly add to getting delicate cuts to come out without them breaking while you are cutting them. I too have been using spirals more and that added time with them really pays off for this kind of cutting. Too bad more people do not take the time to learn to use them better. Dick heppnerguy

I know that I will stay away from mdf. For the Alex Fox 3D patterns it works fairly well as you really do not see the edges that much and the color stands out well but for baskets, I am totally against using it. I think, now that I have tried it, I will start to focus on natural wood. Too bad thin wood is so expensive and the shipping kills me. I also read several times where MDF is really bad for the lungs because it has formaldehyde or something like that in it. Thanks for the comment Jeff, I like to pass this kind of thing along for others to see and consider. Dick heppnerguy

Great job on all, really like the little stool. Jeff

I believe you have the tension cam set wrong.. You mentioned it being at 11 o'clock.. but you never flipped that lever down to lock it in.. The setting it at a certain time on the clock is just a starting point.. what you do is put the blade in.. and adjust that back cam lever until the blade is just starting to give some resistance or tension at the set time for the blade you're using.. then you flip that lever down and lock it down.. You do this with the quick release lever at the front of the saw in the tension position.. or locked down toward the back of the saw.. Once you set the tension at the back of the saw you can usually just use the quick release at the front of the saw.. sometimes you'll need to re adjust it if using different size or style blades.. I find that I need more tension with a Pegas blade after using a FD blade.. maybe Pegas are slightly longer blade or something but I always have to add a little to the Pegas.. Anyway, in the video you has that back lever pointed up at the 11 o'clock position and it should be locked down.. Sounded good.. anyway

You always have nice work and good advice too. I avoid mdf and even try not to use much plywood.

Very nice work. I like the dream catcher best; but, i have lived a few years on a reservation.

Some nice looking pieces there Pete. Glad you found some time in the shop.

So a while ago I was using a spiral blade Flying Dutchmen and as long as I was going forward or backward it worked fine. But when I tried to go side to side the blade would just bend. Now I don't remember what size blade it was but I want to say I was using a 1/4" plywood left over piece. Like I said I was tying to get use to using that type of blade. Has anyone else had that problem?

Spiral blades do typically need a little more tension as others mentioned.. I also use them somewhat like a flat blade still and cut with them on the front portion of the blade.. The way a scroll saws blade motion works.. there is a slight front to back motion on the blade.. so you'll probably find the spiral will cut faster using the front and possibly the rear of the blade as opposed to the sides of the blade.. because of that slight blade front to back blade motion.. Spirals typically wear out a little faster too.. Since I do a lot of my cutting on them on the front like a flat blade sometimes I'll take the blade out and reverse it for the less used teeth on the opposite side..

Looks mighty fine to me. And I like the wood, it has character.

Good work there Dick and thank you for the tips, Bob

Excellent work !.......Very nice !

Great job !....Very nice scrolling !

very nice job

very nice work

I agree, that is awesome. Great work Jeff. Marg

That is AWESOME!!!

I think this. Stain is wet. MDF swells when wet. Maybe if you just did the front... I am sure I would try on scrap first. No real help, I know. Just thinking out loud.

Nice pattern and it was time well spent Dick. Jeff

Thanks for the tips Dick, was thinking of purchasing some mdf to do Alex's Love pattern, but am re-thinking it now. The two colors combined is striking in the third pic. Nice job on all. Jeff

This company also makes a great rust loosener. I used it on some tough projects I could not get loose and works better than anything I ever found.

Is anyone else out there fan of this kind of stuff? If so, share them! I’d love to see other types of wall pockets.

very nice work

Great looking scraps thanks for sharing

You were certainly busy. They may be small but they pack a punch. Excellent work. Marg

Just finished this one .It seemed to take me ages but I finally got there .The reason I am showing it is because of the large amount of Scroll Saw work involved in it.I am Quite happy about how it turned out but doubt if i would attempt something like this again .I have plenty of patience for my Scroll Saw work but not for something like this. Cheers Peter