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Lately I've been trying some boxmaking inspired by other's efforts on here. This is cut from old rimu drawer sides as usual, finished with shellac and beeswax. 25 x 15 x 8cm or 10 x 6 x 3 inches approx. Hope you like it. Rob

I cut out another little project tonight. This is the first one I've done with a lot of lettering. This is cut out on 1/4" Baltic Birch Plywood. I might try and burn it around the edges a little bit. Thanks for looking Jim

The only time I got frightened when a blade broke was the first one that broke on my Hegner. I thought the saw was flying apart, I ducked for cover!! Now I am use to it. I have broken many many blades. I break fewer now only because I have a better feel for sawing and I am better at knowing it is time to change blades. And normally the only ones that break on me now are because I didn't stop and get a new one when I knew I should have. I use to break more and I think most people do buy forcing the blade or not having the tension right, as experience is gained that lessens. You are doing fine from what I have seen. Relax, and keep up the good work. When I first started and was getting tense, and breaking blades and breaking pieces, the best advice I was given from a neighbor here in the village was, "relax, let your shoulders drop, (he was right I realized the next time I was scrolling I had my shoulders up above my ears!) and breath normal.... Yep I was holding my breath, hanging on for deal life!!! Like the man said it is suppose to be fun. Pretty soon you will head to the scroll saw when your are tense, to relax... Bet it won't be long before your husband is fighting you for the say and you will need to get another.......

My first jewelry boxes. This is how they looked after I cut them and after sanding and staining.

I feel your pain - been there done that It does get better however

Practice will help with these issues. Remember it is supposed to fun

Hang in there , practice makes perfect !

I have only broken a blade once on my Hawk but when I did I thought I would jump out of my skin. On occasion I will start the saw forgetting to flit the tension lever. That makes a bit of a racket and kinda startles me. I can only scroll for about two hours before my eyes tire. I scroll a couple of hours in the morning and again in the afternoon or evening. Sharp corners work with plywood by using appropriately small blades and preferably a few reverse teeth at the lower end of the blade. Don't give up. You'll get it with a little practice.

Plywood and real sharp points don't work well Baltic birch helps but does not eliminate the problem. Working tense on any machine is not a good idea the scrollsaw how ever will not take a finger on hand unless you really want it to. Afterwhile a broken blade will become just another day at the office. Keep at it your work has looked very good. Fredfret

G'day all, Well finished the box for my Sister's birthday. It's late but better late than never Radiata Pine, Jarrah inlay, blue felt lining with blue flocking in the tray. 3 coats of lacquer, cut back with 320g between coats.

ok, now that my family has gotten several presents made by me and has put my name out there this year a lot of friends are asking me to do Christmas/Birthday projects for them also. I thought i had asked this question a while back, but i couldn't find the replies. So how do i go about figuring out what to charge for these projects? I've pondered trying to keep track of how long it takes me, but i'll get distracted and forget to stop or start my timer for each sessions i'm working. I estimated the cost work materials that's fairly easy, but it's the time invested that i just can't figure out. I'm not out to gouge anyone, but it would be nice to be compensated for the time involved. Most of the patterns i'm using i've bought so i'm not having to factor in designing. i've enclosed just a few samples of what i've done. right now i have 29 offers for Christmas! Glad i've started early! LOL thanks, gang, for all your tips, replies and advices in advance. ray johnson

Finished this piece up today it's 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood glued and screwed together. 10"h by 20"w with to coats of sanding sealer on it and 3 coats of spray polyurethane.

Well, I had a pretty productive weekend. I cut out a motorcycle, Christmas Tree (Iggy's pattern) and a Jigsaw Cowboy Boot. I won't bore you all with the motorcycle but here is the Christmas Tree and Cowboy Boot. These are all made out of 3/4" Poplar cut out on my Hegner.

I've only been doing scrolling for a few weeks and only done 'little' things in plywood, but was feeling rather pleased with myself as I seemed to be getting the hang of it. However, my saw and my wood both taught me a lesson today. 1) Don't try cutting patterns that have 'pointy' bits with plywood as the layers come apart. 2) Only do scrollwork when you are calm + collected. I was a little tense today and had gone to the workshop to take time out, but I broke my first blade today and it made me jump out of my skin. It may be a day or two before I pluck up the courage to go near the machine again.

I'm very, very new to this hobby of 'making' stuff, so I've tried several different things. A scrollsaw Butterfly, A 3d Reindeer, burning wood and an ornament from the forum book. I guess I'll settle down and chose just one thing to do, but for now I'm enjoying the freedom of retirement and flitting from thing to thing.

If you think breaking a scroll saw blade is scary, try standing still when a bandsaw blade breaks. Pallet wood can be made of most anything, largely dependent on where the pallet is made. It's typically low grade wood that isn't suitable to be sold for anything else, but for scrolling, you can find some decent material. A couple words of caution though. First, the wood may not be kiln dried, so it may not be very stable, especially after planning. Also, only select pallets that are clean. If they look like they've had stuff spilled on them, you have no idea what it may have been and it could be toxic. Different countries have different regulations about using native lumber for shipping crates and pallets. Some are very restrictive so as to prevent the introduction of invasive species of bugs and organisms that may be harmful. Others, not so much. So you really don't know what you are getting. Inspect the wood very carefully before sawing or planning. If it looks like something may be living or growing in the wood, do not bring it home. We get crates and pallets at work from all over. I've seen walnut, cherry, oak, pine and maple mostly, but many years ago I scavenged some wood from a crate that I believe is either Sapele or some type of Mahogany. It wasn't fine furniture wood, but it made some interesting projects. I think I still have some of it.

I recently posed this same question. I got some very good answers and advice. What I have come to is this. I look around out there at what people are spending on cheap imported mass produced crap and decided that I would put a price on what I make that makes me happy. If nobody buys what I have to sell, well at least I enjoyed making it. I'm not going to be Jesse James and hold folks up but on the other hand, I"m not the Tooth Fairy either. My time is just as valuable as anybody else's and the materials are not cheap. So, as a very new novice to this world of scrolling I would say, put a price on your stuff that will make you happy if you sell it. Nothing more, nothing less.

I agree the price thing is so subjective and when you get better you get faster and more efficient so labor wise those won't add up. I have been doing this for many years and just have a feel for items after awhile. You get a catagory and make your prices just about the same and add if you have to use better material or more of it. The $10/hr thing always seemed like a fair number but as I said this will change with experience so. Whatever you do establish a price and do not waiver from it. Do not start charging friends and relatives different prices because they all talk. I believe the numbers given above are fair. Remember too location and customer base differ from seller to seller. Good luck and get busy. I have a shelf my brother and his wife want me to make but have to put it off because I have so many other projects going on. I also know no money there to be made

my wonderful son works in computers outside DC. one of his friends is a graphic designer that is giving me a BIG discount because of my son. i like it more than the one i made. i haven't paid for the logo yet so i am only posting it for my friends here for now. ( printing at office depot $10.96) (he did not include the word "arts" in this first draft but i will have one with a black background as well and that will be the next banner)

Use rescued wood for the things that are just experiments anyway and have a BLAST! Somebody is always throwing away an old dresser or something else with a lot of real wood to use for the initial attempts. I use "rescued" wood for many things. Some local fencing companies will let you raid their dumpsters and some of what I get from there is totally new. It is just cut-offs and scraps to them; but very usable to me. Make things that you want to --"Just Because!" and enjoy doing it YOUR WAY!

Beautiful work, where did the pattern come from, RJ

Thanks

I hadn't tried compound cuts since I switched to the Pegas clamps. So, I stuck a reindeer pattern to a piece of pine (3/4' x 1-1/8"), loaded an FD-SR #7 blade, and tried it. Worked just fine. I'm with Kevin - we need a little more info.

Thank you ! Thank you! thank you! It's true i get excited when someone asks me to make something for them because it means they like what i do, but also because i like seeing a project go from start to finish. I don't know about the rest of you , but every time i finish one i always seem to catch myself saying, that turned out better than i had thought! As for the pricing ideas it gives me a base to work with now. ray johnson

You can't beat a bit of nice fretwork Rob! Very nice indeed! Thank you for posting, Bob

awesome job

Construction sites (especially remodels!) are great places to rummage for wood scraps that you won't have to worry about making firewood out of. Those big industrial bins out front (we call 'em "skips" here in the US, for some reason) where they load all the trash? Find a foreman and ask if you can grab a board or two, usually they'll get someone to dive in and start handing boards out to you! Also, old pallets can be good, if they're in decent enough shape. You can either pry the slats off, or use a metal saw, slipping the blade in between the boards to cut the nails. Then put a Phillips screwdriver on the newly-cut nail shaft (easy to find, it'll be nice and shiny), give it a tap, and that'll lift the head so you can get a claw hammer under it without gouging up the wood too badly. A little bit of effort, and boom, easy scrap wood for playing around, getting to know your saws better, and honing your skills.

Nice work thanks for sharing

You did good, Rob !

Thank you all for your kind words. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that has been so startled by a blade breaking. I'll go back to the saw in a day or two perhaps. I only use Baltic Birch as that's all I have, fortunately lots of it in varying thicknesses. I'd love to work with wood one day, but that's for the future when I have more experience and am less likely to make firewood out of it.

G'day Ray, I find that I "guestimate" the time involved in a project. I am usually working on a number of things at once, so an accurate time is not possible, or more like I can't be bothered spending the time to time the time taken . I have found over the years that there are a number of sticking price points eg $20, $50, $70, $100, $150 etc. That is if you can price under these, good, If you have to go above you may as well go quite a bit above. EG if someone is prepared to pay $50 they will in all likelihood not baulk at $65. I use roughly $20 per hour, it's always an under estimate, as I don't factor in time taken to purchase timber, hardware or travel etc. Then I have a good look at the piece and decide the asking price. As JT has said, make notes of the prices you sell pieces for, because you can bet your life, if you take a punt as you can't remember what you sold it for previously it will come back to bight you on the behind. The main thing is to ask yourself what you want out of the work, Enough to replace materials, buy a new tool every now and again and have a beer, or do want it to supplement your income?.

Well Ray, everyone is going to shoot you a formula of how to price. But for me, formulas don’t work. The way I price is, I look at it and ask myself, what would I pay for this if I wanted to buy it? I have been selling for a few year now and have found that customers don’t care that this piece is made from exotic woods and they don’t care how long it took to make it. They do know that it looks cool and they would like to buy it if it’s priced right. Now mind you, I don’t give it away. I sell my items for a good price, but affordable. I’m not going to get rich selling, but I certainly am not loosing money either. For the Deer scene I would price at $25-$35. The puppy and kittens portrait maybe $40 and the garage band portrait $25 unframed.

Great job Rob, really like it. Jeff

Very nice cutting, great results. Jeff

Stunning workmanship John, thanks for sharing. Jeff

My new box.

Awesome job Sasha. Jeff

Very nice work, Rob.

Well I decided to knock this out this morning. I want to thank Wayne for doing the pattern and also the other pattern makers that also made name patterns for me to try. This one seemed to work the best because of so many letters. This is made out of Oak and I made it 12 inches long and about 2 inches high. I think he will like it.

Very well done !....Nice cutting !

I broke a blade once, scared the crap out of me.

Love your boxes John. Your finishes are superb.

Very nice detail.

Hi Brenda, welcome to the Village, the friendliest scrolling place around. I'm Marg also from Australia and even though I hate to say it, maybe one of the longest serving members. Any question you need answered just ask even if you think its stupid because we have all asked them because we all started off just like you. I have a third of my husbands garage too. So pull up a chair and make yourself at home, you will soon get the feel of the place and where to post things. Marg

Thank you all so much for your kind comments. I'm trying all sorts at present. The Reindeer was done on a bandsaw because I'm a little afraid of the Scrollsaw LOL, I have a cheap and cheerful Scrollsaw that only takes Pin End blades so I'm limited to what kind of pattern I can follow. I tried this today, but I think this is the 'smallest' I can go, for two reasons, The Pin Ends means I can't get 'small' holes and my arthritic fingers locked up just doing this, so any of the beautiful intricate pieces that some of you do would probably put me in a sling for a week.

Nice job Kevin. We are our own hardest critics. I like it.

I forgot the Butterfly

I tend to pick something beyond my skill level but this is the first thing I cut out with my scroll saw. The little leaf is the first marquetry project.

Hi All, New kid into scroll sawing. I just bought a DeWalt 788 so I can make puzzles for my granddaughter. I've been into metal machining and casual woodworking for a long time, starting with building and flying balsa airplanes as a kid. In my metal shop, I have a killer lathe (Monarch 10EE) and a modest mill, drill presss, a Tormek sharpening system, several grinders, and a huge amount of tooling. For woodworking, I have no real machine tools (planer, jointer, wood lathe, drum sander, etc), just sanders (12" disc, A4x36" belt, 1" belt), a 1954 Delta floor model drill press, a 1960 Powermatic 140 (14") bandsaw, DeWalt 12" miter saw and quite a few power hand tools. I am also a bamboo fly rod maker. I had never really considered a scroll saw, but on getting one, I'm discovering an interesting variety of potential projects. I've watched some informational videos on scroll saw setup, blade types and usage, and scrolling techniques. My first project, in 1/8" Baltic birch plywood, prior to watching the videos is posted here. I bought a couple of boards of relatively clear knotty pine, mainly for practice and early projects. I plan to do some practice patterns to work on scrolling technique before tackling thicker wood. My granddaugher loves the puzzle and wants to color it but I have not even sanded the fuzz off yet. On that matter, I recently learned of sanding mops and watched a video on how to make them. I have a good assortment of the hook/loop sanding media (Mirca AutoNet, 5" disk and 2 3/4" strip) and am considering making a couple of grit levels. Does anyone have experience with making mops in general and with this sanding media in this application? I realize this question may be more appropriate as a separate post, so will likely do that as a first post on the general forum. Rick

Well seeing as this was my idea I had better show you my first 'project. As you can see it was a small one. My husband had just got himself a scroll saw and I had asked how it worked, he showed me and I was off cutting 'straight' and squiggerly lines. The next week I came across a book of patterns by Patrick Spielman and I loved the penguin, so off I went. I did a couple of others that day, a Scotty dog which I gave to a Scottish girlfriend (she's still got it) and a cat will a ball but unfortunately that disintegrated into about 6 pieces when it fell off the fridge. My little penguin still sits on the fridge and he is 19 years old now. I did some woodburning on him as you can see still no better at it. Marg