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F-bomb pattern available in the library. I resized these to fit two to a page, which seemed to work out well.

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)

I designed the big bear several years ago and it was not a popular seller so I discontinued it. Then someone suggested an addition! So now we have bear and cub. We'll see how that sells at our next show in Georgia bear country. It's about 11" long and cut from walnut.

A bit fishy today out in the shed first of all half a dozen fish puzzles then to finish of the evening Jonah and the whale puzzle

My wife wants me to make her some hair clips. This is not the one I made, mine is in the shop bending. The one I made looks just like this out of purple heart. Does anybody have any tips for bending wood?

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

Had this pattern hanging around for a while so I finally decided to cut it out. It's 1/4 inch B/B with 1/8 B/B backer. Sprayed the front with gloss enamel. Measures around 9 x 10. I may hang it just the way it is. Found this pattern online.

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

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.

You said you had offers. How much did they offer? I can tell from experience with puzzles that "whimsical" sells. I think cartoons would be a good seller but then you need to consider the copyright factor unless you design your own. I have purchased images for small change and use them for puzzles. Just need to check out their licensing agreements and make sure you can sell what you make. Best advice of pricing: charge what the market will bear. Mr Market knows all. I know that's not much help but you will just have to test the waters. bb

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

I always jump when a blade breaks and I have broken more than my fair share over the years. What makes me jump more is when I'm lost in my scrolling with a good old Country CD playing and my wife or Grandson come into the shed and talk or touch me. I leave my boots behind

Nice work. Looks impressive. Pricing has been discussed many times. I base mine on time spent and time to draw it up plus a marginal cost for materials.

Ray nice work. I will give you an idea of keeping track of time. I did for a time when I first got started keep track of time because everybody liked the work and asked HOw long did that take. So I had a foot switch for the saw and used a triple plug on the saw and switch and a electric clock. The clock would stop and go when the foot switch was depressed. Problem is to remember to write it down before diving into the next project. I stopped that and do what others have said. Sorry but on real involved work you won't get a good hourly wage anyway.

Ben down but not out.Finally a job came in.I made the 36" x20 something, and thru in the marriage plaque!

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.

Toss one of them on the table during your next departmental meeting and then announce your retirement.

Ya, John, I have that problem.... finally got my with trained to warm me when she is approaching. I wish others would let me know also. It can be dangerous some times.

Okay makes sense I suppose.. Maybe you got a defective holder? I would think they would have you go through a series of adjustments to try before sending you another set.. could be the saw is out of wack.. could be the screws slipping and need cleaned.. blades come with a oil film on them to keep them from rusting.. that il can build up on the thumb screw or set screw and cause these things.. Hopefully the new set will get things working correctly.

The mentality of pricing something as to how much "YOU" would pay is a poor business decision.. because the market might pay much more than what "YOU" think it's worth.. Some people can go to a dollar store and say the prices are too much.. while others can go to a high end shop and say the prices are too cheap... there are people that value cheap prices as cheap junk.. and there are people that value those cheap prices.. then there are people that say they wouldn't pay that much for something.. then there are people that will brag about how much they paid for something as if they are rich and bragging about it... I have a relative that makes good money.. he values things by the price tag anywhere he shops.. he looks for the high priced things.. The same person that bought a pair of $750 sunglasses.. and was gloating about how expensive they are to everyone on a vacation trip we took together.. he talked about them our whole trip and how much they are.. their made of x material and are unbreakable.. hands them to everyone and says.. bend them up try to break them.. don't worry they have a 5 year warranty not to break.. I had to laugh when we went tubing and he lost them in the river.. asked what kind of warranty they offer for them being lost.. I did a test a few years ago with my relative on the pricing theory.. I made two ornaments ( same pattern.. also same material ) just for kicks.. I stained one of them.. with walnut stain.. I showed both to him and said which one do you like best and you can have it.. I could see he was liking the stained one better.. ( every time he sees things made of walnut he loves that wood partly because he has heard it is somewhat pricey wood ) )he said he liked the stained one but liked both.. he asked about what kind of wood they was.. I explained that the stained one is just some cheaper plywood but I liked the coloring of it.. but the other ( unstained one ) was a rare plywood called Baltic Birch and is kind of expensive.. He really liked the stained one but because of the story behind the plain one he chose that one.. My point here is... sometimes.. showing confidence and knowing how to sell something and what kind of info you give on a piece is what make a sale.. My father use to say a good salesman could sell a rock for $20 dollars and a bad salesman can't even give it away.. Just thinking back to the days of the pet rocks, Not saying you should lie about your items.. but how you present them and how YOU show the value of them can determine a higher or lower price. That all being said.. my family and friends I tell them how much I sell them for.. and that.. they can pay the price - 20% from the website.. or if/when I get time I can make it for them for free in my spare time ( which I almost never have on purpose ) .. The time I spend making them something for free is the same time i could be making something else for money.. so they either pay up or don't get it.. forget about it or whatever.. Personally I pay myself a set amount per hour wage..and since it's a skilled trade and takes expensive tools to make my items I don't mean a minimum wage type of hourly rate either.. I set my prices based on this hourly wage.. then I mark it up from there as to supply / demand.. obviously materials etc.. are also factored in.. I started off real low priced.. gradually learned that it was too low priced.. also leaning that sometimes higher priced sells better than cheap priced.. I just raised a lot of my prices a few weeks ago in hopes of slowing sales down slightly... it did just the opposite.. and each time I've done this.. has had the same effect..I may be raising prices slightly again.. last one was a big jump.. every clock went up by $10 and thinking of adding another 10.. they was on the low end of pricing for me to make my money anyway.. and selling cost for the web site etc have increased etc..

nice job

Hey Ray. That's nice work. I don't want to hijack your message thread too much but where did you get the second pattern?

Those are neat thanks for sharing

Neat !...Thanks for sharing !

Brenda, here is one type of blade clamp that just hooks onto the pinned blade clamp. Can be a bit fiddly for some people, but you could leave something like this for those small holes and use the pinned for all the rest. Bob

Cool.Fantastic job!!

This is from a pattern kindly made for me by Don in Brooklyn. Ontario that is. 1/2" Poplar, #5 Pegas.

Absolutely Fabulous. She will always treasure it. Marg

Finished this pattern from Steve Good.

Funny!

This pattern is by Scrollriffic (Bobby) once again. The Sydney Swans are part of the AFL (Australian Football League) and red and white are their colors. I cut the sign from 1/2 inch pine and 3mm hoop pine ply. Marg

Great job Marg. The colors are soo striking.

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

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.

My new box.

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.......

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

Yeah, mine are just simple little puzzles. They don't count as "projects".

Break a leg. If my wife shows up don't sell her any. They are on my to do list and they will be done some day. LOL

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.

Its plastic spoon

Holy guano Batman!!!! It is taking almost all my free time to shoot for 150 projects to take and hope to sell at my first show. I can't even wrap my head around 500-600! My hope for you is to sell all you take over the 2 shows.

Good luck Iggy. You'll do great like always.

I hope you do awesome at the show! With 2 hrs of sleep at night you should be well rested and continue to crank out puzzles.

I'm not sure whether to thank you or to condemn you! Good news, the front of my map is completely sold for 2019 as of this morning! Only a few spaces remaining on the back and I have plenty of time to sign businesses for my Pleasure Island Guide. Selling out the front of the map was a big milestone in just a few days of selling.

Hope the sale goes better than you expected.

Marg,Super Fantastic job!!Love the colors.

Good luck Scott, hope the weather is kind to you. Marg

They are making it right... I received this email overnight (1:10am to be precise). Well done Vistaprint. ==== Dear Scott, I apologize if the business cards you received was too dark. Allow me to check this for you. I did my investigation and checked the image that you sent, I have verified that it was our error and we take full responsibility. The mistake was due to machine error that should have never happened. I would love to make this right for you as we do value your business. I went ahead and processed a free replacement of your business cards. Your new Order number is scheduled to arrive on or before July 16, 2018. You may also have the option to review the details of the replacement on your Vistaprint account by clicking Order History. A separate email confirmation will be sent as your reference, you will not be required to return the business cards as we value your time and effort. I appreciate you gave us a chance to fix it for you. We don't wish anything but the satisfaction you get with our products and service. Sincerely Mel Customer Care Specialist