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Every year I take 2 - 3 weeks off at Christmas and tackle a "major" project. This year it was Tom Mullan's Galleon pattern. Turned out it looked a lot more daunting than it actually was, only around 440 cuts. Stack cut 1/4 and 1/8 BB ply, 15 X 19 inches and mainly cut with Sawbird 2/0 spiral. Jeff

My wife is always scrolling on Pinterest, and coming up with projects to add to her 'honey do' list. This Family Birthday Hanger comes from Sue Mey...Scrollsawartist.

I made this for a friend to give it to his dad for Christmas gift who he helps raise cattle with.

Second real scroll saw project, unfinished as yet. Cut as a gift for in-laws, they love hummingbirds. Steve Good pattern, 1/4" BB, MG #1 blade. Thinking about a brown acrylic paint thinned to a wash consistency for the fretwork, with the backer clear coated. Any other suggestions on finish?

I made these ornaments for our 12 old grandson cause he plays a trombone in the school band.And he is so proud of his trombone.

This Rocket Raccoon I made this for our 7 year old grandson for his small Christmas tree.

I made these dancers for our 12 year old granddaughter. She is a dancer.

We are still in Christmas mode visiting and hosting family so my play time is limited. I saw a high speed tool demonstrated many years ago at a woodworking show in Saratoga NY, I watched this guy just plunging and cutting into wood just like the video of the egg carver shows. I looked at this tiny little burr he was using and thought it was more of a toy than a real tool until I tried it. I was amazed at how much wood it removed quickly. I have wanted one ever since. The best thing is that early this summer I was at a yard sale and saw a couple of small boxes with a bunch of the tiny carbide and diamond burrs I almost walked away but each box was $5. I picked them up offering $5 for all of them. The person selling them had no idea what they were. I had only used a Dremel up until then and I always had issues with the bit grabbing and getting away from me. Usually destroying a detail I was trying to carve. I bought a Ram power carver that runs at 45,000 rpm, nice small hand piece, it is better than the Dremel but it still grabbed. I was surprised at how quiet it is. I plan on doing piercings on turned bowls and adding detail to my Intarsia work in those places that are hard to shape. I will post more when I do some real projects.

I made this for a friend that helps his dad raise cattle.

I'm like a vulture hanging above his next meal. Wrists on table, elbows hanging loose and prefer using just my reader glasses versus the light magnifier which is pushed to the side for the light only unless I really want to see something close. Good posture is definitely not my forte! Of course with being so close, large patterns run into my overstuffed belly and I have to roll the chair back a little.

I think mine are slightly below, unless I am cutting something real fragile and get tense. Then I think my shoulders are up over my ears and my elbow are as high as my shoulders should normally be!!

Nothing to brag about but...my wife wanted this sign for a table in our home entry way so here it is. It is a 2 layer piece, the front being red wood from Lowes and the backer board being 1/4 inch BB Ply painted black, that extends out a little ways that sort of trims it. It is a little hard to see the extended part because of the dark counter top I laid it on for the photo. Just wanted you all to know that I am not out of my shop all the time Dick heppnerguy

Finished my last two Christmas projects today. All I have left to do on them is sand off the 2018 date on the back and make 2019! Both are Steve Good patterns, the dark wood is Mahogany, the light wood on the Merry Christmas one, I do not know. Came from Ocooch Hardwoods. On the Happy Holidays one it is 1/8" BB

I was on Charles Hand's site looking at another pattern I don't want to buy..... and came across these "3D" patterns of his that I had not seen before. They are like the ones Alex Fox does. Thought some that do those would like to have a look. https://scrollsawart4u.weebly.com/specialty-patterns.html

I know it's very tasteless but was thinking if there was a knot in the wood somewhere in the forehead area. Yes I know, burning in hell for me

I love these patterns, but, they just take up too much of my precious wood to do one.....

Santa (Wife) brought me a really nice gift. Under the tree was a big box with a California Quiet flow air compressor to drive a Vortex F5 high speed carving tool.( 400,000 RPM) No it is not a typo. It is amazing how this little tool cuts and surprisingly quiet.

I'm with you Paul. I read what you had written and thought "That is me" Marg

Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun with the new toys. If I had room and extra cash I might take a look at you tools for sale. I am close enough to you, just can't walk around my shop without hitting something. My wife would question my sanity if I bought more tools.

My 2 cents worth. Yes the spring could be getting weak. If so take some length out of it by recutting it and putting back under the screw. Easy enough to do or find one probably in Lowes or Home Depot. Second the arm bushing could become dry and wont allow great movement. Take spring off and feel the tension on the bearing. Should be easliy moved up and down and if not then that bearings may need to be replaced. Third thing is and this could lead to your vibration thing too, is that lever handle has a tendency to float over toward the side of the arm and rubs on it. This adds resistance to that arm lifting. Even though it is metal on metal it still can wear. I will usually get a metal noise hard to describe when that happens but know what it is so just move over again and is good for many many hours again. As I said many times here before I hardly ever play with that lever and never had to replace and my saw is as old. If I change blades to a larger blade I will just nip some of the top of the blade and keep same setting. Only do I touch that lever is when I switch to very fine blades such as Jewelers blades. Also the vibration thing always check the obvious. Make sure the table nuts and bolts have not come loose. Make sure the 4 legs are sitting firmly and splayed properly. Make sure there is no small pieces of wood caught under the arms or build up of sawdust around moving points. Make sure all things are tight. Vibration can be transmitted many different ways and tough to locate. But a thorough check of things eliminates things. The people at RBI will tell you to do these things first off.

I guess I am probably in the minority. I adjust my stool so that my saw table is about halfway between my elbow and shoulder. I cut with my wrists often on the table and my face very close ti the table. I use 3+ reading glasses and use red patterns. I admire the scrollers that can sit straight up or stand and see what they are doing. Gives me a good whiff of sawdust too. Don't worry about sawdust as other things will get me first.

That's a real beauty - love those ship cuts - thanks for sharing it!

You are no novice to the scroll saw. That looks to be done by a seasoned scroller......! Great work.

So Santa brings me a new office desk chair, out with the old as they say. Out in this case is my shop, I was already sitting on a stool, fairly high stool that positioned me so that my elbows were just slightly higher than the scroll table. This old office chair will not go that high, elbows are below the saw table, decided to tr it anyway. Danged it I did not find it easier to control the wood being cut. So now I am curious, when you are at the saw, are your elbows below, even with, or above the saw table?

First scroll work, done for a friend's husband who is a lineman. Pattern by Sam Custodio, Pegas MG #1 blade, Jet saw, 1/4" BB. Finish color by customer request, framing design my own. In framing, I wanted to highlight the lineman aspect of the work, plus, I'm not a normal kinda guy anyway, so...

It takes a lot of wood to make one of these types of patterns, several layers...

Thanks for the link. That gear one has my name all over it. I am getting that one for sure. Wish he would make one more manly too without the hearts. I may have to improvise. I left him a note maybe he will do something like that in the future.

I unhooked the spring this morning before I went to work. The arm moves up and down but has spots where it drags so I'm guessing the bearings are worn too along with the spring. Will tear into it tomorrow.

Very nicely done Paul...love them both

A 40 watt laser is not trivial, and focus is very important. I used to cut silicon wafers at my job. We flowed Nitrogen through the nozzle to keep the oxygen out while cutting. The oxygen and laser heat changed the material characteristics. I wonder if nitrogen would eliminate the burning on wood. Anyway you made some good choices on the CNC also, with the addition of the touch plate and water cooled spindle. Excellent videos especially the parts about the laser safety.

Looks like an old etching that has aged to a great patina. Superb job!

Second scroll saw project? Wow well done. I really like the project too.

Welcome Jerry. Enjoy

Welcome to the Village. Glad to have you join us and look forward to your participation.

Yeah they are going to be running a big sale at the new year.. so is axiom brand... axiom is offering a tool box with the stand or something like that.. The $500 discount doesn't come with the water cooled spindle.. I'm in pretty good with the guys at the store where I got mine.. the one guy told me about all the upcoming deals and wanted to know if I wanted to wait.. at that time I was looking at the smaller $1600 one which will be right around $1000 starting the new year.. but the one I got is much bigger work table and the free water cooled spindle is a $700 value.. so I bought that one instead of waiting.. plus.. I was looking for a tax write off for this years taxes LOL..

About level for me or maybe an inch below. Rob

Just put this one together......pleased the way it turned out....its 24"T x 23"W.....this is for a good friend of mine opening his new barber shop Jan. 2nd........he had to do a career change after suffering a heart attack in 2017....I wish him great success & I hope this sign welcomes his guests.....has the local HS logo & colors (Red & Black....Fulton Steamers)......the white crackle paint has a yellowish tint to it to make it look more aged I think......comments appreciated as always....ty & Merry Christmas!

Something I found useful when I first started checking out blades (because my memory isn't all that good) was to buy a wide range of brands and sizes, then cut a wide range (actually, only the timber I usually use) and cut scraps into a variety of shapes. Note the finish and speed used for each blade. Label each scrap with the blade used. This provides a quick ready reference to which blade to use on what timber. Of course, years later I find I only actually use about four different blades

This is based off one of my favorite band's new album (Post Apocalypto) It may not be everyone's favorite but it was fun to build.

Well done...they all look nice!

Welcome aboard Jerry....this is a great place to learn the ins and outs of scrolling

looks super, nice work. jim

Welcome friend ,show us the size of your saw dust pileKeep coming back ,your family now so pull up a chair,pour some joe and make lots of friends here.Your verywelcome to be a regular and it's your turn to make Hors D'oeuvers!!! for us New years!!!

Oh this one floats my boat.I like to give our lineman one of these ,maybe more if stack cut.Thank you so much for the idea you came up with!!!

A friendly welcome from this side of the 'pond', Enjoy, this is a very welcoming place to be xxx

not only is it cut very well, you really added some interest to it using your obvious, great imagination.. I hope Sam sees this because it WILL make his page for sure. One to be proud of Dick heppnerguy

Fantastic, though I haven't a clue who they are... Tom

Very interesting way of doing this. I think the idea is really neat. Looks just like the picture. Well done on the pattern and the piece of art.

Guess it's a matter of opinion but... I like the modified Geometry better than the Mach blades.. Try a couple packs around the size you like.. my experience is that the Pegas seem like they run a little smaller.. I've never really check the actual dimensions of he blades to see if that's true.. But where I was using a #3 in a Mach blade I found that seemed like to me the #5 was a closer comparison.. Maybe just my goofy brain thinking that.. but anyway.. I'd get a package of a few different sizes to see what size works best for you..

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.