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Here are some recent projects that I have been working on. Some others still in the works. First one is an Intarsia piece. It is a JGR pattern. I left the star hanging off the tip off. I used Aspen and blue pine as I recall. Then this one is also one I just added to the scroll saw challenge for boxes so you may see it twice. The directions and the patterns for it came from the staff of Woodworker's Journal - Keepsake Box from Aug. 20, 2014 and was found here: http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/keepsake-box-project/ I used poplar because I had plenty of that on hand and THEN read that it is not a good wood for staining. (It's grain pattern tends to absorb unevenly.) I had it because that is what I use when I am cutting out Iggy/Harvey's animal puzzles and I don't "stain" those. I did apply a pre-stain wood conditioner. Then applied American Chestnut wood stain about 3 or 4 cuts. Then added a shellac finish. It turned out ok I think but next time will not use poplar when I want to stain. I am still trying to decide on what I want to put as far as a handle (if at all) and whether I want to flock the inside of the box, and if so, what color. Then, these are cell phone holders that I got the patterns from scroller online here: http://www.scrolleronline.com These still don't have a finish on them but I am going to be a clear coat poly on them. and finally, these are the latest "band saw boxes" that I have created from David Picciuto's book (I previously shared the first two.)

This is my first try cutting with one hand since my accident. Cannot make clean square coursers. John Old Dust

IMG_4332.MOV Among things I have to do, I find time to do some scrolling projects. The Chalet box I worked on through the winter. Highly detailed, I had to back off at times and re-focus doing other things.I adde I'm in the process of restoration of a Model T, also. The clock is a nice addition to my garage workshop.

Okay so yesterday I moved some things around in the shop and parked the new Hawk next to the others... now it’s the Hawks corner lol. I haven’t done any tuning. Of coarse saws come with a blade but they never say what size or style is in it, lol. Anyway release the upper arm and see that classic FD UR divot but also noticed the blade was bent so I remove the blade from the saw and also see the lower part is also bent in the hockey stick look. Couple turns on the set screws to get them in far enough fixed that. Should probably have been set up better than that but not the first new saw I’ve bought that needed this done either. In fact... every single new saw has needed this. Still feel they should have them set up better than that. JMO I cut this out ( Steve Good pattered ) from 3/4” saw run good cuts a little more aggressive than the other Hawks but I also haven’t done any tuning. The set screws I turned in on the clamps was off but I just wanted to cut on it and was limited on time. I broke about 3 blades trying to get through this project but near the end of cutting I finally started doing some adjustments. Since the original blade was bent I think they had the tension set too tight for the reason of why I was breaking the blades. Little more vibration than the other saws now that I’ve moved it but, as I said no tuning whatsoever short of those set screws. So far overall I’m happy with the saw, not too happy with the setup and wantnot that the company offers. It’s still limited use and everything but I feel the saw was well worth the purchase. But my experience with the company and the set up they do to these saws before shipping them out. I don’t think this saw is for a person that doesn’t expect to have to tune the saw. Something else troubling in my eyes is.. shortly after my first few cuts the tension lever started squeaking when applying tension. Not surprised that they never lubed the saw prior to shipping it either. I sprayed dry lube as suggested to all the areas suggested in the manual and the saw seemed to run smoother and the lever stopped squeaking too. I think once I get things tuned and everything set up I’ll really like the saw. Not to fond of the way Bushton runs the company is probably the biggest fault in the saw itself, Something I noticed right away that is different from the older Hawks that I don’t like about the newer one. The blade is out beyond the saws body so the dust lands in your lap and on the floor. The older saws the blade is back behind the tilt mechanism and a pile builds up back there instead of your lap / floor. Lol

Applied the finish to the birds plaque, spoon racks are done, cut some bunny napkins holder for Easter and made a nice little box. Real busy time in the shop, still snow and ice on the ground, so no rush to get the golf clubs out.

Got all this done last week. Put final touches on the on the weekend. . Glad the weather is getting better. Not much on television. Thank for looking have a great and safe day. Mimi

I enjoy designing and cutting all kinds of table top signs on my scroll saw. Here's one I came up with recently that smacks of nostalgia of the old days: The Village Smithy. You don't see too many of these around today in our modern world. The pattern is available for free on my website. Just scroll down to FREE PATTERNS page to collect it in PDF. I cut mine from a nice piece of curly maple and cut a custom cut wave base from the blank scrap. Might make a nice conversation piece.

Yea, I like to hit the flea markets myself. Trouble is, I don't re-sell anything. But then, doesn't everyone need 18 bench planes?

It's like Chicago politics, "vote early and vote often." "change blades early and change blades often." They are cheaper than ruining a project as if I had no experience.

This took up my weekend. A Mike Williams Pattern. You can almost hear the bugle of the Bull Elk.

Saw did pretty well....ran into an issue today, just before I got to the finish, where it was losing blade tension whenever I tried to cut. Disassembled and reassembled the saw, and whatever the issue was cleared up. Still have no idea what was wrong. But it finished the cut, so I'm happy.

you are right about the saw I had. It ran great but was way too much work to do fret work and just to change the blades. It was a great deal at $65 but I would rather work on a DeWalt or EX then the saw I had. I also believe that a newer Hawk is much improved and more pleasant to work on, However it also looked like the saw that is shown in the photo. If it is like the one that I had, I just wanted him to know that it was a lot of work to use, compared to the saws he already has. I am hoping that it is newer and better designed then the one I gave my daughter. It was still extremely better then the cheaper saws on the market and extremely dependable. Thank you for your comments, I do not want to discourage or be put down by my comments, but only to take the time to see if he really likes this saw and plans to do a lot of work on it, before he sells the saws he already has. Dick heppnerguy

Hey John, take it easy on poor Ray LOL. A quick photo showing a few of my instruments. More in the closet. But I still can only play one at a time! Blake

Yes that is pretty normal. The reason is the glue used to make it. All plywood dulls blades faster than "real" wood. Simply the nature of the beast.

The late, great Rodney Dangerfield.

Well if you are going to sell it Ray do nothing to it. Let new owner have it in good condition. You have tried all these saws. What are you looking for?? There is no way anyone can tell if a saw is to their liking with a few projects. Seems everyone like Pegas buy one of those. There is a guy on a penturning site who has 7 lathes all different. he just likes buying them. Only can use one at a time. Any saw will bounce on a plywood floor. Place some cinder blocks under it hanging from the frame.. There is a saw out there that you will like Ray and hopefully someday you find it.

Paul, I knew that. You are the chucklehead in this group. And I love ya for it. I was just answering your question. Keep up the humor. We all need it. Some more than others.

First off the Hegner is designed with that stand in mind so taking off the stand you risk adding vibration. They use a 3 legged stand to take care of unevenness Kevin so no problems there. That can sit on an angle if you want because again the stand is part of the saw and is all welded together. The Hawk is designed to sit on that stand and for the life of me can not figure out why Ray can not find a adjustable chair to sit in it Cut the legs down evenly if you want to lower it. But after you do again loosen the legs to let settle in the place you put it. These type saws are again designed with the stand in mind. The same goes for the Dewalt and it too has a 3 legged stand to accommodate for eneveness Very rarely do you see high end saws on a home built platform with 1000000 lbs of sand under them. Not designed for this. The $150 saw Ryobis and others need to be bolted to a heavy table or else they will walk right off the table. I have first hand knowledge of both Hegner and RBI when I bought mine this is some of the things I was told. You do need to splay the legs on the RBI . The people who owned RBI before this were so much better people to talk to and get straight answers from because they cared about their customers.

Anything that is good can be made gooder. Hy hawk is a 220VS Ultra so I have no qualms cutting or drilling on my Hawk. I just put a tray on the front of it. The tray is from HF. It will stay with the magnets mounted on the back of it but I don't want it moving so I drilled the frame and used a couple of 10-24 to mount it. The Hawk frame is very sturdy steel. I don't recommend using HF drill bits. I would not hesitate cutting the legs but would rather use shelf legs from Bushton f they were reasonable.

I've seen a lot of topics on this.. and researched it quite a lot since I had interest in doing some.. Anyway.. one thing about making puzzles that had stuck with me was.. back then there wasn't a lot of templates.. and the recommendation was to draw on the back of the project sort of a grid of the size puzzle pieces you want to make.. most jigsaw puzzles have slightly different sized pieces.. so just draw the grid on the back and free hand the pieces.. as best you can.. Many said they started out doing this way but after making several puzzles they could do very well without the grid.. Many cut the pieces along color lines and different color shades to make the puzzle harder to see on the photo and harder to put together too.. As others have said.. Steve Good has a few templates too.. I done one puzzle where I used a pattern glued to another plywood board and pit the actual puzzle as the bottom piece and then put a soft paper towel and then the piece with the pattern on top and taped everything together.. Turned out fairly well but did have some light smudging where the two vibrated together.. I always glued the photo to the wood and once dry I'd spray the photo with triple thick clear glaze spray... another light coat covered the smudge marks.. the marks was just scratched clear top coat.. I think it'd have ruined the picture without the clear on it..

I can do the basics on my phone. But for ease of usage, I prefer my computer. And, I spend waaaaay too much time there.

@octoolguy Ray - I only remember because sometimes I am on my iPad and its a little frustrating because its a little different and when I look for something and can't find it easily or quickly - like the birthday list!

Ray - gave same answer I was about to give when his popped up so I edited.

I second Iggy (Scott) is the man with the plan when it comes to puzzles. To give you some ideas check out this youtube video of his. If you're wanting to do puzzles from photos check out Steve Good's templates at this link http://www.stevedgood.com/puzzlebook.html

Likewise Kevin. I know JT thinks of me as some sort of "kook" but until I can get familiar with the two different types of saws, how else but to own them. I tried the Hegner and I liked the cutting style of the parallel arms. I started out with a Dewalt and since I had nothing to compare to, I liked the saw. I am not sure what you call that mechanism. I kept hearing about how great the EX saws are so I started watching for a deal on one. I found it. I love it. Then, after all the hoopla over the Hawks, I got curious as to what they are all about. So, I found one. I think that by doing my homework and becoming familiar with the saws over the years and seeing the changes/upgrades, I have become somewhat knowledgeable about them. I like learning. It's sort of a hobby to know a little about a lot of things. It keeps the gray matter at bay.

Thanks in the meantime. /aj43

Most times I post or reply... I look back and think I could have worded it better..LOL Sometimes I look at it and think what an A$$.. LOL I really don't mean any of my post to be that way.. sometimes it's just making a point or trying to make one... but reading back through a few days later sometimes makes myself wonder about myself, .. I've always said I like something about all the saws I have or have had.. none of them are perfect for every types or style of cutting.. I've mentioned many times that if I was primarily cutting thick wood ( puzzles ) I'd not use a Hawk.. The real reason I have to have all these saws...

No problem Dick. It is strange the way we all have the right intentions in mind when we put fingers to keys and write our thoughts. For some reason, the way they come out sometimes just doesn't work the way we wanted. I take all the comments here with a grain or two of salt because I know there have been times I've written something and when I read it later, I find that it really didn't convey my thought accurately. I appreciate any and all input from all the great folks here on this forum. Even though I've been hanging around for 4 years and I am still a relative newbie to the craft of scrolling, I think I have picked up a lot of great info and have put it to good use. So, keep your thoughts coming. Someday, I'm going to drop in on you over there in Casa Grande.

Everything looks great, nice work. jim

Think this is why I now have 6 scroll saws,

RBI land. Good luck with the saw. Continue to gives us updates as you get the thing dialed in.

very nice work

They all look great. I love the boxes on the bottom. Beautiful finish to.

Ditton on the 30 minutes here too.

I cut a lot of BBply and you do have to change blades quite a lot.. for me probably about every 30 min. of cutting.. sometimes more often..

Awesome work !....Love the boxes !

The Band Saw Boxes are Awesome!!!Love the phone stand Guys.And your Moon is Soo Cool!!!

I agree they do wear out fairly quick.I go thru a blade at least once every other day,I have my saw set on 4,tightness set just right,and I cut,I agree with you guy.the glue,the way the plywood is laid out.it all has to do with wearing out the blade.

You cut like you own that saw, lol. Great work you did here!!!.Just a heads up on your Wen. The connecting link in the back of the saw is what wears out first on the saw with blade adjustments in the back. I've ruined many a Chinese and other scroll saw like yours. I finally drilled a hole big enough so I could see the bushings on the top and lower arms so I could lube them. And then I got a Dewalt, And never went back!!!

Right from the top.......I absolutely love the moon, it's awesome. The box is terrific. I love the cell phone holders. As soon as I saw the patterns I had to buy them, will make them when I get time. And lastly but not least the band saw boxes, WOW, they look as if you have been doing them for years. So I guess all in all A+. Marg

I use FD silver reverse #5 blades and can cut for hours using them. I sometimes change for the sake of changing. These are my all time favorite blade and boy do I have many different blades. 1/4" BB should not dull the blade that fast. That is not thick. But do agree that any plywood will dull a blade quicker than some hardwoods because of the glue and the orientation of the plys. Grain runs different on each layer.

That Hegner that I had shook like a "dog.." well you get the idea. Anyway, on the plywood floor of my shop, there was just too much spring in the wood. Once I put a piece of carpet under it, most of the vibration went away. If it hadn't have been for the speed problem, I'd have kept that saw. I hated to get rid of it but I know there will be another down the road.

@kmmcrafts the Hegner I have is mounted on a Hegner stand and it was highly recommended by Advance Machinery that that stand be used. It is a solid stand, welder together, so no settling possible. I have it because paying that much for a Hegner, I was not going to argue with them or take any chances, but, I am not sure it really needs to be on a Hegner stand. I see pictures of them mounted on home built stands and the ones that I have see so mounted, the owners do work far superior to me. Fiona Kingdon for instance. Her's looks like it is mounted at a pretty radical angle on a wedge shaped stand that sits on a bench.... Who am I to argue with her. I just watch in awe!

I knew why you ask Hawk owners. Please always take my post as being light hearted rubs. I scroll for fun, I come here for fun and take nothing too serious. I know there are those that say you have to stick with the saws stand. They may be correct. I never had my DeWalt on the stand that came with it nor my Excalibur so I cannot compare. The cabinet stand I have is not supporting it's third saw. I do have a 60+lb of sand in the bottom of the cabinet. Does not vibrate enough to bother me.

I know I am guilty of the "I can make that" comment to my wife when walking around different shows. Getting ready to retire soon so I won't have the "I don't have time" excuse. I never thought about the seller's or their reaction to that comment. As one of "those" I would like to apologize to all and am ready to start making my own.

Boy I heard all these stories about lasers many times. I also heard the I can make that many times too and have offered to send them the patterns if they want to try. But no responses after that. I wish I had a nickle for every time a person touched the fruit baskets I make and tell me how different and nice they are but walk on. That was always a running gag in my booth. I even got the vendor next to me keeping score at one time too. Then I get the people telling the person next to them they collapse and I would have to explain they do not and are cut from individual pieces. You become immune to these things after awhile. People have no idea at what they are looking at most of the time. I do not explain anything unless asked these days. Waste your breathe. There are people and usually guys who will strike up a conversation about woodworking. People look at prices and at times I hear the too high quote especially when looking at my pens. I have to remind them all is hand made. Today with lasers and 3D printers it is testing the boundries of hand made items for sure.

Then you have people that don't know the other side of the coin... My older brother went to a show and he's not up on the woodworking stuff.. he knows scroll saw stuff but that's about the extent of it.. He was telling me some guy had all kinds of nice stuff but the edges was all burnt.. then he laughed and was talking about how the guy must be running his saw way too fast trying to make all of that stuff.. he was like every piece he had was burnt edges.. Then I had to educate him about lasers, LOL A properly set up laser.. these days can cut and only slightly darken the edges.. they are getting these things tuned in so good that they are starting to be hard to tell if it's laser cut or scrolled.. I haven't even fired my laser yet but I've been following a guy that worked with lasers most his career.. retired now and has a cheap laser to toy around with.. his videos are so informational.. Hoping to fire it and my CNC up late spring early summer..Since I haven't even unboxed these two machines yet.. but did unbox and set up my Hawk scroll saw... you can see where my interest really is.. I'm only toying around with these two machines to just learn them.. that is... if I ever open the boxes, LOL

This conversation is had at my booth numerous times. Even when you tell some of the people it is done by a Scroll Saw the roll their eyes and say sure it is.

New to the Village. Haven't even introduced myself yet, but can share a tip I learned from other scrollers about preventing acrylics and other plastics from melting and rebonding after the cut. The trick is to cover the areas to be cut with clear packaging tape. I probably overdo it by taping top and bottom. The tape acts as a lubricant for the blade. Works like a charm. Can't remember which blades I used - probably a Flying Dutchman Polar #3. Whenever I needed help with what blade to use, I always got good advice from Mike's Workshop where I also get my FD blades. aj43 from Cincy.

Yep, takes both. The arm is slotted for pinned blades, and has two adapters you can clamp on the end, then hook over the arms. There's an Allen wrench you use to loosen/tighten the adapters (I cannibalized a fridge magnet for the magnet itself, and use that to help keep track of the wrench). One little quirk, the tensioning issue returned today, cutting into 1/2" whiteboard from Lowes, probably only a step-n-a-half above cutting into balsa wood. So I knew it wasn't that the board I was using previously was too thick. I did a lot of Googling, found nothing (Wen's site is horrible....you can find all sorts of "hey, our products rock! Here's a rah-rah page we wrote about it!", but NO Support links or FAQ's or forums. Their 800 number is Mon-Fri 8-5 only, which sucks cuz I have a full-time job that DOESN"T involve a scroll saw or any other Wen products. I did a bit more tinkering, and discovered that the post the locking lever sits on....appears to be threaded somewhere in the bowels of the saw. Some quick righty-tighty-lefty-loosey, a bit of fine-tuning to keep from popping the blades off from over-tension, and I'm back to cutting again. Its not a bad saw, it has a lot of nice features that my old Dremel didn't have (like....everything), it cuts well....just keep an eye on that post. Here's the stained/varnished product: