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Made a couple of ornaments today for a giveaway at church. I made them out of cedar and didn’t put a finish on them so they would keep the scent.

I got a scroll saw to help my wife with a project. It is a used Harbor Freight model, but it works pretty well. I have done some practice. Right now it is in the garage, which is quite cold, so I am not doing much. These are two of my current projects. I can't seem to get the letters for the unit patch nice enough, so my son has 3d printed me letters I will glue on. It is from my old regiment, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The puzzles are for my new grandson.

Russ Beard created this off a photo for me. I think he did a great likeness.

Have been working on Christmas presents, and thought I would show a few here. The following are tissue boxes, in ash and cherry. Finished with spray shellac. Mostly my own design (don't remember where I got the pattern, memory ain't too good anymore). These go to family members. This is an Alex Fox pattern, one in ash, the other two in cherry. Finished with spray shellac. These go to in-laws. This pattern is from Fine Scrollsaw, sized to use 3/8" ash. Finish is spray shellac. These go to family. The next two are Steve Good patterns, using mdf and spray paint. The gold cross goes to my Granddaughter and her husband. the other goes to my mother-in-law.

This project represents some of America's finest avian wildlife. It was cut and carved from a large piece, 21" x 17", of chestnut. Minimal staining was used.

I can see the benefits of a pin nailer for this purpose and may have to give it a try sometime. I have a Porter Cable 23 ga pin nailer. I think the shortest pin it takes is 5/8" and most of my stacks are 1/2" or less, so I would likely only use it on larger pieces, where I need something in the middle to hold the layers together. The excess length could easily be nipped off and filed down smooth. Threads like this are illustrative though, of how diffferently we all work. There are very few, if any, one size fits all solutions to the various challenges we face. There is always something to be learned. That's one of the great things about forums like this.

I got an artist stool at Hobby Lobby last spring. It has a pneumatic cylinder and a lever like a office chair. The seat was hard so I ordered a memory foam office chair cushion from Amazon...comfy. Every 20-30 minutes at the saw I tap the lever and drop it an inch or so, just that little bit changes my position enough to help. When I get up for something I raise it back up and start over. It helps me a lot to vary my position, just a little, every now and then.

My name is Jim and I very new to scroll sawing. I got my saw in July and it has been a great addition to my little basement shop. I started out with some name puzzles for my grand kids and nieces. I also tried my hand at a silhouette of Christopher Robin and Whinny the Pooh to get practice on small and inside cuts. Next up i am putting together some plans for a desk top business card holder for my department coworkers. Regards, Jim

For figured wood, it does cut cleaner and I also do not need to be as concerned with planing into the grain.

I have that saw and recently experienced something similar.... The motor on mine was loose. I didn't notice it until I heard the "banging" noise. I took it apart, tightened up the hold down screws and no problems since. Other than that, not sure what your issue could be. Perhaps someone with more XP will chime in...

Everyone keeps saying that the smallest pin is 1/2", but I regularly use 3/8" pins in my pin nailer. It is an Hitachi, so maybe other brands can't use this size. I noticed several other brands that state the smallest they use is 1/2". If the project is small, I will just tape it, rather than dragging out the pin nailer, but for larger projects I like to pin in the middle to prevent sawdust getting in between the layers, which cause more fuzzies on the back of the upper layer. Tom

I bet it looks great, I just don't see it. Forget something?

Well I am showing some better pics, My Youngest Granddaughter showed how to take pics with my cell phone and send them to my email, Isn't technology Great sometimes. I have been making some Star Trek as you can see. Trekkie from Waay back. Live Long and Prosper.

Love these Nativity puzzles. 3/4" Red Oak.

RIP Ken, love your patterns

I think it might be aliens inside the saw.. when you took it apart they seen you and got scared so they ran deeper into the saw to hide.. You should just take it apart and leave it for a month so they have time to escape.

Boy you have that right.. I had a customer buy the guitar clock from me about two weeks ago and she messaged me the other day that she would like to return it.. she admitted that she should have read the listing.. said it's way too small.. I told her she could return it but I don't pay return shipping.. haven't seen or heard from her since.. I don't mind returns.. as I do want the customer to be happy with what they purchased.. BUT, I'm not paying shipping for something that was neglected on their part.. I've only ever had return request a couple of times.. and both times it was just on a cheap ornament or something that I said I'd refund but they could just donate it or ? as it's not worth the hassle to do the return.. but when it comes to $100 items that are heavy ( pricey ) to ship etc.. I can't afford to not have it shipped back, LOL.. and neglect on their part I don't pay for..

customers - I had one that said she loved it, but wished it was larger. Huh??? I have the size clearly stated in the listing, if you would only look! Or ask for a custom item like that only bigger. Just can't please everybody.

You guys are amazing. Thank you so much. Never occurred to me to raise the back of the saw but I will do that. I need to look at a stool. I have an old office chair out there and I could also LOWER the saw and make it so that chair works for me. I just started this journey and your advice is so much appreciated. So, now that I have some pointers, is there anywhere to buy spiral blades with t-shanks? I can't find them on Amazon and my google search was inconclusive. If not how good are the conversion kits to put a shankless blade on my saw?

I had to tighten the motor on the delta that I have at school. I don't remember exactly what the symptom was that I was fixing but it helped tremendously. Before I tightened it I could grab the motor and wiggle it back and forth so it was really loose.

It might bend the nail in the nose of the nailer and cause it to jam. They are pretty easy to unjam, so let us know how it works. Tom

Made this for a very good friend that loves Angels, pattern from Steve Good

I have on occasion used a staple gun when there was sufficient waste area. It uses staples down to 3/8".

I've not used pins before as I don't have a pin nailer.. back in the early days of my scrolling I used drywall screws in the waist areas.. used a cordless drill to screw them in.. but also back in the day I used 1/4 and 1/2 inch stock.. The screws don't have much thread grips for thin stock so it doesn't work too well. I could back the screws up so the tip didn't scratch my saw table. and could take them out and reuse for the next project.. I'd probably still be doing that if I had screws that's grip the last 1/8 piece on the bottom... I just bough a pin nailer from HF.. I'll see how well I like that over just taping around the edges that I've been doing for the past 15 years, LOL

At least you'd know roughly where they are, not have to crawl around the floor on your hands and knees for 1/2 hour and still not find them.

I won't say "no more than I use It" any more. I bought a drum sander this year and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't use it.

So you haven't tried the "hot dog" test...LOL. I would love to have one, but can't justify the expense no more than I use one.

I like having some place to put my knees. Also the crossbar is a good place to put the feet. Have the foot switch on small stool so I can use tall chair.

yes the sawstop is a beautiful machine, well worth the money even without the safety feature, i have a 3hp sawstop, RJ

Frank's suggestion of an adjustable stool or chair is the key. Adjusting the saw height is doing it backwards. Also do you have enough room for your knees?

I agree wiht Rolf IKE

I have the rigid 4516 and I like it alot. If I was cabinet building I would get a sawstop

Here you go. A Ridgid, in place of the DeWalt, saw in a roll around table. And as a bonus , by building the cabinet you can add tons of storage!

HI I don't make big stuff so I made a box shape, put pegboard on the top and stapled router mat to it, put a dust port in the back and I am all set. Way cheaper than grizzly Bill

I had a lighter spring, but it was too light... for me. The arm would stay up, but was too easy to pull down,,, just didn't feel right to me... so I put on a little heavier one. I like having the arm go higher...

The chuck on my drill press closes to hold the smallest drill bit (#64) that I typically use. No pin vise needed. As for a chart for drill sizes, I match the drill size to the blade dimension. Not all #3 blades have the same dimension across manufacturers.

Giraffe patterns and anything giraffe's, are hard to come by. Masterfully done by our own Master scroller BRENT!!!

I retired & gave my 40-694 to a son. Here is what I had to do; Remove the switch. Remove the tension lever. The tension rod was hitting the metal below the switch & leaving a mark. Pushed the rod to the side & filled a groove in the metal with a chainsaw file. That cured it for me, but not sure it sounds like your problem. jerry

What if you was to use the nailer over the anvil? would that help stop the nail from protruding? I have a big sheet of stainless steel I had planed to use my nailer on.. but maybe that wouldn't work? Of coarse I'd still check to be sure it wasn't going to scratch my table.. plus as you do.. I sand after drilling the holes too.. Excited to try the pin nail method when my nailer arrives..

Well done....

I have been ask several times the same question and I have to explain how to tell the difference, IKE

I use a tall stool and seldom if ever do I stand to cut. Here is the stool I use (liked it so much I bought 2) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I3ZRQM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fpw=alm I also tilt my saw slightly forward with a 2"x4" (I'm cheap) under the back of the saw. It's just enough to keep me from leaning too far. Another invaluable item for me is the addition of a lighted magnifier. This is one of the best additions to my saw setup so far. I have the HF one: https://www.harborfreight.com/fluorescent-magnifying-lamp-60643.html

Nicely cut. Too bad it is such!

no not yet and i have used it alot over the last 4 years, you have to be aware of what you are cutting, RJ

They want a lot of money for all of them. If you took out the blade break they are famous for...is the saw itself any better quality than others with like size and features?

I use a pin nailer for all of my stack cutting with rare exception. I use 5/8 inch pins. in the waste areas. For ornaments I have the four corners as waste. I don't do portraits but I do delicate fretwork scenes with the wood cut to size like what you do frank. There are always a few waste areas that are big enough for a pin throughout the designs. Any large project needs more than just the edges or corners held tightly together. I cut those pieces out last and maybe tape the edges before cutting the last two. I never use double sided tape, too risky prying delicate layers apart.

I always use glue sticks on blue masking tape to hold patterns. They are cheap and last quite awhile and I have never had any problems with the pattern coming unstuck. I have the same problem when using pressure pack contact, it seems to be attracted to me and I end up with sticky arms etc.

I don't want to come off as bashing benchtop saws, but to me, putting a 52" Biesmeyer fence on a table top saw is a little like putting lipstick on a pig. The fence is probably worth more than the saw. That said, I have heard of similar configurations, only a cabinet saw instead of a benchtop. It looks cool and very sophisticated, but I never liked the idea of a router table tied in with my TS. Space restrictions may make it desirable for some. I don't have a big shop, but I don't think that set up would work very well for me. We all work differently, so to each his own.

There was an extensive discussion regarding downdraft tables recently. Here's the link

Remember when you turn the blade cannot turn a quickly as you can turn the board. You have to wait a fraction of a second or maybe it is a second, for the bladed to "catch-up". Go to the line you want to turn at, add slight back pressure so you stop cutting forward, turn the board and hesitate long enough for the blade to catch-up and then proceed forward. Another thing I do if I want real sharp pointed turns, and I am cutting next to a waist area, is scroll to the line to stop, back the blade up and cut around so I can cut in from the other direction, to make a very sharp point or 90°. You can cut where ever you want in the waste area, it is not going to be part of the picture. I do the same on outside points that I want to be real sharp, cut past the turn point loop around in the waste area and come back to the point from another direction. If you can, try to figure out my picture below on how I would get "sharp" corners. #1 I would scroll to the spot where I want to make the sharp turn, back up and cut past that point to the horizontal l line and continue. I would do that on all places that need a sharp clean point in this one cut. After getting back to my starting point, remove the waste piece than go back and finish cutting the sharp point coming from the other direction.... On the outside cut #2 I cut past the point loop around and come back from another direction to cut the clean point. Hope this is some what understandable. I am not good at explaining and graphics. But remember, you object it to make clean sharp points and corners, you do not have to follow the line from start to finish, you can cut any direction you want in the waste area to accomplish you goal....