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This Sculptured Fretwork portrait of an Eagle Bust (my go to subject) was made from a slightly modified and resized pattern by G&K Woodworking to suit an 11” x 14” panel. I used nominal 1” x 12” Poplar purchased a Lowes as I did not want to invest a lot of money for any expensive wood as this was my first attempt at doing a sculptured portrait. The fretwork was cut using Pegas #1 Spiral blades and the panel was affixed to a painted Black 1/4” thick BB Ply Backer after sculpturing and coloring was completed. I would like to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to Dick Mira for sharing information regarding the sculpturing and coloring process. I was his support and encouragement that gave me the confidence to try this kind of project. This first attempt was a very big learning experience. The first lesson learned is that the choice for an appropriate pattern is very important. Since I'm not capable of making my own patterns I need to utilize those made by others, and since most are not made with sculpturing in mind they may often need to be modified somewhat. I quickly learned that the sculpturing process is not easy, requires a lot of attention to details and a lot of hand sanding. I also learned that the sculpturing and painting process is very time consuming, especially waiting for the finishing materials to dry in between coats. I also made a custom Poplar Frame embellished with some premade decorative trim. The frame was stained with Minwax Red Mahogany and the trim colored with a light coat of gold(ish) colored paint. The frame is protected with multiple coats of Wipe-On-Poly. Edit 12/28/20: It will be a little while before I upload a new photo. Decided to take some of the comments and suggestions to heart and work on the background. Edit 1/3/21: Here is my Eagle Bust Portrait with a colored bacground. I saw a photo of a real Eagle with a blue background that had fuzzy stars. Could not figure out how to make my stars fuzzy. The two coats of the blue poly/paint mix over the original poly finish took forever to dry. Then the stars, using a stencil and spray can white, and another coat of Wipe-on Poly.

well here it is all finished, my sons dad by day gamer by night from steve good. I had messed up the lettering when i was cutting it out, but most people who know me i seldom throw anything away that i might be able to use. i turned it into a picture frame. It holds a small school picture. since i dont have a small school picture of my grandson so i inserted one of my sons small school pictures she he knows where to put the picture. we printed out the dad by day gamer by night on the computer and then cut 2 peices of bb to size and glued the words on to it and then glued the words on the wood to the backer board. i left it unfinished as i dont know how well the print would hold up if i put polyurithine on it. now the back peace for hanging the pictures is made from the plastic that comes with a new pair of earrings. we cut the top off and lued it to the back leacing the lip in tack. then i slide some clear fishing line into the grove and put a dab of glue on the earring holder thing so the fishing line wont slide out. i used peaces of dowl for the frame....now i wont be on too much anymore because the bowtox shots are not working as well as it used to so im constently in mild migrine pain. i had hoped wearing an eyepatch over my right eye so it wouldnt get the light from the monter screen in hopes that it would prevent the migrine from gettig worse and its helping some but not enough i will try to look at all your projects one at a time inbetween the projects i am hoping to be able to do at least until the pain gets to bad again for me to craft....im hoping it wont get that bad again and if i work slowly and take lots of breaks ever 5 -10 minutes or so the pain wont get to bad at least not for awhile....oh well at least you wont have to read my rattleing on and on in far to long posts as often now... i hope every one has a VERY MARRY CHRISTMAS!!

I stack cut these 2 wolves and stained them differently. Cant decide which I liked more, so I thought yall might give me your opinion.

I dont know if any one will be interested or not but figured i put this up just in case. Im real big into recycling. Instead of buying the wood hangers all the time i use the pop tabs from soda bottles... all you have to do is take off the thin part that covers the hole and then you can nail them to back of plaques and pictures , just mmake sure you leave a little bit over the edge or you can bend the back a little so a nail or what ever can be slid into the hole ..... just an idea if anyones interested

I made this yesterday for my daughter and her hospital unit. Maple and Purpleheart. Pattern by Kathy Wise (free). I put the blessings of the hands on the back.

I would go with the biggest throat you can afford. It is easy to cut small on a large throat machine but not so easy to cut bigger pieces on a small one. Yes there are tricks that allow you to cut bigger projects but they have limits and they do take practice and careful planning.

New 3D pattern and project for pet lovers. This project is much easier than it looks. It was easy to cut and interesting assembling - I used dowels, but it can be assembled by gluing Video of making Paw project (YouTube) Paw pattern

Got the cross finished. The plans wasn’t making sense to me so I used my own measurements. Came out fine. Had to add half inch on one part and quarter inch on another.

I make Birdhouse Ornaments, small toys, and animal cutouts. I keep a box of small patterns ready, so I cut a car, truck, or animal when there is free space on a piece of wood. You can make some beautiful toys from glue-ups of dissimilar wood. I recently made a batch of birdhouse ornaments from bits and pieces of wood I glued together. Cut small parts to use on projects you make regularly. I had a small piece of wood perfect for those little birds on the birdhouses but not good for much else. I cut the entire piece into birds, so I now have a box full to use the next time I make ornaments. Inkscape is your friend when doing something like this. I set the document size to the wood's size and add birds and arrange them to get maximum yield from the wood.

Done the same as all the rest just different names an colors

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Thought I’d share some work thus far:

I make small one piece animals and take them to craft shows as "pocket pets" that sell for 50 to 75 cents. these seem to be very popular with grandparents usually they buy at least 2 or 3, one woman bought 10. I usually cut the 1 inch thick pieces in half and wind up with 2 animals. At one show a woman was having a dinner party and and bought 15 fo them and party favors for her family. It is an easy way to use the scraps and much to my suprise brought in a little money. It is also a way to warm up when I haven't been at my saw for a while.

I make small animal puzzles as giveaways. I originally cut these as giveaways at shows, but since there were no shows this year, I sent them as free gifts with orders from my Etsy store.

Toy cars, puzzles

1939 Graham-Paige Model 97 The Graham Brothers had started the Graham Paige Auto Company in 1927 after manufacturing and selling kits to modify Ford Model T’s. Even though they began shortly before the depression, the company was successful because of the car’s quality and their “Blue Streak” 8-cylinder engine and the introduction of a crankshaft driven super charger. Their innovative cars ran in many prestigious races including several French Gran-Prix’s and the won the Concours D'Elegance in Paris. By the late 30’s their original design had become somewhat dated and they hired a new design team to accentuate the current Art-Deco style of the era. The 1938 model was named the “Spirit of Motion” and the forward rake of the front grill and fenders gave the impression of forward movement even when standing still. Similar to the Ocean Liner ads of the period showing the upward view of the prow of the ship cutting through the waves. It became better known as the “Shark Nose” Model 97. In 1940, production ceased. During WWII the plant was involved in war production and eventually the company was purchased by Kaiser Auto and eventually the Nash/ AMC corp.

I think the second is the one that stands out the best. Good work on both though

I like the second one better, you did a real nice job on them both, RJ

I can see the second one better, so I like it better.

Funny, how different people perceive and like different things isn’t it. I find plenty of eye appeal and like the last three posters before me, I like the 2nd one best because I too think it “pops” a little more due to the brighter lighter color background. I don’t always like ragged edges, but sometimes I do, it depends on the subject and purpose. I like it here with the wolf myself. Nice work on both. Clearly a great example here of beauty (or not) being in the eye of the beholder.

Personally I have to agree with Fish & R.A.. the bottom one has better contrast. I also have always liked the ragged edges look on may things. I guess the rustic appeal is the farm boy background showing through.

That is hard to decide, both are very nice. I think I like the second one the most. Great job.

I'm kinda partial to the second one, myself, due to the greater contrast between the wolf and the backer.

DeWalt DWP611PK is the way to go. If you get the kit, you will have a very versatile router.

I like one first,,,, but maybe it is because of the board you have it on. If the second one was on a similar natural looking board,,, it would be a toss up to me.

I like the first one better.

I have glued together many scraps into blocks and made band saw boxes with them,

I think the term "trim router" comes from laminate trimmers, which were essentially small routers, originally designed to trim formica. People discovered they could be be used for other, conventional router tasks, and I think manufacturers began calling them palm routers. They now have most of the features of full size routers.

I have a Bosch "Colt" and have had it for years. Works very well for the small jobs I need it for. Mostly round overs and some decorative edging. Very easy to use and adjust.

Made presents for my parents this year. My mom loves black bears and my dad likes the 1950s trucks. The bear is a Steve Good pattern and the truck pattern I had help from one of the members here in the pattern request section.

Very nice indeed. He's saying "Here's looking at you kid" Marg

As far as I know there's no difference between palm and trim routers. Think of a compact router, 1/4" col-let. I have a De Walt DWP611PK. I've had this about 4 years and I love it. I'll be making a table for it this winter. But I've heard lots of good things about the Bosch too. And I'm sure there are others, that are very good. All of them can do light round overs, ogees, coves and beading profiles. If I were buying one today I'd, at least consider, a cordless model....especially if I could get one that uses the same style batteries and my drill and impact driver.

Don't know how helpful this is but here is what I use. The router is a small 1/4" router mounted on a small table screwed to a work bench. I do a round-over on lots of things I make. Table is about 16" wide. It works very well and takes up very little room. I think there is perhaps $130 tied up in it. Purchased it when I was turning pens from Penn State Industries. They sell things for turners but Rockler sells the same thing.

World wide friends meeting on the spur of the moment can't be replaced!!!

Go girl!!! You can do anything and it shows!!! Keep your work coming!!!

Good job Frank!!!

Another good choice of portrait!!! So nice to see, done by you!!

Well done Marg. I hope you can figure out how to upload more photos - would love to see more.

Compound birdhouse ornaments. Glue the pieces up to get 1 1/2” thick. I think the birdhouse look really cool using different woods. plus, you can make the birds that go with the birdhouse. All my ornaments are made from scrap pieces. Also, in one of the latest issues of Scrollsaw Woodworking, they had a race car that is fun to make. Again, I use mainly 3/4” scrap when I make them.

Merry Christmas to you as well @Dan And thanks for the suggestion/idea!

I've made a lot of refrigerator magnets from scrap wood. You could cut numbers and letters for kids to play with or seasonal designs like snowflakes, cars, sports themes, etc. I use neodymium magnets recessed into the wood. My grandkids liked to used the magnets on the table with one under the table and kind of drive them around. I even made a track on the table for them to navigate through. Oh, and Merry Christmas Jes!

I can sharpen the larger drills but 1/16 is far above my skills' IKE

More good looking ornaments. Marg

very nice ornaments

Nice jobs. Going by the names on a lot of your work, there must be a lot of Hispanics in your area. I've got a huge place in my heart for Latinos. I've been to Guatemala 8 or 9 times to work in an orphanage. I've seen what a lot of them come from. Dirt floors. No plumbing. Living in horrendous shacks. When you see their way of life with no real hope for improvement you understand why they want to get their families to the US so badly. I'd do the same.

That's why you're Amazing. You've probably made more projects than you have posts. Way to go!

Every year we make and send out an ornament card for a select group of family and friends. Thirty cards this year, we have been doing this now for 15 years. The highest number was 40. The ornaments are stack cut 1.5mm ply and mounted in photo cards with removable adhesive. My wife writes the sentiment. This one is from 2006. The second ornament is a laser engraving. My dental hygienist knew that I made ornaments and asked if I could do an image of her parents dog that recently died. I was going to try and design a cutting but I just did not have the time and I have never really done a fretwork design. Intarsia yes fretwork no. I found this pencil drawing that looks just like their dog, then engraved it with my little engraver on birch plywood. This was also my first attempt at something like this. I am very pleased and in return I accepted a box of exceptional homemade cookies. I look forward to hearing from her after Christmas, I suspect that there will be tears.

Great work! Those look fantastic! Thanks for sharing and God Bless! Spirithorse By the way, I think Keith Fenton of Sheila Landry Designs here https://sheilalandrydesigns.com/ seems to be the designer that really made these Word in Word patterns popular so, to support the designer, you might consider getting those type patterns from that web-site. Keith Fenton and Sheila Landry list them as Scroll Saw Word Art. It will also probably be cheaper and faster because I think you can get most of them as an instant down-load with no shipping costs. Don't get me wrong, I love Wooden Teddy Bear but, I'm on a fixed income and usually try to look for the best deal. God Bless! Spirithorse

BEAUTIFUL looking Plaques. I got into them years back (Yes do Craft Shows).... First year they ALL sold like Hot Cakes. Had 40 that year. Different words and sayings.... The most Popular ones that year were the VETERAN ones. Proud to of Served. Anyway yours look Great................Danny :+}

One Dewalt (almost dead), one Seyco ST-21, and one Hegner. The Seyco gets the most use but I am trying to get more comfortable with the Hegner. I don't have an answer as to why I own three saws, other than I enjoy this hobby! Keith