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I decided to make this for my wife's return home after 3 weeks away from me. I thought it just might be better for me if I made her a return gift, since I have been busy in my shop making requests and nothing for her. See, I really am a little smarter than you all thought I was. This is a Steve Good pattern that has a riser on it so that it really is not totally attached to the backer board so when the lighting is right, it looks almost 3D. I made another frame attempt to set it off. I hope she likes it when I bring her home tomorrow. Dick heppnerguy

Firstly I wanted to make just tractor, than added grass and fence, then decided to add background - barn and trees, so came out whole countryside scene. Tractor pattern Video of making tractor project

I’ve been busy over the past couple of weeks producing this group in between multiple doctor appointments, blood work, CT Scan, Colonoscopy and a short, but much needed, vacation trip to wine country of North Georgia. We had a grand time taking in all the Wineries. We drank and purchased a lot of wine over the 4 day trip. All the medical stuff is to do with a gastro problem that hopefully is resolved. The big C was negative. I’m told I just need to get MORE fiber. However, I also needed to get cleared for, in late July after another trip to Virginia Beach for family get together vacation, a scheduled partial knee replacement. FUN RIGHT? I’m hopeful it will be a short recovery until I can sit at the scroll saw and operate the foot pedal again. I presume the recovery period in order to be able to ride my motorcycle again will take considerably longer. Now back to bragging about my project. I converted the patterns for the following projects from various free stencils or illustrations available on line. These projects were made to supplement my portfolio to include pieces that may be more attractive to the local beach community citizens who frequent the Gallery that I exhibit in. All pieces are my typical construction using 5/32” Maple or Walnut Solid Core Ply Cut panels affixed to hand painted 1/4” BB ply backers. All cutting using Pegas #2/0, #0 and/or #1 spiral blades. All hand painting was done with Artist Acrylic paints. Panels were finished with multiple coats of Clear Glossy Lacquer. All the Frames are simple 1 3/4" wide Poplar, stained and then finished with multiple coats of Satin Wipe-on Poly or painted. Mermaid and Fish, 11X17, Painted Black cut panel affixed to a BB ply backer. Frame Painted Black. Crane on One Leg, 11x17 Fishing Boat, 11x14 Sailboats, 11x14 Sailboat at Sea. 11x14 Crab 11x14 Jelly Fish, 11x14 Octopus, 11x14. (The hand painting on this piece could have been a loot better.)

I agree with you. One time, I was out shopping for a birthday present about 3 years after we were married. I thought about how much I enjoy a tool for me on mine so I started looking for something that I thought might make her life a little better like some tools do for me. Then I spotted this really nice and great looking steam iron and i bought that for my bride, and guess what? Boy was that a mistake and every now and then it comes up in our conversation all these many years later..That is why I like making scroll items and intarsia for her. She has yet to complain about those. The best part for me is I don't have to go shopping in a store for something unless I know for sure she is wanting a particular item. Dick heppnerguy

Another one for the books. This was a request from a co-worker for her nephew. Steve Good pattern. Personalized the collar. Walnut craft plywood from KJP Hardwoods. The dog is poplar. Not sure what the collar is, just a small piece from the "garbage bin". Finished with tung-oil.

you are such a romantic thinker. If I did that she would probably wonder if I was up to something while she was gone. I do like the idea though. Dick heppnerguy

It's funny that this topic popped up today. I spent the day installing a window a/c unit in the wall of my little shop. It's only 117 square feet so this little unit will do the job very well. I don't have any insulation in the wall. Its just studs and T-111 siding. But someday I might hit the lottery and I'll insulate the walls. I'm not sure how much longer I've got on Mother Earth but I'm going to be cool when I need to be cool and warm when I need to be warm. I've got a little electric heater that seems to work great. It is fairly humid here but not like you folks in the north and south, east of the Mississippi. That's partly why we decided to stay put. We actually were thinking of moving over to the Phoenix area until we experienced a few days in hot dry conditions on our way back from Tennessee. Not for us. We're spoiled.

I was in yesterday and it shutdown on me. I thought " o my golly, I broke it."

Even here in TN it is hot in the garage. We bought a portable A/C on wheels. Cools off the garage nicely. Now I have the Pegas in the store, so no problem with A/C now.

I have small super quiet California air compressor that came with my Vortex F5 power carver. A very economical well rated clone of that is now sold by Harbor Freight. I don't usually go to HF for power tools, but they have stepped up their game. I think this would be perfect for an air brush https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallon-135-psi-ultra-quiet-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64592.html although I would step up to the 2 gallon for a bit more. A compressor with a tank reduces the pulsing caused by the tankless. Just my opinion. I rarely use my air brush since I do mostly one off projects and it takes me longer to clean the brush than to do the spray. I have an Aztec which I thought was great when I bought it.

I'm just trying to unwarp a board. I wet the convex side and placed weight on it. Is that the right thing or should I have wet the concave side?

Is there such a thing as segmentarsia? if, not i just invented it! This piece is actually all 1/4 inch wood but built up to look like it is a true Intarsia. I couldn't afford to buy, and in some cases even find the thicker pieces of wood needed to make a true Intarsia piece, so i improvised. the walnut is the only wood not shimmed up to give the different levels look. now ome questions i have: even after cutting all the pieces out when i tried to put them all together i ran into many that simply wouldn't fit together. i spent many a hour sanding and shaping to get them to finally fit. so what exactly did i do wrong when cutting them all out? I know this isn't exactly the forum for questions, but i didn't want to post this twice. thanks, ray

I finished another car pattern. This one stems off my very favorite automobile ever....the 1935 Ford. Ford made some design changes from the 1935, the following year but pretty much saved the best of the 35 and made a little different look to it. I figure, this way when a person bought the new 1936 it was recognized as a NEW car. Anyway, I struggled tremendously when I cut a detailed 1957 Chevy and was at my wits ends with all the problems I had with it, so much so, that I came really close to giving up scrolling. Luckily for me, I calmed down and finished it. This time I decided to have a go and hang in there and just get this project finished without loosing my cool. I did run into a major problem when a fairly large part broke off but I was determined to not get upset and not give up. I glued the broken part up when I mounted the car on the backer board and commence to make a frame for it. I made it with 1/4 inch BB Ply and made one choice that I wished I hadn't and that was to cut it with a spiral blade. I felt pretty comfortable the last time I used a spiral and decided that if I did not use it more often I would loose what little spiral blade ability I had worked to achieve. I guess I should have not done it on this pattern but I made it for myself so I can live with my mistaken choice, if it did not turn out to be a good choice this time. So here is what I ended up with and it is going to hang in my den with my 1935 Ford that love looking at daily. Dick heppnerguy

This flashback memory popped up on my wife's Facebook page this morning... 5 years ago today, my first craft event. Then versus Now... It's been an absolute blast and a fun journey. I wandered down to that market the previous Saturday, asked who managed it, showed him a photo on my phone of one of the puzzles and he said "Nice. Be here next Saturday." WHAT??? I had never done anything like this, didn't have a tent, tables... heck, I didn't a banner, business cards... or even INVENTORY!!! LOL But it was a great first week and has been amazing ever since.

Kmmcrafts, I don't want to get too personal, but would it be ok to ask how much business you do? I don't want a dollar amount; I guess I'm asking if you could hypothetically live solely off of your scroll saw work. You don't have to tell me if you do or not. You have a LOT of impressive items on your website. I cannot even imagine the number of hours you put into just what I see online. It would be interesting to know if it's a decent profit generator. Even if it just paid for your own woodworking addiction, it'd be worthwhile to me. Don't worry, I'm not likely to be competing with you at any point soon. I don't even know what I'd make yet. Or own a saw. Or have any ideas.

I responded to everyone in that last long one I wrote, I think. I realize there's nothing highlighting other peoples' names.

WayneMahler, thank you for your input. My problem with jig saws is simply that the unfixed end of the blade can (and often does) walk out from under the cut line. I'm actually pretty skilled at controlling tools once I get used to using them. I can take a jig saw though, follow a line perfectly on top of the board, the tool flatly resting on the piece being worked on, no hard pressures being applied, flip it over, and the blade has walked to find the easier cuts between the softer grains. (I assume this is what's happening.) The blade appears to be perfectly straight to look at it static. On a thin piece of flat plywood shelving for garage storage, it's no big deal. For something thicker that will be on display, the deviation can be immense, and devastating to the piece, so it then has to be remade. I admit fully that I'm probably not doing something correctly, using the wrong blade, cutting outside of the tool's recommended thickness or maybe the guide plate is bent, and no amount of adjustment to "0" will do anything to aid me. I can't count the number of times I've seen a power hand tool fall to the floor; as careful as I am, it's even happened to some of my own. Knowing that the guide plates on things like a $30 jig saw are made out of stamped garbage thin-gauge steel, (in my personal opinion) it wouldn't surprise me to learn that half of the tools I've ever used are bent in that way. I admit that maybe buying a $30 jig saw isn't recommended. Maybe it's all me. At any rate, I try to avoid jig saws on display pieces for that reason alone. That led to this thread. My main curiosity regarding a scroll saw is whether or not I'd use it. I can't ask that question specifically here. None of you can answer that for me, so I decided to be more specific and ask what else a scroll saw can do. kmmcrafts (thank you, sir) had a good answer there by listing a bunch of things I could make with one, which is kinda what I was hoping for without knowing it. While I honestly can't see myself making some of that stuff, they sparked a couple of ideas. I'm still unsold at this particular moment in time, but I will own one eventually, I think. I still don't know what I'd make, but certainly I could fit it in somewhere. I like to make wooden latches and hooks and catches and whatnot when I build storage spaces. This seems like something I could get way better accuracy with and make more complex machinations than I can even think of right now. I seriously keep it simple usually, but I've been doing more things like custom closet storage and whatnot, and having certain types of detail control might be nice. octoolguy, I envy your find in the $1500 saw for $250. I'll be keeping an eye on craigslist. I also agree that I probably need both a band saw and a scroll saw. The "made in USA tag is important to me, too. There's a lot of garbage being imported these days. Additionally, I simply don't know a lot of the brands that are available. You can't see everything in stores these days, and while I feel fine buying a drill at home depot, I know I should probably be more particular with something like this for some reason. Tomanydogs, I'm fortunate to have a heavy wooden workbench to clamp or screw the scroll saw to. Given the reciprocating nature of a scroll saw, it may not be enough, but I have tools and the mind to fix that if I need to. Also, I had considered the cheaper scroll saw carefully. I think one of the things that initially steered me away from it is that I thought I could cut thick wood with it. Although I know I can cut thicker wood than I should be cutting with one, it seems that scroll saw work is best left to 3/4" or thinner, and I've had several people tell me thinner yet. I never had any intention of ripping hardwood boards with it, but it's even more fragile than I knew. I had hoped that standard 2x pine framing lumber could be used, as I mostly do practical things with wood, but it seems that's even iffy. Here's a list of things I think I want in a scroll saw when I find. Can anyone tell me if I'm on the right track? 1. tilting head, not tilting table 2. foot pedal (I suppose I could add this to any of them) 3. the ability to take all styles of blades Is two-direction useful? I saw that on an ad. There's a WEN at home depot that specifically states two direction. I'm not going after the brand name, but if that's a useful feature, I'll look for it. OK, I write too much.

Great coloring to add some snap to the cuttings.

PS Wood machines sells a USA made scroll saw at the mid price points. I have no experience with them but I do see them from time to time really cheap on craigslist and other used selling sites. Hawk scroll saws are also made in the USA, but pricing is up there with those other high end tools. None of these would be available at a Home Depot or other stores as they are sold by the actual manufacture of the saw so no middle man to make money off your purchase. As for functional projects made with a scroll saw.. Puzzles, Clocks, Key Racks, Dog leash holders, magazine racks, Jewelry boxes, shelves, toy cars, I'm sure there are many more things. Not knowing where you're from but if around Michigan I have a Hawk that I'm going to be selling and possibly a Excalibur as well.

Those are some beautiful pieces that I would think would appeal to the beach person. Let us know how you do with them in the gallery. Glad to hear you had nothing major show up in those dr visits. Glad you got some vacation time in.

Beautiful piece Dick. She will love it. Speaking of mistakenly getting your wife a household appliance once, my husband made that mistake just once too as I recall. I don’t mind “tools” for my hobbies, those I like, but do not get me any “tool” for the kitchen, laundry, housework for my birthday or Christmas - those are not “gifts” for me.

I am in NC where it also can get very toasty. I cool my 660 sq shop with a window A/C unit. It has an economy setting and a thermostat. It runs 24 x7 during the summer and does not greatly effect my electric. The thermostat is at 78. Remember it takes less energy to maintain a temperature at a fixed level then to try to raise or low the temperature even 5 or 10 degrees. Now my shop is insulated including having an insulated roll up garage door. The other things AC does is to lower humidity which then reduces rust.

terrific job

I purchased one of those personal coolers at the end of last summer, but never got to try it. As I have posted elsewhere, I have installed a small A/C unit in the gable wall of my small shop. It is now tolerable to work in the shop for a better part of the day, although I limit my time in the shop to early monings anyway. If an A/C unit is not feasable for the Garage, I would suggest trying a very high volume exhaust fan to help cool it down. Then the personal cooler might help at the saw.

Missed this earlier this week, but love the concept and execution.

I live in SE MI and the temps are in the high 80s and low 90s right now. I really can't take the heat. Our central air is on constantly. I try to keep our house at 72 degrees. Our electric bill is outrageous, but we are comfortable and we economize on other things. I really don't go down to my workshop much in the summer. I wait until about mid/late Sept before I start woodworking again. Then I'm there up to June the next year. That gives me about 8 months in my workshop. That's enough for me.

Couldn't call it a piggy bank but here is a creation for my granddaughter, Camryn Rose. She was born on our anniversary 3 weeks ago. This is to go with the light that I made for her. Steve Good design. Used some thin plexi sandwiched between the layers. Not my prettiest work but not bad for designing on the go! It will serve its purpose.

Great job and congratulations!

You could move to Nipawin Saskatchewan, temp seldom goes over 75F we have AC in the house , use about 3 days in a summer.

Nice job! You should have "Love's Like A Butterfly" by Dolly playing when you give it to her.

Well I myself don't go down to my shop during the day, I am down there before daybreak, I suffer from sleep apnea, so I am up before the chickens, down at my shop by 4am and normally back up at the house by 9am. I do have a small fan just incase of warm mornings, like this morning.

Build yourself a little igloo with a couple sheets of insulation and get one of those portable AC units is probably your best option. My shop stays pretty cool so long as I keep the place shut up. But my shop is two levels and I have to say, I'd never build another shop that is single level. Upstairs loft is quite warm. Today the temp is 92F and the shop is 76F. I don't have AC in the shop. Do have if partly insulated and do have heat for the winter finally this last winter installed a heater. I am fortunate to have a large oak tree and a large maple tree that shades the shop from direct sun light from noon throughout the rest of the day. But I do get direct sun in the morning

Very nice and thoughtful too!

My wife does not handle heat well so our AC Billie out the roof. She has a thing that she drapes around her neck with two small fans to help keep her cool. The little fans work well. Some folks around here use swampers but would not work with your high humidity. Move to Colorado.

Be careful - she might like your thoughtfulness so much she will leave again just to get you to make her another something. Nice cutting and display! Clean design and good visual impact.

Dick it’s so pretty, anything made with love is the best gift of all. Well done.

Dick, you are a winner with that one. I like the idea of the riser. Nice framing too.

I have not found one coat solutions. For me it's spray, sand, spray, sand spray. That's a minimum for me. The first layer raises a bit of wood fiber. Subsequent layers are smoother. I usually have a terrible time with finishing. Guess I'm not patient enough.

Love it!!! I know your dog is popular, but kind of wood is it really? LOL

Pattern by blights69. Thanks Frank! It was a lot of fun to make. I was smiling the whole time I was making this. One of my all time favorite movie characters. Same goes for the quote. Thanks again.

Got my medical issues under control and ready to start slicing and dicing lumber again. But the Florida summer heat out in the garage is not helping. In lieu of spending a fortune in air conditioning solutions, has anyone just used those desktop personal chillers right at the saw to keep from melting? Not trying to AC the whole garage, just the 4 sq ft around the saw and me.

Have any of you made a functioning lock with tumblers out of wood?

Well I've fought the issue for 47 years. But as I get older the heat bothers me more. Since I can't move to Canada (Americans are still banned), concrete block structure built like the proverbial brick "s---" house, a window not conducive to a window ac unit, rebuild of the home AC at the cost of my first born, a split system going through the concrete at a hefty price, or a inefficient portable system which would mean reconfigure equipment (good bye drill press and 12" chopsaw) to even reach the window for venting. A quandary. But thanks for the suggestions guys.