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Took a week off from work, since it was pointed out that I had to "use it or lose it" by Dec 31. No prob, more sawdust!!!! So I start in on a multi-layer project when the wife mentions that she was serious when she said she wanted me to make a large sign for the tortoise enclosure. Oh, and the daughter wanted one for her bearded dragon terrarium. Me pointing out that signs wouldnt' do much good, as neither tortoises nor beardies are noted for their reading abilities. So Sunday was spent making signs. Nugget is the Sulcata Tortoise, and Yuki (Japanese for "Luck", I'm told) is the beardie. Yuki: Nugget:

Haven't been doing much cutting this last couple of months but was asked to do this. I'm not a religious person and it's something I've never attempted before. It's 11"x 6½" + ¾" thick. Done with some pine wood. A Terence Thomas pattern.

Was asked to make for this company in Colorado. I made the wall plaque and after looking through some of their photos I made the Desk plaque from a photo of the entry way to the ranch.

Wanting to add to my Whimsical theme, I found a free stencil Image of “Squirt” from Finding Nemo. There are tons of Squirt Images to choose from, but this one was best suited for conversion into a Scroll Saw Pattern. The cutting fit nicely on a 9X9 panel which is mounted of an 11x11 backer. The cut panel is 5/32” Solid Core Maple Ply affixed to a ¼” BB ply backer. Cutting was completed using Pegas #2/0 Spiral Blades. Both the Backer and cut panel are hand painted using Artist Acrylic paints. The assembled panel was protected with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer. The Custom Frame is 1 5/8” wide Polar, finished with three coats of Minwax Pecan Poly/stain. While searching for appropriate images that would be suitable for conversion into a Scroll Saw Pattern, I ran across a stencil pattern for a Black Panther I just had to make. Way back when, my High School sport teams were the Panther’s and the team image was always a Black Panther. Since the image was always intended to be painted, I used 1/8” BB Ply for the cut panel which was attached to an 11x14, ¼” BB ply backer. Cutting was done using Pegas #2/0 Spiral Blades. The cut panel was spray painted with Krylon All-in-one Gloss Black primer and paint. The Backer was hand painted with Artist Acrylic paints. The assembled panel was protected with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer. The Custom Frame is 1 3/4” wide Polar, finished with three coats of Minwax Classic Black Poly/stain. For an update on my knee surger recovery progress, check my post in Coffe House.

Deer is 3/8" thick and rougly 8x10 inches, and made from QS Red Oak with a ply backer. Cut with Olson #2/0R blades. The humming bird is from 3/8" curly maple and about 5x7 inches, with a ply backer. Cut with Olson #2/0R blades. The Rather be fishing is about 3/8" thick hard maple with a ply backer. It measures about 11x9 inches and was cut with Olson #2/0R blades. All 3 are Sheila Landry Designs.

Got em' finished. Walnut and Maple. Final finish, Krylon or Rust-oleum, I forget clear gloss enamel. One for each of my girls but they can't get them before Christmas. Now for the next one. Just waiting for the lumber.

I used a Type 1 for 5 days a week and 25 years doing a full time craft business. All I ever did to it was grease the main bearing with Vasoline twice a year. I recently sold that saw after buying both a Pegas and a Seyco. The DW saw was slightly more aggressive but it is nothing you can't get used to. I sold mine for $300 with the stand and a foot switch and a small shop vac The Type 1 was made in Canada, and at the same time as Excalibur moved to Taiwan, so did Dewalt. The type 2 is also a good saw if it was made in Taiwan. Later the company was sold and when they began making them in China was when problems started. As to the age of the saw, of course the age is a consideration but so too is the amount of use it got. Tons of saws are out there that were only used slightly and then sat collecting dust. If this saw in question operates smoothly with no clicking noises, it is worth the money in my opinion.

Myth in my opinion.. which if worth absolutely nothing..

I hate cutting through packing or transparent scotch tape.. The dust sticks to the tape and obscures the lines to me too Rocky. I only use it if my pattern is a larger multi page one that needs to be taped together before applying to the painters tape.

Great pattern Jim, especially with what is happening in the news today. So many young kids killed in vain. My niece was over in the desert for 2 tours, THANK GOD she came back in one piece . Thanks for sharing.

Here is my first Halloween project this year - Halloween countdown calendar. Gravestones are removable parts. Project size - 7,5 x 6,5 inches Video of making Halloween calendar Halloween pattern

Thank you all for such good advice! I went with a Delta 40-694.

I have put the quick clamp on the bottom, also, and it seemed to work. I do not do fretwork, I do inlay. For inlay, feeding is not what I need to do so often , so I went back to bottom feeding.

fantastic job, it's beautiful

Beautiful work again Frank .Love the turtle. I have cut the one you did of the roses, now just a matter of the painting & framing to do.

My first year teaching in the late seventies I used Deft but it didn't take long to switch to shellac and poly. The students were hanging out in the finishing room too long.

The Type 1 was made in Canada. The saw would be about 20 years old now. Bought mine used, no issues, performs well. All tools need maintenance from time to time, depending on use. On the Type 1, the tension is superb, the clamps ok, table alignment and blade squareness are good. Put tape over the On/Off switch to keep the dust out.

Wouldn't know I did have type 1 worked ran smoother than saw I have now. I did have to dismantle it and regrease and put pegas chuck heads on it. I eventually sold it to someone who was frustrated with whatever saw they were using

Great work ,your Daughters will love this for christmas

Look great I don't have a religion but I made couple of Cross for my Family

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are awesome heirlooms.

Looks very good! This is my next cut.

Very nicely done.

It is a beautiful piece Brenda. The recipient will love it.

You did a gorgeous job of cutting a great pattern. Beautiful work!

Very Unique, I like it. Marg

Love your Mask Pattern, A Great Big Congrats on your book. Great to see you back.

Remembering my first day in Basic Training with the promise to get my first clothing issue the following day. And then the Sergeant saying, let's see how many of you will walk the walk, so you can have the right to talk the talk. I made this pattern for all of those who have earned that right.

The caps on those cans are the trouble. What I did to solve this was as soon as i am done using the can, I take the nozzle off and leave it soaking in a mason jar of mineral spirits. This solved 99% of the trouble.

You will have to move the anvil screw to the other side. Reverse both screws.

Could you not put the clamp knob on be right side?

I finally got my hands on some quality 1/4 inch BB and wanted to try stack cutting. This is a Steve Good pattern and was cut with #3 MGT. I finished them with natural and red pine Minwax followed by 4 coats of clear gloss with light 300 grit sanding between coats. I wanted to keep the thickness to a minimum so the backer board is actually heavy card stock that has been lightly painted (which seem to work fine). Hope you enjoy.

look greatI, hope your knee surgery went well.

Blushing is a condition where if there is excessive moisture in the atmosphere or even in the finish itself (think moisture in the compressed air of a spray gun set-up), it will cause the finish to look cloudy. The moisture gets underneath the finish and gives it a milky appearance. Sometimes it will go away as it cures. Sometimes it doesn't. I typically don't use lacquer, but am aware that it is especially sensitive to moisture. Shellac is as well, but the one time I experienced blushing, it went away on its own in a few hours.

Is there a specific reason you use spray cans and not invest into a cheap spray gun equipment? At the level of work you turn out and using spray cans you'd save a ton of money on buying the lacquer in quarts, gallons, or 5 gal. drums...LOL Then the nozzle issues shouldn't be so bad.. However you would need to clean / soak the spray gun nozzle in cleaning solvent from time to time. I don't do much spraying of projects.. but now that I have been using the CNC to do carving work of signs etc.. I need to seal the wood real well before carving so the wood is completely sealed so when I paint the carved text or image the paint bleeding into the wood is minimal or non - existent.. I've been using this stuff.. water based poly.. was using spray cans but almost a full can per 2ft x 2ft sign drives the cost way up.. nearly $13 a spray can or like $10 for a quart or $50 a gallon. I like this stuff because it doesn't stink bad but the down side is you don't get high from the fumes like you get with lacquer .. It dries super fast much like lacquer does maybe faster.. no strong spells so it's ready for packing in a short amount of time. You can get it in spray cans but I will say.. the cans spray well at first but these do have issues with clogging up the nozzle unless you have enough to spray that you use most all the can.. Even wiping the nozzle when done it like foams out the nozzle even after upside down to clear the can and wiping the nozzle.. so for this stuff the spray equipment is almost a must. https://www.amazon.com/Minwax-13333000-Polycrylic-Water-Based-Protective/dp/B000PSF9Q2

When all the grandkids would get together back in the day, this is where we would hang out. This is a Charles Dearing pattern but looks so much like the barn at my grandparents farm. It was the most fun right after the hay was cut.

I also use Deft Spray Lacquer and prfer it over other brands. Available at Ace Hardware. I have had blushing/fogging problems with other brands. I see in you pic you use Krylon. Although I like Krylon for their paints, it is one of the brands I've had blushing problems with. I'm in Florida with high humidity and very high temps this time of year. I do have a small AC unit in my workshop, but temps still run well into the 80's in my small shop. Of all spray finishes, lacquer is the easiest to use as it dries quickly and provide a godd solid coating after multiple coats. Spray poly is hard to use with a long dry time and is effected by humidity. Oils do protect the wood, but they tend to allow the piece to collect dust and really require maintenance coats ove time. IMHO, unless you use a quick drying primer and paint, lacquer for natural or stained products intended for indoor use is you best choice. My Deft cans do not clog (at least they haven't ) on me. The proper proceedurre of turning the can upside down and flushing the nozzle after use is a good idea even though I haven't needed to do that.

I spray most all of my projects with Deft spray lacquer and never have a clog. But I don't live in a humid climate and I spray inside with a temp of 72 degrees year round. Deft might be worth a try.

Blue tape is like $4 a roll. no way am I using that to cover anything. I use it as sparingly as I can. Just spray a thin coat of glue,. wait a few minutes until barely tacky and put it on the wood. Practice with it. If its too tacky, it will be a nightmare to get off. If you waited another 2 minutes it would stay in place and peel right off when done. Just a feel thing. I would rather practice this method than spend money of blue tape to be honest. I am pretty thrifty that way.

Exactly Kevin. I had a type 2 for 3 years as my main saw. I sold it to a friend almost 2 years ago and it's still purring like a kitten. It has never been rebuilt. I put pegas lever chucks on it and the front to back blade movement is about a 32 of an inch. I would rather have a decent type 2 over a type 1 due to the age factor.

I wouldn't say the type 1 is better than the type 2.. I think type two got a bad review because they move to another plant to make them.. during that process the very first few type 2's had some issues.. hence everyone was happy to complain about the type 2 being junk.. they corrected the issues and I had a type 2 that I ran for 6 years as my only saw.. I did rebuild it once after the first 2 years and used quality parts and grease and it went the other 4 years before it was starting to need a rebuild again.. that's when I picked up my first Hawk.. Anyway I've never had a type 1.. so I cannot say for sure the 1 is better than a 2 etc.. but the story I mentioned above makes sense because they did move to another plant and anytime you move a set-up you gonna have some bugs to work out.. apparently several saws made it through QC and into the hands of the end user with some issues.. issues were corrected I believe as my saw was a good saw for the DW line.. The issues was a alignment thing where it made the saw VERY aggressive cutting.. so much so that many couldn't even use the saw.. Now that doesn't mean there isn't a few of these type 2's out there and may be still circulating around.. That is why I suggest anyone buying a used saw to take a board and blade with you to try it out before you buy it.. I actually speculate this same thing could be the case with those China Excalibur knock offs.. That being said.. they have a tough market and competition for the exact same type of saw.. It can take years to recoop from a bad reputation... For instance the DW switch plants was like 2003 ish? and people are still talking about this.. I bought my type 2 is 2007-8.. with no issues. That being said.. think about how old that type 1 is now..

Nicely done and grats! The Beatles are my fav and always will be

very nice work, congratulations on the 2nd. place

Congratulations Jim. Plus top marks for your outfit. Marg

Way To go Jim, congratulations!

A Great Big Congrats on your Winning!! Awesome job on all!!

Congrats! Very nice work.

Well done that’s great news,you did a great job on all of them I especially like the wolfs well done again cheers Dan

I never bought into that either until I did a clock project for SSWWC. I was cutting the hands for the clock in Cherry which is notorious for burning (pitch pockets). I ran out of tape on part of it and this was the result. the burned area had no tape. I Never use packing tape. It is a pain in the butt to remove, and as others have said if you miss a piece and you will, especially on fretwork, it will screw up your finish. I currently use only the Duck brand clear Removable, shelf liner.

Here are some of my recent Christian cuttings depicting important events in the life of Jesus. Baptism; Behold the Lamb of God; Last Supper (backlit); Temptation by Satan