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I was able to complete a couple commission projects as well as hot dogs on the grill Saturday and Grinder sandwiches on the grill for Memorial Day. The two commissions were 1/4 pine plywood cut and painted black to make a silhouette. The backer for the silhouette is natural stained 1/4 Maple ply. These were made into 8 1/5 X 11-inch toppers for welcome signs that had already been purchased. They were both sealed with clear gloss with light sanding between each of five coats. Both pieces were cut from modified Steve Good patterns. The butterfly and flower piece, also a Steve Good pattern, was just for fun after cutting the more complicated old truck from the Americana series. The cut piece is 1/4 Maple and the backer is 1/4 pine. The paint is acrylic artist paint. The piece is also sealed with about five coats of clear gloss with a light sanding between coats. It is approximately 8 X 10 inches. By the way, the hog dogs and Grinder sandwiches were great! Hope everyone in the states had a restful and enjoyable Memorial day.

After two weeks of vacation in the New Orleans French Quarter I have finally got back into the shop and finished and framed these two Projects. I found this nice illustration of a Kingfisher that was an easy conversion. It is an worthly addition to my group of Bird Art pieces. Cut panel is 5/32”x9”x12” Solid Core Maple affixed to a 1/4”x11”x 14” BB Ply Backer. The Backer was hand painted with Artist Acrylic Paints. Cutting was completed with Pegas #1 Spiral Blades. Assembled panel was protected coats of Deft Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer and mounted in a 1 ¾” wide Poplar Frame Finished with Minwax Water Based Classic Black Wood Finish Stain and protected with Multiple coats of Minwax Polycrylic Finish. This Scroll Saw pattern is my layout of various free tropical Fish stencils I found on-line. The Cut Panel is a 5/32”x14”x 11” Solid Core Birch panel selected for the grain that had the feel of water. The ¼”x14x11” backer is BB Ply that was hand painted with Artist Acrylic Paints. Cutting was completed with Pegas #2/0 Spiral Blades. Assembled panel was protected coats of Deft Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer and mounted in a 1 ¾” wide Poplar Frame Finished with Minwax Water Based Royal Pine Wood Finish Stain and protected with Multiple coats of Minwax Polycrylic Finish. As always, comments and critiques welcome.

Finally got these finished in time for my sale on Thursday. Framed with cheap frames because I have no idea how to make frames! lol! Colour is just scrap booking paper taped to the back. The wood is craft mdf plywood from KJP Select Hardwoods.

Finished this up yesterday...only my second scrolling project... 3/4" clear pine

Got another multi-layer project going, and have been stuck on the detailed mandala portion of it for a while now (lots of tiny cuts, lots of repetition, and ....bleh....lots of family drama that limits the daily available sawdust time). So, since this was a long weekend and we obligated ourselves to stay home and save money, I managed to get in a lot of sawdust. Finished off the mandala, finished another layer (this one is 7 or 8 layers, IIRC), then decided I needed a quick project that could be finished relatively easily. I'm always in need of bookmarks, so another pair it is. While cutting, it occurred to me that my wife has some epoxy/resin left over from another project she did, so I'm going to take one of these and give the resin fill another try. If it works out, it'll mean I don't have to worry about delicate cuts getting crushed or smashed or broken while marking my place or while in my backpack. Stains are Minwax "Early American" and "Honey". Wood is some oval craft-stick type I found at Hobby Lobby, not 100% sure the brand or item number.

I did this Portuguese water dog a couple of years back as a Christmas gift. I have another Travis pattern that I want to get to as well.

Jim Blume's Americana 12 pattern cut using 1/4 Oak ply stained with Minwax natural with watercolor on the truck. The backer is 1/4 underlayment simply painted gloss black. The cut piece and backer were sprayed with 5-coats of clear giving a light sanding between coats. The frame is a rough-cut gray wash which is actually picture frame material I've had for some time. I stack cut this using Pegas #2/0 spiral blades. The second piece just needs a couple more coats of clear and I should post a picture of it tomorrow. Thanks, Jim, for the fantastic pattern! It was really a fun piece to cut and I'm looking forward to cutting more in the Americana series... but first I have a few commissions and I plan on tackling the six-team stagecoach. I will add that if anyone hasn't tried to cut a complicated piece such as this, I would highly recommend using this pattern. There were only a couple delicate spots and they were not bad at all.

My Wife knows someone that is retired and works at the local Ingles supermarket as a bagger that recently sold his 1969 Camaro Supper Sport. He says he still misses it. I found a pattern on the internet and added some bridges and cleaned it up and started cutting. Definitely have to sequence my cuts because things can get fragile and a little floppy. The cutout of the Camaro and SS text came out in one piece and attached it to a board. We’ll surprise him next week when he's back to work. Go figure, 2 Camaros in the last 2 weeks!

Hey Chris, thanks for the question. I use various size Artist Brushes to apply and blend the Artist Acrylics. When I have a border coler (like the Kingfisher) or if the background is a soild color I will use rattle can paint, ususally Krylon, or Stain as appropriate. When I do the Hand painting I will most often apply an Acrylic GESSO (a primer that smooths and preps the wood surface) to the backer before applying the colors. GESSO comes in both brushable and rattle can spray. I will most often use printed copies of the cut pattern as stencils to locate the various colors more accurately, and even then there are overlaps and missed spots that have to be delt with. I'm not a true artist that works in Acrylics, but I have learned one thing about applying and blending Acrylics. you have to work light to dark. It almost impossible to lighten up an area if a dark color has be applied first. And, just an aside, I have purchased a decent air brush kit and acessories almost a year ago with applying sprayable acrilics in mind. However, I have yet to put it to use, I know I addded more info then you asked for, but just hope it is of some value.

Thanks for your advice Jim. Sounds great, will try that method on my next project.

I have a good friend that I met shortly after we moved to Southern Arizona. He has purchased several of my wood projects and he had his 82nd birthday this week. One time while in my shop, he saw a plaque I had made for myself and mentioned how much he liked it. so for his birthday, I made one for him too. He had it hanging on his wall the same day he received it. If you are old enough you may remember these greyhound scenicruisers. Dick heppnerguy

Finished the Yoda’s very happy with the results. Made the frames myself The cut was done using #1 & #0 Straight Niqua Blades that’s all we can get in our country.

Hi all. I thought I posted this update, but I guess I must have not hit the submit button. At any rate, some of you may have noticed the ranks have changed. The old rank system was set up 12 years ago when having 1500 posts was a lot of posts. That isn't true anymore. You're a chatty bunch....LOL Plus, it didn't take much to shoot to the top of the rank tier. So I wanted to balance it out a bit more. We have a new system in place now. We now have 10 separate ranks. The higher the rank, the harder it is to achieve. You can find your rank badge off the side of your avatar, as well as your profile. Ranks are calculated by points. And points are awarded for doing different things on SSV. For example; posting a new thread is worth 10. Responding to one is 5. Points for uploading to galleries, helping members, emoting, joining groups, downloads, following members or content, etc. Points aren't really visible, as far as I can tell, and are calculated behind the curtain. I wouldn't put too much stock in your rank, though. Its just a silly little thing that adds a bit of fun to the site. And don't put too much weight into the rank name. I just picked rank names based on scroll sawing themes and how long you've been on SSV (it's so much better than Rank 1, Rank 2, etc). You may have been scrolling for decades, but your rank is Apprentice Scroller. That's just a title you have on SSV and doesn't reflect your skill level. Anyway, that's what those symbols mean. Just a bit of flair for fun.

Check out YouTube videos by Advanced Machinery for the most accurate info on Hegners. They helped me a lot.

I have a Hegner and am a fairly new user so here are my thoughts: On the Quick clamp; on the left side of the clamp is a set screw, set this screw so that it is flush with the left side or just a hair proud, on the right hand side is the thumb screw, make sure that the swivel on the end moves freely. For clamping a blade; I pull the arm down until the blade is just above the swivel pad (you may need to loosen the thumb screw just a bit), slide the blade back as far as you can, then pull the arm down until the blade is against the top of the clamp. Tighten the thumb screw. I only have problems with blade slippage if I don't get the blade in the correct position.

Thanks, I'll check the video out later..

One way of avoiding snipe is to run boards end to end. You can also use a scrap board at the front and end. I do this and virtually eliminate snipe.

I learn something Barbara

Fabulous looking work Rodney. I love the colorful piece. Well done. Marg

Frank; You always amaze me with the cool projects you do. I really wish I had more time to do some of them, they are really show stoppers! nice job. Chris

Welcome back, Frank. Hope you had a great and relaxing vacation. Your work is superb as usual.

This is a guestbook for my nieces wedding that she requested me to make for her wedding in August, it will be signed with a sharpie by the guests…it has 4 coats of poly on it….weathered grey stain….30” in diameter. God Bless Smitty

I am the new tooth fairy. The teeth are for my dentist. The pattern is a modified Steve Good pattern and the are made from 3/4" pine. The skate border pattern is by Tulsa Scroller and is made from 2.5mm bamboo. I gave this one to a restaurant owner who only does gluten free food, my daughter is a coeliac and can only eat gluten free food. Marg

I like those a lot. I haven’t thought of making bookmarks. My daughter is an avid reader and is headed to college. Think I’ll make a few.

Nice work. A lot of old country guys have driven the real one --a long time past!

All look terrific.

I have 2 Excaliburs and a Hegner similar to yours with the front tension release lever. There is definitely a difference between the 2 types of saws. A learning curve for both but more with the Hegner. If I had to make a choice, I'd keep my Ex's. As to your problem with the quick clamp take a look at the rotating tip that contacts the blade. Make sure it's flat. The same as your Dewalts. Also, make sure the Quick clamp is tight in the saddle that it sits in. As per the instructions that came with it. Congrats on a great gift. They are bullet proof and once you get used to it, will last a lifetime. Check out Scrimper's videos on youtube. He's a Brit with a lot of Hegner know-how.

Thanks, I'll check the video out later..

Saw this and thought of you . . .

very nice

very nice work

beautiful work

I use the quick clamp with the lever. It makes tightening the blade easy. I love my Hegner and the fact that you can get parts even for old ones. However, the projects I do are typically in thicker wood. If I did fret work, I think I would not have a Hegner.

They are amazing. Very colorful, love the Kingfisher. Marg

One question, when you paint these, are you using a brush or spray? Chris

If I didn’t already have plans for a particular wood blank, I’ll just stash it away. Eventually, a project will come along for it.

My first thoughts are do not sand it but use it as a background Place pieces on in to make a scene Here is an example of one of our first creation using pallet wood:

Frank, they look great, RJ

That's clever marketing Jim, because I just checked the PVA I use and it is white, but they also make an exterior PVA, which is white. So in reality the colour does not matter. Another brand I use is Selley's and they have the same, water resistant, white PVA.

Hey Everyone! In this scroll saw project video I make a neat little Fairy Door out of some scrap wood! This Steve Good design would be a perfect gift to a person who collects Fairy decor! Hope you all like the video! #AritisanPirate

OK, I did these boxes several years ago and they are some where on the SSV site. I used my I-Box joint tool to make the sides and a 1/8" outer bit with a template to create the inlays. Hardest part was making the splayed tops. Eventually found a site with info to make it happen. Angles.pdf splayed_miters.pdf

Amazing work. Love the way you only colored the truck. Marg

You are one creative person. I can not imagine an idea like this would ever pop into my mind. They fooled me until I read your post and took another look. Quite interesting Dick heppnerguy

I predict they will be a FLAMING success

Hi all, I saw a technique I wanted to try. So I made a cowboy boot. Can any shape be a vase? But first, I resisted the idea of having the title being.. "She got the boot". Ok so this is a cowboy boot DRY vase. Like for utensiles. The local restauraunt is called Country Rose. Her menus have cowboy hats and boots. She has lot of cowboy stuff on walls. So I gave the owner, Sharon, the cowboy boot vase. I put roses on each side of the boot. I decided not to have the roses the same color. Not a great painting job. I probably had too much coffee.

Beautiful work, but I have come to know that if you are posting something, it is going to be outstanding. Thanks for posting Dick heppnerguy

Nice work. I’m with Marge, still need to try my first one. It’s on the list. still trying to work up my courage to give it a try. Thanks to those who give tips on fixing the entry holes, figure that will be important for me for sure.

That looks fabulous. I like that you added a bit of color. Well done. Marg

Frame. You did an Awesome job!!! A Frame will inhance your work.

The Helical head planers use less power ( Those who run the country should give tax credits for buying these as they are more energy efficient LOL ) run ALOT quieter, create a very nice surface with less chip out and snipe. Both my wife and my youngest son work here from home and I get complaints from noise from them when running my planer. LOL So the additional cost is worth it to me personally since they both help me pay bills LOL, I understand it's not for everyone. I personally use a planer about 3 times a week.. Usually only long enough to run one board through to get it down to around 5/8 - 3/4 from a 7/8 board.. Using the logic that for a hobby worker you don't need the top of the line machine kinda backwards when you have a Hegner when a old Delta would do the same thing though ain't it? Just messing with you, everyone has their high end tool and their cheap tool priorities at a different level from one another.. but your statement above made me snicker a bit.