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Went to a crafts fair yesterday just as a spectator / shopper. There was a couple of booths that had scroll work. I didn't strike up any conversations with anyone and just walked around letting the wife shop and I observed, LOL. There was one vendor there that had all intarsia ( hope I spelled that right lol ). I never even looked at any of the prices of anything there.. Not to be degrading to the particular vendor but most of this type of work I've seen showed what I'd consider pieces of art high end quality.. This not so much.. I didn't walk into the booth either just the pieces out by the walkway wasn't super impressive to me.. but maybe better works was inside the booth.. Anyway to get to my on topic, there was lots of laser engraved / cut things.. nice presentable items / mostly was signs / plaques that had saying on them with good quality finishes etc.. lasered leather shops.. I felt there was quite a lot of that stuff that if it wasn't lasered it was circuit ( stickers ) onto wood and or metal.. I kinda feel these folks was not there because they loved doing the work but rather there to copy sayings and make signs for a profit. Nothing wrong with that but I just don't see a lot of original art type things.. several vendors selling the same sayings on different types of materials or different shaped signs but the same old sayings. Having lasers and CNC's myself and rarely use them for business or for making things by themselves but rather combining these machines with the scroll sawn works I do.. I have said it many times that these machines are not pumping out production work like most think they are and I stand by that statement. I also say that it's not just throwing a blank on the machines and pushing a button as most that don't know them seem to label them as. Myself.. I was actually most impressed with the lesser quality scroll sawn intarsia pieces than these very nice CNC / Laser works.. While it does take skills to run these machines actually a lot of skill and most of it I'm still learning to try to do even after owning them for 4-5 years now. I think the intarsia had good quality cuts but lacked in the shaping / finishing of the pieces that I seen.. I've seen CNC work that is the same way.. good quality engravings but poor finishing. I can see why many of those doing craft events with their puzzles can do well, I don't see portrait works doing great but not bad either.. so long as you have a theme that catches the right buyer.. problem with portraits is booth space and hanging the right one with limited space.. you can't display a hundred portraits as easy as you can display 100 puzzles.. One person there had laser cut Christmas ornaments and has them on a octagon shaped turning display.. nice ornaments but they was all dark colored, may have been plywood stained with walnut. the display was in a shaded area and IMO was hard to see. The turntable thing probably allows them to put a lot of different ones in a smaller space but also only displays half of them without spinning it around. Many of the booths had a mix of things.. ie one booth I walked by had a few portraits, word art wall hangings, and a few bowls / baskets.. very nice work but the stuff was mixed in with probably his wife's towels and things.. The whole mixed bag of things was not a very impressive look to me, again I go back to the intarsia person, everything in the booth was intarsia.. I liked that... I think the whole mixed bag of stuff just doesn't have a good professional flow to it, Not that that's a bad thing as a seller.. having a mix of stuff maybe guarantees that "something will sell" .. All that said, I think if I was to do a show I'd want to stick to one thing, either ornaments, clocks, or puzzles.. Ornaments being cheap and quick to make and stock up on might be the thing to make and sell during a holiday selling event.. but then what does one sell throughout the year at these events. I sell ornaments online all year long but not sure they'd do well in August at a live event. At the end of the day, that intarsia seller was the best booth and most impressive one there that wasn't the run of the mill same old stuff you always see.. I hope they did well and I realize they may have just started this venture and maybe they don't have fancy sanders and shapers etc.. and if that is the case I hope they made a lot of money so they can go buy the needed tools to improve their work to make better quality pieces.. we all start somewhere with nothing.. I did anyway.. I started with a free broken Delta scroll saw.. now I have several saws, CNC's, Lasers etc.. Makes me wonder though, with all the CNC, Lasers, Circuit machine works.. will scroll saw things make a better sales.. after all it is more unique and not really a mass produced thing that the markets aren't going to be flooded with. What I see more and more wanted in the selling online is that there is a wide open market for custom / personalized items.. People want that special ornament engraved with a name or year on it.. Most sellers don't want to fool with that as it takes a lot of extra time to do that.. That is where my laser and cnc help me get more business.. not actually making the product.. but improving what I've already made by being able to add personalization

Cut out this Steve Good pattern in stages over the course of a few days. 3/4" Select Pine using a variety of Pegas MGT blades. It's interesting - with the blue background the wood (with no finish applied) appears more golden, whereas with a black background the wood appears more white-ish / light colored. Funny, because I'm considering finishing it with amber Shellac.

Still trying hard to put smiles on people's face,which is working but I need some quality time myself. And to top it all off I,m forgetting to take pictures of my endeavors.

This Nite Light has been my go to gift for new mothers for 3 generations now. Started making them when our peers were having babies, then those kids started having babies, and now the babies are having babies! The Nite Lite is designed with a fretwork panel that slides in front of the light and screens the light from the inside. A hidden chamber in the back can store additional panels.

Ok, I had posted in a few replies on other threads that I was learning to hand carve and had taken a one day turning class. Since a few of my carvings were initially cut out on my scroll saw, I figured I would share them here. If anyone is a carver, please let me know. One of my goals in learning to hand carve, was to use it to enhance my scrollsaw projects, in particular, my Intarsia work. I am enjoying carving and turning. I have hand carved 6 pieces now I think. One of them is still a work in progress so not shown. It is based on a JGR Intarsia pattern so I will have to share it later once it is done (The carving part is done, but it has framing I’m trying to work out how I want to do.) They are all cut and carved from basswood. The photos appear in the reverse order from what I carved them meaning Mickey carrying balllons was the last one (6th) which I just completed yesterday and then go back to the larger flower which was the very first attempt. Mickey is also the only one I created my own pattern for from a card I had and did it all on my own with no directions or advise on how. The rest of the pieces are patterns from video tutorials and patterns provided by Mary May. If interested in learning to carve, I have found her tutorials to be great. Mickey, the jack-o-lantern and the butterfly on a flower were all first cut out as flat pieces on my scroll saw then carved. Thus why I feel comfortable sharing here. The two smaller flowers, technically I used my saw on as it was one board I cut in half. The largest flower, done on the round natural board was not on the saw but I threw it in since it was my first attempt. I added some wood burning to the first flower I did and then did wood burning on the butterfly and flower. Mickey and the Jack-o-lantern do not yet have a finish on them. I am probably going to attempt to add color to them once I get a little braver to try that(and find some time.)

Kevin, I really like your post! We haven't gone to any craft fairs in a few years now. Due to a lack of quality vendors many have allowed the "schlock" vendors in. Poorly made Yard art was the only wood based stuff that I have seen. There was one turner at the last show and he did have some exceptional pieces. He is now a friend, and did very well at a local art fair. but not so well at a craft fair in the same village. The last time I saw any Intarsia it looked like it was covered in high gloss plastic. He finally confessed that it was made in Vietnam not by him. Lots of illegal Disney stuff. I use my small desktop Laser Engraver for putting on my logo and signing pieces. I have also made a few Custom photo engraved ornaments for people that have lost their pets. I don't and won't charge for them. I have waffled on purchasing a CNC Router. I considered going into custom routed signs. I have done a few Freehand routed ones and that was fun. I don't have much space left and I don't thing I want to expand my product line at this point. Instead will start to do more Intarsia pattern designs and also more wood turning instead.

Very smooth cutting. Great job!

That looks like fun. I have seen so many of those on pinterest and other web sites, it makes me wonder who the originator was and how many are just copied from the internet. Have fun and God Bless! Spirithorse

Made for my nephew many moons ago.

Just had to post this. I sat down today with the plans to generate a parts list for all the little stuff, like motor screws,pegs and such. I searched everywhere but no accessories kit for this anywhere. So as I sat down with the plans a little voice went off in my head to check the back of the file cabinet where I keep my plans. Apparently when I purchased the plans I was smart enough to get the accessories kit too. There it was in the back of the file still sealed firm the post office when it was delivered. Surprised the crap outa me, didn't think I was that smart (lol). So if ever there was a sign, this is it. Its Ferris Wheel time...... Chris

I bought these plans somewhere around the late 90's. While I was fired up about this project when I got the plans, I was still pretty new to scrolling and when I looked at the plans I decided it was a bit to large for me to do on the Ryobi 16" single speed I had at the time. Plus I didn't want to use plywood (too boring) and my wood knowledge was non existent at the time. Well, now it's 2022, and I'm finally ready to take this on. I won't be using plywood, rather making my own laminate to take advantage of natural wood colors. I have 2 saws that are more than capable of handling this project. A question for anyone who has done this project, is there any reason why the 2 wheels can't be stacked for the cut. I've only look briefly at the plans, but really don't seen any reason why they couldn't be stacked? Chis

I decided a day or two ago to try one of the color pictures. So I did this one.. I really enjoyed doing it. Kind of like making a puzzle. Cut everything out, paint the pieces and put it back together. The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry...It was a lot of fun. Did not take long. Another reason I wanted to do it,, I went to the woodstore the other day, looking for wood to make a step stool... Decided to check out the price of BB. Last sheet of 1/8" cost me $18. Today it is $62! So I am making thing that I can use all the odd size pieces I have.. Any way, my first "scrap build". Lot of fun.

Hello Kevin, Regards "will scroll saw things make a better sales". Yes I think so. Lots of factors involved there. Location/type of event/etc. And custom/personalized - if quality cutting/finishing is done - will make for continued sales as I believe satisfied customers will spread the word about you/your craft. I've sold at the local Farmers' Market the last three weeks and it generated three custom order sales, in addition to what sold on the tables. A couple signs but nothing I've seen at the department/craft stores. My last sign was a personalized football one and I got a new experience using clay to fill in the letters with. More work involved but customer is happy with it.

They are indeed. they walk in a blizzard in the middle of the night. A true honor to be a part of that team for sure Dick heppnerguy

HEAR u GO RJ

I know, but it's not. It's a very high res pic and I was able to enlarge it to make out my son's face very clearly.

very nice job

It looks like a painting Dick heppnerguy

That is so cool. In fact after seeing this, I'm gonna get the book. Thanks for sharing! Chris

I agree, very nice!

Great work, Paul! Popeye was on our company flag in boot camp. Voted on to be our mascot. God Bless! Spirithorse

Congratulations on finding the parts kit and I wish you great success on your project! God Bless!

Very nice Joe, RJ

Looking forward to it Chris. I should take lessons from you on planning. I never plan. I just jump headlong into a project and I'm sure that's why I end up doing a lot of it more than once. Sorta the way I've lived my life too. I guess I'm too old to learn new tricks.

I've tried most of my life to carve... My hands do not produce what I am thinking they should! You are off to a great start.

Great work Mel. I also like the second from last picture. Although the butterfly is a close second!

I could put of a few but you all have seen them before.. Two clocks, a pin box for my wife to put pins in and a little try she uses to put "stuff" in in she sewing room.

Thank you @Fab4 Paul for your kind words. My first Beginner Intarsia class and also my first ever attempt was with JGR. At the time, she had previously had a rose, and some other patterns as beginner pattern for the class. We were first one I believe that got to do a trigger fish. Like you, I wasn’t thrilled with the fish idea but I did it anyway. However, I have been known to be a tad stubborn at times too so I understand. I don’t know about the politically correct Jack of all trades, I have always referred to myself as a Jack of all trades, master of none. Maybe I need to rethink it but then, I figure that was a “quote” so I’m happy with being a Jack Because it’s also hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Here are just 3 I could I easily find. Probably shared at some point. I have made many phone holders and given as gifts. Still have a bunch but this Mickey one is a one of a kind I made for myself and use at night when I am charging phone in kitchen. I have others I use in the workroom and workshop but he is my favorite. The butterfly box I believe is a Steve Good pattern. His pattern had something else on it and I changed and added the butterfly instead. I wanted the butterfly as my mom loved butterflies so I did it to honor her memory. It has a curved lid and layered with different wood to add color to the butterfly. Here is link to Steve’s pattern for the box. https://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/2020/06/curved-lid-box.html The football is a trivet cut for use in my kitchen. I added the power T for my beloved TN Vols who I hope may some day return back to being a team of some relevance. Hope does spring eternal. At least we have had great baseball and basketball the past few years to get us over the agony of football season.

Thanks All for your help will try and show you when I have something to show. Barbara (Loskoppie)

Here's the only picture we have of our son and his team. I was always taken by the whole look of this picture. The dim gray day reflecting the atmosphere.

Visited Arlington a few years ago and made it a point to observe a changing of the guard. I must say that has to be one of the most powerful traditions/ceremonies there is. Those soldiers who take on that duty are truly a cut above.

I did the same with odie

I like it Paul and great use of scrap. A win win.

Be careful, they are fun to cut!

I love these ! Enjoy ! Must confess I do mine on my bandsaw

Steve Good pattern. Search within ornaments, 16th pattern set "snowflake".