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My Beloved Spouse and Shop Partner Penny and I are so enjoying time in our little shop learning to use our WEN 16 inch scroll saw. I made a riser for the foot switch as she's a foot shorter than am I. She's cut out rabbit profiles to represent our three grandchildren in a craft project, while I've drawn and cut out sunflowers. Loving our time together so very much. For 4 months Penny has been urging me to order the Jet 18 inch saw, which is the best size for the projects we want to do. Ratings are great in so many respects and the price point is OK for Penny and me. I'd been tracking the price at a big chain home store, and it, along with a major online retailer had the saw for sale for $709. When the home store raised their price early this week to $850, I feared the online retailer would soon follow suit. I finally broke down and honored Penny's request to turn loose of some money and with some trepidation, pressed the "place order" button. Penny was right. The online retailer sure enough raised their price also to $850 this morning. Whew. I'm both excited and relieved! As a "positive affirmation" some time back, and to use up some of the scrap pile of lumber, I kept moving in our seasonally cold shop and crafted a modified tilt top stand for either the new saw I'd hoped for one day or some other tooling. This one has a drawer and a sliding, removeable scrap bin, and room below for a small vacuum. Anyway I just wanted to share our excitement here that next week the second of a scroll saw pair will arrive. Don

Just having fun in the shop. Cut from MDF baseboard.

My shop is where I get away from my wife. Why would I ever want to change that?

Get her interested in quilting. My wife has two sewing machines that together cost more than all the tools I own... He has probably more invested in material and accessories, cutters, rulers, this and that than I could spend on tools. But it keeps her from being able to complain when I buy something for my hobby.

Here is the first Kenny Hopkins pattern I believe I have cut. I have had the pattern for sometime and have wanted to cut it but never got around to it until this week. My wife is in Montana visiting one of our great grand daughters so I was trying to find something to cut in my shop while she was gone and came across this pattern and decided to give it a shot. Here are the results. I cut it from 1/4 inch Baltic Birch. it is 17 X 11 inches. I made an extended backer board to work as a frame as I did not have long enough pieces of wood in my shop to cut one. Dick heppnerguy

Thank you each for the good thoughts. I agree about the scarcity of Jet talk. The Jet seems to live in the shadows of the Pegas, Hegner, DeWalt and Excalibers. This 18 inch one is the junior version of the full size Jet, and gets quite good reviews. I studied many videos and see many scrollers, as am I, are bottom feeders. So that shouldn't be an issue for me. Quality was big concern for me, what with reading of electronics failures, bad vibration problems and a few other things on some saw brands. I can only hope this Jet runs as well as our little 16 inch WEN. The Jet has a 5 year warranty that hopefully I will not have to test. The smaller 18 inch size will not be a limitation for Penny and me. Everything we want to craft will fit nicely into the 18.5 throat depth. In a positive affirmation I designed and made a second tilt top stand that builds on my first tilt top one. A 15 degree tilt, close tolerance hinges and steel pins that mate into moving parts keeps everything solid as on the first version. This one though has a large drawer and slide out lift-off waste and chip container. A 1 7/8 inch thick laminated yellow pine top, laminated 1 inch thick bottom shelf and better locking casters add to the package. All wood was scrap, pulled out of the home store trash can or from the home store 70% off lumber cart. Funny the suggestion was made that Penny take up quilting. Too late! She's a quilter from way back when before we met 17 years ago. Together she and I collected antique sewing machines, like our two Singer Featherweights and our 1920's hand crank Singer 209. She and I sometimes make quilts together. And she uses my saddle sewing machine Bertha Jo (300 pounds of sex in iron and steel). penny and I simply love being together. Crafting, talking, whatever. Here are pictures of the tilt top table V2.0: Thank you each again. Don.

I have been looking for a small bench sander to go along with the full size sander and my orbital sanders. I wanted one that didn't take up a lot of space plus I want it mainly for my ornaments that I make. This is what I found. Now if I can just keep hubby from borrowing it!! LOL

I ran across this pattern on Steve Good's site and found it was a really quick and easy one to cut. since I only wanted to spend about an hour in my shop today, I grabbed the opportunity to make it. I wasn't very happy with the stars on the tail and wings as they stood out as being Russian and since I am upset by what Russia is currently up to in The Ukraine right now. But I believe it is Steve Good's use of the star as being American instead and I am using his pattern, I left it as is. When I got it cut and ready to assemble I decided it was a little too plain and decided to round out the leading edge of the wings and the fuselage also the rockets. I thought it made it look quite a bit better and I am planning of giving to to my 5 year old Great Grandson. I made it from a piece of Poplar wood, 1/4 inch Dick heppnerguy

I just looked a the reviews and several mentioned it was loud, that was one of the negative You could insulate a box and put it in that to reduce the sound.

The tilt angle is 15 degrees. Penny and I tried several different angles until we found the just right tilt to reduce strain on our backs. Penny is a full foot shorter than me. The adjustable height shop stool helped find optimal angle too. Here's the custom-sized foot riser for Penny to firmly position our momentary foot switches. Mine is not as tall. Truthfully, Penny's comfort is more important to me than my own. We both have medical issues. Don

Good one Ray

Congrats on the new saw! Love the stand, very impressive

Aragorn, King of Gondor, from The Lord of the Rings. I put him, Gandalf, and a map of Middle Earth by my new reading chair. Now all I need is a little Halfling Leaf/Old Toby.

Hey everybody. I haven't posted a lot lately because I have been very busy. This is a good thing with the price of everything going up we need all the help we can. . Here are just a few things I have been working on. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm. Sorry if the middle one offends anyone. My boss asked me to make it for her husband for Valentines day. Have a great day. Mimi

Lasted just over two years.. I hooked it up back when I rebuilt the Excalibur in 2020.. 299.9 hours on the hour meter since rebuilt when the smoke roll out of the vacuum today.. LOL.. I might have to give one of these DeWalt Quiet vacuums a try to see how that works.. Certainly forgot how much sawdust I make but was inconveniently reminded when I stood up after finishing the puzzle I was making and my whole lap was covered in sawdust,

Can I join the band? I can bring my own instruments!!! From the latest issue. Not sure what the wood is. Cut with #3 FD Full/Ultra reverse.

I have made this bird feeder about 6 times now. Up till now I have used plywood and each has disintegrated in a matter of a year or so. I was looking to purchase a marine grade plywood for this latest one but could not find any locally and to order on-line, the price was too high. I decided to try a different approach. Western Red Cedar. Cedar fences seem to last for many years, so maybe thisbird feeder will last for a while. I obtained the plans for this feeder a number of years ago. This version uses a modified version of the original scrollwork pattern and I have deviated significantly from their plans for the roof construction. I own a 12” planer but not a jointer. The maximum width available is eight inches, and I needed pieces up to 14” wide, so I was forced to edge join pieces to cut the parts from. I planed the rough nominal ¾” stock down to ½” and used biscuits however the joints were not all tight. Used lots of glue and sawdust to fill the joints. I wanted to make better looking sloping roof joints. So, after lots of calculations and some testing I finally got the four triangular roof pieces cut to the right size but unfortunately, I still did not figure out correctly what the bevel cut angle should be, so the pieces meet to form a nice joint, but I had to use scraps to fill the joints from the back side. Fortunately this is hidden by the inside ceiling of the feeder box. The scroll saw cut side walls were easy cutting using a Pegs #5 MGT R blade. I did not try to sand the cedar to a smooth finish. Where needed I used 80 grit paper to sand with, leaving a somewhat rough finish. Also, I was going to keep the cedar natural and let it turn grey/silver over time. However, my lady wanted it to be white, so I stained it white and then applied a coat of Polyurethane. The stain is somewhat transparent, so the grain still shows a little and the “Clear” Poly actually turned the white stain a little yellow. I don’t think the birds will care. Squirrels love to get to the bird seed, so I have two deterrents. First the metal pole is electrified so when the squirrels try to climb the pole, they get a shock. They learn fast not to climb the pole, but they still can jump over to the feeder from a nearby Fig tree. I have added a row of pointy nails facing out to the bottom piece where they land when they jump. Hoping they get stuck by the nails and learn not to jump. Not sure if this will work. They are smart critters. Here is a couple of pics. Aa always, comments and critiques are welcome.

Hello all, I don't make many boxes but thought I'd give this one a try. Quite pleased with how it turned out. Regards, Alan.

Looks great Judy! What brand is it and where did you purchase it?

Well thank you for your kindness. Yes, I push myself 95% of the time to complete to completion the complete process. But I go a fast and easy route. The boiled linseed oil I favor comes in quart bottles or cans, around $15 at Home Depot, and is easy to brush on, leave minutes or hours and wipe off extra. The can lasts a loooong time. I burn the oily rags in a fire pit right away though, as left in a wad they can combust on their own. After a few days the drying is complete it always seems to me. This is the stuff our grandparents sometimes used on garden hoe handles etc. Easy to touch up scuffs too. Oh. Just learned that our saw now is arriving tomorrow which is Sunday. Good that it will be early but bad because we have church in the morning and a church class in the late afternoon. May have to skip church though because don't want a $750 package to set unguarded on our front porch... Don.

Ray is not working in the shop now. He works from home. That is what he told me. So how did I get him on the phone? I called when they were closed and left a voicemail.

I phoned Seyco about six weeks ago didn't recognize the voice but did get my question answered. I have their scroll saw , scrollers drill and did have the dust collector until it died about 3 years of use. Maybe I will try an e-mail just for kicks

Great job I bet your great grandson will love it.

I have a discarded/ recycled central vac that is extremely loud. I surrounded it wit an insulated box. The noise is reduced to very tolerable levels

I wish my wife had some interest other than cleaning house and wanting me to go for walks with her.

Thanks to each of you for the kind words. Barb believe me, this stand is not difficult to put together. For me it was a matter of figuring out the scrap and waste lumber on hand and building to accommodate materials. This is an improved version of V1.0 I made for our WEN scroll saw (pictures of V1.0 are below). I'd be happy to share any dimensions if someone needs them. Yes, penny and I are fortunate to share hobbies and interests. But all is not completely common. Penny doesn't do leather (I have a saddle sewing machine and craft custom gun holsters and belts) and I do not mess at all with her Cricut machine and supplies. Just not interested myself really. All my best to everyone. Don

Very nice Barb, good choice

Hard to not like the gnomes. Those are great!

Dick, I have no idea how they will be used. I am assuming they will be passed out to different "Grand Master's". I assume he is getting the Historian one. He wrote a book on the history https://mastersemblem.wordpress.com/author/masonicgrandhistorian/.

Congrats on the new saw. The stand looks amazing. Care to make me one??!! I am glad that you both enjoy the hobby. I wish, at times, that my hubby would get involved. However, he has his hobbies to keep him busy.

Very nice! Thanks for great pics.

Thank you Dick. I think I worked on this pattern on and off for about a week. A small amount of talent combined with a lot of patience. I believe the first night I just finished the eye on the left. As I've said before, I just treat it like working a puzzle or something and work on it till I get tired of it, then put it away.

there is a project I would never have guessed would have come up, but with your brother being the one asking, I can now see the connection. He knew in advance who to ask to get the job done and you did not let him down. They came out perfect. How are they going to be used? Just curious. Dick heppnerguy

I made this for a couple of Nieces who's mother recently passed away at 95 years old. She was married to my wife's brother who died about 55 years ago and several years later she remarried. My wife and I saw her only a few times since my wife's brother was killed so we really do not have much of a connection with her. We do keep in pretty close contact with the daughters and when she passed I made one of these plaque for each of them.. I modified the plaques a little and got them into the mail yesterday. They will be receiving them on Monday. These are patterns by Sue Mey and like I said, I did modify them a little. Dick heppnerguy

Everything looks great. I have the same saw I got from Denny. Love it.

Nice Barb.

You haven't lost your touch Marg. Great job. Keep cutting.

They came out great Barb. I sometimes have that same problem if I try to stack to many at a time. The blade is moving on you and you can't see it until it's to late.

Congrats, Don. I wish my wife would become interested and want to participate in the craft. Currently she is into dog training and hopes to get the final degree on our oldest dog and then she starts all over again with our newest dog. Oh well, I must say it is peaceful out in my shop. I'm sure you'll enjoy you new saw. Maybe Penny will let you use it occasionally.

Congrats on your lucky buy. As Paul said, please let us know how it goes and what you are making. Remember though that we don't believe anything without pics.

Congratulation! Always exciting to get a new saw. I do not read a lot about the Jet saws on this forum. I hope you will keep us informed about your new one.

What dog breed is it? Should be able to find a silhouette image to use and place it into a circle shape for the ornament..

Thank you so much for the nice comments. I hope the receiver enjoys it as much as I did making it for them. Dick heppnerguy

things are getting a little more difficult as I get older. I am hoping I will be able to scroll until I get close to my end time, which can't be too far off. I only wish I would have started my scrolling a little earlier in life instead of waiting until I retired in 2002. I may have been able to do a little better then. Thanks for the encouragement as it is much appreciated Dick heppnerguy

Honestly don't think it was caused by back pressure from the muffler. It has a dust separator that came with it but it still gets plenty of fine dust in the dust bag. Me being cheap I ordered some bags off ebay but they are crap paper bags compared to what came from Seyco. The paper rips very easily and sometimes just putting them in they get torn.. The back of the vac was full of fine sawdust.. I change the bag and blow compressed air through it on a regular basis but I think my replacement will never see one of those paper bags.. I'm going to order some from Ray again. For me they don't last real long because while they don't "fill up" with dust they get a fine somewhat thick layer throughout the bag and thus restricts the air flow. I've mentioned in the past about the Vac getting louder and having to change the bag and clean out the vac with compressed air to make it run quiet again... About every week for me.. others might get a month or so but this should be checked regularly if you have this set-up.. could be a fire hazard too.. as the way the vac is made the air flows past the motor to cool it ( I assume ) and that fine dust gets back in around that motor.. that dust doesn't take much to ignite.. Honestly contemplating just getting a good vac made for this like that new DeWalt that was brought up a while back or a Festool.. I looked at the Festools today as we made a trip to the lumber store and they carry them.

Kev, take the muffler out of it and it will last longer. I posted about using an OJ bottle to quiet mine down. It works great with no back pressure.

It is really difficult to put the smoke back in.

I'm not sure if MetroVac says this in their instructions, but those vac motors have carbon brushes in them and they do wear out. I can't imagine they are more than $20 a set and not terrible difficult to replace once the motor is exposed.

I have another Metro vac that I bought for like $24 on ebay as a new "open box" one.. same vac but the exhaust end on the Seyco has a longer end cap on it and it's stuffed with foam to make it quieter.. I may hook that one up to the saw until I get more time to figure out what I'm going to do... I like that it's small and moreless self contained to the saw.. I've done a quick look on eBay and may just purchase another one of them when one pops up at a good deal like my spare one.. I also looked into metro vac parts and they have replacement motors etc.. Looks like I could build the whole thing for around $50-60.. and everything would be new other than the metal canister, LOL.. Heck of a lot cheaper than a new larger vac that takes up more shop space..

Your own fault Kevin, You should never, let the smoke out: