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It seems my deer plaques do pretty well so I knocked this one out today. This is 1/4-inch Maple ply with a 1/4-inch Pine backer. The piece is stained with Minwax Red Oak and the backer is stained with Ipswich. It was cut using 2/0 and 0 Pegas spirals and MGT. The ornaments are at the request of the wife as small items to sell at craft events. They are stained with various colors and the 3D pieces are painted and then coated with glitter paint. The dog piece is 1/4-inch Birch ply stained with Minwax Espresso with a Lauan backer stained Natural. These are all Steve Good Patterns.

For me, it's when I see smoke rising from the cut. Seriously, as the others have mentioned, it's more of a feel thing than any sort of measurable condition. I suppose, under controlled testing circumstances, one could arrive at some sort of objective standard as to when a blade arrives at a particular state of dull, but there are so many variables at play, that this would prove difficult to measure, in practical terms. Most scrollers learn to gauge it by how the blade is performing, in the moment. Blades aren't always consistent. Sometimes a brand new blade will seem to last indefinitely and sometimes a different blade, from the same pack will under-perform almost right away.

The minute it feels like you have to push the wood into the blade as opposed to it "melting" into the blade, or you start have difficulty controlling the blade, time to change. And like all things there are a lot of factors. You cannot put a time limit on it. What your are cutting, What wood you are using, what type blade you are using. I Probably, and I have never timed it, just a guess, but I would say on average I may get 20 minutes out of a blade. But again I do not set a timer, when I feel in the slightest that I am having to work to get the blade to go where I want, it is time for me to change. Right now I am cutting in 1/2" Monkey Pod, a little harder than Popular, maybe, but what I am cutting I want to be precise, I am using a #1 size blade and I have probably changed the blade every 10 minutes at the most. That is just me, your mileage may vary as they say. You may not want to go by what I say,, I have broken lots and lots of blades! But I am often trying different blades, different technics, different woods..expect to break blades.

Some of my greatest memories from when young, were the time spent Jack Rabbit hunting. Walking through miles of sagebrush, cheatgrass and around cactus. Driving my Dad's old jeep through the same with buddies on the front fenders, and on the roof, hunting Jack Rabbits. My Favorite of all my hunting experiences. This place was over run with them.. Then the farms moved in and the farmer did not appreciate feeding their crops to the Jack Rabbits. So they started poisoning them. Now days I get more excited seeing a Jack Rabbit than I do a deer, fox, coyote, or wild turkey. They are almost all gone. So when I received my Woodworker's Pattern Book by Jacob and Wayne Fowler, and saw this pattern of a Jack Rabbit, I stopped all other projects and cut it. My memorial to Mr and Misses Jack Rabbit. "Thanks For The Memories" Cut in Monkey Pod. Added a little of a dramatic background for affect.

I made a wrinkly old man fishing for my pond out of tree limbs I was bored well I did scroll saw the fish. Roly

I had been saving this pattern to cut with the new Pegas. Some of the cuts are extremely thin and while I trust and could have used my WEN, I wanted this to be the first on the Pegas. Besides, the size (11X19) would have been a little large for the 16-inch WEN. I used a combination of blades, 3/0 and 2/0 spirals, 2/0 MGT and 2/0 double skip. The blades were all Pegas except for the 3/0 spiral which was Flying Dutchman. (To my knowledge Pegas doesn't make a 3/0 spiral.) I used 1/4-inch Pine for the cutting and a 1/4-inch Lauan for the backer. The Pine is stained with Minwax Ipswich as well as the Pine frame that was custom made. They both were finished with 4-coats of rattle can Polyurethane sanding with 320 grit sandpaper between coats. The backing is sprayed with gloss black. The pattern is by Jeffrey L Flick. The Poodle piece was a commission using 1/4-inch Lauan for both the cutting and the backer. The cutting is stained with Minwax Natural and again, the backer is sprayed black. The frame is cut using pre-fabricated framing material cut to size. Both frames were given splines to add strength. The pattern was made by myself from a photo provided by the owner. The new Pegas cuts fantastic. I had to make a few altercations out of the box, but I believe I have it where I tuned in pretty well. Initially the blade was set to the most aggressive angle which was corrected by rotating the motor. Also, the clamps were not properly adjusted so that the blade was in the center of the hole in the table. The saw runs smooth and quite with no vibration throughout the entire speed range. The saw is a BEAST and mega heavy. Now I have to figure out how I'll fit it with casters to move it out of the way when I decide to pull a vehicle into my shop.

These are a couple of dog pattern I just finished cutting out. Want to give a shout out to (Grampa) Paul and jr42 for getting these done for me. jr42 was able to come up with the font we needed to. Thanks for these great pattern makers we have her. Much appreciated. Just need to put a couple coats of poly on them.

That will do it. I forgot about the smoke.

Well, just reading what both of you have offered, I'm overdue. First thing tomorrow I'll put a new blade in. I have a feeling I will feel the difference as soon as I start. Thank you, I'll get back tomorrow.

For over sized patterns her is a video. the trick is to drill extra holes and to tape the back. https://youtu.be/qO00Z7hatK4

Been awhile since I posted. This last project took approximately 6 weeks to complete. Pattern by Lewis A. Jewell. Size is 45” w, 36” h. This is the third one I’ve done.

An easy cut with western red cedar, pattern from Sheila Landry

For me and the blade I use the most ( FD Polar #! ) I use the following criteria: 1. feed rate slows down 2. blade won't track right 3. blade won't make tight turns 4. blade "wanders" 5. when changing holes the blade is either bend front to back or has a noticeable kink side to side 6. when changing hole I will gently run my finger against the teeth, if I can feel a difference in the sharpness from where the blade is cutting and what does not cut.

Cut is from 1/2" Red Oak. The original design calls for 14" x 8" but I had a nice 24" board I wanted to use and being cheap, decided to reduce the pattern to get two. Not the smartest move I have ever made. The fine print letters would be hard enough at full size. The smaller size made that worse. LOL

Just finishing this one up. Pattern from an old magazine. 1/2 plywood plaque (9 layers), I cut two stacked, FD Polar #1, Ebony for the dark stripes, dark walnut for the body, natural for the face and background. I saved all the dropouts (taped them back in place while I cut the rest of the pattern) stained them separately and then glued them back in place, the dark stripes were glued just pround of the surface (toothpicks for spacers 5/64" )

For me, it’s easy. When the blade no longer cuts the way I want it too, it gets changed. It has nothing to do with time, or distance, if it isn’t cutting the way it was when it was new, I change it. Like was mentioned above, I have even changed a brand new blade because it did not cut the way it should. At the very least, I replace the blade before starting another project, I replace blades after each session, I replace the blade when the cut starts getting ragged, I replace the blade when it won’t track properly. This is why blades are sold in bulk…. Packages of 144 or a gross. I think once you start changing blades more often, your scrolling will become more enjoyable.

The longer you cut the duller the blade gets and the slower it cuts. When it becomes too slow or hard to control I switch blades. I seldom break blades.

My Grandson and his Girlfriend (soon to be wife) are expecting a baby boy in September. When my Grandsons' were born, I was only in my early 40’s and felt I was too young to be called Grandpa so I said just call me Grumps. That has stuck to this day, so now I’m going to be a Great Grumps! I was looking for something to make for them and stumbled across this Stencil that I thought would be perfect. I converted it to a 12” x 18” pattern that I cut in 5/32” Solid Core Birch ply. The cut panel was affixed to an Air Brush painted ¼” x 12 x 18” BB ply Backer. The Pattern is very simple, taking me less than two hours to cut using my go to Pegas #2/0 spiral blades. Painting and drying took a lot longer. The assembled panel was protected with multiple coats of Krylon Clear Gloss Acrylic Finish. While the paint dried, I made a Gallery Style Floating Frame constructed out of 3/4" wide Poplar rails and finished with Glidden Max-Flex All Surface spray can Armor (Silver) paint. I will let the Frame paint fully cure for a few days and then get this into the mail by early next week so they can hang it in the Baby Nursery. Yes as always, comments and critiques are welcome.

Another kirigami design by https://lightboxgoodman.com/collections/kirigami-digital 3/8 bbply (buying the 4'x8' sheet at Lowes and cutting it down is a lot cheaper, I found, than the smaller sheets, and I ran across surprisingly few voids). Frame was a 2x2, ripped in half. Minwax Honey and Natural stains. Lost count of the number of Pegas 0/2MG blades. Not a difficult cut at all, the hardest part was the outside cut, around the butterfly...only one bridge holding him to the rose, and some thin areas. Overall a good pattern! I think I blew it up to 125% when I printed, but I have no regrets. I had to round off the corners of the piece in order to not run into the throat depth of my 16" saw, but since I wasn't stack-cutting this, it was no problem.

For me its when i start over-forcing the piece into the blade instead of letting the blade do the cutting. I will also speed up the cutting 25-50% to what i had when i originally started cutting with the new blade. That's the hint its getting dull. They go in the "used" test tube for use on another day when my supplies get low

I took a stab at using epoxy resin to compliment these Steve Good patterns. If others are interested I can furnish some helpful hints on the process I use.

Another question, at least I have not broken any blades. So, when am I using a dull blade? I think I have a tendency to change blades to a new one too often, as when I take it out it doesn't feel a lot different than when I first put it in the holder and that can be several hours latter. I've used the same blade now all day today and seems to still cut quite well. Perhaps I should be checking the cut itself for particularities and if so, what?

Do states have a “State Color” ? I’m not aware of one for Michigan and since Michigan has lakes surrounding it I painted this blue for the water sort of. I’ve been doing some other state ornaments and not sure about colors to paint them or just make them all blue like the Michigan one. So far everyone I’ve shown the painted vrs. Walnut backer they all like the painted better so I feel like I should be painting them all. Just not sure about the colors. What is your thoughts?

Playful Donkeys pattern by Jaeheon Yun in the book 20 Minute Scroll Saw Puzzles. Made from 3/4" Poplar and cut on the Pegas Scroll Saw using Pegas #3 MGT blades. A light sanding, dipped in diluted Shellac and then another light sanding. Comments welcome.

Rainy day so spent some time in the shop, nothing fancy just something to keep busy.

that would do fit for me as well, but that I have not seen. I'm about to go out and see how a new blade feels as opposed to my yesterdays blade. Ok, so the last 5 hours I've been having fun and YES, a new blade really makes a difference. I even had the blades to use, but you all gave me a good sense of what to look for. I changed blades twice sense I restarted this morning, I guess three times as I put a spiral blade in for some of it. I'll try to add my practice project when I'm done here.

That's a good one. INTOT

I thought it was time to try another plane. The British Mosquito since it was made mostly out of wood. Interesting tidbit. General Hap Arnold was in England looking at production of the Mosquito days prior to Pearl Harbor and was very interested and recommended it to the Army Air Corp. The P-38 was already in production and decided it could do the job. The Mosquito became a very successful high speed medium bomber and night fighter because it was hard to detect by radar. It helped it also had 2 Merlin engines. I cut this plaque on 1/4 BBPW (ran out of 1/8" stock) 3/16 backer, shellac and lacquer finish. Original print was on 8.5 x 11 but took it to copy store for a slight enlargement. A-1 paper may be large enough. The greyed out areas are for bridges that can be painted later.

Here's my latest work. Lots of time spent making the pattern and cutting this one.

Good start for Christmas. Way to go. Nice variety there too Dick heppnerguy

I bet you are loving that new saw a lot. You certainly produced a couple of beautifully done projects with it Dick heppnerguy

If you do one for New Mexico it will be yellow! Erv

That is so beautiful and I love the colors. Fabulous job Frank and congratulations on your coming addition. Marg

Very Cute. Marg

Wow the motorcycle is awesome, so clear and crisp. You have found a really good friend in your new saw. Marg

I have heard this too and tried it but didnt get better results than just cutting a quick line and seeing how well it goes. Too squigly and hard to control, add a bit more tension.

Hi all !! I have been a woodworker for pretty much my whole life (42 years young), well certainly as soon as I could hold a toy saw anyway. LOL I got into scrollsawing back in the early 2000's when I'd saved enough money to buy myself a craftsman scroll saw. I know that doesn't sound like a huge deal but at the time I was a young father with 2 kids both in diapers. We lived in a rented mobile home and I used the back porch with a tarp wrapped around it as my workshop. If you dropped anything chances are it would roll into a crack between the deck boards and be gone forever. There was no power outlets so I tapped into the outside light fixture with one of those screw in things that give you an outlet. If anyone turned off the switch I was in the dark and my tool stopped. Fastforward many years and I have a full shop. I wore out the craftsman scroll saw years ago and only just recently bought a new saw. I went with the 16" king industrial which seems to be similar to the excalibur, pegas and excellsior -- although I'm still not clear on the differences. Oh, and I also 3d print and designed a better vac attachment for my saw that works pretty well. (I'm sort of proud of it) LOL

we had to put my girlfriends dog down a week ago today. Dazzle was a survivor of the thailand dog meat trade and lived at a rescue we both volunteered at. Daz had to have a mast cell tumor removed 17 months ago . my GF took her home for the healing period. she wouldnt let daz go back. my girlfriends nicknames for daz were "puddin butt" and "weirdo." she was such a goofy dog and lived the last 17 months of her life being loved tremendously. the "weirdo" is upside down and off center on purpose because...welp... WEIRDO!! LOLOL i thought a keepsake box of some things of dazzles that are precious to my girlfriend might be nice

I designed a new unique cell phone and tablet holder which i needed. Then i loved it so much and decided to create its pattern for others use. Have fun! Wooden Adjustable Phone Tablet Stand.mp4

Just sharing stupid little test "Tes" and practice piece. It is a mix between "people and pets" and compound cuts. I went to the chiropractor and thought I could practice on his character. People and pets.... is a pattern book that inspired me. A chiropractor sketch that inspired me. Back ache one one side . And front view on other side. Both Hand sketched on wood. Final cuts... Oops sorry I delivered it and forgot to get a finished picture. I dipped in Arm R Seal. It is setting on reception desk at Chiropractors office. He named him "Tes". He is a block head. I can make more of them and have a block party. Me. Mark Eason

I agree with you on that.. I'm not sure some of the other colors would give the details of the ornament that pop.. yet be soft on the eyes to look at. I might have to just paint a few backers and see how other colors might look. I'm kind of thinking the blue is going to be the top choice though.

Here in Louisiana you could go with black and gold for the saints, purple and gold for the lsu tigers or crawfish boil red ! Lol

I love those. Probably should try some. I ordered plans to a Model A a few weeks ago, a I think maybe little over my level. But I love those little guys!

I can’t tell you how impressed I am with your patterns. Your cutting is awesome as well.

Charlie, Amazing work as always. Banks has been acting a long time. I remember him in some movies I think as far back as the 1980's. I haven't watched this latest show though. Well done!

Hey Everyone! In this scroll saw project video, we make this amazing Nasa spaceship Diorama! This Steve Good design uses 1/4 inch material for everything except the base which is 3/4 inch material. This Spaceship looks like its ready to blast off into orbit. Hope you all like the video! #ArtisanPirate

Batman made from 3mm diabond aluminium and 3 clocks made from old scratched LP's

There were a few spots that were. The pattern printed smaller than I thought, but always up for a challenge.

I want to thank everyone for their kind words regarding my projects. Some folks have expressed an interest in how i go about using epoxy in my fretwork. I thought I might start by showing the items you will need to get started. I am not an expert and recognize that there are other ways, and maybe better ways, to do these type of projects. I would welcome hearing from everyone about their experiences. I'll try to post a little bit every day as I go through a project. You are going to need the following......weights or some way to hold your project flat against your backing ( the fiona kingdom video shows another way to do this/ f clamps and wood )Pic # 1 some of ny dad's old oil feild stuff i use as weights, pic # 2...resin colorant, pkg tape, level, toothpick, cotton swab, stir stick, pipette, lighter, small plastic measuring cup, bigger silicone measuring/stirring cup, flat piece of bb ply or just ply to use as a work surface and you can move your project from one area to another.....also, you will see a small piece of duck brand clear shelf liner, that is another option to use as a backer. Pic # 3 Resin and wood sealer. You can get all this stuff from amazon for somewhere around 50 bucks. Ya'll don't make fun of my work shoes as it took me a long time to get them just the way I like them....forrest... Ps... a couple of more project pics.( Steve Good patterns )