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My SIL sent me a picture of a case that one of her friends had with the quotation -- "Interesting". That is a hint hint. The one she showed me was done by a laser so I redesigned for the scroll saw. The sewing machine is from Steve Goods picture. Size is 3 3/4 by 2 3/4. 4 layers 1/8 BB. Swivels on magnets to open.

Having fun cutting these birdhouses. Been using scrap material of what ever I have and cutoffs from the hardwood dealer. Have cut 50+ with at least the same waiting to be cut. I like the different colors in some Cedar pieces and the grain in the Cypress is nice. Even tried something different with the sock shaped one. Painting the birds different colors and cutting some from Purple Heart and other woods.

Well, as people have noticed I have been quite the Welsh Love Spoon maniac of late... All thanks to James WeIch! I said I was going to take a spoon break (I lied and posted those) and do some clocks. Well, here is one that I just completed yesterday, just waiting for the finish to cure so I can do a 3000 grit final sanding. I also decided to fit the brass finish clock insert vs the silver. It is made out of oak, ang finished with Old Masters satin polyurethane gel. Rocking chair clock measures 6h x 5d x 6w Pattern comes from the Fox Chapel book: Miniature Wooden Clocks for the Scroll Saw ps: I have four more clock inserts, so I need to make some more

I cut a fret work box a few years ago that I really liked. It was made out of Bubinga wood and had a great looking redish color. I have used up most of my Bubinga and come to find out it has become very hard to get. I had some 1/4" Mahongany left over from another project and decided to give a try. The pieces I had were not as wide as the original project, so I had to go a little smaller. Lots of repetitive cuts and I liked adding the funiture style feet. I dadoed the edges 1/8" on all side but the top for a stronger fit and glued in place with CA glue including the bottom. I recessed the hinges 1/8" on the base and flush on the top and used my 2 sided tape technique for positioning the hinges. Waxed and pretaped the screws and then ground down the screws for the top so they would not pass through the the 1/4" material. Finish is Shellac and Gloss lacquer.

I think this entire thread illustrates why it is so difficult to recommend a specific blade to new scrollers. There are so many variables that aren't even related to the blade itself.

I'm curious as to just how much everybody appreciates this site. For me, it was the beginning of a long and truly fascinating hobby. It allowed me to learn the ins and outs of how to make things using a scroll saw. But, more importantly, it gave me the opportunity to meet many great folks who share the same interests as me. So, with that said, just how important is SSV to everybody? What if it went away? Would you all miss it or would you just move along to the next site? I guess what I'm saying is, if you feel as I do, become a patron of the site and cough up $10/yr for the basic membership. Or $20 for the next level. If you can spare it go all the way and opt for the monthly plan of $5/mo. It takes money to keep these websites going and that's why many don't make it. I'd be VERY unhappy to see this one fade away as so many others have. Give it some thought. It's the only one, besides Steve Good's site, that I donate to and I don't miss the few bucks it costs. For the cost of maybe one board a year, you can help keep it alive. P.S. This idea is on me. Not anybody else.

Been awhile scent I posted a picture. Been working on none scroll saw things. Seen these patterns on Sheila Landry web site a just had to make them. Used hickory and #5 pegas mg blades.

I was able to tackle another of Jim Blume's Americana series, this being Americana 2, Grandpa's Boot. It's cut into 1/4-inch Maple stained with Minwax Natural and has a 1/4-inch Pine backer painted black. The frame is custom cut Pine and stained with Minwax Ipswich. I thought it was neat that the grain in the frame met at three of the corners. The other two welcome signs are from Steve Good and cut from 1/4-inch Maple with a Lauan backer painted black. The Maple was stained with Minwax Espresso. All the pieces have multiple coats of Polyacrylic with light sanding with 500 grit paper between coats. I have a craft show in August and it is to be at a dog training facility. I expect there will be a lot of dog lovers coming through... hence the dog welcome signs and other dog pieces I've made recently.

Any discussions like this is valuable info. For me, anyway. Thanks.

I had a feeling it would devolve into a blade discussion. I'm really not advocating one over another. I wanted to tell the story of how something simple like a bad batch of blades (giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming its a bad batch) can cause major frustration. And how you should keep trying because sometimes finding that simple problem can make all the difference.

I really don't want to start a debate. I just want to tell you guys what I experienced. I bought a hegner (had a king) and around the same time bought a bunch of pegas blades. I didn't put the two together though and just knew that I was breaking blades like crazy on the hegner. I thought it was the learning curve or something. Well long story short I eventually put the two together and bought some flying Dutchman. They came in today and I'm not breaking blades at all. Could be lots of factors involved, I know, but so far it feels like flying Dutchman has awoken the great saw that was hiding under a pile of broken blades and I'm excited.

Me too. This was a very helpful thread even if it went on a tangent. Thanks James for starting the conversation!

Nice! I dare not show this to my wife.

I have the same issue with my Hawk and smaller blades. I have to back the tension all the way of and slowly tweak it until I find the sweet spot. That is one of the reasons it is for sale.

Can deduct the subscription on your business taxes. No different than a magazine subscription..

Things change, and all of the groups disappear sooner or later. I have been online since before there was an internet. I was on BBS using 300baud modems. (Anyone remember fidonet) A few of those made it to the internet but most vanished. In many cases over the years the owner dies and no one takes over and noone pays the bills. Corporate sites are the worst. I was a member of many Yahoo groups and an admin on several. All are all gone when Yahoo decided to not continue groups. Facebook groups could go the same way easy. One thing I have learned from all of this is that if you want it download it for tomorrow it may be gone. Eventuall this forum will disappear. Forums grew out of the old BBS systems and are still the best way for those with special interests to gather on line. This is one of the best I have seen so I just paid for my first month. I'm going to have to do it manually.

I'm right there with you Ray.. I've been on the scroll saw sites a bit longer than you and I've met and lost contact with a lot of people over the years due to sites disappearing and the folks on them split off to other sites with different user names and or just stayed off scroll sawing sites. To me it's totally worth helping support the village to help prevent something like that from happening again. 20 years ago it was Yahoo & MSN groups and then they ( MSN and Yahoo ) closed down the groups etc.. Many of the folks went to the Magazine site however they had to upgrade their site and had many issues doing that so the site was down for a good 6 weeks or more.. and they lost all the username stuff so people had to re-join.. that site hasn't been the same since. Used to be hoppin with topics etc. The $5 a month to me is better than paying a subscription to the magazine that I also dropped because they can't seem to lay out the patterns in them in a easy user friendly way.. yeah the stories are nice to read but you can't actually interact with the people in a magazine either.. I easily could get my $5 a month value in the patterns we have here too.

I break more blades on my Hawk / Hegner saws than I do / did on any other saw... they are just very picky about tension. The reason I believe is how long those arms are compared to the 3- 4 inch arms on a King. I have the 26" Hawks and those arms must be 30" or more long.. that blade takes a lot more stress on those long arms than they do on those short arms of a King. I've said it before but I almost gave up on my learning curve of the Hawk saws.. I couldn't for the life of me get it to stop breaking blades.. they are just that picky. Now I rarely break blades unless I'm running them too dull too long.. When I got my Henger I slid right into the seat with no blade breakage.. My experience between the Hawk and Hegner is the Hegner is way more forgiving on the blades.. maybe because of the shorter arms of my 18" Hegner vrs. the long arms of the 26" Hawks. I use both FD and Pegas blades along with a few other brands.. Yes the Pegas do break easier than the others.. The sizes of the Pegas run a bit smaller too.. ( ie a #5 Pegas is like half way between a #3 and #5 of a Flying Dutchman ) Many times on the very small blades I'll run a size larger than I normally would with a FD, Olsen etc. especially with the spirals.. I normally run a 2/0 in FD, but if I use a Pegas I jump to a #1. I like the Pegas spirals but for the most part since I have a couple gross of FD I just use those no more than I use spirals these days.

https://www.pswood.com/super-sharps-scroll-saw-blades/ When using pegas blades for inlays I don't feel like I can turn clockwise as sharp as counter clockwise. With super sharps I feel I can turn as sharp in both directions. It may be all in my head. The Super Sharps are expensive but for me they are worth it for what I am using them for.

They are awesome blades and last a long time, However there are no reverse teeth so they do leave the fuzzies etc. I only use them on certain thick wood applications but I know some exclusively use them.. for me they are too pricey and too much sanding for a everyday blade. I find the Pegas are just about as sharp / aggressive so I may never buy super sharps again for what I cut. I only got them to try.. they are sharp and last a while longer but not sure the price of them makes it worth it over the Pegas MGT blade. https://www.pswood.com/super-sharps-scroll-saw-blades/

I also did the boot/flower. I like what you did with the frame with the space between the frame. Great work.

That has happened in the past and they were replaced. Call your supplier.

Get real use to cutting and tension with the FD blades and the saw. Then try the Pegas blades again. I experienced the same, but for some reason all of a sudden I was able to use the Pegas blades. I use both now. FD' are stiffer than Pagas, And for me Pegas will break easier, but not often enough to bother me. That was my experience anyway.

The Winfield Collection has 4 pattern sets of the Mini Birdhouses. One set is the stand up patterns. They are Diana Thompson patterns. https://www.thewinfieldcollection.com/category/s?keyword=compound+cut+ornaments

I'm not posting to start a debate. I hope that was clear in my post. I know there are preferences and variables. This was about being unsatisfied with my saw purchase and finding out that it was a blade issue. I just wanted to share that sometimes it's something simple.

Many patterns are cut from within the edges of the blank, so the hot glue is never in contact with a finished edge of the piece. On others the finished edges are covered by a frame, such as with a portrait, or otherwise not visible. For those times when hot glue is applied to a visible, finished edge, a sharp chisel or razor knife will quickly take care of it.

Since I still had a bit of the walnut slab left, I made another (smaller) version of the spoon as there wasn't enough material for a full-size one. I made the "bowl" more modern and deeper than the primitive bowl. Here is an image comparing the two. Actually, it was quite quick to make and finish as I used the flex wheel sander to shape the handle and the back of the bowl. I decided to use my rotary tool and Kutzall bit to carve out the bowl. Finished with raw linseed oil.