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This is another of Jim Blume's fantastic patterns. I double stacked a new wood (in this area) that was labeled as being "Blonde" and cut the pieces using Pegas 2/0 spiral blades. The piece with the black frame was stained with Natural and has a black cardboard backer. (A test to see how it worked.) The brown framed piece was stained with Ipswich and given a black wooden backer cut large enough to give it a border between the piece and the frame. Both frames were custom cut using pre-fab framing material. The pieces were sprayed with 4-coats of Polyacrylic and sanded with 320-grit between coats. While the "Blonde" wood cut alright and the presence of fuzzies were about the same as other woods, it did not have the wood grain I enjoy seeing in my pieces after finishing. I also cut another project with this wood and it really lacked the vibrance of a natural wood grain. If I decide to cut a piece I plan to paint, this may be a good choice because it is less expensive than Maple or Birch. However, if I plan to put several hours into a piece, I want the finished product to gleam with a unique grain pattern that shows the beauty of the wood. That pattern itself was an easy cut despite the number of frets. Jim did a great job. You would think by looking at it there would be some delicate areas. Actually, it was pretty stout even after the final cut.

This is one of my projects for today. Started carving at 3/4" thick blank stock, I was only going to go to 1/4" on the leaves, but I wound up going REALLY thin after I did shaping and sanding. Also working on my undercutting technique to get more dimension and shape. Still a bit more sanding before laying the Old Masters clear gel finish on it. My inspiration is the calla lilies in my garden.

Cut from 1/2" Red Oak. #3 MGT Pegas blades.

Last three I cut, kirigami papercutting patterns from https://lightboxgoodman.com/. Cut them for myself, just trying to find places to put them since the wife is getting a bit tired of all the "wood colors" around the house. LOL

Heceta head lighthouse intarsia.

This project was done on a new wood for me from Uruguay called Red Grandis, It was nice to work with. This is the natural color, a light reddish tone.

Good Morning Jimmy, I have been scrolling for about 14-15 years now. Started with a yard sale Craftsman and used it up till last December when I bought the new Wen 21. I also have a Hegner but don't care for it. Over the years I have learned a lot but still have more I can learn. I have my first piece and looking at my latest piece I see a vast improvement. I have done silhouettes, portraits, a fair amount of fret pieces. Like Gene I am a slow as you go cutter. My go to blade is the #5 reverse or ultra reverse. Since I did stained glass before Scrolling I had somewhat of advantage with using a saw (I have a glass cutting saw) and fitting pieces together. Some people are natural scrollers and others have to work hard at it. A lot also depends on the type of wood you use. I generally use 1/4 inch anything thinner I have issues with. Hickory, birch, and cedar are my favorite woods to work with. Oak is harder but I still use it. Some woods seem to cut cleaner than others so less sanding. The little fuzzies are the ones that drive me crazy. As for the items you see in Hobby Lobby and other big box store they are machine cut and done by automation. They don't have the character a nice scrolled piece has. Remember we are all our own worse critic, we see the flaws that others don't see. Give yourself time and practice and you will continue get improve. Don't beat yourself up you are doing fine work and will keep improving. Take pictures of each of you cuttings and date them, then you can look back and see have you have improved. Chels.

Seriously people, no Adams Family fans here? How about Dirk Gently? A picture from the market:

I cut this skull and crossbones for my grandson. I cut it from baltic birch plywood. We are still debating how to finish it.

I am trying to use a stack of random length and thickness wood pieces. I pick up a piece of wood and think: What can I cut from this?

My own pattern for a segmented Jimmy Buffet tribute.

Did two spoons out of the same slab of Cherry. Have not been in the shop much due to the heat, and also extra hours at work.

Lockheed Jet Star II Thought it was time to visit the “Way Back Machine” and look at the Jet Star II. Back in the mid 70’s and 80’s I worked as an aircraft mechanic at White Plains, NY (HPN) It was a major hub for business aviation aircraft 45 minutes north of NYC. One of the most familiar aircraft on the airport was the Jet Star I and Jet Star II. Companies like Xerox operated a fleet of these aircraft along with Reader Digest, Avco Lycoming and Texas Gulf Sulfur. It had 4 Honeywell 731 Turbo fan engines and fuel capacity of 18,000 lbs. with a range of about 2,500 miles. It could carry 10 passengers and 2 crew. It had inflatable leading edge boots on the wings for deicing. The original Jet Star I (P&W JT-12 Engines) was first produced in 1961 as part of a Gov program and the Jet Star II’s were produced from 1976 to 1979. A total of over 400 of both models were manufactured. The Jet Star I model has been retired but there are still some Jet Star II’s still flying.

A new batch of ornaments. 1/8" Baltic plywood, stack cut 5 layers, hand painted with glitter glue then three coats of shellac mix. FD#1 polar blades for all the cutting.

Never tried a spiral blade before. I just cut some pine to make this people/animal thingy and the wood was a bear to cut through and it was the first time I tried a #7 10TPI 7R and it got the job done chopping through pine but it ended up still being smooth. Three weeks into this hobby and I guess I'm too critical of what I do.

Home Depot also has what is called project panels. I cannot remember the exact sizes but I think they are 12 x 19 and can come in various thickness. Sometimes a project looks better cut from something other than bland grain of BBply. These project panels come in Birch, cherry, maple, and walnut ( maybe others too). I’ve never had an issue with this stuff and might be worth looking into if you’re stuck with mail ordering. I get my BBply locally in 5x5 sheets but have got them from Cherokee wood supply online during the pandemic and all was great quality. Prices are decent considering they have to be mailed.

There are no flaws in our work - it is all just design choices.

@jimmyG, if that's your work, you're certainly not a beginner. That's some excellent cutting.

I've been mostly working with 1/4 Baltic birch plywood. I use good lighting and use a magnifer. Drilling entry holes, not using any blades past 3 or 4 and moving at a snail's pace. I understand it takes time but that's why my question was geared to the long time scrollers with many years of practice to answer if their current work, close up has flaws. I don't see close up shots of intricate work posted often.

So, I had the thumb book holders on display last week, and actually remembered some books. I just need something to display how it works....something......something... ! some "thing". Due to the interconnectedness of the universe, Steve Good had a pattern this week of a hand holding a heart. A little work with Inkscape and I made a "thing" :

Ocooch Hardwoods and KJP are my two go-to sources. I have not been disappointed with either of them. I decided that if I was going to produce "heirloom" quality pieces, I would NOT cheap out on wood.

Personalized enitials.

Project complete Team Tokens. 27 inlay tokens for engineering team I work with. I wanted some inlay practice. See my other long post for what the symbol is. Warning I kinda got too technical.

I've been on a Christmas topic for a while. This another Sue Mey pattern to share.

Various projects for the market; drying in the shop. I have several lengths of rebar, so I utilizing it for drying projects.

Took another shot at ordering some 1/4 Baltic birch plywood. It "looked" fine at first glance but after the pattern was applied and 40 some holes drilled it turned out to be a chip out mess. The thickness was NOT 1/4 and the outer veneers were paper thin. After trying every fancy blade I own it was not meant to be. Tear out was horrible on both sides. That crap is on it's way back. This part of my woodworking experience has been very challenging. I don't mind paying a premium price if I'm getting value!

Been into Our Hobby for Decades. Your ability to Scroll at this point is Way, Way above any Beginner. Keep Improving and tackle some Harder projects. Danny :+}

I ran across this pattern, which by the way was not a scroll saw pattern, and liked it so much I printed it so my wife could look at it later that day. Immediately she said that she really liked it and wanted me to cut it. I told her that it was not a scroll saw pattern and it was not a really clear photo of it anyway. Well my wife usually gets her way, so I told her I would try to look it up again and see if I could get a clearer look at it, but I could not find it again, so I enlarged it and gave it a go. I was going to make a frame for it and make a rectangular background but she did not want one like that. So I made an extended background and painted it with three different colors, as I did. So this is how it came out. Reminds me of something from a kids story book about witches or something like that. Dick heppnerguy

I've only been scrolling about 6 months but I've learned a few things. First, this site is a treasure trove of good information. On here, I learned different blades from different manufacturers have different cutting characteristics. Some folks can cut a straight line with even a spiral blade. Not me. I mostly use a #5 or # 7 flat blades. I haven't even tried to cut intricate patterns that might require much smaller ones. As to cutting straight lines, I cut really slow, use a head mounted 2.5 power magnifier and plenty of light. Lately, most of my material is 3/4 poplar. I find that thinner material requires more attention and a steadier feed rate. Don't try to compare your scrolling to the CNC work you see in places like Hobby Lobby. That's an excersize in frustration. Patience, practice and, more practice is what it takes. Especially if you're a novice like me. And, remember, sanding is an integral part of the process.

I purchased from Ocooch Hardwoods for over 10 years and only one incident which they rectified right away. I received my order yesterday with no problems.

excellent work

Bats and Moon puzzle by Al Baggetta found in the current issue of SWWC. I used 3/4" Hard Maple 8" square. Cut on the Pegas scroll saw using Pegas #3 MGT blades. After sanding, stained the bats with Saman stain and dipped in diluted Shellac. Then another light sanding with a Mac Mop. This puzzle is a little difficult as several bats are very similar in size. Careful assembly required. Comments welcome.

Here ya go, Witchita.

Beautiful cutting and wonderful sentiment.

Pictures, or it didn't happen.

Love the work. If you will allow me I would like to also add a plaque I made back then to commemorate that event. The tragic loss of life continues on even today as we look back to that horrific day. We Must Never Forget !

It seems that there are folks here who have suggested reliable sources. Have you tried any of them?

that's why I only use ooch woods good comp-and excellent wood of all kinds

10X8 BBPLY cut with spirals

This is the index that I got from Karl one of the members here I think. It is not complete but pretty close. I have only limited number of issues but I will look for oval basket. Creative Woodworks Index-3.xlsx

Steve Good posted this u tube demo on his site this morning. He is trying to get ahold of a machine to test it and do a proper review on it. My Wen has the locking button on the back of the saw and I really don't have a problem with it. The only time I really put the arm up is when I change blades.

https://www.stevedgood.com/catalog/index.php You can look under the category games and puzzles. He shows the dollar puzzle. I used that puzzle pattern and just bought movie prop money and sized my pattern to that. I use 1/4" BB plywood to make these. I found that is a good size to keep the puzzles from being to floppy and they stay together better. I lightly sand the wood to make sure it is smooth. I then seal it with a dewaxed shellac (Bullseye) . I then spray the back of the money with 3M 77 adhesive. carefully line the money up on the blank and use a roller to flatten down. I do not worry about any glue squeeze out. After I have both sides done I I take it to my disc sander and just lightly run the edges through to get rid of any glue and any paper hangover which really there never is if sized right. After I let them set and dry overnight and then spray with a satin gloss lacquer. making sure I get the edges too. I do both sides and of course one at a time. This seals the paper. I like Deft or Watco lacquer. After all said and done and now it is up to you to apply pattern as you normally would with any project using whatever method works for you. I will say I like to coat the pattern with some clear tape to help lubricate the blades because those puzzle blades which you need to use are very breakable and you go through a few per puzzle because all the tight turning. After awhile you do get a rhythm though and they are addictive. Good luck if you try them. oops I see a couple other questions from Charlie that I will answer here as well being I basically laid out my process of making them. I get my Puzzle Blades as they are called from Mike's Workshop and are FD blades. I only ever used FD blades. The prop money I will have to look up link. but it is movie prop money. There are many sites including Ebay, Amazon, Etsy and many more. Here is mine. You can get in all denominations as well as used or brand new. Now I remember why I never did $2 bills is because they did not have any. It has been some time since I did these. You could always use real money if you like. https://propmoviemoney.com/collections/full-print-prop-money Might as well lay out the rest of it. I cut these in rows as I found that to be easiest and also helps when I have to reassemble. I bought small thin boxes to use so I can sell completed. I use a carboard layer under the puzzle that customer could choose to use or not when storing puzzle. I place puzzle in a reuseable small bag all assembled and slide it in box. After that it is up to customer as to what and how to use them. Now I do warn people the pieces are small so not a childs toy. One other thing I should mention because someone mentioned mixing denominations to fool people. That is all well and good but remember the same pattern is used for all so they actually will go together but look weird.

I made this for my wife from Opal, mahogany and ash wood.

It's so great to hear from you J.T. even on this sad note. Please consider rejoining us here on SSV. We need your sage advice more now than ever. Lots of new scrollers. ComeONBACK! I did not want to comment in the thread about Rick Hutcheson because that is not about me. So just a quick note to say HI to the villagers who remember me and to answer Ray's post. Just an update as to my doings. Since the great shut down of the pandemic, the shows I was attending never made a comeback so my scrolling days came to an end. I sold off my Dewalt788 and Hegner18" saws for a fairly cheap price and it sounded like the new owners were enthused to have them. I did keep my 2 RBI's 220 and 226. But they have been idle and I have shifted my focus to turning and mostly the making of pens. I found these are far easier to sell and to also give away. I have included a couple photos of my last show I did and my set up. I really do have alot of stuff to get rid of. as I have gotten older the desire to do shows like that is not there any more. Last year I did sell some things through FB market place and may at some time do a yard sale thing and sell things from the garage to lighten the load for my family when I pass. The eyes and hands are definitely not the same. It is good that there are new members joining the site and choosing scrolling as their hobby of choice. It still has its merits but not what it once was. I basically can not add any new sage advice that has not been given by the senior members here, I am sure. But did want to say a BIG HELLO to all and maybe I will poke my head in from time to time again. Hope all are doing well.

It is the same in my area. Scrolling was alot more popular years ago but the lathe work has taken over by far. People doing bowls and segmented work as well as pen turning. I found we went through phases with my scrolling. When I first started I have mentioned here many times I was a huge fan of the Berry Basket and Rick and Karen's designs. They had a lot of projects that were geared to home decor and that is what I did mostly. The shelves, mirrors, tissue boxes, planters, table lamps and what they became famous for the collapsible basket/trivets. and so on. Then I added magazine racks and plenty of wall hanging items. They did sell and then they started to peter out and that is when I got huge into clock making because we all need clocks and the Victorian style of wood items faded. Unfortunately the I phone camera thing was not around back then so whatever photos I took were film style. I tried a few times to transfer some to digital and get them on my computer but not really good at that. I did put up a few photos of past work I did. here not sure how well they show up. As you can see, who uses magazine racks any more? Who collects spoons any more? I use to make those shelves 2 and 3 times as long depending on an order. And I made many other varieties of these items. This is just an example. Man back in the day I went thru alot of oak. I use to do many of these same items with a darker stain on them These are all natural finish. All finish with Watco Danish oil. Man went thru alot of gallons of that stuff too. Trip down memory lane. The wheel barrel and the tricycle are made from Mahagony and I just sold those last year thru FB. I had 5 of each left and just wanted to get them out of the basement so sold cheap and was surprised they went as quick as they did. Sold a couple of those shelves too. I have a few more large items such as wishing wells that I need to sell and get them out of the basement. I need to complete them first. Have all the pieces cut but need to assemble. they have to be at least 20 years old.

Excellent work

They came out quite nice. I think if I had choose one of your colors to use on the one I did for my wife, she probably would have liked it better. I guess I will just have to cut her another one, some day Dick heppnerguy

That is even more amazing and mystifying to me. Now I really do not understand how you accomplished this piece, but then I do not understand a lot of how people can do certain things they do. It is truly and interesting accomplishment. Wish I lived close enough to you to see with my own eyes how this was done. Dick heppnerguy

Thanks for all the nice comments. For clarification, this entire project is scrolled and carved from one thick board including the frame.

I been there and done that too.. which is why when doing puzzles.. I check the fit as I cut the pieces because no sense in continuing the cut... unless you really want that detail in the ornamental firewood