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I had a nice, puttering day in the shop today. Worked on the glue up of my first multi-wood intarsia piece. I have reduced the pattern for this. Pattern designer is Janette Square. Used Poplar, Rainbow Poplar, Sapelle, Maple for the plant. Searched for wood to make a frame. Have that cut and glued. While all that was going on, did a fun little project. Thank you Steve Good! Frog is cut from Poplar and glued to a pine cookie left from a Christmas tree a number of years ago. Still needs the finish. Then I started another project. The wood is Cherry. Pattern by H Botas. What you are seeing is the back of it. Using #1 spiral blades. Thought of you @FrankEV while I was cutting. Turned the speed down on the saw and tried to keep a light touch.

I asked hubby to build me a bird feeder to fit over the rail of our deck. This is what he came up with, plus he made one with a roof. I think the birds like them!

My first multi-wood intarsia piece is done. Finished with 4 coats of shellac. Frame is scrap wood, oak??? Finished with one coat of black Osmo.

I finished my scroll project of my agility dog, Baxter, that recently passed away. @Charlie E kindly made a pattern of him for me to cut. (Keep reading below the pictures) This is actually the first pattern I have ever cut...all my others have been free-hand. Anyway, I ordered an Aspen board and it was warped so after cutting it, it warped even more. I decided to glue it to a 3/4 inch backer board to try to flatten it. I decided to use a fairly thin coat of epoxy and put a large weight on it. I forgot, however, that the floor has become uneven in my shop due to the subzero (-11) weather and the bench was no longer level. So when I came back to see it 6 hrs later it slid off the backer and was stuck solid: I decided to take it to my 14 inch bandsaw and resaw the back off (it barely fit). After I was done I discovered I had a second picture of Baxter...a bit different/artsy/tye-dyed? from the original because the aspen wood was about 1/32 thick (or less) over the epoxy and shadows came through. Well, I made a new backer for the original piece and used titebond glue instead and pin nails. The aspen wood is now 3/8+ thickness with a 3/4" backer. So now I have 2 pictures of Baxter! @Charlie E thank you again for creating the pattern for me

The most important thing here is good to see you post again, @hotshot You have been missed.

Back of December 26,2013, Dan posted his attempt at a Carved Fretwork Cat that he had wanted to try for many years after reading an Article in Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts, Fall 2008 by Dick Miraglia. Well, his very successful attempt got me thinking about trying to do another carved fretwork piece. I had recently obtained an Eagle head illustration from a stock vector website called Freepik.com that I converted into a scrollable pattern, and I thought it would make a good subject for a carved piece. I was able to use Inkscape to convert the illustration into a scrollable pattern. I made two versions of the pattern, one for printing on 11x17 inch paper and one for printing on Suber B 13x19 inch paper. I’ll post them in Pattern Exchange for anyone who may be interested. As I most frequently create my Art Panels in very thin materials, I do not have a stock of thick - full one inch or greater – materials available. And, since working with a thick panel is well outside my comfort zone, I was reluctant to order some expensive material to experiment with. However, in Lowes, I found some Live Edge rough sawn full 6/4 x >13” x 6’ - unmarked, but I think - Southern Yellow Pine slabs that were on-sale. Unfortunately, the piece I purchased was too wide to fit through my planer or I would have reduced the thickness to a 5/4 or a little less. Because the slab width was greater than 13 inches, I was able to use the larger pattern for this project. Although the pattern is an easy cut, the cutting itself was VERY slow. The SYP is very hard in the heartwood areas, while quite soft elsewhere. I used Pegs #5 MTG R and Pegas #5 skip tooth blades to do most of the cutting. The skip tooth blade seemed to work better of the two. In some small areas I used a Pegas #3 MGT R blade. For cutting such thick wood, it was imperative the blade be perfectly perpendicular to the table, so the cut-out material would slip out easily. In many of the complicated shaped areas the cut-outs were done in sections to make removal easier. In order to lower the bacground I had to use AC glue to attach additional pieces of wood on each side flush to the top surface in order to maintain the base of my Trim router level while lowering the area beyond the image out to the edge of the panel. I had to replace the standard Trim router base with a much larger base to span the lowered area that was wider than half the width of the standard base. I used a 1” diameter Surface Planing Router Bit, in multiple passes, to lower the area about 3/8 of an inch. My only gripe about doing this kind of project is the sawdust mess the router makes when lowering the background area. My router table has dust collection, but the handheld Trim router does not. My shop s small and the sawdust get all over everything - poor me . I decided that, since the cutting was to be an unframed plaque, I would not make it square and I chose to make large radius rounded corners. So it was necesssary to cut the perimeter after all the fretwork and lowering was completed, but before carving. To do so, I had to attach a second pattern to the reverse side so I could flip the panel over to cut the perimeter in order to follow the cut line. After the perimeter cut was completed I used my bench mounted belt sander to smooth the perimeter to the line and then rounded the perimeter top edge on my Router Table using 1/4" round-over router bit. Carving was done using a combination of large sculpturing bits mounted in my Guinivere Wand which take off a lot of material fast but leaves very rough surfaces, and small sculptuing bits mounted in my Dremel Wand for the more detailed work. This required finishing by power sanding using my sanding mop and my small detail sander followed by a lot of hand sanding. The carved image was hand painted with Artist Acrylics, using the original illustration as a guide, and the completed plaque was protected with multiple applications of s spray Clear Gloss Acrylic Coating. This is the original illustration. This is my finished Plque. Sorry for the long narative. Comments and critiques always welcome.

Nice. I bet the birds would like them more if you installed a little heater! LOL

Another recent cut from Steve Good's collection.. After a few people seen it now i get to make a couple more of them...

I guess to diagnose a problem it'd help a great deal to know what has been done already.. I may be making suggestions that has already been done. There is a lot of mechanical things that can lead to tension issues.. Even a lot of the "pros" can overlook something.. so make a list of what you've tried.. and maybe someone here can suggest something.. no point in us guessing at things that have already been addressed. Also when is the tension issue arise? Immediately or over the course of doing a cut? Blade breaking or no?

Well, it's been some time since I've posted here, so I apologize if this is a bit long. After seeing the awesome work some have done with epoxy fill on their work I gave it a try, several times (lol) and each time, in my opinion was an epic fail. I just couldn't get the epoxy to be bubble free. I really wanted it to look like stained glass. So then the little voice in my head went " just use actual stained glass". I really shouldn't listen to that voice, but I tried. I've learned that I suck at cutting glass, result..epic fail #2. Then while at work and pondering my dilemma about how cool the stained glass stuff is and how talented those folks who can create those awesome looking pieces and I really wanted to do something like that except with wood on my scrollsaw! So after many attempts I came up with this. As this is only a test I used basswood to keep cost down and colored acrylic, which I cut on my scrollsaw (win-win) ! The acrylic is in the middle so it looks the same from both sides. For me this is a success, so on to different woods and more complex patterns, I'm thinking that Intarsia patterns might be a good fit for this. Now to dig thru all my Intarsia patterns. Chris

A jewelry box for my only granddaughter. This project called for woodworking techniques I have never done before. From the hand cut blind dove tails to controlling chip-out on the curly maple - it has challenged (and frustrated) me beyond measure. The drawers are divided and flocked in black. The bottom drawer has a ring storage area. It is FINALLY done and I will be giving it to her at her birthday party today. It has a hidden drawer that is accessed by a sliding panel on the back. I am ready to get back to scrolling now.

Made this for my granddaughter's 3rd birthday. First time cutting acrylic sheet. Piece of cake! Reading about problems cutting it had me terrified beforehand!

I love and hate harbor freight, at the same time. Hercules cordless rocks, period. But their advertising kills me. 30 percent off no exclusions* . . . . of course the * always has the "gotcha", in this case, "On Items $20 or under", which "is an exclusion" at least in my book. But, then I get over it, and see the bang/buck on Hercules tools, even at full or bundled prices. I've pretty well stopped paying for the yellow plastic and now everything new is Hercules, and they have been holding their own. It's not that HF doesn't still carry crap, but it's always a cost/value proposition. Their Cement mixer is underpowered, but I work around it, and since I can afford the cheap option, cheap wins.

I would guess it is from Pinterest. There are a ton of Tree of Life patterns there. I would love to see this cut.

I don't remember where I downloaded this from, but I think it's pretty unique with the dancers incorporated in the tree.

You have more nerve than me, I would just have started again. Brilliant job and congrat's on your first portrait. Great work on the pattern @Charlie E. Marg

That right there is what makes it all worthwhile. Good job man. That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

This was a request from my cardiologist this past year. Little did I know that he travels to an Indian reservation and treats heart patients. So after seeing what I do with the maple burl slabs, he requested one of a "Young Indian Boy Dancing". Since the doctor is of East India decent, I asked him, "Indian from India or Native American Indian?" Native American he said, so from a photograph of a young Indian dancing at a local powwow, here is the finished project. This was done on my 21" Seyco and the wood was one and a quarter inch thick. This was my most favorite piece I did in 2023. Jane Hiatt

Making a lamp for a contest at our wood turning club. The lamp was made on the lathe but the shade was made with the scroll saw.

No Tea--- Time To Flee

Here is the frog. Two coats of shellac as the finish. The succulent now is posted in Bragging Rights.

Just taking a wild stab at what's going on without actually seeing the saw right in front of me.. and seeing what others have said you have done already.. I kind of question the condition of the threads in the adjuster block at the back of the saw.. I personally would start by making sure the upper arm is parallel to the saw table and adjust that knob at the back of the saw until it is. My saw had a issue with that back knob just freely spinning on it's own and would get all out of adjustment. As for mechanical problems.. that rod and threaded block seem to be the only thing I haven't really seen mention of.. When you lower your upper arm down if it come down and kind of slams hard.. that is beating up on the threads of that rod and the threaded block. The only other part I could comment on is if the blade chucks have been tighten too tight, this can cause the blade chucks to spread open and not give a true clamp of the blade.. This would require replacement of the whole assembly.. If that was the case I recommend the Pegas chucks from Denny. Since you've already replaced the set/thumb screws I feel like the two things I mentioned are what is left to check.

Thanks!! It took me a year to complete it - primarily because I had so much time and effort in on the project I procrastinated before each additional step because it put all the previous work at risk. This is a classic case of pushing yourself if you truly want to learn new stuff.

Sure looks like the birds love the feeders. Squirrels are a problem here too.

Waiting for the finished project.

The clamp material is soft and can be overtightened causing the clamp to be out of alignment causing poor contact. I suggest replacing with a Pegas Chuck Head for popular saws. I have them on my website linked below my signature.

Lots of happy birds. Your hubby did well Judy. Gosh, that must be worth a steak dinner… Lol

Already done plus more.

In my case, it would be bears.

Cleaning the contact points of what holds the blade in is always the first line of defense. Not sure what holds the blade in on those saws but if it is setscrews, make sure they are set properly as far as distance in and out. Make sure they are sanded down to get rid of any oils from the blades. also I always sand the ends of the blades I use down on both sides of blade and both ends of blades. They are manufactured with a coat of oil on them.

Presuming the Seyco's blade clamping and tensioning mechanism is the same as what is on my EX-21, there really isn't a whole lot that could be happening. If the Seyco had a tensioning mechanism like the Dewalt, for example, there are more potential mechanical reasons why tension could be slipping, but for a tensioning mechanism such as on the Excalibur, the options are limited. When the blade feels like it has slipped, do you notice slack in the blade when you re-clamp? Does the tension lever remain firmly in place? Is there any involuntary movement of the arm lifting knob at the rear of the saw? Blade slippage is the most likely culprit. You've owned the Seyco for 3 years, but have been scrolling for much longer. What kind of clamping method did you have on your previous saw(s)?

If you are the person I spoke to of facebook (and I think you are). You have already done this. Correct?

An inexpensive and easy thing to try is replacing the set screw and thumb screw inside part. You can buy the refurbish kit from Seyco. Get a set for top and bottom. I think it was around $10 the last time I bought one.

Variety is the spice of life! Very nice work you did there on your projects Barb, Thank you for showing, Bob

Bravo! What a masterpiece. It looks absolutely stunning ,you should be proud and the look on the grandies face is gorgeous.

What a great idea. I bet he will get lots of orders now. Marg

My first wooden ring work. Stone: Facet cut stem emerald. Wood: Olive-tree.

Love the idea. I lost the battle with our squirrels here. Would love to have the birds on the railing, Very cool.

I see your doing all kinds of scrollsaw categories. Cute idea to use the pine cookie.

Ron, thank you! He was the smartest dog I ever had and always happy...I am so glad @Charlie E was able to capture his smile in the pattern he sent me. Those border collies are also crazy smart and fast. They always win most of the agility events. Enjoy your doggie.... time goes so quickly...

Yes I turned the base on my lathe. It is called basket illusion. The weave around the outside I did with a wood burner. This is a picture of just the base.

Nice idea for the bird feeder. Squirrels on my property would love them.

That is a beautiful heirloom piece. Very nicely done.

Beautiful job by Charlie and Marie of a great looking dog. Sorry for your loss, you surely will miss him. Rick

What an awesome job you did on that. I wouldn't know where to start making something like that. You should be very proud on accomplishing a piece like that. It looks a lot bigger sitting on her lap.

Thanks Jess, well I thought I might as well give it a try because it was either that or the burn pile. I thought, well I could try cutting the pattern again but I really liked that white aspen which I had to order online and that was about all I had of it. So I thought I would give the bandsaw a try. I wore all my safety gear, did kind of a 'dry run' with different safety pusher blocks and to my surprise it didn't explode into a million little pieces!

Our very own Barb J. Enders’ Sunflower puzzle was featured in the letters to the editor of the spring issue of ScrollSaw Woodworking and Crafts magazine! Nice work Barb!

That is beautiful! Definitely will be a heirloom.

Delivered amidst smiles.

Here's one I've been going to cut. And another one in .pdf that I cut out of hickory. I've always been going to do it again but larger. Tree of life with ornate border.pdf