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It has been quite some time since I have posted, I have dropped in and caught up on some reading. On one of those visits I found a pattern by Jim Blume(Thank you) and decided to cut it. This is my cutting of Jim's Yellowstone. I stack cut 3 out of 1/8" Baltic Birch. measures 16 x 20 and is framed using 100+ year old elm barn board. Just over 14 hours of cutting using spiral blades. Again, Thank you Jim for sharing the pattern.

Wasn't going to cut this pattern because of the veining... I can mess up on some things and have sand paper bail me out but you pretty much have to get it right since there's no do overs. When I was cutting the hairline the blade was stuck when it was done so I cut it off rather than trying to back it out. All in all it wasn't too bad but the letters could have been better. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to add stain, wipe on poly or something else since the ply looks too light and plain. Then there's the deciding on a frame or something else for a backer other than black...

Don, is this what you’re thinking of? Don’t remember where I got it from, but I’ve had this out on my display when I’m exhibiting at our county fair.

Are you looking for this? Response stopped Certainly! Scroll saw cutting is a fascinating craft that combines precision, creativity, and patience. Let’s delve into the value of scroll saw projects: Experience and Skill Development: Working with a scroll saw provides a unique experience. The process of selecting patterns, handling the delicate blade, and maneuvering the wood demands skill and attention. As you gain expertise, you’ll learn to anticipate the blade’s movement, adjust tension, and create intricate designs. Each project contributes to your growth as a woodworker. Hours of Dedication: Scroll saw projects require time and dedication. The hours spent meticulously cutting intricate shapes add value to the final piece. Whether it’s a delicate fretwork ornament or an elaborate wooden portrait, the effort invested becomes part of the project’s worth. Artistry and Aesthetics: Scroll saw cutting allows for artistic expression. The ability to transform raw wood into intricate lace-like patterns or detailed silhouettes is captivating. The aesthetic appeal of scroll saw work—whether displayed on a wall, as part of furniture, or as standalone art—enhances its value. Customization and Personalization: Scroll saw projects can be customized to suit individual preferences. From choosing wood types to adjusting patterns, each piece becomes unique. Personalized gifts, home decor, and functional items (like wooden puzzles) hold sentimental value for both the creator and recipient. Attention to Detail: The precision required in scroll saw cutting sets it apart. Unlike other woodworking tools, the scroll saw allows for intricate curves and tight corners. The meticulous attention to detail elevates the value of the finished work. Market Value: The market for scroll saw creations varies. Some buyers appreciate the craftsmanship and are willing to pay for unique, handcrafted pieces. Factors like wood quality, complexity, and finishing contribute to the market value. In summary, scroll saw cutting isn’t just about creating objects; it’s about the journey—the hours spent refining your skills, the joy of bringing patterns to life, and the satisfaction of holding a finely crafted piece in your hands. Whether you create for personal enjoyment or to share with others, the value lies in the process and the end result

Baseball glove with ball. Truly speaking I have never held it in my hands and created this pattern by photos, I hope it turned out natural. Pattern - https://alexfoxua.etsy.com

Just a couple of charcuterie boards

I've been working to finish these two western pieces for a sale this coming weekend. They were both double stack cut and while one of the attached photos shows it is finished natural, the other is finished with ipswich. They have their mates but I wanted to show the difference between the two. They are cut on Baltic Birch with Birch backers stained ebony. The frames are knotty pine cut to size. The pieces are coated with several coats of gloss polyacrylic and the frames are done with satin. The patterns are by Jim Blume. The portrait piece was an easy cut but the landscape piece was a ... well, I'll just say it was tough. There are several areas that are bridged with single small pieces that made the piece very fragile. Regardless, however challenging, they were a lot of fun to cut. The door hanger is a Steve Good pattern and still has to be finished with polyacrylic. Wanted something a little easier to do after tackling the landscape Jim Blume piece. Finally, our new addition to our family. (My wife's Christmas present.) The Papillon, Chocolate "Chip," give us a total of four dogs. We still have the two cats and about 75 goldfish. Anyway, I did the pattern for Chip's piece which was cut from Baltic Birch and stained Ipswich. I added brown accents because he is what is called a Tri-color Papillon. It has a black Birch backer and the frame is cut from pre-fab framing material to match the ones I have done of the other cuts of the clan.

OK, here ya go. It took me longer to set up my table saw than it took to make it.

I have mine set up to my foot switch for the saw... so when I step on the foot pedal to turn the saw on the vac comes on too..

If you're going to go to the small box like Ray suggested.. you could get one of those free expensive cardboard boxes they toss out at local stores.. or better yet.. order something small from Amazon that you've always wanted and then you get a dust box with your order. LOL That's what I did back in the day with my Dewalt.. I had a box that I cut a small bit out of the one side so it could snug fit and hold itself in place around the lower base portion of the saw. It caught a lot of my small project pieces too.

I don't use any dust collection on my Dewalt 788. I wear a mask and vacuum under the saw and on the floor when I'm finished. I couldn't stand having a vacuum running for hours at a time.

I hope you like it. I used scrollsaw, carving tools and sanding tools for this work.

I was using the Metro vac. It seemed to get louder. I cleaned the filters, as you have suggested. I took out the sound meter app and both are very close in DB levels. So I thought I would just use the one vac. I also have a remote control for it now - WOW! love that.

Barb, I have the same system you have, so far so good and pleased with the Scrollnado. Now, it is not as good as the dust collection system many of our scroller friends and family have. They have built their own or have purchased upgraded systems. A couple of things that may help you is the vacuum you are using. Mine is a very cheap vacuum that I purchased at WalMart. Not very powerful but does OK. The other thing, you may have done this, is that some of the small pieces were sucked up in the tubing plugging it up, so suction is reduced. Result, sawdust falls to your cloths. What you have to do is a little maintenance. Undo the tubing and blow out the pieces stuck in the tubing. Sometimes just a good shake and the pieces will fall out. The main problem I have is the top tubing doesn't want to stay where I put it. When that moves, doesn't pick up all the dust. Sometimes the wood you are cutting creates sawdust that is kind of sticky and that is, I think the vacuum won't suck it up. I do most of my cutting with hardwoods and noticed the system can pick up the sawdust from hardwoods much easier. I have noticed the Scrollnado has a more difficult time with cedar and plywood. One other thing I am thinking getting a more powerful vacuum. Hopefully you understand what I'm saying. Many of my friends tell me, "Jerry, you are always talking but never say anything.". That said I close. I like reading about your projects and comments. Jerry

I will cut for 30 minutes and take a 5 to 10 minute break. I have an analog clock to keep track of hours spent on a project and I use that for breaks as well. Many years ago I spent three days solid on a project, stopping only for food and bathroom breaks. That's one reason for the clock.

Despite my shop vac running and connected to the scrollnado, this is the end result after the afternoon of cutting.

When I was using the metro vac, I had that hooked to the foot switch. I now have a remote control and what a game changer. I am using that because I haul the hose from one machine to the other and the vacuum is in a very awkward spot.

Too much noise for me & probably wear the vacuum out fast!

That some great scrolling. Well done

Not handy but I'll try to get one for you.

My, that saw was sure humming. Very well done on delicate ptojects.

Very well done and nicely framed too!

A modified Steve Good pattern. I used 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood and 3/8" Baltic Birch plywood-stained Walnut for the backing. Cut on the Pegas Scroll Saw using mostly Pegas #1 MGT blades, but Pegas #0 Spiral blades around the Elk and Evergreens. A light sanding with a Mac Mop, dipped in diluted Shellac and two coats spray Lacquer Clear Satin with sanding between coats. Comments welcome.

Just for the record, I bought the Scrollando system too and installed it on my Hawk.. I used the same vac (Metro 5000) as the Seyco system uses. I think personally the tubing size is restricting the flow but i might be wrong. Also the hoses for me was a bit on the short side but I am using it on a 26" Hawk so it is a big saw. Have issues with getting the darn suction hoses to stay where I want them etc too. I'm not 100% satisfied with it but at the same time I felt it is more designed for Dewalts and Ex saws.. I feel the same way about my Seyco system. I've burnt up the vacuum on my Seyco system once already.. but I suppose it's not engineered to be in a commercial type setting either, but one has to wonder.. would a $500+ Festool or Fein vacuum hold up to the commercial type use I was throwing at them small Metro vacs.. I saw enough that I was having to empty the Seyco canister once every 2 weeks and really could use a dust bag every couple days.. I've been taking the bag out of the vac and taking it outside to blow out the fine dust that escapes from the dust canister as the fine dust plugs up the air flow of the Seyco Metro Vac and it starts getting loud. I've not invested into anything new yet because I'm honestly sort of getting out of scrolling in a commercial type setting and have been working with the CNC and Laser.. CNC makes dust chips and will be connected to my dust collector soon.. Laser has built in exhaust that I hook to a port that blows outside similar to a dryer vent.

This is also a Russ Beard pattern, this is Crucified.

This is a Russ Beard Pattern, I have called it Condemned.

Here is a short video of my dust collection system. 20240315_091635.mp4

Well, if you were going to scrap it anyway, sanding may be worth a try. At least you will know if it works or not. Info that may come in handy someday.

Travis I just reread your response and have to ask, how do you get anything done? 10 to 15 minutes and you have to get up. Then take another 5 minutes or more to do other things. Concentration man is key. if you have to rest after 15 minutes of cutting you need to get your chair or whatever in a better position to cut longer. I bet 30 minutes is an average here for normal cutting. I would go bonkers if I am getting up every 10 to 15 minutes. i think it is a better question to ask what position you work in when cutting. if your shoulder are slouched over and neck bent down to get a better view, of course you will tire faster. that is poor posture. You should be able to sit upright fairly straight while scrolling and if you have eye strain then either use a magnifier or get better glasses. Scrolling is suppose to be relaxing like sitting and watching TV.

Ray, do you have a picture please?

My cowboy hats are done on the weekends. Cutting the rings takes between 45 to 60 minutes each. I get about 2 rings complete then take a break. I pushed it to 3 rings once and my follow the line was not as good. The rings are about 0.12 inches between cuts. So concentration is key. Blades get dull about at 30 minutes. I don't stop for a break in the middle of cutting a ring. I will change blades as needed. 7 rings are total of about 7 hours of cutting. When just playing and get in a zone of trying techniques. I can play longer without breaks. The try this, oh try that attitude sometimes goes longer. Next thing I know the wife comes out and asks about dinner. I think huh lunch comes first. I love those moments oh this would be cool. So I go try. Those moments are about 4months apart. Me. Mark Eason

First things first. I have been scrolling for over 40 years and never never never once did I ever keep tract of amount of holes or time cut. I ask you for those that do, WHY??? What difference does it actually make in the long run. When the project is done it is done. If you charge by the hour you are not doing yourself justice because you will never get enough money per hour. I laugh at people who have all these special formulas for trying to put a price on things. I see this alot on the pen turning sites now too. Do it long enough you know what a project should sell for because they fall into categories. Portraits, desk clocks, puzzles, intarsia and so forth. If it is an unusual size then the price can vary. Just because a piece has 10 more holes it should cost more?? Why?? Next when I was on the circuit I scrolled longer at a saw because I knew I needed stock. If I was just making something for the sake of making, I scroll till I got tired. I do not have set times. Some days you feel better than others. Now that I am retired and do not scroll much any more I go till I want. I do the same now with my pen turning. No time schedules here. As I got older I can not sit as long but that comes with age. Eyes tire faster too. Could not put any time numbers on any of that. I may put a mental stopping point on but it means nothing in the whole picture. When I was on the circuit I did the assembly line thing though. Sand and prep wood. Lay patterns on wood. Drill and cut. Lay it aside and go to next one. One day I would strip patterns and take outside for routing if need be or just sanding. next day do a bunch of dipping in stain. Next day or two days later after finish has dried I wax pieces and put aside. That to me was a more productive way of getting things done. We all come up with a method that works for us.

Very nicely done, like it alot. I'am a yellow faan!

Great cutting and finish work. I can see this one would be very much enjoyed by a lot of people. Good to see you back again. Dick heppnerguy

Looks great, excellent cutting, RJ

Barb, I have 2 Ex type saws sitting on homemade stands. I made 3 sided "boxes" or trays out of 1/8" BB that slide in and under the saws. The dust falling from the cutting edge of the blade where it passes through the table ALL falls down into those trays. I collect all the dust from the different hardwoods and keep it in labelled pill bottles. I have dust collection on both saws but find that just letting the dust fall into the trays seems to work for the problem mentioned.

I'm curious, nobody has mentioned whether or not you bolted the saw to the bench. All of my saws are bolted to their respective stands and all the stands are sitting on foam rubber "floor mats". I don't have any vibration from any of them with the exception of a couple of speed settings. I very seldom if ever run them at top speed. I find the "sweet spot" and pretty much run them at that setting. I know for fact that the Hegners are very finicky about how they are bolted to their stands. They have 3 bolts and those bolts MUST be tightened in the correct order or the saw will vibrate.

There's only one word for it - Awesome

You have cut some fantastic pieces there, love them all

Like Kevin, it depends a lot on the project. Typically I'll spend 45 min. to 1 hr. before I get up for a break. Usually that break is working on another project I have on the go or getting one ready to start. If I finish the cuts on a project, I'm usually have another project in waiting and will start cutting again without much delay. However, if I've just finished a very detailed and delicate project, I'll usually let my next project be something simple. I use spirals with most of my heavily detailed work and my easy project will usually be something I can cut with straight blades.

I built a stand for my first saw (a WEN) and it vibrated like crazy, The top of the stand was made with 3/4 ply. I removed the saw, replaced the 3/4 ply with a solid piece of 2X material and the little WEN would pass the nickle test. My be the difference in the top of your bench compared to where you had it previously. You may be able to strengthen it by glue and screw from the bottom side with 2X material.

After solving the bulk of my vibration troubles I found bench weight and flex were the main problems. I've noticed too that if the blade isn't tightened the way the saw likes there will be vibrations too.

It kind of depends on the project for me (ie if very detailed portrait type of cutting that's going to take 12 hours to complete then I typically drill 10 - 20 holes and sit and cut those out then get up to drill more holes and always walk over to the sander to sand the back side burs off of the drilled holes. ) but typically every 20 - 30 minutes I'm getting up and doing something else for around 5-10 minutes. Some projects I might sit a little longer just to complete it if it's almost finished or something. Side Note: I drill the 10-20 holes in those large portrait type patterns and put a tick mark on it so to keep track of how many drilled holes I did for said project.. since that is one thing I'm often asked is how many holes did you have to drill and cut.. Most designers don't count to give that sort of info even though as I understand it... that info can be generated in the drawing software somehow so nobody really has to physically count..

like said you will never get it all,, Make yourself a lap apron.

Very well cut and certainly nothing wrong with that veining. Something you might try sometime on a practice piece. When I do veining, I first cut with a small size straight blade, then I go back over the cut with as small spiral blade to widen the kerf some. The spiral will follow the first cut, and you can sorta file some of the wavers out with thee spiral blade.

Couple I did last year. Springtime, butterflies are starting to visit the wife's garden again.

Easter Pysanky Eggs created by me prior to starting scrollwork. I did not learn the traditional Ukrainian designs and colors so I created my own. Have a Happy Easter. Dick Mira

Some of my Easter-themed work from the past.

This is a pattern from Steve Good.

I now know why it's called "fret work". I was doing a lot of fretting.