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I am wrapping up my 125 toy donation project and needed to do some 'toys' for the older kids. I wanted something that could be played alone or with someone else. So here we go! I made two variations, the first is drilled for pegs, and the second is drilled for marbles. You can play 3 games on these boards. And yes, I use my scroll saw to cut the straight lines. What I am displaying right now is "Fox and Hens". The goal is for the fox (black peg/big marble) to take 8 hens off the board to win. For the hens, they have to corner the fox. Fox can move in any direction and jump hens to take them off the board. Hens can only move forward or sideways, no jumping. Play alone or with another person. The 2nd game is a take-off of the old triangle peg game. Fill all the holes with pegs (or marbles for my variant) except for the center hole, then jump pieces to remove them. The goal is to only have one piece left. Very challenging. 3rd, I noticed you can play tick-tack-toe. You can even try to play 2 T-T-T games at once! Larger games 3/4" Walnut finished in Old Masters Gel. Triangles are made with 3/4" ash, unfinished. Edges are routered so they are smooth on both sides. I also did a couple of laser-burned baseball dice/pegs games out of 3/4" mahogany. I cut the shape of the game on my scrollsaw.

This tractor is one of my favorite toys to make in my production line. The "Barnyard Buddy Tractor". It is simple to cut out. Yes, a little tricky to Forstner the "Little People" hole, but between that, the different size/style wheels and the smoke stack. You get a cute toy. I have started to glue the little person in so it is not removable. First, for child safety (choke hazard), and also loss prevention. I go back and forth, but I am concerned about complying with the CPSC regs. This is cut from 3/4 walnut. Now, to speed the production process up, I use beeswax/coconut oil, aka cutting board wax to finish the body, (food/child safe) this way it is ready to assemble/glue in minutes. The dark walnut color just pops right out, against the blond color of the wheels, smoke stack, and little person.

Made a few things for the inventory, 3 shows that I have committed to attend

My first finished project two months into my scroll saw journey, this is being given away to my MIL who has a liking for Giraffe's, and for once I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. It's been a busy week, I framed it last Friday and has been in clamps since then, and today was the first chance I got to finish it. Cut on 1/4" BB ply with 1/8 ply backer painted black. The frame is 3/4 reclaimed hard Maple also painted black. The frame and cutting were finished with 3 coats of lacquer. Thanks for looking and even more for the help and advice that have got me this far.

I was concerned about that when I thought of buying a Hegner. But I have no problem with the Hegner clamps. It only takes a few seconds to change. I am so used to it I do not even think about it. And for the tilting head, versus the tilting table, I just cut 50 stars to be inlaid for a flag, tilted the table to 7°s, and had no problem. Maybe, If you had to go a lot steeper it could be, but I can think of nothing I would make that I would need to go much over that.

Made me think of this:

I know this not the right place to put this but I thought it was probably the place most looked at by members so I took the liberty to post it here. This will be most interesting to those that do intarsia work but even if one does not, I believe all would be interesting in viewing it My daughter in Heppner, Oregon, where we lived for over 15 years before moving to Arizona, has a wood burning stove that she heats her home with and she was cutting her wood so they will be ready when the summer warmth disappears. As she was splitting some Camerack wood some of the pieces had this unbelievably beautiful pink center. Knowing that I do some intarsia, she sent me a photo of a piece of it. I asked her how wide it the pink center of the wood. She told me she thought some of it was between 3 and 5 inches. She is coming for a visit next week and told my she would put a piece or two into her backpack to give to me. The cause of the pink centers is not really known for sure by us but I was told several years ago when I had a piece of it that was a brilliant blue, rather than the pink center this one is, that it was caused by a certain beetle that homes in the trees. Other guesses was it was caused by the soil in which it is growing. As far as I know, all is just a guess. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy seeing this, and yes, I hope to be able to get more of it and seeing if it is workable. My daughter said she will try to save as much as she can for me. My other daughter who also lives in Heppner is also a wood worker so I don't know how much she will be grabbing for herself, leaving whatever she decides I should be able to have for myself. The Pink does not go through most of the center of the wood pieces so they are extremely rare to find. Dick heppnerguy

Finished cutting this today. Pattern by me, from an unknown western artist's painting. 11 x 14 x 1/8 Baltic Birch ply. FD #1 spiral blades.

Ray, I took piano lessons for 8 years and I hated every minute of it. Always wanted to play the accordion and at 15 Mom and Dad got me one. I loved it. Sold it when I got married, biggest mistake I ever made. After I a few years I wanted to buy one, wife wouldn't let me. She hated the accordion. Jerry

This brings me to tell, once again, how when I was 8 years old my parents asked me if I'd like to learn a musical instrument. I said yes, a guitar. So they bought me an accordion and 8 miserable years of lessons. I learned to HATE the accordion.

My son has you guys beat. He told me he just purchased another one the other day. I ask how many do you now have? He responded "I am not sure, but not enough yet".

If I count correctly, I have ten guitars. Some were gifts, some I bought, and one I have had since my teens. It is not much of a guitar, but it is an antique, and I love to open the case and smell it. One of those memory triggers.

Hubby's total around 15 guitars.

Just wanted to acknowledge “Januski” for the awesome pattern!!! I hope I spelt it correctly!! LOL. My kids love it!! Thx Scott McCaul

I agree on the not so good for scrolled projects. My plan is some kind of sign, possibly resin fill of something along the lines of an inlay that would "pop" out from the maple.

The set screws were FUBAR. Still, though the tensioning knob loosens fairly easily. Need to get that fixed.

It is exactly like the old adage, "How many guitars does a guitar player need? ONE MORE! God Bless! Spirithorse

Better check before she brings that wood in her backpack. In particular since it is not kiln dried. I know some states restrict bringing in firewood from other states (some have a 10 mile rule too) and there are some hefty fines. Unsure if this applies, as there could be beetles or some other insect they are trying to prevent from going over state lines. But she should peel the bark off as bark Beatles live just under the bark and feed on the cambium layer.

In addition to that, you need to seal the ends with latex paint or end grain sealer available at any woodworking store or catalog. If you don’t seal the ends, the boards will check or split. Also available at Amazon.