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My latest cutting - Cat fretwork, recommended pattern size is 14 x 11 inches, but I reduced it to 11 x 8 inches. Background - self adhesive film with black wood texture Video of making project Cat pattern

This came across my FB page.. I think some would make something similar if there were a pattern.. I found it funny.. I can see now many various versions of this in the bragging section in a few weeks, LOL.. My idea would be to make it a laser cut ornament and have a handsaw where I could personalize it with a name. Wish I was good at designing..

My lady had found an Image of an embroidery Blue Dragon a while ago that she really liked and had asked me several times in the past if I could make a cutting from it. The image was not suitable to make a fret type pattern previously, but I felt I was now able to make a segmented pattern that would work. However, the resulting pattern I developed is made up of a LOT of very small pieces that was a PITA to re-assemble. I use a piece of clear knot free ¾” x 10” Premium Pine to cut the pattern from using Pegas #1 MGT R blades. The Piece is approximatele 8" x 10" and again, Intarsia techniques were used to sculpture the work. This project was also an experiment using water-based color dye to color the wood the blue and black needed. Dying the wood is easy but very sloppy and took forever to dry. The White highlights were done with diluted acrylic paint that when applied immediately dissolved the blue turning the White to a light Blue. The water-based dye also raised the grain that was hard to deal with because the pieces were so small. In the photo this looks like dust but it is the light reflecting off the textured surface. The backer is 1/8” thick BB ply with edges painted Black. The assembled piece was protected with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Acrylic Finish spray. My lady is happy (and you know what that means) with it and it will be hung in our home. Comments and critiques always welcome.

When I had cataract surgery, I went from near sighted to far sighted. Now I just need reading glasses instead of bifocals. Took a little bit to get used to but has not been a real problem, except for leaving my glasses at the last place I was at instead of where I am currently. Tom

I haven't done much woodworking over the past year. In June I decided it was time to retire. I planned to do more scrolling and turning but priorities were in order. Paint the house, build shutters, work on the garage walls, etc. Well, I took a short break the past few days from my retirement list and made a few things. The lidded box is based on a Steve Good pattern. I modified it a bit. Used walnut and maple and put some felt in the bottom. I will give it to one of my granddaughters. The two bowls are from the scrap of the lidded box. These were turned on the lathes. They are very small but the grandkids love playing with them when they come over. The egg holder is for my wife. We had chickens a few years ago, then the township said we couldn't have them. We got rid of them. Then the township passed a resolution allowing us to have chickens, less than a year after we got rid of them. Now we have 6 (don't tell the township as we are only allowed 5). Two hens have started laying and we are getting 1 to 2 eggs a day right now, so I thought I should replace the egg holder we got rid of. I know, the screws are sitting proud. I did replace them with shorter screws. Also, pardon the photography. I've been using my phone which doesn't work well with LED lights. I hope to have more projects in work into fall and winter.

For sure. I totally agree. We live about 6 miles from the Gila River Indian reservation where Ira Hays lived. He was one of the Marines that hoisted the flag on Iwo Jima (sp). He was given the metal of Honor for his time there by the president. One remark he told the President was," I am not a hero, The ones that gave their lives there are the heroes. Unfortunately Ira was found dead by the side of the road on the reservation years later. He died from alcohol. So sad, I would have loved to have been able to meet him. Dick heppnerguy

I got some more cherry so I cut another. I tried the 321 finish but it didn’t come out very nice so I used spray polyurethane for the finish. I’ve done this in cherry before and another in worm eaten oak from an old barn. I’ll sell this one at the store also. It’s a Steve Good pattern. Thanks for looking.

Watching your grand daughters first steps reminded me of my own grand daughters first steps. Being a grand pa is great isn't it?

I found a company online that was running a sale on the spray cans of Lacquer.. $50 for a case ( 6 cans ) so I bought 4 cases.. that should get me through this year.. I was paying $80+ per case.. I have a local source that IF they have it in stock it's just over $8 per can but they are 40 mile away and I don't go to that town often so it's usually a special trip and then hit or miss if they even have any.. last trip there they only had 1 can so that wasn't worth the trip. The sales guy claimed they were going to discontinue it in the spray can but I don't think he knew what he was talking about as he was trying to sell me onto a $17 per can different brand. That is when I chose to buy the one can left and a quart can since I was there. All other local sources ( big box ) Menards / Lowes etc is almost $14 a can.. The quart can cost me $14.. that quart once diluted will likely cover more area than those 6 cans.. that's quite a savings if I can find a reasonable method to spray without the hassle of cleanup every time. Currently spray all inventory even the production ones with spray cans.. so even if I get a sprayer for the "production" portion and then use spray cans for the 1-2 piece special order ones would save a ton of money over the course of a year. In an economy of 4 years ago I wouldn't even flinch at the $80 a case and the $35 per sheet of BBply.. but with a slowed economy and the $80 case vrs. $40 and $12.50 vrs $35 I'm not able to double the price of the end product.. Some say it's a tax write off and yes it is but still hurts the bottom line no matter how you put the numbers. With all the EPA regulations etc. going on and they are changing paints to water base. I don't mind change and have experimented with most of the water base poly spray cans out there.. they are decent IF the spray cans could spray consistent.. one can spits and spatters and the next is great.. The quart can sprayed through my spray gun works well however it does lift the wood grain some so you have to apply several coats to get it smooth or sand between coats so it makes the process more work and hassel. I do like that that stuff dries fast and hardly any smell.. Works great if you dip in Danish oil and then spray then there is no grain lifting issue.. Just can't dip the ones that I paint details with my paint markers as it melts and runs the paint colors together etc.

I just have to put a trim on the edges of the plywood. Pattern by Brad Mathews. Issue #88 of Scrollsaw magazine. Woods are White Maple, Orange Osage, Walnut, Wenge, White Oak. Rocks are white Oak, Cherry, Jatoba, Red Oak, Spalted Maple, Zebrawood, Poplar, Maple, Aromatic Cedar. Plywood shadow box. 1 coat of Osmo oil, satin finish.

I had both eyes done too. My sight how is 20-20 but now I need glass' to do close work. I got a prescription glass for computer work. I use these glass' for scrollsawing and they work better than over the counter reading glass'. I just make sure I have excellent lighting.

I've had my new lenses for over a year. I have not had any issues with scrolling or anything in the shop. I don't wear glasses 90% of the time, only putting them on when I go outdoors, the same way I have done for years. I like to do a bit of competitive shooting, and so far, with handguns, I can shoot with or without prescription glasses. Shooting rifles with optics is not an issue, but I haven't had time to figure out iron sights yet. I studied the issues with different lens types, focal distances, and nearsightedness vs. farsightedness. I chose the nearsighted lenses with the highest contrast. I used what I think of as the 90% rule and asked myself, "What do I do 90% of the time, and do I want to wear glasses while I am doing it?" This choice was the opposite of most people's choices, and I had to explain my choices repeatedly to medical personnel. I have been nearsighted my entire life. Changing to farsightedness would significantly disrupt my daily routine, and then there are the reading glasses. I don't want to wear glasses whenever I need to look at something up close. So far, I have only made one adjustment. Because the focal length was closer, I had to move my computer monitors closer. I use two large monitors, and it was a pain to figure out how to mount them so I could read both screens. I bought some prescription polarized sunglasses for flying radio-controlled aircraft. Now that my prescription is not going to change, I decided it would be worth the money. Wow, what a difference! I can see much clearer with the polarized lenses. Now, I can look at the sky all day and not come home with my eyes feeling worn out.

All I can say is wow. Just wow. Good work!

I had surgery in July. For the most part, I have far better sight. But, even with the trifocal lenses, I have trouble on close in work. I have only scrolled a couple of simple pieces so far. You can't squint and adjust your vision like you've done before since your new lenses are not hooked to the muscles formerly used for focusing. I did have issues soldering some silver plated rings with silver solder.

I am not into dragons but I have to say, you ended up with an outstanding project once again. Dick heppnerguy

Made this for my wife. Steve Good pattern from 8/23/24. 3/4” maple.

So as I finish up the 125 toy project (Never Again), I am still working on some toys for the older kids. So I broke out my laser so I could lay down the playing pattern and instructions. I did the layouts in Lightburn after work yesterday, and then after dinner, I started burning the games. This AM, I cut everything out on my scroll saw, used my new router, and also drill holes. Mop sanded and hand sanded, then finished with the beeswax and coconut oil. Used a variation of large axle pegs, small cribbage pegs, and marbles to give variety.

I got a buddy up in Kentucky, his Dad passed away earlier this year. I was trying to come up with something that I could make for him. I remember that his Dad used to be a Pilot several years back. So I was texting with my buddy's wife and told her that I was thinking about cutting out a Cessna 182 which is what his Dad flew. She liked the idea. I got with our very own Munzieb and asked if he had a pattern for the 182. He sent me back an awesome pattern and asked me if I had the tail number of the plane that he flew. I sent some more texts to my buddy's wife and she was able to track it down. Attached is the piece. I have been scrolling for several years and consider myself a pretty good scroller. But I had a wake up call on this pattern! Munzieb really makes it look easy and does some awesome cuts on his planes! I really butchered his awesome pattern,, almost threw this piece away several times but I just kept cutting one hole after another. I'm still not sure if I am gonna give it to him or not. Looks like a 10 year old cut it out! The tail number is cut from vinyl by my wife on her Cricut and so are the words "Fly High". The piece needed something up in the top left corner, so I came up with "Fly High". This is the first time that I have made a Floating Frame. It turned out ok I guess. I used some Minwax Gel Chestnut stain on the frame and some Tung Oil on the BB plywood, with a few coats of spray Lacquer on the whole thing.

A week ago, we were at a Dinner Dance with a few friends. The conversation at the table turned from my history as a Dance Instructor in the past to my current work as a Scroll Saw Artist. My lady likes to have me show off my work, so of course, I had to take out my phone and show pictures of my work. A gentleman was looking through the group of pictures and came across a photo of a Hummingbird hovering over flowers that I had made way back in 2020. He liked it so much he wanted to buy it right there and then. I had to tell him I was sorry, but that it had been sold a long time ago. I never make a cutting exactly the same twice…that is why I do not stack cut. And, since I will be seeing him again next Saturday at an Art and Music Festival that we are setting up a booth at, I decided that I would revisit the pattern and make a new version that he might care to purchase. The basic pattern remained the same, but I changed the panel size to 11” x 17” that enlarged the image somewhat, changed the colors a little, and mounted the assembled panel in a Floating Gallery type frame instead of my standard 1 3/4” wide rail frame. The rather simple cutting was done in under two hours using a Pegas #0 Spiral blade. I used my Air Brush to prime the backer with an acrylic sealer and then added the various Air Brush Artist Acrylic colors. The assembled panel was protected with multiple coats of Clear Gloss Acrylic Finish spray. The Frame is 1” wide Poplar rails, primed, and painted Black. I do have to pat myself on the back just a little. I think you will agree, that when you compare the attached 2024 photo to the photo of the original from 2020, there is a some improvement in the quality of my work. 2024 2020 Comments and critiques always welcome.

I always have to admire your projects as your work is so outstanding. Thank for posting your comments as well as your projects as it makes it more fun to view with them. Dick heppnerguy

A nice project with a lot of good advice in it. I like your wood choice for it and also how the finish came out. Dick heppnerguy

She did bring me a piece of the wood that was of lessor quality so that if the airport check in decided she could not bring it and took it away from her, that it would not be a big loss. I cut it into 4 pieces on my band saw to see if it would sand out and become workable for a pattern and it did sand nice and smooth so if I am able to get some better marked ones I am sure it could be used for intarsia. Dick heppnerguy

In an attempt to not fall into having that issue, I attempt to make only things that interest me or I have a request for. When I have "stuff" accumulating, well that's where the phrase " good looking fire wood" comes from. Cudos to you for getting organized!

Beautiful work!

Years ago (1980ish) I made a large batch of cars and trucks from Norman Marshalls "The Great All-American Wooden Toy Book". I still have a box of leftover parts, but not enough of anything to build another one. Most of what you see in the photo are truck and car parts. There is a bag of chess pieces, animal cutouts, and shelf pieces that were some of my first scroll saw projects.

It's man glitter. My girls both have two memories: Dad smells like smoke or wood dust.

It's amazing how little wood is holding those cheeks together. Was almost not going to cut it...

Beautiful piece and some great clean cutting.

Beautiful piece, Barb!

That belongs in every woodworkers shop!

Super fine cutting.

Very well done

Love the idea of the the egg holder. Now that you have retired you will wonder how you managed to work all those years because you have so mush to do and you want to do. Marg

Wonderful cutting. ‘I’m always pleased to see these old soldiers honoured. One has to remember that they were young men with the rest of their lives ahead of them when they served. No matter what country they fought for they were mostly a common man that was often conscripted to suffer the horrors of wars

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.

Excellent job and I love the pattern. I just finished watching Band Of Brothers again. It’s about WWII where my uncle was killed. Nothing but respect and gratitude for those men.

Hey everyone! In this fun scroll saw project video, we make a beautiful Floral Style Pirate's Jolly Roger to celebrate my love of the Pirate Lifestyle! The Design is from the Fall 2021 Issue 84 Of Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Magazine by Fox Chapel Publishing. I used 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch material for this project, hope you all like the video! #ArtisanPirate