Messages

1

Toy Makers / Re: thinking out of the box

« on: July 01, 2016, 08:37:41 am »

I knew a guy who works in a scrap yard in Ohio who makes a lot of stuff like that in his spare time. His day job is cutting big things up with a cutting torch. Fantastic work..
To bad the guy has a personality of a rusty screw, but he's talented..

2

General Scroll Saw Talk / Cradle ideas

« on: July 01, 2016, 08:18:06 am »

So I'm going to be a grandfather once again and this time I'm building a pendulum type cradle for the little one. Luckily I have some time to work on this because babies don't just pop right out instantly anymore. They have to ferment awhile now days..
Anyway I am planning something unique for the ends, something like the cheapo horrible art work of mine with a art deco theme. I'm planning to use walnut for the highlighted areas and perhaps oak as the main board. I'd use maple, but I'm rather poor. I thought about doing a maple inlay inside the walnut strips of the outside and Steve gave us the supplier of quality thin boards on ebay from one of his videos, but I'm not sure if I can line up the cuts right or not.. Yup Steve..I watched! 

For the side panels I'm thinking something similar although my drawing leaves something to be desired.  (believe it or not I actually majored in commercial art way back in college when people still used pen and ink, but nerve damage dashed that dream along with technological advances)


These are just scribble ideas.. So does anyone have any other ideas for this project that is going to set me back a few hundred bucks? 

3

Brag Forum / I finally got it off the bench

« on: July 01, 2016, 07:54:08 am »

So I built this handy and cheapo stand for my cheapo saw. The legs are 2x4s laminated together and held together with tenon and mortises.
The front leg is a leftover from my bench build, one that I messed up and didn't align the mortise correctly so I just relocated it. These are almost all leftover scraps from other projects and one piece on top from a trash pile..
Anyway it works great and is rock solid. Someday I might add some wheels on the side to tip it up to move, but it's not real heavy so moving it isn't all that tough for now. Unlike the rest of you I'm not getting any younger* so that may change someday.   

*may vary for individuals

4

The Coffee Shop / Re: I poked a nice hole in my hand

« on: June 06, 2016, 04:06:04 am »

All healed up now with a spiffy showoff scar. Rather odd my right arm and hand have so many scars I've lost count, but the left hand and arm are almost pristine in comparison. I'm not left or right handed, but I suspect that my left is more dominant for fine motor skills and the right more dominant for brute force. I'm pretty lucky in that I do heal very quickly and don't bleed easily or for very long when I do cut myself.
Since the incident I've gained no new holes in me.. That  blood sacrifice apparently worked. I'll have to check the schedule for my next serious injury..
My son is moving back home with us for a while. Maybe I'll hand off the family injury torch to the next generation.

5

Ask Steve a question. / Scroll saw stand

« on: June 06, 2016, 03:54:12 am »

I downloaded the file plan you have posted and noticed mention of  table lifts and wondering what the purpose of the lifts are.. Other plans also make mention of lifts and tilting the table surface or am I reading this wrong misinterpreting something?   Perhaps it's my phone. I cracked the screen (waiting for the replacement) and maybe I'm missing something here..
Thanks

6

Intarsia / Working with bone?

« on: April 11, 2016, 03:54:13 am »

Just wondering if anyone cuts bone to create things.. I save small bits of bone, usually cows shank pieces and have been cutting them thin with a regular cross cut hand saw, but so far I haven't been able to come up with much other than just thin slices about 2 inches across, Still it interests me.  I tried to cut it with the scroll saw, but so far the only thickness I've been able to make any head way on are the thin pieces to small to do much with.
Someday I'll get a band saw and we have a friend who is a butcher at the local Kroger so he can probably get me some larger pieces of bone to work with.
Does it need to be cooked if for no other reason than to keep down the bacteria? 
It's probably just a passing fancy, but it sounds like a good idea..

7

The Coffee Shop / Re: Any Scroll Sawers Here with PD

« on: April 10, 2016, 04:43:10 am »

Thanks folks, but I think I pretty much screwed the pooch with my hand for the time being anyway.. I'm not sure about scrolling yet. Just lifting a cup of coffee hurts now, but this won't last forever. Unfortunately the scroll saw is sitting up under a shelf out of the way while I was working on the bench so there's a good chance it might have to stay there till I heal up a bit.. I'll still try though..

8

The Coffee Shop / Re: I poked a nice hole in my hand

« on: April 10, 2016, 01:48:58 am »

Speaking of illness..I've had nerve damage to my legs for years and I spend a lot of time on my feet in my shop perhaps out of fear of losing the muscle tone again so I leave wood shavings on the concrete floor to act as a cushion .
Several years ago I more or less gave up and ended up barely able to walk and it took me several years with a cane to build back the strength.
I've slowly built back the strength in my arms so now I can use the plane for long periods without feeling completely worn down. I still have limitations and have to check myself from time to time. If I listened to the Mrs I'd probably lay about on the bed all day till I was back to mush.. lol

9

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: A matter of practicality?

« on: April 10, 2016, 01:36:26 am »

I guess they are inexpensive enough to buy often.  The problem I have or at least had was I found a particular blade I liked a lot and it cuts most anything I cut, but I have a lousy memory and don't remember which blades to reorder. Organization was never my strong suit, but I'm getting better at it.. Initially I just tossed them all together in one jar and as you probably know they really do look alike when you have 30-40 blades all jumbled together.
Well, I've used up the blades I like the most, but darned if I know which blades they are to identify when I want to reorder... So.... I guess I'll order a sample pack,  keep them all separate and go from there. Then what to do with all of the blades I seldom if ever use.
I'm just guessing they're skip tooth,  maybe number 2, I could be wrong..
I had to fiddle with and readjust my saw many times and now it cuts straight every time just about and I no longer use it as a work bench and try to keep it nice and clean.  My hands still shake so threading a blade into a tiny hole isn't fun,but I've developed much more patience than when I first started out.
Now I really want to take it to the next level and incorporate some of the woodworking techniques I've learned over time to do some better work than just cutting basic shapes.
Thanks for your input and I'll at least try to remember the things I learn from you nice folks..
Now if I can gain the patience to wait for my hand to heal up after jabbing the chisel into it.. That was fun..

10

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Walker Turner?

« on: April 09, 2016, 10:41:45 pm »

AHH.. Good advice Dave.. I wouldn't have thought to ask that..
I'm not in the market yet,but I will be someday in the not to distant future..
I just tied up some money for some 'vintage' number 4 smoothing planes.. I got my hands on a dandy old Stanley and it slices, dices and does the dishes..
Ok, maybe not all that, but it's sweet to be able to plane down a piece of wood without the chatter or tear out.. I just realized it can open a few doors to having the right thickness without having to go try to buy it pre-planed..  I'll never go back to any planes made after 1970..

11

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: foot switch

« on: April 09, 2016, 10:32:34 pm »

Just because I'm probably too lazy to go to HF's site to look it up  how much are they?
Oh never mind.. I'm not THAT lazy and they're right up the road from me.. lol
I need to get one..

12

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Blades

« on: April 09, 2016, 10:27:35 pm »

You know what?  I'm glad I read this thread because I couldn't remember where I purchased the last set of blades I bought and it was through WTB.. The next part is I can't remember what blades I actually bought.. I do know that the last blades I used to cut through 3/4 inch oak were nice and sharp and thin. Number 2? Skip tooth perhaps? 
This is the part that drives me crazy.. I should keep a journal.
I have some 1/2 inch oak I want to use and my blades are beginning to rust and dull..
Does number 2 skip tooth sound about right?

13

The Coffee Shop / Re: Any Scroll Sawers Here with PD

« on: April 09, 2016, 09:57:17 pm »

I've got the shakes in my hands pretty bad at times which makes part of what I enjoy doing difficult.  I cut a lot of mortises with a chisel and lining up the lengths of the mortise is a challenge so what I do to make it a bit easier is to chisel out a starting groove about 1/8th deep so once I get going I can just follow the groove.
Nothing is more fun than hammering into my hand with a heavy iron mallet head with the rubber ends.. The correct terminology escapes me right now, but having the shakes makes things a challenge for sure.
I've been to the doc about this time and time again with no substantial diagnosis.
Personally I think it's from a lifetime of working with chemicals and heavy drinking during the early part of my adult life..I can't undo all that, but what I can do is to press on and not just give up.
I often have to stand there, take several deep breaths and wait for my shakes to subside and press ahead.  Just today I managed to drive a chisel into my hand so my days of chopping mortises are definitely going to be limited for a while..
I do have some other projects that don't require pounding and the scroll saw is sitting over in the corner waving at me saying, 'Don't forget about me!'
My grandmother handed down a beautiful jewelry box I gave to my daughter, but it got stolen recently so I might just go ahead and make her a new one made with dad's love.. I already made her a nice towel rack and the scroll saw came in very handy..
It's not a lot of fancy schmancy fretwork,but it came out pretty nice if I do say so myself..

14

The Coffee Shop / I poked a nice hole in my hand

« on: April 09, 2016, 09:29:05 pm »

I'd include the picture of the damage, but that's akin to injury porn..
I was attempting to repair the shop broom with a nice and very sharp chisel, but somehow managed to slip and run it right where my thumb meets my hand in the fatty part just barely before the crevice.. I now have 5 spanking new stitches and my project of building my new work bench .. I had 4 mortises chopped out with the tenons with 4 left to go, but now pounding away with the mallet is going to be on hold for a while..

15

General Scroll Saw Talk / Walker Turner?

« on: April 09, 2016, 09:17:36 pm »

Not that I have the funds to buy this thing, I don't, but I'm just wondering what your opinions about this particular machine are.. Someday I will upgrade my saw from the Dremel 2 speed so it's nice to know what is and isn't worth the price..
Take a looksee..
http://m.ebay.com/itm/222069115045?ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F4%2F0%2F8%3Feecl%3D1%26eesi%3DUS%26i%3D1b1911248feII689acII745fd1II1b190e8f03dII2%26eepc%3D%2F222069115045%26bu%3D44130159052%26segname%3DB1666B6-00%26crd%3D20160408094613%26emParams%3Di%26sojTags%3Demid%253Dbu%252Csegname%253Dsegname%252Ccrd%253Dcrd%26srcrot%3D0%26rvr_id%3D0&_mwBanner=1

Jeeez..that's a long url.. It's item number 222069115045 if that makes it easier to find..