Penguins

I got this pattern from Scroll Saw Art Puzzles by Tony Burns. The projects seem more like segmentation than puzzles, but they are still neat. I made this one for my wife for her birthday. She has brown eyes and I have blue so the penguins reflect that. I colored the wood with watered down acrylic paints. It really raised the grain. I think next time I'll use stain or dye so I don't have to deal with it. Finally, I clear coated it with acrylic spray. They're pretty neat. Would make great items for a craft show.

3/4" Poplar
Colored with watered down acrylics
Clear coated with spray acrylic.

The Duke

I got this pattern from the first issue of Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts (or known back then, Scroll Saw Workshop). I ordered a bunch of back issues and this is one of the patterns. I think every scroller will have cut a portrait of the Duke at some point in their scrolling career. Here's mine. I'm pretty happy with it. I like the delicate areas. It impresses a lot of people when they see it.

Cut from 1/4" Baltic Birch
Clear Coated with Spray Acrylic
Felt Backing

Halloween Magnets

I got these patterns from Scrollsaw Woodworks and Crafts (Fall 2002) designed by Billie (BJ) Holm. The design was made for pins, but I turned mine into magnets. It was a great Halloween project that was quick to make.

1/8" Baltic Birch
Finished with acrylic paints and a clear acrylic spray coat.

Charlie Chaplain Portrait

Here's a Charlie Chaplain portrait I got from Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine (Aug 2007). I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It was a pretty simple pattern and didn't have any trouble with it at all. I used a 50/50 mixture of Boiled Linseed Oil and Mineral Spirits to finish off the piece. This is my first time with this finish. I'm not sure if I like it on baltic birch, though. It yellows the wood too much. I think I'd like it if it was a hardwood of some sort. Perhaps these baltic birch portraits would do better with just an acrylic spray coat. Over all, I'm happy with the results.

1/4" Baltic Birch
Finished with 50/50 mixture of Boiled Linseed Oil and Mineral Spirits
Felt Backing

Spike and Buffy

Spike and Buffy from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show. I got the patterns from a pumpkin carving site (Zombie Pumpkins). I combined 2 patterns to make the grouping. The Buffy 'B' logo was taken from a google image search. The inside of the 'B' is very delicate and was tricky to cut. I'm pretty happy with it. Simple design, but turned out pretty neat.

8x10"
1/4" Baltic Birch
Clear Coat spray
Felt backing.

First Picture Puzzle

The image is from a birthday card I recieved. Spraymounted onto 1/4" birch plywood I found at Home Depot.

I still have to work on my smooth cuts. They stop and go quite a bit. The keys also need a lot of work. They didn't lock in the way I'd hope. If you pull from a corner, the puzzle will fall apart in sections. I also had a bad habit of making some of the sections too thin. I also cut into some of they keys. That would make the assembly much more difficult and defeat the purpose of a key.

I tried a freehand heart shape in the center. Man that turned out bad. I'll need a lot more practice. I wonder if puzzle makers do those first then come back and do the rest?

I think I'll have to order those Flying Dutchman puzzle blades. Even though I used the smallest blade, it still seemed like a large kerf.

I think I'll keep this puzzle in a bag. I'll pull it out in a year and see how far I've come!

Horse Puzzle

This is my first attempt at a puzzle. Made from 3/4" Oak. I got the design from the MSN group Absolutely Free Scroll Saw Patterns and was designed by user JayP.

I don't thing the keys were as big as they should be. The pieces have a lot of play. I used a thin blade. I suppose I should have used something more aggressive, as I tended to bend the blade a bit. The tail section isn't square. I think I was flexing the blade too much. I also should have sanded the wood before scrolling. It would have made it look nicer. I still need to work on smoothing out my cuts. They're a bit haphazard right now. But this is only my 3rd try with the scroll saw. I just need more practice.

Darth Vader

This is my second scroll saw project. I'm much happier with these results. I think it was a bit more forgiving of a pattern. I still need to work on my smooth lines, but I did learn how to do sharp corners with a rotation. I got this pattern from a pumkin carving section of StarWars.com. Check out other pumpkin carving sites for other great patterns. Great for scroll sawers!

8x10. Made from birch plywood I picked up from Home Depot. Not a great quality wood, but good for practice. I had trouble with the masking tape pulling up some of the wood fibers.

First Scroll Saw Project

When I bought my scroll saw, I decide I'd cut out my son's name for his door. Made of 3/4" scrap poplar. I had trouble following the lines. Wasn't real happy about the way it turned out. I'm going to try this project again after I have a bit more practice. Maybe next time I'll make it out of 1/2" stock instead.

Contact

Feel free to add any comments about any of my projects in the comment field for each blog post. If you need to contact me directly, you can reach me via email at travis[at]justuscooks.com.

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