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.

Thanks

Link Exchange

If you have a site related to scrollsawing, or your own personal gallery and would like to be linked here, shoot me an email. I'd be happy to add you to my link bar. In return, I'd appreciate it if you'd return the favor by adding my link to your site.

Happy Scrolling.

Just Getting Started

I created this blog as an online gallery to showcase my finished scroll saw projects. Occasionally, I'll post other woodworking projects.

I just started scroll sawing last week. After coming across the Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts a few weeks back, I started lurking in the forums. It wasn't long before my interest developed enough to purchase my first scroll saw. I didn't have a lot of money to play with, so I ended up buying a Craftsman 16" Scroll Saw from Sears with a bunch of gift cards. I read pretty good reviews for it. Basically saying that for a cheap saw, it's pretty good. And that was good enough for me.

I'm hoping this will keep my interest. Ultimately, I'd like to do a few craft shows. It's something I've always wanted to try. But until then. I'll just make stuff for my own amusement!

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