Scroll Saw Village

Daylight Savings is right around the corner, so what better way to celebrate warmer weather ahead than to have a Mini-Clock contest?  We need something to set forward on March 14th, right?  Cut or design a mini-clock and be entered to win a copy of Miniature Wooden Clock for the Scroll Saw, by Rick Longabaugh.  If you’re a pattern designer, I have made available a Mini-Clock Template for Inkscape.  The template is free, but the design is up to you!  If you’d like to learn how to use Inkscape to make mini-clocks, you can check out this video tutorial.

The contest is being held by Scroll Saw Village.  Details for the Mini-Clock Challenge can be found here.  Good luck.  But more importantly, have fun!

As woodworkers, we are in awe of exotic and unusual species of wood.  We scramble to find the right project for this wood.  However, not all woods are safe to use.  Many species can trigger allergic reactions when exposed to these woods.  Wood allergies can range from minor discomfort to life-threatening reactions.  Here’s a Wood Toxcity Chart that you can download and print for your workshop.  While it’s not an exhaustive list, it should give you a good idea of what to look out for.  So, next time you work with a wood that you’re unfamiliar with, check the species against this chart.  That way you know if you’re experiencing symptoms.

Did you survive the Holiday season?  Well, don’t relax too much, because  we’re throwing another contest at Scroll Saw Village! This time we’re focusing a bit on puzzles.  Puzzles are a lot of fun to cut and always a welcomed gift. This contest is open to everybody on Earth (however, special arrangements can be made for those outside our galaxy). This contest is sponsored by Dale’s Puzzles. He was kind enough to donate patterns for 1st (10 patterns), 2nd (5 patterns) and 3rd (2 patterns) place winners.

Entry is easy. All you have to do is cut a puzzle, take a pic, and post it in your User Gallery at Scroll Saw Village.  Be sure to post a link to your puzzle in the contest thread to be eligible.  Entries can be anything, as long as its a puzzle; a free standing puzzle, a jigsaw puzzle, tray puzzle, brain teaser puzzle, or (if you’re really ambitious) a Japanese puzzle box!

If you’d like another shot at winning one of these sweet prizes, you can also design a puzzle for the rapidly growing Pattern Library at SSV.  Design a free standing puzzle, tray puzzle, or template.

Winners will be drawn at random on February 4th, 2010 at 7pm MST in the Scroll Saw Chat Room.  Details can be found in the contest thread at SSV.  This should be a lot of fun.  I hope you take time to enter this fun little challenge.  Who knows, you just might win!

Special thanks to Dale for sponsoring this contest. He has a ton of really cool puzzle patterns on his website, so be sure to check him out. If you decide to make a purchase, please thank Dale for sponsoring this contest. Without him, this contest would not be possible.

Scroll Saw Village has added a live chat feature.  Talk in real time with fellow scrollers about the hobby we love.  The chat room is open 24/7 with a scheduled chat every Thursday at 7pm MST.  Once a month, we’ll pick a topic or invite a special guest to host a Q&A session.  For those of you who have taken the GIMP or Inkscape class, on Nov. 19th I’ll be hosting a live screencast in the chat room to answer any GIMP and Inkscape questions.  This is a great way to get your questions answered and demonstrated.    I hope you join us for our scroll saw chats.  We have a great time and look forward to seeing you there!

With Christmas right around the corner, its time to start thinking of making a few Christmas gifts for loved ones in your life.  To help motivate you to create a little Holiday sawdust, Scroll Saw Village is holding a contest! The winner will recieve a Rose Jewlery Box intarsia kit provided by Midlothian Woodworks, a $40 value.  Entry into this drawing is very easy.  Just post a picture at Scroll Saw Village of a cutting you intend to gift this Holiday season.  That’s it!  Want to increase your odds?  Post a Works In Progress tutorial in the forum as you put together your gift.  Include pictures and description and you’ll get another entry in this awesome drawing.  The winner will be drawn at random on December 1st, 2009.  You can find the entry details here.

While you’re at it, check out the other intarsia kits Midlothian Woodworks has to offer. Mike has a wide variety of kits to choose from and any one of them would make an awesome Christmas gift.  Be sure to thank him for sponsoring the contest too.  Without him, this fun little challenge would not be possible.

While we’re in our Holiday festivities mode, Scroll Saw Village is holding a Secret Santa.  Give and receive a cutting from a fellow scroller.  The deadline for registration is Black Friday (Nov. 27).  After which, you’ll get the name and address of of your recipient.  Put it in the mail and wait for your scroll sawn gift to arrive.  There’s a $10 cap on materials.  You might want to get started on your gift sooner than later to ensure it gets to the final destination on time.  You can register and find the details here.

I was digging through the archives of Scroll Saw Workshop and came across this blog post that I found really interesting. Steve uses polymer clay as an inlay for some of his projects. This is a great way to add color and adds a unique flare you wouldn’t find anywhere else. I think it would take a little experimentation on your part to hone the process, but I think there could be some really cool possibilities here. Check it out!

Selecting wood for your intarsia project could be a tricky deal.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a chart you can look at to help you choose?  Well, Mike Mathiew from Midlotian Woodworks has a great article and reference chart he wrote for Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts (Spring, 2009).  He includes a picture of each wood, a color description, intarsia uses, and effects over time. The article and chart is free to download and print from SSW&C website and made available in PDF format.  I’d suggest printing out the chart on photo paper to ensure color accuracy.  Check it out!

This summer, I’m going to try my hand at intarsia. So I’m reading all I can before I jump in. During my research, I came across a great series by Mike Mathieu of Midlothian Woodworks. He wrote a series of 6 blog posts, aptly named Intarsia 101, on Lumberjocks. Mike shows the process of taking an intarsia project from photo to finished product. He includes a lot of great pictures with descriptions of what is happening in each photo. Check it out! It is well worth the read if intarsia is your future too.

You just bought a new saw.  For most people, right out of the box is just fine.  But for others, modification is a must. James Riser added a few bells and whistles to his new DeWalt 788. He shows you how he waxes his table to prevent rusting, adding wheels to his stand to make it a bit more maneuverable, added a cutoff bin and finally, an automatic arm lift. Each of these modifications are easy to make. Perhaps you’ll find a modification that you can’t live without!  Check it out!

One of my favorite things to do as a kid as the weather warmed up is getting together with my friends and playing Cowboys  or War.  We’d pull out our rubber band guns and shoot each other with our elastic ammo and feign our grisly demise.  While it may not be PC any more, but there is something to be said for a simple toy like a good old fashioned rubber band gun.  Easy Scroll Patterns has opened up their entire collection of scroll saw patterns to the public.  Among these great designs are some wonderful rubber band guns.  They include a traditional pistol, machine gun, shot gun, Winchester, and an M16.  Check it out.  And while you’re there, check out some of their other free patterns!