Scroll Saw Village

This morning, I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that answers the question, “What are you doing?” The posts are limited to a mere 140 characters and is namely used for basic updates on what you’re doing or thinking at that moment. A lot of woodworkers in the woodworking community stay in contact with each other via Twitter. They share ideas, new projects and get advice. Perhaps us scrollers could do the same! Think about it. A network of scroll saw enthusiasts sharing their next project, answering questions, and ranting about how the fast food drive-through forgot your fries again!
Stop by the Twitter website and check out their video. It explains the concept of Twitter very well. After you watch the video, sign up and start tweeting! I’ve added my Twitter feed to the sidebar. You can also follow my Twitter feed by clicking here. Be sure to let me know what your user name is so I can follow you too! Tweet On!

Here’s a great project for that tech junkie in your life. This wood enclosed USB thumb drive (a mini hard drive that plugs into a USB port on a computer) can easily be made with nothing more than a scroll saw and a sander. Matt Burns of CrunchGear.com put together this great tutorial, showing you each step of the process with detailed instructions and accompanying photos. He uses contrasting woods for each of the layers to create this unique and beautiful thumb drive you won’t find anywhere else. It may look intimidating, but all you need is basic skills and patience. It can easily be accomplished in a weekend. So, give it a try!

OK…now that Halloween is over, its time to get serious. Christmas is much closer than you think. Only 8 weekends away! Can you believe that? I know there are a lot of people on your list, so lets get started. How about adding a bit of dimension to your scroll saw Christmas. This week’s Book Of The Week is Compound Christmas Ornaments for the Scroll Saw by Diana Thompson. Inside, you’ll find 48 ornaments and several other projects. My favorite is the compound cut nativity scene. Check this book out. It might be just the excuse you’ve been looking for to try your hand at compound cutting.

Happy Halloween, everybody! Don’t eat too much candy and watch out for the black cats! For those of you who subscribe via email, stop by the website to see how Martians attacked my website. I found it rather amusing. Anyway, I hope you all have a spooky and safe Halloween!

This just in. The UFO attack has been defeated. The martian attackers returned to their home world, vowing to come back next Halloween better armed. But we’ll be ready!

–Travis

Since we’re on the subject of T-Rex, here’s a fun little dinosaur puzzle you can easily make for the budding paleontologists in your life. This free standing puzzle was designed by William Berry for Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts (Issue 29 Holiday 2007). You can read the full article online which includes detailed instructions and a free PDF version of the pattern. Check it out!

Long ago, dinosaurs ruled the earth. And the king of all “terrible lizards” was the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I designed this pattern for my nephew who really wanted a dinosaur picture for his room. The pattern is provided in PDF format for easy printing. It is sized at 8×10″ so it can easily fit into a premade picture frame. Give it a try. When you’re done, be sure to learn more about T. Rex to find out why he was the king of dinosaurs.

A while back, I wrote about Frank’s Wood Shop and his video demonstration of a windmill project. Well, Frank came through once again with a very detailed set of videos, documenting the cutting and finishing of a bass portrait. So, grab some popcorn and enjoy the videos. After you’re done, be sure to stop by his website and check out some of his work located in his gallery. Very cool stuff!

Note: I believe portrait being demonstrated was designed by Charles Dearing and is available in the Spring 2007 issue of Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts. Give it a try!

Its often said that “Its a small world” and “technology is shrinking the world.” But with the vastness of the internet and the endless number of websites, I would normally disagree. Until now.

Our good friend and fellow blogger Allison from Wood-Alley recently tried her hand at scrolling cork flooring after reading a article here on SSg. As chance has it, the fellows at Wicanders stumbled across her blog. They noticed that the cork flooring she used looked like the cork flooring they manufacture. So they asked about it. While she was reading the email from Wicanders, the person that gave her the cork flooring happened to be there with her. So she asked him about it. And sure enough, it was the same stuff. Once she confirmed that it was indeed their product, they asked Allison if they could write about her cutting on their blog.

What makes this story interesting is the amazing collection of coincidences. One blog post leads to another, to another to another. The mere chance Wicanders happen to stumble across Allison’s blog. The chance that she scrolled the same cork that these people manufacture. And the chance that the person that gave her the cork happen to be there at the same time she read the email. What does it mean? I’m not quite sure. Maybe there’s the meaning of life hidden somewhere in there. Or maybe it’s just a crazy coincidence. Either way, it’s pretty cool. Congrats Allison on being recognized in the “civilian world” for your work.

You can read Allison’s blog here. You can read the article from Wicanders about Allison’s work here.

When I came across Pictures In Wood, I had a tough time choosing what to write about. They had this really cool farm toy with some progression pictures of the construction process. I was really drawn to that because of my recent interest in toy making. But on the flip side, their intarsia is amazing as well! You see my dilemma? Do I talk about their super cool toy, or do I talk about their amazing intarsia? Well, it looks like I just talked a little about both! Check out their website. It’ll certainly inspire you to get out into the shop and make something super-cool too!

Yost69 of HuhDoWhat.com has a nice collection of original scroll saw patterns he made available to those who want them. He covers a wide variety of subjects from Whistler’s Mother to sports cars. He has a little something for everybody. While you’re there, be sure to check out his cuttings in his gallery. He has a lot of great pictures that will surely inspire your next project!