Scroll Saw Village

While you have your passport out, lets jump over to Algeria. Real Fez has a new blog where he shares his most recent works. If that wasn’t enough, he was also kind enough to share some of his patterns! And who doesn’t love free patterns? Recently, he’s been experimenting with cork, which has been really interesting to read. It would be fun to try working with this often overlooked material. I think there are a lot of possibilities there. Anyway, check out his blog. He has a unique approach to his projects that might serve for some great inspiration.

The Jacob’s Ladder is a folk toy that dates back to the ancient Egyptians. This simple toy was especially popular during the American Colonial times and still played with children to this day. Donald DeVeny of Woodcraft Arts has a nice tutorial on how to make this timeless toy. While a scroll saw isn’t necessary to make the Jacob’s Ladder, the flat panels do offer an opportunity to embellish the design with fretwork. The panels can be made with any size lumber, and the ribbon can be any width. So get creative and make a few of these Jacob’s Ladders for the little ones in your life.

PS – They make great stocking stuffers!

My son loves cars. If it ain’t got wheels, he just isn’t interested. Mom and dad drive cars, and so does he. Much was the same for children of former times, but instead of driving cars, they imitated their parents by riding hobby horses.

Woodcrafter.net has provided a nice set of vintage plans with instructions to make your own hobby horse. Unfortunately, the horse’s head graphic is not full scale. So, I recommend saving the JPG file and enlarging it with a graphics program until the grid measures 1 inch. You could also use a photocopier to enlarge the pattern. Then all you have to do is glue the pattern to the wood and cut out!

When finished, paint it with some non-toxic acrylic paints or leave it the natural wood color. Maybe break out your wood burning kit to add the details. Perhaps add some reigns, or some string for the mane. Intarsia artists, I think there’s certainly a great project waiting to be born. There’s so many possibilities with such a simple concept. Get creative. Have fun!

This little climbing bear folk toy has been around for generations. Originally, it was used to teach children the art of milking cows. But in today’s day and age, it’s just plain fun! Pull each of the strings in an alternating pattern and the little bear climbs to the top. Release the strings and he comes back down.

Shopsmith has a pattern and detailed instructions for this cute little toy.They recommend a tilting-table drill press, but a hand drill could be carefully used instead. The angle of the holes should be close to 45 degrees as possible, but it shouldn’t matter if you’re off a little. Just eyeball it and you’ll be fine.

Give this cute little toy a try. They’re easy to make, and will certainly delight young and old alike!

Safety Note: The strings dangle and can become a strangulation hazard for young children. So I’d recommend supervised play with very little ones.

Bobby from Bobby’s Scroll Saw Works has a number of great patterns, including the wonderful picture of the Columbia shuttle crew. The patterns are provided in JPG format for easy scaling. To save these patterns, just right click the image and choose “Save Image As” and save it to your desktop. This pattern is located under “Portraits (NEW)“. Bobby has a lot of great patterns to choose from, so take a little time and explore his site. He has a deer shelf pattern that I have my eye on. Check it out!

The new presidential election is right around the corner in the US. Campaign slogans, bumper stickers and heated debates are everywhere. It gets a little crazy, but exciting at the same time. We may have different political views, but one thing that unites us is the love for our country. Here’s a great patriotic pattern designed by Steve Hovious. You can find this and other patterns on his blog listed under “Free Patterns” on the left sidebar. Check it out!. While you’re there, take a look at his blog postings. He has a lot of great pictures of his finished scroll saw projects. Perhaps it will spark an idea or two for your next project!

Here’s a fun little country craft pattern provided by Meliz Crafts n More that you can easily knock out in no-time. I tried this pattern and it only took me an hour and a half to complete (that includes the painting and watching TV). The pattern is a hand drawn scan provided in JPG format. You can clean up the pattern in a graphics program, or just print it and fly by the seat of your pants! I just printed it and went with it. The cutting is about as basic as you can get and the painting scheme is even easier. But the end results are fantastic. This would make a great project for your own home, or a gift for that cow enthusiast. Be sure check out her other patterns too. She has a lot of great and whimsical patterns for all occasions. Check it out!

If you read any of the scroll saw magazines, or hang out on the scroll saw message boards, you already know Kevin Daly of Scroll Saw Patterns Online. He has designed a lot of great patterns, but he’s best known for his wildlife and scenic designs. Kevin has posted a free pattern of Jesus falling beneath the cross for anybody who wants it. The pattern is provided in JPG format for easy scaling. It looks like he swaps out his free patterns from time to time, so make sure you take advantage of this great pattern. While you’re there, check out his other designs. I’m sure you’ll find one you can’t live without!

I have mentioned before that scherenschnitte (paper cutting) is very similar to scroll sawn portraits. The only difference is the medium in which we work. But the principles of design remain the same. Since the two art forms are so similar, us scrollers can easily look to scherenschnitte for patterns and inspiration. I recently came across a great collection of scherenschnitte patterns available for download. The collection also includes the Back Street Collection, an archive of out-of-print scherenschnitte books made available to the public. The patterns are provided in JPG format for easy scaling and printing. There are so many wonderful patterns to choose from, you won’t know where to begin. Check it out!

David from Tuliptree Crafts has published another great pattern for those who wants it. He’s been working on this Buckeye Butterfly pattern over the last few days, and he finally finished it. Cut from 1/8″ hardwood for the wings and 1/4″ for the body, this will make a stunning centerpiece. This pattern can easily be turned into a magnet or a pot sticker. Or just hang it on the wall. This free pattern is provided in PDF format for easy printing. It also includes instructions to get you on your way. Bring a bit of nature indoors with another great pattern from David!

You can read more about the Buckeye Butterfly in this short Wikipedia article.