Scroll Saw Village

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!

Remember those old Erector sets you had as a kid?  You would take bits of pseudo angle iron and aluminum strips and  bolt them together to create some really cool structures.  I built mostly robots and airplanes.  Well, here’s a scroll saw created using a Czech product similar to the Erector Set called Merkur. The builder,  Tobias, writes he made the majority of the scroll saw using Merkur and added a motor to power the saw.  Looks pretty good to me!  So if your scroll saw ever breaks down, dig out your old Erector set and build your own!

I love my scroll saw, but there are other tools on my wish list too.  Like a lathe!  Wouldn’t that be fun?  It would be awesome if there was such a thing as a scroll saw/lathe combo.  Nah.  That’s just too good to be true.  Or is it? And if we make this wonder-tool ourselves, we can save the earth too!   Could it be possible?  Well, Roy Underhill can make it happen in his article Lathe from a Loft (Popular Woodworking, Oct 2000 issue). The Woodworking Magazine blog has made this article available in PDF format for easy printing and reading.  The article is a humourous approach to building this wonder-machine, but still includes detailed building instrucitons and photo illustrations.  Even if you don’t intend to build your own scroll saw/lathe combo, check it out.  Its a very entertaining read.

My wife hates it when I spray finish my projects indoors.  She doesn’t like the smell and she worries about what’s floating around in the air.  Most of the time, I have to wait for her to go shopping.  Then I bolt downstairs with my spray can in one hand and an arm full of projects in the other and hope the smell dissapears before she gets home.

It would be great if I could find a way to finish my projects indoors without anybody being the wiser?  If I only had a spray booth.   Well Paul Adamson from Military Modeling has a great tutorial on how to make a small spraybooth out of materials you can find off the shelf.  Best of all, its small enough to store out of sight when you don’t need it.  He includes a detailed description of the process, along with several photographs.  Check it out.  It might be the next tool you need in your arsonal (and keep you out of the doghouse too).

The price of tools and supplies can add up pretty quick.  Especially time saving tools such as sanding mops.  Steve from Scroll Saw Workshop has a great tutorial provided by one of his readers, Rick.  He provides step-by-step instructions on how to create your own sanding mop.  It looks Rick’s version of the sanding mop is designed for a lathe, but the concepts can easily be adapted to be used with a drill press.  Steve also gives a great demonstration video on how to use a commercial sanding mop.  You’ll soon realize its something you’ll want in your shop too!  Check it out!

Imagine you’re at a craft fair, selling some of your creations. You’ll get some traffic, sure. But what if you brought your scroll saw with you and demonstrated your techniques. You’ll get a lot more traffic. But imagine pulling out a homemade, foot-powered scroll saw made with various hardwoods and polished to a high sheen. Think of the crowds! Even if you didn’t do craft fairs, it would still be really cool to have a scroll saw you created with your own two hands! Well, Michael Martin (aka Nailbender) has come to the rescue with this great set of plans to build your very own wooden scroll saw. You’ll end up with a showpiece that will draw a lot of oohs and ahs.

Michael offers these plans for free off his website. The plans are broken up into two PDF’s for easier downloading. He has plenty of instructions, diagrams and photos to make construction that much easier. Check it out. Very cool!

Almost as important as the saw, is the stand the saw sits on. If it isn’t at the right height or angle, your neck and back won’t be happy with you. You could buy a commercial stand, but where’s the fun in that? Michael Martin (aka Nailbender) has provided a nice set of plans for your scroll saw. The stand includes an adjustable tabletop angle, an easy access cubby to hold tools, and enough room on top to hold other odds and ends. If you look closely at his pictures, you can see a clever scroll saw blade storage made from PVC (no plans available, but I’m sure you can figure it out).

Michael has created his stand as inexpensive as he could, but you could easily upgrade the building materials to create a great looking scroll saw stand. You can adjust the height and angle of the stand to fit your needs. So if you are ready to move your scroll saw from the TV tray to something a bit more stable, check out these free plans!

Flap Sanders. You’ve seen them. People love them. And you would like one of your own but don’t know where to get one. Well, you can make your own! This handy little tool by Bob Kinsey is made to be used with a lathe. With a little modification, you can make it as big or small as you need with any grit. He gives you clear instructions on how to build a flap sander with mechanical drawings to boot. Very cool, indeed. I think I’ll make one as soon as I convince my wife I need a lathe. Wish me luck!

Oh No! Tell me it ain’t true. Your scroll saw broke down! This is the worst time it could happen. Its almost Christmas and you’ve got 4 granddaughters to make puzzles for, 6 grandsons who want wooden cars, a church craft fair just around the corner. You certainly can’t wait to have your saw fixed! What to do? I guess you have to do it the hard way. Pull out your foot powered scroll saw and get to work. What? You don’t have one?

Well, the fine folks over at Vintage Projects have provided free plans for a foot powered scroll saw to get you on your way. It is very cool. Think of how much attention you’ll get at your next craft show when you pull this out.

Now that you have these plans, you don’t have an excuse the next time your scroll saw breaks down.

OK. So you’ve cut a beautiful portrait that you’re quite proud of. What’s the next step? Frame it, of course! You can go to Wal-Mart and buy a $3 frame. The problem with that is it looks like a $3 frame. You can go to a frame shop and buy a $30 frame. It looks nice, but you’re $30 poorer. What to do? Well, you can make your own frame!

The fine folks over at Woodworking Online has a video podcast episode about making your own picture frames. In this seminar demonstration, Cris Fitch of Woodsmith magazine shows his step-by-step techniques for building simple, but elegant picture frames. In this hour long video, he makes a one piece molded frame and how he uses contrasting woods to make beautiful frames. He also goes over the basics of matting and mounting your works of art.

Now that you are inspired to make your own frames, you’ll want to know where to get plans for the miter sled he uses in the video. Its simple to build and you can find the plans here.