Scroll Saw Village

Are you tired of cutting other people’s patterns? Want to make your own? Andy Deane of 80 Art Designs has created a great tutorial about creating scroll saw patterns with Paint Shop Pro. The 7 page tutorial takes you step by step through the entire process. He has also included a practice photo so you can follow along. The instructions are clearly written and he explains everything in detail. He has also included screen shots and illustrations as he works. It is very well done and worth a look. Check it out.

While you are there visit his main page where you’ll find his gallery and patterns he has available for sale. Very cool.

Have you ever wanted to try compound cutting, but didn’t know where to start? Diana Thompson at Scroll Saw Inspirations will give you a hand. She has put together a great tutorial on how to cut compound patterns. Each step is clearly written and complete with photos. She has also included a free practice pattern to get you started! While you are there, check out the patterns she has available for sale too. If you catch the compound cutting bug, she certainly has plenty of patterns to keep you busy.

Are you looking to take that leap into intarsia? It can seem a bit intimidating, but Bruce over at Intarsia.net will help you on your way. He has put together a great tutorial and provided a free pattern for your first project. He shows you step by step how to put together a simple intarsia teddy bear project that will impress your friends and family. Each step has clear instructions with accompanying photos to take all of the guesswork out. He covers pattern layout, sawing, inlay, shaping, assembly and finishing. If you are looking to try your hand at intarsia, this is the perfect place to start.

Looking for a quick and easy gift? These clipboards will certainly satisfy. Toni Burghout of Chrestensen Burghout Designs put together a great tutorial on how to make these one-of-a-kind clipboards. Turn an inexpensive clipboard into something cherished. While you’re there, check out their patterns. They have a great selection from word art to fantastic creatures. I especially like their dragon patterns.

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.

David at Scroll Saw Blog has put together a nice article on how he stack cuts bookmarks. It isn’t a tutorial per se, but does offer really great insight on how he approaches bookmark cutting.

Give his techniques a try. I think these would make really great gifts. He does quite well with selling them at craft fairs, too. Check it out.

The last post, I talked about Carter Johnson’s puzzles. He really creates unique and heirloom quality puzzles. He is an active member of the Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts message boards and the resident expert in puzzle making. His experience and advice is priceless. He was kind enough to share his knowledge in a tutorial on how to make wooden puzzles. You can find it here.

If you haven’t had a chance to browse through his gallery, I encourage you to do so. He is a true puzzle craftsman.