Scrolling The Force

"Come with me and we'll rule the scroll saw galaxy as father and son." I think that's how the quote goes anyways.

One really great source for scroll saw patterns are pumpkin carving sites. The principles of cutting portraits and cutting pumpkins is pretty much the same. StarWars.com has provided a few pumpkin patterns from the Star Wars franchise for free. I've cut the Darth Vader portrait and I'd like to take a crack at the Tuskan Raider. Take a look. I'm sure you'll find a great pattern for that Star Wars fan in your life.

Gary Browning Patterns

Gary Browning is a portrait artist and the author of Scroll Saw Portraits, Scroll Saw Portraits from the Wild West, Scroll Saw Civil War Portraits.

He has provided 20+ free patterns on his website for anybody who wants them. He included a bunch of great portraits including Elvis, Marylin Monroe, Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, Earnhardt and many more. They are provided in JPG format for easy scaling. Check them out! And if you haven't done so yet, grab one of his books. He does fabulous work.

Shop Layout Tool

Your significant other surprised you this Christmas. They bought you every new tool you could imagine. And on top of that, they told you they no longer need to park in the garage because that is your space. What a dilema. This will take some serious organizing! Well, your shop layout is easy with this cool little Shop Layout program from Workbench Magazine. The program is completely web based, so there is no need to install anything (unless you don't have flash player, but most web browsers have it preinstalled). Size up your workshop and then start dragging your tools over. Before you know it, you'll have the feng shui of your workshop at its best! Give it a try.

Last SSG Toy Drive Update for 2007

Here's the last SSG Toy Drive update for 2007. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as planned. We had plenty of curiosity with about 30 click-throughs. But no purchases. The plan was using any commissions earned through the Amazon ads to buy toys for children that wouldn't otherwise have a Christmas. Although we did not earn any commissions this year, I went out and bought a couple board games anyway and donated them to Toys For Tots on behalf of SSG.

Although the toy drive didn't work in our favor this year, I think I'll do it again next year. Perhaps with a wider readership we'll be able to buy a lot of goodies for the little ones next year.

Thank you all for your interest and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

SK Wood Works

I know. You can't get enough free patterns. Well, Shelli & Kerry at SK Wood Works has quite a few free scroll saw patterns available for you. Wildlife, wizards, and horses. Oh My! Their free patterns are available from the menu on the left of the screen. Check them out.

And while you are there, check out the patterns they have available for sale, too. Each pattern is sold on a removable adhesive paper for easy application. So, no more fussing with spray adhesives!

Although their patterns are of a variety of subjects, you can definitely tell that western patterns are close to their heart with a wide variety of horse and tack related patterns. So embrace the inner cowboy or cowgirl. Check out SK Wood Works.

Blogger

The internet is a wonderful thing. There is so much information available at your fingertips. Email is more common than phone calls anymore. So it only makes sense to build your own website. I plan on writing several articles about building easy websites to show off your creations to online communities, or to direct your potential customers to.

The first free service I want to discuss is the page you are looking at now; Blogger. Scroll Saw Goodies is a blog hosted by Blogger.

What is a blog? Blog is short for web-log. Think of it as an online journal where you can write down your thoughts quickly and easily. Blogger has a back-end interface where you compose your blog entries. It has tools that work much like a word processing program. Font, size, style, spell check, etc. You can upload your own pictures and make links to other websites with ease. And with a click of a button, your blog entry is made live for the public to see.

To make your blog unique, you can easily cusomize the look. There are quite a few templates you can choose from to suit your tastes. Colors are easily changed. You can arrange the features of the website with a simple drag-and-drop. And if you are comfortable with HTML code, the code can be changed with ease.

Blogger is a great way to start your online presence. Its easy to use and customize. And best of all, its free! You can create a blog to showcase your work like I have done with Woodworks By Travis. You can create a blog like this one, to distribute information. Steve at Scroll Saw Workshop uses his to distribute free patterns. Or, like David at Scroll Saw Blog, you can just share your thought about scroll sawing to those who would listen.

If you run into any problems with Blogger, let me know and I can help you out. I have been using it for years. I'd be happy to help if you get stuck.

If you have a blog related to scroll sawing that is hosted by Blogger, please post your link in the comments area for others to see. It would be a great way to get traffic to your blog and show others what can be done with this great service.

Williy's Woodcrafting

Looking for more inspiration? Look no further than WillysWoodcrafting online gallery. William's gallery has hundreds of pictures of his work. From fretwork clocks, portraits, 3d work to bandsaw boxes and pen turnings. He does it all from his home in Wyndell, Canada. He is an active member of several online communities as well as the admin for the Woodworking Friends online community. He's always willing to share his experience and tips for new woodcrafters. So check out his gallery. Not only does he do fantastic work, it will certainly inspire you to create some sawdust of your own.

SSG Toy Drive Update

We've got 4 days left for our little Toy Drive. Unfortunately, the most response we've got is several click-throughs. No purchases. So if you are going to purchase anything through Amazon this year for the holidays, please use these links. The commission I receive as a result of these links will be used to buy toys for Toys for Tots. You can read about our little toy drive here.

Grazing Horse

Here's a quick and easy pattern for horse lovers. Tom over at Old Griz Scroll Art provides a free pattern of a horse grazing. The pattern is in JPG format for easy scaling and would make a great gift for any equestrian. While you are there, check out his other patterns he has available. His wildlife patterns are fantastic!

Intarsia Teddy Bear

Now that you made your first teddy bear intarsia, your neighbor's cousin now wants one. What to do? Well, Wood Magazine can help you out on your next intarsia project. They have provided a great article by Judy Gale Roberts, about getting started in intarsia. The article is free to download and presented in a 12 page PDF format for easy printing. The article takes you step by step through the entire process. And true to Wood Magazine's style, the article is richly illustrated with photos and drawings that explains every detail. Naturally, they also include the free teddy bear pattern.

So if you still need a little more help in your journey down intarsia road, or if you just need a great pattern, check out this great article.

Intarsia 101

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.

Free Woodworking Catalog

Rockler Woodworking & Hardware is offering a free catalog to SSG Readers! If you haven't checked out their catalog, you're missing out. There is so many great products geared specifically to woodworkers of all types. From large furniture plans, to parts for wooden toys. They have a great selection of books, plans, and scroll saw blades. And every tool you could ever want to expand your shop into a lean, mean, sawdust making machine.

So grab your copy of their catalog today. You won't regret it!

First Name: Last Name: Address Line 1: Address Line 2: City: State: ZipCode: Country: United States Other countries... E-mail: I'd like to receive the free "Log-On" e-mail newsletter.

SSG Toy Drive Update

Well, here's the weekly update on the SSG Toy Drive for Toys For Tots. Its pretty much the same story as last time. This week we've received an additional 7 click-throughs, but no purchases. If you are going to purchase anything from Amazon for the holidays, please use the Amazon links on this page. The commission earned from the purchases made from these links will be used to buy toys for Toys For Tots. We only have 10 more days to make this work, so shop shop shop!

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

The Different Varieties of Scroll Saw Blades Used for Intricate Cuts

by Muna wa Wanjiru

A scroll saw is used to generally cut intricate cuts. To help the scroll saw perform these types of cuts you will find the need to have a variety of scroll saw blades. These blades which are available from hardware stores are designed for many different purposes. For this reason you should either have a large variety of scroll saw blades or depending on your crafting abilities a few specialized blades.

There are about six different major varieties of scroll saw blades that are available. These blades are generally about five inches long. A brief look at the different scroll saw blades will let you see how these blades are different in nature. The first one we will look at is that of the Skip tooth blade.

The skip tooth blade is named due to the saw teeth being positioned with a gap distance between each tooth. The next type of scroll saw blade to be looked at is the Crown or two way saw teeth. In this blade type the teeth of the blade are facing both upwards and downwards.

This double direction facing teeth on these scroll saw blades allows you to make cuts in the material. You will have the option of cutting in a downward stroke. You could also cut using an upward stroke. This is very handy as there may be times you will need to cut the wood in either direction.

Another of the scroll saw blades is that of the Double Skip tooth. In this the teeth of the blade is fashioned in a manner that is similar to that of Skip Tooth blade. You will find however that the gap is located after two saw teeth have been found. In other words the arrangement of the teeth for this blade is two teeth, a gap and then another set of two teeth.

You can use the Metal cutting scroll saw blades for the purpose any cutting any type of metal. Here the blade is made from hardened metal. Now if you are cutting any other substance such as glass with a scroll saw it is best if you use a Diamond blade. This particular blade has a diamond coated wire blade. This is truly the blade to use when you need to cut through glass.

The final major scroll saw blade that we shall look at is that of the Spiral blade. This blade is formed in an unusual way. This blade is a flat blade that has been twisted so that the teeth of the blade are facing in every direction. This makes using this type of blade perfect for the tasks where you need cutting ability in just about any direction.

You will find all of these saw blade useful. While these are a brief look at the major scroll saw blades you will find that there are many other blades to use. See what the various saw blades are like. You might find a few more useful ones.

About the Author
Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Saws for Years. For More Information on Scroll Saw Blades, Visit His Site at Scroll Saw Blades.

Puzzle-Cutting Video

I wrote a while back about Carter Johnson. He is the resident puzzle-making master in the forums. He has made almost 600 full-size puzzles (400 of which still reside in his basement), 700 Christmas card puzzles and nearly 2000 stamp puzzles made from 1 cent stamps! This guy knows his stuff! It's no wonder why people are always asking his advice on puzzle-cutting. Due to popular demand, Carter has put together a great demonstration video showing how he cuts his puzzles. He graciously allowed me to post his video here. Check it out. You'll be amazed at how easy he makes it look. And while you are at it, check out his puzzle gallery for more inspiration!

The Piano Man

Well, Steve over at Scrollsaw Workshop did it again. He knocks out so many great patterns, its hard to keep up with. So I usually only write about the truly unique items and this one takes the cake. This time it's an Automata pattern. A what? Automata is a mechanical toy that mimics some sort of event or action. Steve's pattern features a hand crank that makes a man play the piano.

Automata is something I've always wanted to try my hand at. Steve says this pattern is pretty easy build and can made with materials that are readily available. He has included a 2 part video explaining the parts of the machine and how he assembled them. Naturally the pattern is available for free and downloadable at his website.

Play it again Sam.

Train Name

Awhile back, I wrote about Shop of Arpop and the patterns he has to offer. Here's another one of his pattern sets. He offers a train alphabet. This would be great for a little boy's room. Each letter and number is presented in a JPG format so you can easily scale them to the size you need. Check it out.

One note about Shop of Arpop. It looks like he moved his free scroll saw patterns to a ProBoards forum. To access these, you need to become a member. Signup is free, but it looks as if he must activate your account before you are allowed to look through his patterns and participate in the discussions. My approval was pretty quick. His new page is located here. At the time of this writing, the train alphabet is located here. But he may move those over to the forum in the future.

Volker Arnold

Guten Tag! I hope you paid attention in German class, because we're going on a little trip! One of my favorite scroll saw artists is Volker Arnold. I've seen several of his patterns in Scroll Saw Woodworks & Crafts. They are amazing designs and I can't wait to try my hand at one. I'm especially excited to try his lichterbogens (lighted shadowboxes).

One of the many things he is known for, is his Christmas ornaments. They are really beautiful with a quaint, old world charm. You can find several of his ornaments in some back issues of Scroll Saw Woodworks & Crafts. But if you don't have those issues, he offers a free scroll saw pattern on his website. Currently it is a Christmas ornament. I've been watching his site for awhile now, and it looks like he changes the free pattern quite a bit. So keep coming back for new free patterns.

Now I'll warn you, his website is all in German. Which makes sense, since he lives in Germany. But don't worry. We'll get through this. You'll see three panes on the main page. There is a menu along the left screen, a header and menu across the top, and finally the main window. If you scroll down the main window, you'll see a British/American flag near the bottom right. If you click that, you'll have the English version of his website. The whole website isn't translated, however. But using what is translated in conjunction with the Babel Fish web translator, you'll be able to navigate his website with ease.

So enjoy what Germany has to offer. Sit back, have some of their famous beer and take some time and look through his patterns. They are quite remarkable. Auf Wiedersehen, mein Freund.

Scrolling Clip Boards

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.

SSG Toy Drive Update

The SSG Toy Drive has been up for about two weeks now. So far, we've only received 14 click-throughs, but no purchases. There is an Amazon banner ad at the top of this web page. I also have an Amazon search tool to the upper right corner of this web page to get you started. Remember, these are Amazon links only. I receive no personal information. I merely get a commission based on sales as a result of these links. I will then use that money to buy toys for Toys For Tots. So if you are going to buy from Amazon this Christmas, please use the links on this page so we can make a child's Christmas extra special this year.

You can read more about the SSG Toy Drive here. You can also find more information on the Amazon Affiliate program here.

Thank You and Happy Holidays,
Travis

Dave Danchuk

Its really nice to see an artist take a medium in a direction you normally don't see. Dave Danchuk of Amazed Creations creates truly unique 'paintings.' Dave is a segmentation artist from Coquitlam, BC. He first lays out his drawings on MDF. Then he uses his Dewalt scroll saw to cut out each individual piece, paints them, then glues them all together again to form a pretty crazy picture. Each 'painting' is full of color and energy. It's not hard to see why his work is sought after.

His website showcases his work and talks a little about himself as an artist. He also sells merchandise based on his 'paintings.' One really neat thing he does with his website is offers progression pictures where he shows you each step as he creates a unique piece of art. Take a look through his gallery and his progression pictures. Perhaps it will inspire you to get a little crazy, too.

Foot Powered Scroll Saw

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.

Mike's Scroll Saw Patterns

Looking for a bit of a challenge? Mike Williams over at Mike's Scroll Saw Patterns has one for you with his free bobcat pattern. It certainly will impress your friends and family, but isn't for the faint of heart. Mike also has a number of other patterns available for sale too. Maybe someday I'll try one of his easier patterns, like his "Enter The Tiger" at only 388 cuts. They're really beautiful designs. Check them out.

Tom's Wood Portraits & Scroll Art

I really enjoy coming across people's personal scroll saw galleries who also throw in a few free patterns. Tom over at Tom's Wood Portraits & Scroll Art has done just that. Along with a gallery of his works, he has made available 7 patterns for anybody who want them. They are all presented in JPG format for easy scaling. Take a look. And while you are there, check out his work. I especially like his wildlife portraits.

Make Your Own Picture Frames

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.

Stack Cutting Bookmarks

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.

Billy The Kid

OK. Time for a little shameless self promotion. I started a blog a while back called Free Scroll Saw Patterns. The intention was to distribute patterns I that I have created. Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way of my pattern designing. But someday soon, when all of the craziness has subsided, I'll develop a few more patterns to add to the website. Until then, I only have the one pattern available.

This is my first attempt at a portrait. I used the only known photo of Billy The Kid. I think it turned out pretty good. Give it a try. And if you do, email me some pictures. I'd love to see how it worked out for you. Enjoy!

Workshop Tour

I'm always a sucker for looking at pictures of people's workshops. Its nice to know what tools the people I admire use. It's also fun to see how they work and how I can improve my own workshop. Steve Good over at Scroll Saw Workshop put together tour of his workshop in a 2 part video. He goes over the basic layout as well as the tools he uses to make his great projects. Maybe someday I'll get a workshop like that. ;) Anyway, check out Steve's Scroll Saw Workshop.

Do you have pictures of your workshop? Or how about a video? Don't hold out on us. Send them my way and I'll post them for all to see!

Absolutely Free Scroll Saw Patterns

In my last post, I mentioned Absolutely Free Scroll Saw Patterns. AFSSP is an online community with over 3200 members. Here, you can get advice from other members and exchange ideas and patterns. One really neat thing they do is have a monthly design competition. They choose a subject and members submit their designs. The winners receive a hardy pat on the back and a few bragging rites. But the true reward is seeing how different artists interpret the monthly theme.

But a community wouldn't be a community without discussion. And AFSSP has plenty of that. The website is broken into several different sections. The General area is for general discussion about scroll sawing. You'll often see people displaying their new cuttings, asking for advice, or sharing the latest happening at the recent craft show. Toolish Thoughts is a great place to get some advice and reviews for that next tool for your shop. Ever think about selling your work, but don't know where to start? They'll help you in the Business Side. Seasoned veterans of craft fairs, online sellers, and casual sellers offer their advice in this neat little section.

Sure, that's all well and good. But what about free patterns? Well, my friend, you hit the mother load. They have nearly 4,000 patterns developed by scrollers for scrollers. The most recent patterns are posted in Hot Off The Press with the older patterns categorized in the Archives. You can also request a custom pattern in the Request Pattern section. Thousands of patterns, right at your fingertips. There isn't enough time in the day...errr...week...errr...year to cut all of these patterns. So, what more can you ask?

AFSSP does require a membership to access all of their goodies. But the membership is free and easy to get! So what is there to lose? Join now and become apart of a really great community.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. So what better pattern than of a cornucopia?

This pattern was developed by Sylvia, a moderator and pattern developer for Absolutely Free Scroll Saw Patterns. AFSSP is a MSN community dedicated to creating and exchanging patterns with its members.

While Sylvia has numerous patterns available at AFSSP, she also runs Kerf Designs where she makes her patterns available to anybody who wants them. And you can't beat the price...Free! She has a great collection of designs, so check them all out. I'm sure you'll find a few that you'll want to try.

Toys For Tots

Christmas is around the corner. The stores have had their decorations up since September. And we all get caught up in the frenzy of Christmas. But its also the time of year when we step back and realize how lucky we truly are.

One of my favorite charities is Toys For Tots. It's a great charity and you can read about them here. It's a nice feeling to buying a toy for a child in need. It's amazing how many cool toys you can find for under $10. So little goes so far.

Since I have a small, but growing readership, I thought I'd try something new. I joined Amazon's affiliate program. For each referral that results in a sale, I receive 4% of that sale. I will use the money earned to purchase toys for children who wouldn't otherwise have a Christmas. 4% may not seem like much, but with even a $25 purchase, $1 will go toward the purchase of a toy. If 10 people does this, a child will have something to open on Christmas morning.

So, if you are going to purchase anything through Amazon this year, please use the Amazon links on this page. Help make a child's Christmas extra special this year. Spread the word to others too. The more who participate, the more toys we can buy.

Merry Christmas everybody!


OK. Here's The Fine Print:
I will keep these links up until Dec. 23rd, 2007. All proceeds that result from these links will go toward purchasing toys for Toys for Tots. They will be donated at my local Toys For Tots drop-off. I am not affiliated with Toys for Tots. I'm just a guy who wants to make Christmas special for some deserving kids. I will keep everyone up to date on the progress of our little fund raiser. Cheers!

Moose Tealight Candle Holder

Sheila Landry of Sheila Landry Designs is a painter and scroller from Nova Scotia, Canada. Her site has a nice collection of patterns, all at a pretty reasonable price!

She has a free pattern for a moose tealight candle holder. It really is a neat project and pretty easy to do. I'd imagine this would do really well at craft shows. Especially in my neck of the woods. Give this pattern a try. And while you're at her website, take a look around. I'm sure you'll find something you'll enjoy. I really liked her layered trinket boxes. Very cool!

Puzzle Tutorial

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.

CarterJ Puzzles

From time to time, I'd like to showcase galleries of scrollers. Its really neat to look at other's work and find inspiration.

Carter Johnson is a regular contributor on the Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts forum. He's the 'go to' guy when it comes to puzzles. If there is a question about puzzles making, he's right there to answer. He believes that puzzles should remain freehand and not cut with a pattern. Check out his gallery of the puzzles he has made. The are quite amazing!

Welcome Friends

"Welcome Friends." What a warm sentiment. Create this plaque for your front entryway to welcome your guests into your home. This is a free pattern from Sue Mey of Scrollsawartist. Sue is an artist from Pretoria, South Africa and has designed patterns for Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts, Craftwise and The Home Handyman. Her website offers a wide variety of her scroll saw patterns. Each one is categorized for easy browsing. She also has carving patterns available. Check out what she has to offer. These creative and artistic patterns would make stunning finished products.

Shop of Arpop

Looking for free scroll saw patterns? Well, Arpop from Shop of Arpop has a few. Actually he has quite a few. They really are beautiful patterns. I have my eye on a half a dozen patterns already, and I'm sure I'll try even more. His website is easy to navigate. The patterns are organized into sections that include portraits, animals, puzzles, word art and religious patterns. They are presented in JPG format so you can easily re size them to fit any project you have in mind. Definitely check out this website if you are looking for some quality patterns.

Japanese Puzzle Boxes

Who doesn't like puzzles and brain teasers? Bruce from Homemade Puzzles certainly does. He has accumulated 19 Japanese style puzzle boxes of his own design. He offers them all for free on his website. And what a website, too! Very easy to navigate with plenty of pictures, animations and descriptions so you can quickly find the plans you want. He provides PDFs with clear and detailed instructions on how to build these wonderful puzzle boxes. Each of these puzzles can be made with the scroll saw and simple woodworking tools. Give them a try. They'd make the perfect gift for someone who "has everything."

Red Skelton Portrait

I try not to post entries about the same website so close to each other, but this pattern from Steve Good is so wonderful, I couldn't pass it up. As stated in my last post, my favorite websites for patterns is Scrollsaw Workshop. He usually doesn't do portraits. In fact, this is the first one I've seen. Although Red Skelton is before my time, I really enjoy images of entertainers back in the day. Anyway, Steve's blog entry gives a little history of Red Skelton along with his pattern. I printed this one immediately. This portrait will be the next one to create some saw dust in my shop! Check out the pattern and give it a go. Thanks for the great work Steve!

Scrollsaw Workshop

I'm a visual learner. It's much easier for me to grasp a concept if I can see it demonstrated. And when I first started scrolling, I was looking for videos on how to use the scroll saw. That's when I came across Steve Good's Scrollsaw Workshop. He had several scroll saw videos on YouTube which lead me to his blog. When I went to his website, I discovered a gold mine of free scroll saw patterns! Steve's ability to crank out patterns is quite remarkable. He posts almost every day with a new pattern to share with his readers. Instead of the typical fretwork portraits you see available elsewhere on the Internet, he provides patterns for decorative objects. Items such as desk plaques, goblets, candle holders, and clocks.

Scrollsaw Workshop is by far my favorite website! It is well worth your time browsing through his archives. I guarantee you'll find a pattern you MUST have.

Free Wood Puzzles

Looking for a simple puzzle for the little one in the family? FreeWoodPuzzles.com is a great source for puzzles for young children. You won't find intricate puzzles like those of Tony Burns or Judy Peterson. But they do offer kids a lot of fun with their very own personal jigsaw puzzle. Best of all, they cut quickly. You should be able to knock out a bunch of puzzles in an afternoon for your next craft fair.

The Flying Dutchman

When I first started scrolling, I knew right away that I needed to find better blades. I was using the Craftsman blades from Sears and my results were awful. Up to this point, I was lurking in the forums and heard of a few different manufacturers of quality blades. The one that caught my eye was a German company called Flying Dutchman. It seemed that people who use these blades usually buy from Mike Moorlach of Mike's Workshop. Being new at this, I emailed Mike and asked for some advice on the type of blades a newbie should start with. He replied almost immediately and gave me some great advice on choosing blades.

He sells an assortment pack of 5 dozen of his most popular Flying Dutchman blades so you can try several different styles. That's what I chose to do. And, while talking to Mike, I showed interest in the puzzle and spiral blades. Much to my surprise, he threw in a couple of samples of those blades, too! How cool is that? And best of all was the speed of delivery. I bought my blades on Friday, and by Monday afternoon, I had my scroll saw blades waiting for me in my mail box! You just don't see that kind of service anymore.

You can find more information about Flying Dutchman scroll saw blades on his website; http://mikesworkshop.com/blades.htm. Mike is so confident that people will really enjoy using the Flying Dutchman blades, he'll give you a sample of 2 blades of your choice for free! Try before you buy! You can't beat that! Just shoot him an email and request a sample!

New Poll

I've added a poll to the top of the blog. "How many projects do you have going at one time?" I'll keep the poll up enough for me to be satisfied. Since this is a new blog and will take awhile for it to be discovered, this poll may end up running for 60 days or so. When the polls end, I'll post the end results here and put up another poll. It would be fun to see what our dear readers think about certain topics. Until then, be sure to vote!

Dragon Fly

One of my favorite blogs about scroll sawing is done by a gentleman from Tulip Tree Crafts. He posts regularly about the behind the scenes operations of his scrolling business in his blog Scroll Saw Blog. Its a lot of fun to read.
One of his items that he sells is a Dragon Fly. It can be made into a magnet or an ornament for a pot. It really turned out neat and it sounds like it's doing well at the fairs. He made the pattern available to anybody who wants it. You can read about the Dragon Fly here. He also posted a PDF of the pattern along with instructions on how to put it together here. I recommend you take a look. It might be a great addition to your inventory. Or just a project for that rainy/snowy day.

A Quick Introduction

I just want to introduce myself before really plunging into the content of this blog. My name is Travis. I live in Billings, MT with my wife Nicole and son Gavin. I've only been scrolling for a few months. I've been interested in woodworking and have been trying to build up my shop. I came across a copy of Scrollsaw Woodworking and Crafts that had plans for a cryptex similar to the one in the movie Da Vinci Code. I thought it was really cool and bought the magazine. As I flipped through the magazine and seeing the cool projects that can be accomplished with just a scroll saw, I decided I needed a scroll saw for myself. My birthday was coming up, and I asked for Sears Gift cards. My research said that the 16" Craftsman Scroll Saw from Sears is a pretty good saw for how inexpensive it is. Well, that was good enough for me.

When I brought home my new saw, I cut my my son's name out of some poplar I had laying around. I must admit, it looked pretty bad. I also tried my had at a puzzle. That didn't turn out well, either. I ended up buying some quality blades from Mike's Workshop. He had an assortment pack so I could try several different kind. I must say, buying quality blades makes all the difference in the world! I also bought some baltic birch plywood from Sloans Woodshop after using the garbage that Home Depot sells. The end product is so much better with quality wood.

I really enjoy scroll sawing because the projects usually go pretty quick. I have a very short attention span and getting to the end product quickly really gives you motivation to dive into the next project. I also like scrolling because the lumber is cheap. I can finish a project for a few bucks each. And lastly, the tools needed are pretty minimal. A scroll saw and a drill and perhaps a palm sander and you are set! I really enjoy it. I bet you can get a good setup for under $200!

Now, on to the blog!

Privacy Policy

I use Google Ads on my website to cover expenses related to running this website and expenses for future expansion. I am required to post a privacy policy regarding the use of cookies and beacons so Google is better able to provide advertisements that you will be most likely interested in. Here is the required disclaimer as according to their TOS:

You must have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy that clearly discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users’ browser, or using web beacons to collect information, in the course of ads being served on your website. Your privacy policy should also include information about user options for cookie management.

Cookies are bits of information stored on a computer. Often, they hold small bits of information such as user preferences. Most browsers accept cookies by default, but can be turned off in the browser's control panel. Cookies can also be deleted at any time by the user. This can also be found in the user's control panel. You can read more about cookie's here.

While I'm at it, I'd also like to be clear about a couple more points. I track traffic to and from SSG in order to better assess the value of the information being presented. This is for quality control and to better serve the reader by providing articles that interest my readers. I would also like to note that I do not share nor distribute user information. Those who subscribe to this blog via email can rest assured that their information is private.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Broken Links

The internet is constantly changing. People move their pages. Scrollers come and go. If you find a broken or dead link, please contact me. You can either send me an email or leave a comment on the article stating the link is broken. This will help future readers and keeps the content up to date.

Thanks for your help.

Contact

If you need to reach me to suggest a site or for a link exchange, I can be reached at scrollsawgoodies[at]gmail[dot]com.

Spam & Abusive Behavior

I strive for a family friendly website. I will not tolerate spam or abusive behavior. If you find a comment you consider spam or vulgar, please let me know immediately. You can email me the title of the post in which the offending comment is made. The offending comments will be removed immediately.

Some of the things that I consider Spam or Abusive Behavior:

• Inappropriate advertising of websites or products.
• Pornography
• Vulgar Language
• Trolling (initiating arguments)
• Personal Attacks
• Suggestive/Inappropriate topics
  
• Unrelated discussion

If you are a webmaster and would like to promote your website or products please read the Link Exchange policy or our Submission policy. This is the best way to promote your website.

Suggest A Site

The internet is HUGE. Obviously I can't find all the great content related to scroll sawing out there. So, if you know of a website, product, or any other scroll saw related information that you think would be appropriate for this blog, please email me and I'd be happy to share the information with our readers.

Webmasters. It's OK to promote your own website. If you think you offer something that the readers of this blog would be interested in, please feel free to email me and I can write a blog entry for you! But please, don't spam my site. You can read about my spam policy here.

Link Exchange

I am a firm believer in link exchanges. Its a great way to increase web traffic and boost ratings on search engines. Although I link to websites in my blog entries, you may request a permanent link on the side bar of this blog. If you have a site and would like to be linked there, shoot me an email. I'd be happy to add you. In return, I'd appreciate it if you'd return the favor by adding my link to your site. This way we can both boost our web traffic.

Happy Scrolling.

Mission Statement

I created this blog to post all of the scroll saw goodies I find on the internet. There are so many great resources out there at our disposal. So many creative new ideas, cool tools, and great techniques that will better our projects. And lets not forget the free stuff! Free scroll saw patterns, free software, scroll saw tutorials and so much more! I'll be posting reviews, tips, tutorials, and links to great scroll saw patterns. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this great world of scrolling!