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.