Willy's Workshop

More shop pictures! I knew you'd be just as excited as I am! A while back, I wrote about Willy's Woodcrafting Gallery. Well, if you didn't notice, he also has some pictures of his workshop! Many of the pictures refer to his other obsessive hobby, wood turning. He has pictures of some of the jigs he has made, his dust collection system, and a bunch of tools he has in his shop. Very cool. Take a look.

Poll Results & A New Poll for Feb. 2008

The current poll is over. We had 46 people chime in. The results are below:

What kind of scroll work do you do most often?

• Fretwork - 54% (26 votes)
• Portraits - 17% (8 votes)
• Puzzles - 2% (1 vote)
• Intarsia - 10% (5 votes)
• Segmentation - 6% (3 votes)
• Compound Cutting - 4% (2 votes)
• Inlay/Marquetry - 0% (0 votes)
• Other - 2% (1 vote)

Most people do fretwork, followed by portraits. I know that fretwork and portraits are basically the same. But I tried to distinguish between those who do images with black felt backings to those who do more decorative items, such as clocks. I was surprised by the results. I figured portraits would get the most votes as those patterns are most readily available on the internet. But then again, this isn't a very scientific poll.

OK...now for our next poll! Ain't this fun?

What do you listen to while scrolling?

• Music
• Talk Radio
• Podcasts
• Audio Books
• Nothing
• Other

This poll will run through Feb 29th. Cast your vote now!

Wooders Scroll Saw Gallery

I love galleries of other's work. I stumbled across a great scroller's gallery at Wooders.com. 4 pages of scroll saw projects submitted by their members. It is a lot of fun to look through all of the great projects. Take a look. Perhaps I'll inspire your next project.

Stained Glass/Intarsia Pattern Tutorial

The last post, I wrote about Chantal's Stained Glass patterns, which make really great intarsia projects. She has put together a great tutorial on how she creates her fantastic stained glass patterns. A lot of these techniques can be easily adapted for creating intarsia patterns too! Check out her tutorial. Perhaps it will inspire you to create some intarsia patterns of your own.

Chantal's Stained Glass

I have a treat for you intarsia and segmentation artists! Stained glass patterns often make really great intarsia projects. I've come across several websites that offer free stain glass patterns, but I found one that is by far my favorite. Chantal's Stained Glass has so many great patterns, you won't know where to begin. She has each pattern color coded so you know exactly if the pattern is free or offered for sale. But fret not, most of them are free! The Panel's section is probably the most useful for intarsian/segmentors. Check it out when you get a chance. You'll be giddy with delight!

Geno's Scroll Saw Blog

I love blogs and blogging. Its a great sneak peak into some one's lives to see what they're up to. I especially love blogs related to my interests. Geno is a scroller and woodworker from the Adirondack Mountains of NY. He runs a scroll saw blog that he posts to several times a month. He posts his latest woodworking and scroll saw projects with some thoughts on each project. I've been reading his blog for several months now and really enjoy seeing new posts. If you get a chance, swing on by and check it out. It's a great way to pass time when you really should be working!

Dollar Store Goodies

There is a great article by Toni Burghout in the latest issue of Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts (Spring 2008) about dollar store finds. She found great items that can be used for your scroll saw projects. From salvaged clock parts, to clipboard blanks. So I thought I'd drop by my local dollar store to see what I can find. You wouldn't think it, but what a great resource of supplies! Not only can you find items to use in your projects, you can find a multitude of products to help you make your projects.

Here are a few items that caught my eye:

Foam Makeup Applicators - These those wedge shaped foam applicators that would work great for applying stains. Just toss them when you are done!
Foam Brushes - I use these to apply BLO to my projects. I just toss it when I'm done.
Craft Knives - I found both the Xacto style of craft knife, as well as the retractable craft knives where you break the tip off to get a new cutting surface.
Roasting Pans - I use these as dipping trays for my projects. It hurts my feelings to pay $2-3 for a roasting pan at the grocery store. $1 seems much more reasonable.
Baster - Never thought of it, but I could use a regular turkey baster to 'baste' my projects in BLO.
Sand Paper - I found a lot of sandpaper. No need to pay premium prices for those.
Super Glue - Super Glue is a savior when you spend hours working on a fret piece, only to have one of the fragile areas break. Super Glue fixes it without anybody being the wiser.
Dust Masks - Safety is cheap. Medical bills are expensive. Kinda a no-brainer, huh?
Table Cloths - I'm a bit messy. So these make great drop cloths.
Popsicle Sticks - Great for mixing up small amounts of epoxy, or glue some sandpaper to sharpened Popsicle sticks. They make great sanding tools.
Plastic Cups - Great for mixing paints, stains, or whatever. Toss 'em when you're done!
Plastic Plates - Great paint mixing palate.
Emory Boards - Another great detail sanding tool.

This is just a few of the items I found. There's so much more potential. So check out your favorite dollar store and see what you can find. I bet you'd be surprised. I'd love to hear your dollar store goodies. Post your finds in the comments section of this post. It would be fun to see what others have found.

Wood Finder

Finding a hardwood dealer can be tough. Where I live, the one and only hardwood dealer doesn't even advertise in the yellow pages! I had to ask around before finding somebody who knows where I could buy hardwood.

Well, to make things a little simpler, I found a great website. Wood Finder will locate the nearest hardwood dealer to your home. Looking for an exotic hardwood that only grows in a 4 foot area of South America? Well, they'll find that too. So next time you need a little lumber for your next project, and rather not spend more on shipping than on the lumber; or you need to locate that super exotic wood from South America, check out this great search engine. Wood Finder will certainly help you on your quest.

Hot Cars

Andy Deane of 80 Art Designs has a number of great patterns available for sale. He has wildlife, famous faces, and provincial silhouettes. But my favorite is his car portraits. He has hot rods to beat up ol' farm trucks. Check them out. Any one of these would make a great gift for that car lover in your life.

Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Community

Communities are a great way to meet people who share the same interest. They offer support, advice, tips and encouragement. My favorite online community is hosted by Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts magazine. What a great group of people. You won't find much for free patterns, but you will find a wealth of information and camaraderie. If you have any question regarding scroll sawing, this group has your answer.

The forum is set up into categories. They have the General Scroll Saw section to talk about anything related to scroll sawing. New scrollers should check out Beginner's Scroll Saw. If you have a question regarding a specific kind of scroll saw related issue, they have special sections for those too. The Bragging Section is fun to browse other's latest works and get a little inspiration. One really neat area that they just added is Works In Progress. Here you'll find photos and comments on projects as the artist works their way to completion.

The message boards are free to browse and read. Membership is required to post messages. However, membership is free and instantaneous. Just a note. New member's messages are moderated before they become visible to the public. They do this to avoid abuse and spam. Messages are approved rather quickly, though. And it only takes a few posts before the moderators lift the moderation function from your account.

So check out this great community. Don't be afraid to post your questions, no matter how dumb you think your question is. Everybody there is super friendly and eager to help. See you on the boards!