Anyone do any scroll saw crafts?

[Mike_usn_ret]

I have done wood working , cabinet building, laminating, pallet craft, 2x4 and 4x4 scrap crafts..looking for something just to occupy some time and maybe make a few things the wife might like having in the house. Thinking about crafts made from a scroll saw. Saw a Wen on Amazon for $129 although cost more, reviews seem to favor it over Harbor Freight, Ryobi and Porter Cable. Of course not over a Dewalt or Excalibur.

Anyone do any work with a scroll saw and could give me some tips.

[Bawanna]

I've done a bit of scroll saw stuff, probably not enough to be knowledgeable. The only take away I can share is do NOT cut corners on the saw or try to get by on the cheap.
I saw a saw at a home show or trade show or something, maybe the county fair, don't recall but it was NICE. Guy put a nickel on the work table and it just sat there. I think this is what inspired me to do some stuff but I went on the cheap.
I got two different saws, the second I thought was better quality. ( I was WRONG). If I had false teeth, not the wood ones like George Washington but the plastic real looking kinds I'd need extra poligrip to keep them in.

The second big consideration is one where the blades can be changed quickly and easily without tools or standing on your head while humming kumbiya.

Get a good saw and its fun and you can do stuff, get junk and it'll collect dust on the shelf like my two.

I just broke out my 15 year old lathes bought new but never used. Fella on another forum was talking about making pens, didn't look too hard. I've made a bunch since, kind of taking a break from it for a bit but it's there when I'm in the mood.

[Mike_usn_ret]

TY for the info Bawanna. I went to YouTube and viewed some videos of scrolling. I have seen, like you say, that a lot of the saws can be a real PITA to change the pinless blades, and vibration is a real bear on some. The Wen ....well, seems like many say it is in the better than average with the cons of many and better than most in the same price range. Might go over to WoodYou tomorrow and talk to them for some additional advice.

[Bawanna]

Changing blades is BIG. Depending on what your doing and how intricate the pattern you could be changing that blade 100's of time in a single piece.
I've never used the Wen, I do have a Wen drill press I got recently and it doesn't seem to be a bad tool. Course that says nothing good or bad for a scroll saw.

Do keep us posted, if you get something good that works and is reasonable, I might give it a third try myself. Cleaned out part of the shop recently and I got some shelf space if I fail once again.

[dustnchips]

Scroll saw work sure looks like a way to use up a lot of time. I never played with one, bu use my time up on a wood lathe. Very relaxing to me. People tell me I should sell them at craft shows but I don't care to sit around all day having people want to buy my work for $5 per hour. I have a shelf of them at home that I give to first time visitors and I give them to charity auctions where they often draw around$100. My advice is buy the cheapest saw you can find on E Bay. Then if you find you enjoy the hobby go out and buy the best saw you can afford. Make sure you have some kind of an outlet for your product or you will fill your house. Have fun.

[Mike_usn_ret]

Scroll saw work sure looks like a way to use up a lot of time. I never played with one, bu use my time up on a wood lathe. Very relaxing to me. People tell me I should sell them at craft shows but I don't care to sit around all day having people want to buy my work for $5 per hour. I have a shelf of them at home that I give to first time visitors and I give them to charity auctions where they often draw around$100. My advice is buy the cheapest saw you can find on E Bay. Then if you find you enjoy the hobby go out and buy the best saw you can afford. Make sure you have some kind of an outlet for your product or you will fill your house. Have fun.

I gave up trying to sell homemade wood working crafts....no one wants to pay more than yard sale prices (50 cents) 34308067_1737371046338468_546262304669302784_n.jpg34278718_1737370456338527_2547228477715644416_n.jpgfor hand crafted work....same with selling at flea markets. No, my crafts re for home, gifts or a few people that know my work here in the community where I live.

[Bawanna]

Amen to that. I try to keep my stuff in hobby mode, not turn it into a job. I don't charge for anything, just accept charitable contributions, sometimes do quite well, often times ok, enough to cover material and tool replacement, sometimes not so good.
Do it cause it's fun to do and keeps me off the street, I'll never be rich but happiness is being covered in sawdust and I get that a lot.

I'll go 75 cents for the birdhouse.

[kenemoore]

My wifes cousin was a Cop out in Arizona, fell off a balcony while on the job and was forced to retire. Hurt his back pretty good. Anyway....He does some beautiful art with a scroll saw. He takes kids coloring books, and used them as patterns, then cuts exotic woods to fill in each "block" he hand sands and polishes the pieces. He then glues them to a nice background and they are amazing to look at. He has been offered hundreds of dollars for one, but just gives them away as gifts. Takes close to a year to do one. The Craftsman ship is amazing. Just posting to let you know that the hardware is only a minor piece in the total scheme.

[gb6491]

I'm still in the dark ages with a single speed Ryobi scroll saw. I'm not going to offer up any advice in regards to saws, but FWIW (as an apples to oranges thing), I do have a WEN file sander that has given very good service. I'd give other of their products a try.
Regards,
Greg

[Mike_usn_ret]

Well received my scroll saw. Tweaked the blade adjustments and bought a foot switch for it. Bought about 50 blades (have little faith I am not going to break a few blades....on a related note, bought a face shield also!!!) and discovered there are no stores that have any scroll saw pattern books with in 30 miles that I can find! Had to go buy ink for the printer to print some. Tomorrow is Pioneer Days in High Springs so nothing will be cut tomorrow. "58608378_2193356734073228_3547205226249322496_n.jpgStay tuned for the rest of the story"

[Bawanna]

That looks pretty durn good. Looks like the blade is accessible, the table is awesome.
I meant to look up the Wen's but never got around to it, I might have to check one out for myself. I'll toss the two on the shelf.

[MrBlackCat]

I have a Dremel brand saw that is a bit over 40 years old now. My father bought it new in the mid 70's. I have always used it. It has instant blade access... 5 second changes. (blade release lever on top) It is used a LOT in these years. I could show 100 projects it has been involved in just the last ten years. It is used weekly in other words.

I have about five different blades I run in mine for different projects. For this post I will just show the most extreme single project I have done with it in recent years. I cut this 8x8 tile flooring project with it. Took about a week of four to six hours a day. Around 150 pieces total were cut. Just an example of what you could do with one of these. I can't think of a more suitable tool other than production equipment like water-jet or laser that could have even done something like this.

My saw...


One of the many projects...


MrBlackCat

[Mike_usn_ret]

Nice ...real nice MRBlackCat. Nice set up in the room also.

[Mike_usn_ret]

Well first project done...wife and friends say it is great ...especially for a first project. I maybe a little to picky and not patient enough for this craft as I think it is ....alright. I look at some of the very nice things and wonder if I will ever do them...sure hope so.SAM_1701.jpg

[MrBlackCat]

I can tell what it is. It has a very admirable theme. You completed something.

Is all positive to me.

When I get a new tool, it takes a while to get used to the idea of using it as a resource... as thinking in the context of tools you don't own isn't very productive usually.
Now that you have it, and have used it for a project, you are almost certain to consider it for other things you might enjoy making.

Here is an example from just last week... another game room project.

I wanted this... (a symbol from a video game I enjoyed)


So I used the computer to edit and print out this paper template...


I traced it, roughed it out and made this...


Then I added LED Lighting and made this display for the game room...


This didn't have to be "perfect" as far as cut or copy of the original, so it was a pretty relaxed project. Now I have another themed light for the game room. Excellent project for a scroll saw.

When my father got this saw in the 70's we were pretty "financially challenged" you might say now days, and the first project that I remember was this... we had a set of Christmas themed cookie cutters from KMart we used as templates on 1/4 plywood to make the shapes. We then cut them out with this saw and painted them with a base color of red, green, or white. Then we took model brushes or cotton swabs and decorated them. Then drilled a hole for a small string. We gave them as gifts and used them. I still have some of them, but they are packed up and I don't have an image to share.

Excellent use of a scroll saw in my opinion.

Good luck on your next scroll saw project.

MrBlackCat