Friday, August 29, 2008



Many of you have ask about Coyote Stencil Shop. Here is your chance to win a FREE copy of the software. The nice people at Carving Technologies have donated a copy of their powerful, yet easy-to-use, stenciling software. This is an $89.90 value delivered to you free.

I recently produced a video review of Coyote Stencil Shop. Click Here to watch the video.

If you want to create portrait style patterns and hate complicated software then this giveaway is for you. With Coyote Stencil Shop you will be creating patterns minutes after you install the software.

Don't delay. Sign up now.

The entry and rules are at the top of the blog.

If you are reading this in the email newsletter click the link below and look for the entry link.


Make sure you read and follow the rules to be eligible.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Raised Leaf Clock



This clock pattern requires a 2 1/8" x 2 1/8" clock movement designed for 1/4" wood. The clock face and leafs are raised off the backer board for a 3d look. The dimensions are 8" x 7 1/2".

I have not cut this pattern yet but I plan to this weekend. I might make some small changes to the pattern after I have finished. The thing I'm not sure about are the riser blocks. They might be too big. I might change them to dowel rods if I don't like the look. If you cut this before I get the chance let me know what you think.




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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Clock Pattern

This clock requires a 3 1/2" clock insert. The pattern can easily be modified for a slightly different size clock insert. I designed this clock for a child but a couple of adults say they want one for their desk also. If you make the clock for a child or an adult I hope you have fun cutting it.

Wow this has been a busy week already. My day job is crazy right now so I have not had any time in the workshop for a few days. I think my lungs are almost clear of saw dust. I'm also getting behind on my email again. If you have not heard back from me please don't think I'm ignoring you. I read every email it just takes me a little time to reply.




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Monday, August 25, 2008

Albury-Wodonga Scroll Saw Weekend

Here is a report from Australia about a great weekend of scrollers coming together to share information and enjoy each others company. Thanks to Jutta Vyner for sending me the pictures and writing about their good time. I wish I could have been there.

Our annual, Albury-Wodonga Scroll Saw Weekend started Friday afternoon with a good clean up of our club's shed.
Bob Caloun was the first out-of-towner to arrive, followed by Harris Traders.
The first talk fest followed as there was a year to catch up on.

After a busy afternoon getting the shed ready I was suprised to see everyone already back way before 7am on Saturday morning.

Scrollers coming together to share and have fun.

Breakfast was cooked and served by John Skilton, Bob Lithgow , the our Two Julies and help from Esther Dennis.

We were all happy to see Owen and Helen from Harris Traders again,
Ken Vyner from Woodcrafters Haven was also present.

Jim Doyle occupied the place closest to the big shed door.... easy escape route maybe? :)
The other corners were held by Nina Slade, Ed Kilo ( manager of our scroll saw group) and Bob Calhoun again close to the door and to his dog Shadow who like last year faithfully guarded our shed door. This year she had a big job as there were lots of horses to keep away.

Everyone but our couple of beginners, Bill and Louise Yost, brought their own projects, but just in case anyone had nothing to do we started out by offering easy name tags that could be hung on the saws... that was the theory anyway.... most were cut, none were hung.
We did hang "Kiss the cook" for John , but he's not telling if it was successful.....

Bill and Louise started on our new beginner pack ....both surprised us by how quick they picked up on scrolling...they did a really good job right off the bet. Louise scrolled a couple of cats , then both upped the ante by choosing a couple of small clock patterns.

Trevor Watson

Before we knew it it was already time for smoke (morning break) Afterwards Ed revealed the mystery project. We were going to try to cut a full set of chess pieces to be given to Westmond Age Care!
To encourage participation a price was up for grabs.. a musical movement and music box pattern of choice, courtesy of Woodcrafters Haven. Every time a scroller finished a chess piece his/her name was put into the draw.

Doug Hayman ( shed manager) supplied the light and dark cut to size pieces. To make things quick and easy I glued the patterns on and drilled the holes... that's when I knew we were in trouble... the dark pieces were really HARD.

Doug's Monday night furniture group is supposed to supply the board.
By Saturday evening we had 15 white pieces ( a little easier to cut) done and 11 red one ( very hard!) with Mike Butcher's help we'll have the missing redgum pieces tomorrow so we can try to finish the set.

Mike Butcher

Only our real tough guys kept going after cutting the first piece.
John Webster was our most prolific chess piece maker that first day.

Everyone took plenty of brakes walking around checking out Harris Trader's books, buying blades, looking at Woodcrafters Haven's clock inserts, checking out what everyone else was doing and talking, talking, and more talk.

Jim Doyle brought a drum sander and explained to everyone how he made it and offered to share the plans. He also brought a tool box for all his scroll saw tools he made from ply ... with handle and name tag.... but the name wasn't scrolled .... so yes... I griped :)

Bob Caloun brought pens he scrolled with names and filled with resin... unbelievable! He also surprised me with a load of timber that filled my little Mighty Boy to the brim... Thank you Bob!
Another of his gifts was a pyramid puzzle that had everyone going for a bit. He always brings surprises, always comes up with totally new ideas.
Louise Yost

Mal and Liz Counsell were in friendly competition.... who gets to cut what colour chess piece... Liz surprised me how well she did with the redgum piece.

David Pannowitz went straight from doing the beginner kit one minuted to starting an entarsia piece the next....

Trevor Watkins, Ron Betts and George Wright's saws kept humming, both owner and saws quietly working away.

Nina Slade was a bit more noisy :).... had a bit of trouble with the saw and Ron being a gentleman switched saws with her.

Mike Butcher was still impressing everyone with his tiny dragon medallions he turns into necklaces on the lathe.

Ed came through with extra patterns and ply wood for the new scrollers, Woodcrafters Haven provided the original beginners kits and more advanced patterns later.
Andres Martinez made several clamps for 3D cutting for the scroll saw group and the club added several sets of blades. Thank you every one to our scrollers chest of drawers.

Jim Doyle and Ken Vyner

There was a lot of talk about different scroll saws and the limitations we have here in Australia. Delta's out numbered all other saws, next were Hegners, one Dewalt, one Excalibur and a couple of Hegner look-alikes ( TruePro/WMS). Delta does not send saws or parts to Australia anymore , so once these wear out we're out of luck. There seems to be a supply problem with Hegner and parts too and since the look-alikes need Hegner clamps to be any good things don't look good. The Excalibur was fitted with Delta clamps!!!!
One saw mentioned was the Proxxon, but nobody had one and nobody had used one, so the jury is still out on it, but looks promising.

The afternoon was a little slower, by tea time I was ready for a nap... which I managed to squeeze in before coming back for tea.

John and his helpers did a fantastic job preparing, serving, washing up tea, Julie and I did a great one making a mess (dropping a bag of used plates all over the floor).

Just a couple of hours later the shed was dark - everyone must have been worn out.

Jim Doyle

Sunday
----------
Driving up to the show ground we were greeted by a couple of lost kangaroos hopping around - poor little things probably were scared away by the horses, still.. I always love it when I see some... makes me remember I really am living in Australia.

Got there around 8 and found some scrollers were already enjoying breakfast.... our cook and all his helpers really were on the ball.
I don't think many of us enjoy a full breakfast with bacon and eggs every day like this.

Work started a bit slow, but saws started buzzing soon enough.
True to his word Mike came through and brought the missing red pieces for the chess set and he, Ed and John were the only volunteers to tackle them. Ron lucked out , he "got " to do the last white one... he was very nice about being asked.

George Wright and Andres Martinez

After smoko, just in case anyone had nothing to do, or wanted a brake from the work they wanted to do I offered some CD sun catcher/ornaments to scroll. To my surprise there was a bit of interest and there were several takers..... that or we have some really polite scrollers :) It really was good to see people being open to new things. I think the CDs would be great to scroll with kids.

Seemed we were just through with smoko when lunch came around ( seems there was a lot of eating going on) ....
The weather was a good as the food, everyone enjoyed the sunshine.

After Lunch Harold Dennis drew the winner of the music box movement and pattern.
The winner was Mike Butcher..... wonder where he'll find the time to make a music box now.

Another hour or so of scrolling followed, and just to make sure everyone thought of our weekend a bit longer everyone received a pattern to scroll at home. A few die hard scrollers kept going a while longer.... with Liz being the last to give in.

I was amazed how quick everyone cleaned up and the workshop started looking like nothing ever happened.

Last purchases were quickly made, e-mails exchanged, promises for next year made.

Ed Kilo

Monday

First e-mail came in this morning. Jim told me he enjoyed himself and is looking forward to next year!

Maybe we better start planing right away?



Bob Calhoun

Bob Calhoun

Bill Yost

Andres Martinez

Bob Calhoun having a little breakfast

Saturday, August 23, 2008

TJ's Woodshop


I love looking around the web and visiting different scroll saw artists pages. I received an email from TJ Brown tonight. TJ is a scroll saw artist from Arkansas. He has been scrolling for 20 years and it shows by the quality of his work. TJ cuts some beautiful fretwork crosses. Make sure you check out his intarsia cuttings because they are very nice.

Take a few minutes and visit TJ's page


Love, Honor and Cherish

I have been working on a few wedding and anniversary patterns lately. I finished this candle stand tonight and decided to post it. The picture is simulated and the candles might not be to scale. Check the size of your candle base and size the patterns base to fit.





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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Coyote Stencil Shop Review

I have received several emails asking about Coyote Stencil Shop. This program advertises itself as a stencil generator for scroll saw artists as well as other crafters. The program will take a photograph and with some help from you create a portrait style pattern.

You can find the program at Carving Technologies .

I have watched this program for a while and to be honest I was not overly impressed with the patterns I had seen generated. I decided I should spend some time with Coyote Stencil Shop and see if it would change my mind. Watch the review video and see my conclusions.



If you enjoy this video and would like to make a donation please click this link
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Free Font Template Book From Charles Dearing.


Charles sent me this book this morning to share with everyone. The book contains several font templates. All the fonts have been redesigned for the scroll saw. You will need to print and cut the letters to construct the pattern. If you are working on a project that needs lettering this will come in very handy.

Charles has been working hard to make eBooks from his fantastic portrait style patterns. If you get a chance take some time to check out his new books. Click Here

Monday, August 18, 2008

More Word Art Patterns

Here are three word art pattern for you to cut. Word art patterns are a good way to get started with the scroll saw. They are generally not too tricky to cut and they make funny novelty gifts.





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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Reader Pictures

This is always one of my favorite posts. I get many emails but my favorite ones have pictures attached. If you have pictures of your projects send them to me and I'll post them here.

The first two are from Tami. Her dad cut these baskets and she wanted to share the pictures with us. Thanks Tami and tell you dad he did a great job.


The next series of pictures are from Steve Wenlund. Steve has been busy cutting projects that's for sure. I like all of them but I have a soft spot for the concentric ring vases. That is the favorite pattern I have designed and it's nice to see other scrollers cut it. Check out the way Steve burned the edges of the Jesus fish. I like that technique. Thanks Steve.








Friday, August 15, 2008

Boy Fishing by Ray Jones

Here is another pattern from Ray. This one has a folk art feel to it that I like. Thanks for sharing Ray.





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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Great Pattern From Ray Jones

I received an email from Ray today. He was telling me he broke out his copy of Corel Draw 8 and decided to try designing a pattern. Ray has been scrolling on and off for a while but has not tried his hand at designing patterns before. If this is what you do just starting I can't wait to see what you do after you practice a while.

Thanks for sharing your pattern with us.


Free Scroll Saw Pattern Download


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Window Cat

Here is an 8" x 10" pattern I call Window Cat. I know, creative name huh. The title may not be very catchy but I like the pattern. Hope you like it also.



Free Scroll Saw Pattern Download


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Monday, August 11, 2008

Ken Younkin of the Freedom Portrait Group

I have talked about the Freedom Portrait group before but once is not enough. This group of portrait cutters continue to make a difference for families of fallen soldiers. Watch this video then if you are interested in more information follow this link. Freedom Portrait Group


Saturday, August 9, 2008

The Beijing Oyympics

The Olympics are under way in Beijing China. This is just a quick pattern I put together. There probably won't be many of you that can use this one but I was in the Olympic spirit.

I watched the opening ceremonies last night and the Chinese people should be very proud of what their country did. I usually only watch a few minutes of the opening but it was hard to turn away last night. I have never seen anything that compares to what they did.



Free Scroll Saw Pattern Download

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The Trio

This was a request pattern from a reader. Maybe a few of you could use this pattern also.


Free Scroll Saw Pattern Download

If you enjoy this pattern and would like to make a donation please click this link
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Crane Portrait Pattern

My wife is a scrap booker. I was watching her working the other day and noticed all the different kinds of paper she had. It made me think that some of the nice textured paper she has would look good behind the portrait style patterns we cut. I worked up this pattern tonight to see how it would look. I used an old fashion textured paper behind the cut out. What do you guys think?

You can download the pattern below.


Free Scroll Saw Pattern Download

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Monday, August 4, 2008

Show and Tell

These are pictures I have recently received from readers. Keep sending me those pictures. I love to see what you guys are up to.

The first two are from Tony. He said he likes making the hand saws and wants me to design some more. Sounds like a good idea to me. Thanks Tony these look great.



This next project comes from Reg. He used one of my clock patterns and cut it from acrylic. Now that is cool. Are we still allowed to use the word cool?

Juta keeps me in touch with whats happening in the Australian scrolling community. She sent this music box project picture. The disc in the background turns as the music box plays. She bought a bunch of music box units so hopefully she will send more pictures like this.


John sent this next picture. His wife likes oriental themed art. John made these as a gift for his wife. That should keep him out of the dog house for a while.


Jerry saw the POW pattern I uploaded and wanted to show me his version of the project. He got this pattern off the internet last year. The pattern is a little different but the message is the same. Never Forget.


The next two photos are from Abd El Ghani. He lives in Algeria and just purchased a scroll saw. Ghani had a few start up question about his saw which I tried to help with. He was kind enough to send me these pictures of his first projects. The word art is very interesting. He cut the name of a niece from cork. I don't think I have ever seen cork used for a scroll saw project. That's a idea that needs to be experimented with some more. The texture would lend it's self to an art project well.



I wish I could have had a better picture of the next project. Bob from Australia sent this pen that he turned on his lathe. Why am I showing a lathe project? Look closer and you will see that he scrolled kangaroos in the barrel of the pen! Bob likes a challenge. Tell him something can't be done and he will make you eat your words. Bob also sent me a video and plans for making a chain using a scroll saw only. I'm trying to get a chance to find a way to show you guys the chain video but it's very long. I'm working on it.


The last picture for tonight is from Bill. He cut the coaster set project with inlay poker designs. It always makes me a little jealous when you guys take my patterns and make them look better than I can :) Thanks for the picture Bill. Keep'em coming even if they do show me up.


Thanks for all the pictures. You guys are great. Just think, every day I come home and check my email and find something interesting about scrolling. Am I lucky or what?