Kentucky Speedway

My wife and I enjoyed a day at Kentucky Speedway. The heat was unbearable until a wind storm blew through. The wind gusts took down many of the awnings from the trailers in the parking lot. The trailer we were in took a good hit but everyone was alright and we saved the awning. After all the excitement the temperature fell over 20 degrees and the race was actually quite comfortable. For those of you who follow the sport Austin Dillion won the Nationwide race tonight. At the checker flag he had nearly a 10 second lead and was pulling away. Off to bed for me. We have another long day tomorrow at the track.

Buying thin lumber on Ebay.com.

Milling rough lumber to the dimensions we want as scrollers requires expensive tools, time and effort. There is no doubt that it is cheaper to mill the lumber yourself if you have the tools. Many scrollers don't have these tools and really don't want to put the out expense not to mention the room required to house the tools. There are ways to buy scroll saw ready lumber. You just have to know where to look. Tonight I will talk about buying scroll saw ready lumber from ebay.

I know there are still a lot of you who don't like to purchase online. I understand that caution. The news has reports everyday about hacked credit card numbers and stolen passwords. If you are in that camp then you can stop reading here. I have personally used online stores for years so I have grown comfortable dealing online. I do use precautions when ordering online and I'll talk about some of them in this post.

Let's talk about what to look for when buying lumber on Ebay. In the picture below you will see the Seller Information section of an Ebay item. Petersonscustomlumber is the Ebay sellers name. This is the seller I just purchased lumber from that I will show later in the post.

To the right of the sellers name is the number of transaction that seller has had. The number include both sell and buy transactions. If you click that number it will load a page showing many of the sellers transactions and feedback from customers. To the right of the number you see the word "me". If you click that "me" it will take you to a page that shows whatever information the seller has listed about themselves or their business.

Below the seller name is the feedback score they have received from their customers. If a seller has a high feedback percentage and a large number of transactions you can generally expect to get good service form that seller. There are still other things to check before you buy or bid.

The picture below is a section of the page that show more information we need to look at. The top line shows the item condition. Below that is the time remianing that the product will be listed. The price is next. In this case the wood is a "buy it now". Ebay is an auction site where you can place bids on merchandise. The seller has the option to list a fixed price and first come first serve. I almost always just look for "but it now" items. I hate the hassle of bidding.

Shipping is a big thing to watch for on Ebay. Make sure you understand the shipping details before you buy/bid. Click the shipping details link and read the fine print. In this case the shipping is included in the price of the lumber.

Also look at the Payment method and return policy. When you see Paypal listed as a payment option that means you can pay with a credit card. You do not have to have a Paypal account to pay through Paypal. I'll be honest and tell you that there are lots of people that do not like paypal. I personally have used Paypal for years and find them a secure and reasonable service for online payment and collection. You will have to use your own judgement here.

Just a couple more words on ordering from Ebay then I'll move on to the purchase I made. Here are my rules. I don't make large purchases on ebay. I break this rule if I have ordered from the seller several times with good experiences. My limit on a first time buy is <$100. Between my ebay account and my daughters we have made probably 80 buys and never had a significant problem. My daughter had one inexpensive item that never arrived and I had one purchase that was shipped poorly and was slightly damaged. The rest have all been positive.


Now let's talk about the order I just received from petersonscustomlumber. The ebay listing below was for 20 pc 1/4" x 6" x 11" craft lumber. Milled, Kiln dried and finish sanded for $35 shipping included. This was my first order from this seller so I did my research of their feedback, number of listing, shipping and profile information. Everything passed my sniff test so I clicked the "Buy it Now" button.


The package was on my door step in less than a week. It cane in a flat rate box Priority mail. Sandy, the seller later told me they like to use these boxes to keep shipping low. For most scroll saw projects this sizing is fine.
I open the box and the wood was neatly bundled inside the box.
I sorted through the boards and was more than please with the quality. To my surprise there were 22 boards in the box instead of 20. It's always nice when a seller throws in something extra and it made me want to order from them again.
In the picture above you can see one of the bundles fanned out. This is walnut and you can see there are no defects and next to no sap wood. I have had a hard time finding nice quality walnut for about a year so this was nice to see.
These boards are ready to take to the saw. They are finish sanded with all mill marks removed. This is not that common but a nice touch.

After I received my order I emailed the seller asking about how often they list on ebay and any other information they would like to pass along to my readers. It was funny when Sandy replied that she had been to my blog several times. They currently don't have but one item listed but they are planning more and they have logs that will be ready to be milled this fall. Here is their ebay page. If you are interested just start an ebay account and add them as a favorite seller. I will certainly add them to my watch list and be ordering more in the future. I do have all the tools in my shop to dimension my own thin lumber but it's sure nice to let someone else do the work.

I hope this gives those of you who have not tried ebay a bit of confidence to take a look. You have to do your homework before you buy but their are good deals to be had.

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4th of July Scroll Saw Basket.

This folding handle scroll saw basket is easy to make and always draws attention. This one is themed for the 4th of July holiday but I included more handles in the pattern also. The basket is 5.5 inches in diameter. I pre-drilled the handle and top ring for small .5 inch brass screws. I wanted the handle to fold down and the screws make a nice pivot. You can uses different thicknesses of wood for the weave to give it a different look. The top and bottom rings should not be thicker than the weave or the basket looks out of proportion. You can use 3/4 inch thick wood for the weave rings but 3/4 inch looks bad for the top and bottom rings.

This basket is a nice size to keep wrapped hard candy on your desk.

My wife and I are headed to Kentucky Speedway tomorrow. We will be attending the Nationwide race on Friday night and NASCAR Quaker State 400 on Saturday. We will be in Grandstand 3 or 4 right in front of the Bluegrass Club area. If any of you are going stop and say hi. boogity boogity boogity, let's go racing boys!

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Don't put life on auto pilot.

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Bigfoot Lift-n-Lock Video review.

A couple weeks ago I reviewed the Bigfoot accessory for the DeWalt DW788 scroll saw. Bigfoot has expanded their product line with the Bigfoot Lift-n-Lock for the Dewalt and also the Delta 40-690. In this video review I will show how the Lift-n-Lock works and how easy it is to install.

The Bigfoot Lift-n-Lock is available now for $19.95 + SH. You can purchase the product from the Bigfoot web site

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God Bless This Home Scroll Saw Pattern.

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Miami Heat, NBA Champions.

Okay, I know all the Cleveland and Oklahoma City fans are going to beat me up for this one. The Miami Heat shot lights out in winning the NBA Championship over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat hit 3 pointers from all over the court and really just had an easy time with the Thunder. LaBron James was named series MVP. While LaBron had an incredible triple double in the final game Mike Miller the injury plagued reserve came off the bench to hit 7 of 8 three pointers.

It seemed like every time the Thunder made a move the Heat would punch back with a 3 and push the lead back out. Miami scored 36 points in the third quarter and the game was pretty much over. The heat coasted in the final period and finished the game with a 121 to 106 victory to take the Larry O'Brien trophy and their 2nd NBA championship. Congratulations to the Heat and all their fans. This pattern is for you.

The Oklahoma City fans have much to look forward to. They have a great young team that should just get better with experience. Don't be surprised to see them right back here again next year.

I know I tell you all this a lot but I'm miles behind on email. Unfortunately when I get busy at work or with family something has to suffer and email is usually the victim. I do my best and I hope you all can understand that the email is by far the most time consuming part of running the blog.

I'm lucky to get two hours a day to work on the blog and make patterns. That leaves very little time so I try to triage the email. I can usually tell pretty quickly when an email is from a new person in the hobby and their email goes to the top of the list. I'll be honest and tell you that personal pattern requests often go the the bottom of the list.

On a positive note I almost always have the time to read the email. I get all kinds of help from them in the way of pattern ideas. They also give me an idea of what types of things you like and don't like to see on the blog. That is extremely helpful.

Don't let this sound like I don't want to get the email. I do. They are more helpful than you can know. I just hate it when I know I have let some of you down and this is my feeble attempt to say sorry and explain why.

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Money talks, mine said goodbye.

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Puzzle Circles

I know that many of you love to cut puzzles. This circle puzzle should be a challenge to work.


Lee Neiden a friend and fellow pattern designer is trying to raise some funds for a special event. Lee has an excellent book for sale of car and transportation patterns. The proceeds from the sale of the book from now until July 4th weekend will go toward decorating a car to honor the troops during the holiday parade. You can read more details at this link.

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Scroll Saw Long Stem Goblet

We had a very busy week at work so I had little time in the shop until today. I thought I would experiment with something a little different. I came up with this long stem goblet made using the the scroll saw bowl technique.

The cup is simply concentric rings cut at an angle then stacked and sanded to shape

You will need 1/2" Thick wood for the cup and 1/4" Thick wood for the foot and stem ring. I also used 5 inches of 5/16" diameter dowel for the stem.
There are only three rings that require an angle cut so I made all the 90 degree cuts first. I only cut the angles on the interior of the rings because its easy to just sand the exterior of the cup to shape with power sanders.
Drill the interior hole at the angle shown on each piece.
Make the angled interior cuts.
Lay out all the pieces in the correct order.
Stack and glue the cup together.
Don't glue on the bottom until after you have the interior of the cup sanded. This gives you better access to make the interior nice and smooth.
I used an assortment of power and hand sanding equipment to smooth and shape the cup. After the cup is completely sanded glue on the stem assemble and finish.

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Happiness is Success

I tell people all the time that I have reached a point in my life where I would rather be happier than richer. The two are not necessarily exclusive of each other but often are. Both would be nice but if I have to choose, I choose happiness. We don't always get that choice in our lives but it's a goal worth shooting for. Remember to balance the things in life you have to do with the things in life you love to do.

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Simple Fathers Day trophy.

Here is one you can cut in just minutes to tell Dad he rates number one in your book.

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Princess Sleeping Door Knob Hanger Scroll Saw Pattern.

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Medallion Shelf Scroll Saw Pattern.

I wanted a very simple shelf to display a few scroll saw projects on. This one is very easy to make and I included several different medallions to decorate it.

I used a French cleat to hang the shelf on the wall. After I made the project I decided the cleat looked too plain. The one in the pattern looks better.

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Eagle Mini Clock

Requires a 1 7/16" mini clock insert.

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Sliding Dovetail Box on the Scroll Saw. Video demonstration.

I decided to try something I have never attempted before. I wanted to make a sliding dovetail box but I didn't want to use the router to make the dovetails. Normally these are made on the router table with a dovetail bit. I was not sure I could get a good sliding fit on the lid but it was easier than I expected. I made two and they both fit fine.

The video below shows how I cut this project. The pattern also includes a pictorial of the steps. If you look at both you should be able to make these boxes pretty easily.

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DeWalt DW788 Thumb Screw Mod.

I received several emails today asking about the lever I have installed on my DeWalt scroll saw. They noticed it in the Bigfoot video from yesterday. I though I would re-post the article I did in 2009 about the lever and where to purchase it. Please read the cautions in the article before you buy one.

Many of you wrote to answer my question about the DeWalt DW788 thumb screw upgrade question. A few readers suggested the Quick Clamp Lever from Grizzly. I ordered one last Thursday and received it today. The cost of the lever was $2.95 and shipping to Kentucky was $7.70. Shipping was a little high so I would suggest ordering more than one lever. If you damage one you will have a spare. If you are in a club maybe you could go together and split the shipping cost. The picture above shows the male and female clamp. You will only need the male and that is what is shipped from the link above.

Please Read, Important.
This modification should only be performed at your own risk. The mod is pretty straight forward but I can not be responsible for any damage you may cause to your self or your saw. This mod is not certified by DeWalt and could possibly void any warranty you have.

This picture shows the length of the bolt as shipped. It was too long and needed to be modified.

I determined that the bolt needed to be 1/2" long. I marked the length with blue painters tape so I would not accidentally make it too short.

I decided to use the grinder to shorten the bolt. It would have been easier to use the hack saw but mine was buried somewhere not to be found. If you use a hack saw be very careful not to mess up the threads too much. You will need to use a grinder to get a nice final flat surface. Make sure the end is flat and level or you may have trouble with blade slippage. If your saw starts breaking blades or significantly bending the ends of the blade check that the bolt end is flat.

The grinder makes the bolt very hot. To keep from melting the plastic dip the bolt in water regularly as you grind. Try not to leave the bolt with half a thread when you finish grinding.

This picture shows the finished length of the bolt ready to install. The bolt is now 1/2" long.

Carefully insert the bolt to make sure you do not cross thread and destroy the upper clamp housing. Go slow and if you feel any resistance back it out and check the threads on the bolt. Mine went in easily with little resistance. Careful grinding goes a long way to prevent problems here.

After you have tightened the clamp to the blade push in on the button and set the lever to a position that will not obstruct your cutting.

Final thoughts:

If you have been following this from last week you know that a reader sent in the question about an upgraded thumb screw. I also have never been too thrilled with the screw that comes with the DeWalt saw. I posted a pattern for a hand made lever and I was pleased with it but it has the disadvantage of not having the handle adjustable when tightened.

So far I am please with this modification. My limited use has not shown any problems with blade slippage or breaking blades. Because the handle is adjustable I don't think there will be any interference when cutting thick stock.

I think there is a slight risk that you could apply too much clamping force and strip out the upper clamp housing. If you are having blade slippage problems don't just keep applying more force. Troubleshoot the reason for the slippage.

Make sure you store the original thumb screw where it won't become lost. You may decide to reinstall it at a later date.

Update:
After I posted this a received a note from "Saw Dust John". He sent me a tip that I want to add to this post. Any time you are going to cut or grind off part of a bolt it is recommend that you add a nut first. Screw the bolt all the way into the nut. After you cut the bolt you can unscrew the nut. Removing the nut helps clean and repair any damage to the threads. Great tip John. Thanks.

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