Served With Honor.

It's been almost 38 years since the Vietnam war ended. I was just turning 18 at the end of the war.  The draft was not something I personally had to consider but I had many friends and relatives served in Vietnam. I had one cousin who came home minus a foot, casualty of a bamboo spike. I had another cousin who never really recovered from a drug abuse problem picked up over there. I had a friend at work who used to wash his hands in agent orange after servicing the aircraft that dropped it. He had years of test and procedures to endure. I worked with another friend who had PTSD and never slept soundly again.

There are a lot of myths about the war and the veterans who came home. Here are a few facts to think about..

Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school education or better.

2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted.  Approximately 70% of those killed were volunteers. Many men volunteered for the draft so even some of the draftees were actually volunteers.

Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only 1/2 of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.

Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.

91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served.

74% said they would serve again even knowing the outcome.

There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non veterans of the same age group (from a Veterans Administration study).

Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than our non-vet age group.

87% of the American people hold Vietnam Vets in high esteem.(Who the hell are the other 13%)

The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter.

One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 58,169 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.59 million who served.

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE DID after the U.S. Congress cut off funding.  The South Vietnamese ran out of fuel, ammunition and other supplies because of a lack of support from Congress while the North Vietnamese were very well supplied by China and the Soviet Union.

The men and women who served in Vietnam are a very special group of people. They did a job and they did it very well. Sometimes they had their hands tied by political indecision at home but they did their job. They did not come home to ticker tape parades but they came home heroes in my mind because they Served With Honor. This plaque is my thank you to all the Vets of Vietnam.



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Free Pattern From Sue Mey.

Sue Mey wanted me to pass along another wonderful free pattern on her site. When you visit her site look for the free patterns link at the bottom of the page. It's under the heading "Products". These are great and I bet you will get some brownie points from your valentine.

From Sue:

Readers can go to www.scrollsawartist.com and click on the Free Scroll Saw Patterns link

The latest pattern can be found on page 2 of this section

I include three images

The description:

FREE026 Valentine's word selection

Sixteen patterns

Eight words - each in two different styles

Cut the words from 1" wood as freestanding projects or attach the word on top of a base.

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Luminary Scroll Saw Pattern.

This luminary is designed with slot and tab construction. It uses an easy to install light kit purchased from Lowes. The light socket just snaps into a 1 inch hole. I used 4 watt night lights to keep the heat down.

I plan to install a piece of frosted glass behind the cutout so the bulb cannot be seen.

-The parts were found in the lighting department for just a few dollars.

-

Don't forget to order the Scrollsaw Workshop Catalog DVD. All the patterns from the first 5 years of the blog are included. That's over 1100 pattern books many with multiple patterns. The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Click This Link to order your copy.


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Candle Dish Holder.

This small candle dish holder can be made with scraps from other projects. The center circle is two inches for a small candle dish. The challenge here is to cut very accurate circles. Flaws in the circles will show up here. If you struggle with cutting curves then cut to the outside of the pattern line and use a bench sander to sand up to the line.

I used a router with a round over bit to shape the edges.

There are two different patterns for the decorative ring included in the pdf.

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GWA Scroll Saw SIG video.

I always like to pass along the GWA scroll saw meeting when they post their video. These folks have a wonderful and active group. These are always very long videos but fun to watch. If you are lucky enough to have a scroll saw group in your area take advantage of it. Here is the link to the GWA scroll saw Sig. 

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Valentine Plate

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A few more wooden nickels.

I have a few more wooden nickels to share. Thought everyone would like to see them.

(Alex Serafim) Alex tells me that the first time he saw a scroll saw was on my blog eleven months ago. I would say he has made great progress is a short time. Alex is from Brazil.

(Jose Jorge Sousa) I say thumbs up to you and your wooden nickel Jose.

(Sam Dauria) This is my favorite displays of the wooden nickel I have seen. Nice job Sam. That is a beautiful piece of intarsia on the wall also. 

(Mike Delgado) Mike made one of the 6 inch nickels then reduced the patterns to 35 percent and cut it. Not satisfied, he reduced it to 30 percent can cut it again. Beautiful work Mike.

Some Days.

Some days things just don't go as expected.


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Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm not the greatest scroll saw portrait pattern designer. I like to keep them simple without much detail. The trick is to get enough detail that it is recognizable but not so intricate that it take days to cut. I know some of you like the challenge of lots of cuts but my patience is not that good. I think that this portrait of Dr. King does just that. There are 10 to 12 interior cuts and that's it.

I will generally cut portraits from 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick Baltic Birch Plywood. Portraits are the one place where I will use spiral blades. I'm not a big fan of spirals but they have their place here. I like to back my portraits up with black paper. This pattern is 10 X 8 inches so finding a frame should not be too difficult. Just make sure the frame is deep enough to hold something as thick as you plywood blank.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. Inspired by advocates of nonviolence such as Mahatma Gandhi, King sought equality for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.(www.history.com)



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Jet 12inch Band saw.

Read this whole post before you reply.  

I upgraded to a new band saw today. I needed a larger re-saw capability. As a result I have this 12 inch 1/2 horsepower Jet band saw that I need to get rid of. The saw has a 1/2 inch Timberwolf 4TPI re-saw blade installed. It has a 6 inch re-saw capability. I recently installed new urethane tires. It is 110vac. With the Timberwolf blade installed it does a pretty decent job of re-sawing 6 inch stock. It is about 6 or 7 years old but in very good shape. It also has aftermarket cool blocks installed. I might be able to find the manual but I can't promise that.

Here is the problem. I don't want to ship it. I don't wand to disassemble it. I don't to help lift it into a truck. I don't want to clean it up. I know I sound lazy. That's because I'm lazy. Actually I just spent all day assembling and adjusting my new saw and this old man is worn out.

Now for the good part. If you are in the Lexington KY area and can bring a truck to pick the saw up. You can have the saw for free.  Don't show up unless you here back from me first. I won't answer the door.

Here is how this will work. I will take the first email from anyone who can pick it up before 5pm eastern time. Sunday the 20th, 2013. In other words tomorrow. It's heavy. Band saws are best shipped standing up so if you have straps bring them along. If you don't have straps we can lay it down but be careful with the bumps.

Even if you can't pick it up tomorrow send an email. If no one can get it tomorrow I'll go down the list until I find someone to give it to.

Please put BAND SAW in the subject of the email. If you don't do that it might get lost in all the other email I get.

I will reply to the first person. If you do not get a reply from me then you will know I already have someone to give it to. I will send you an email or if you leave a phone number I will call you. I'll give you the details of where to pick it up then.

And the winner is!

I really enjoyed this contest. It is a blast to see the pictures. I don't see any reason to keep the contest going. We already have the 20 entries so here are the winners. Here they are in the order received. I will be sending each of you an email on how to get your prize. Thanks for taking the time to participate. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

If you do not see the email make sure you check your spam folder.

If you are still making a wooden nickel you can still send the picture if you would like to have it posted on the blog.

(Nancy Stokes) submitted the first entry. Her entry was received 9 minutes before Nancy Johnson's. Talk about close.

(Nancy Johnson) was so close that I changed the rules a little. She will receive the free custom pattern from my online store as well as a $25 Amazon gift card.

(Steve Martin) You may not recognize him because he is reversed in the picture. Come on Steve, learn how to use the timer on that digital camera. Just kidding Steve. Enjoy the free custom pattern.

(Todd Levin). Two scroll saws and a lathe in the corner of the garage. Now that's a man cave. Congrats Todd 

(Vince Rappa), Vince is most famous for his staring role in Grizzly Adams. That was a great movie Vince.  Nice nickel.

(Dug Green). Hey Dug, how are you going to get that nickel in a slot machine glued to a board?

(Garrett Pall). Now that's a nice smile. 

(Michael Jones). Michael just pulled that nickel out of someones ear. He practiced that magic trick all night.  

(Pastor Gerald Geiger). Pastor, no you can't put that nickel in the collection plate. You have to admit it would be funny if he did. 

(Jaro Banske). That's a cool clock on the wall. With talent like that why the heck are you making wooden nickels?

(Jack Brock). Jack, I got nutttin man. You look way too happy for a man with a wooden nickel. 

(Warren Schank). Warren, Warren, Warren you have a set of PGA championship tickets on the wall behind you. Your name is Schank. Tell me you don't play golf?

(Phil Foss). I'm so confused. Will the real Grizzly Adams please stand up.

(Melvin Karlin). Melvin was going to smile for the picture but he broke two blades cutting his wooden nickel. Those things are not cheap you know. 

(Carl Jacobs). Carl decided to make two wooden nickels. Carl, it's a wooden nickel contest not a counterfeit operation. I'm sure the Secret Service will be calling soon.That's a cool utility tray you added to that DeWalt.

(Charles Gavett). Charles and Carl were later busted in what officials are calling the largest wooden nickel counterfeit operation ever uncovered. In the midnight sting operation police say the caught Charles stack cutting as many as four nickels at a time. 

(Harry Chavez).  Harry, I don't know if you are married or not but if you are trust me your wife hates those Star Trek plates on the wall. Star Trek trivia question. What year was Starfleet Academy founded? A. 1974   B. 2161  C. It's a secret. 

(Raymond Hayes).  Ray won first place in a Norm Abrams(New Yankee Workshop) look-a-like contest. Personally I don't see it.

(Nate Longfellow). Nate told me that if he didn't win to remember that he knows where I live. Nate was actually entry number 40. Since my health insurance stinks I made the executive decision to move him up to 19th. If you have a problem with that I'll give Nate your number and you can discuss it with him. 

(Bruce Smith). Bruce claims he sent his first entry to the wrong email address 6 or 7 hours earlier. When the stakes are as high as they are in this contest people will say anything to win. No really, I believe you Bruce. I would never suggest that a man with a six inch wooden nickel would be anything but trustworthy.

Don't take any wooden nickel's unless you want to win a contest.

I have absolutely no idea what you will do with this pattern. It's a 6 inch wooden nickel. Surely you won't have any use for something this silly. Wait! Maybe this wooden nickel is worth more than five cents.

Just to prove that wooden nickels have some value I have a contest. I will send a $50 dollar Amazon gift certificate to the first person to emails me a picture of them holding the finished wooden nickel. I will send the next 20 who send a picture of them holding the project a free order from my custom pattern online store.  Everyone else gets to have their wooden nickel.

I am posting this contest at 4am Eastern time Thursday the 17th to try an give everyone a fair shot. You folks on the west coast sleep too late so you need to hurry.

I will probably post the picture with your name on the blog so don't enter if your shy. The contest expires at 10pm Eastern time US Sunday the 20th, 2013. You have to follow the rules below. Your entry will be deleted if you don't follow the rules.


Contest rules:
You must email me a picture of you holding the wooden nickel.
The picture has to get to me before 10pm Eastern time Sunday the 20th, 2013. (Not much time)
The cutting has to have the front and backer board and it must be reasonably accurate to the pattern.
Title the email WOODEN NICKEL
You have to email the picture to order@stevedgood.com. Again you have to email the picture to order@stevedgood.com.
No shenanigans, Tom foolery or witchcraft will be tolerated.
I am the king of the contest so I get to make all the rules and final decisions, unless my wife says I can't.
 


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Desk top letter organizer scroll saw pattern.

This is a quick little project that almost everyone can use. It's a desk letter organizer. The pattern book comes with 10 different front designs. It is 8 inches long and 4 inches deep. It's small enough to find room on your desk and big enough to hold a day or two's worth of mail.


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