Thursday, June 22, 2017

World'd Best Lawn Guy Scroll Saw Pattern. Wedding box completed.

http://www.stevedgood.com/estore/estore.html
Do you want to say thanks to the guy who cuts your lawn? Maybe that guy is you. I don't cut my lawn anymore. I would but I feel obligated to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of our youth. Yea, I'm just too lazy to do it anymore.

I had a request for this pattern from a reader. I thought a few others may be able to use it also.

In this simulated image of the pattern you will notice several white lines. On the pattern they will be black. I made them white in the image because it is easier to see. In scroll saw speak these are called veins. Veins are cut with the scroll saw blade. I get that question often when I publish a pattern with veins. Many new comers to the hobby will assume they are drawn in with a pen after the pattern is cut. 

When you cut veins they won't always show up well. Sometimes you need to use a thicker blade. This can be the case if the wood your are using is very dark. 

When you reach the end of a vein you simply back the blade out. It is usually easier to back the blade out with the saw still running. 

Veins can weaken the wood especially if the wood has open grain. Red oak is notorious for breaking along the grain. If you feel like the vein will weaken the wood too much then leave the vein short or delete it all together. This will usually not be noticed.
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Don't forget about the Drillnado giveaway. 

Read all the words!!!!!!

You can enter once per day. The secret word has changes so entries after 6-23-17 1am Eastern time will not count if you use the old secret word. See yesterdays post for details on how to find the secret word. I'm not making this easy. :)

I will do the drawing Sunday night. 6-25.2017 midnight Easter Time.
There were a few entries that did not follow the rules below. You can not win if you do not follow the rules.

A few people did not type the secret word in the subject field. Hint: The secret word is not "the contest secret word." A few people typed that exact phrase in the subject field. You have to go find the secret word.

This contest is open to readers in the U.S. only

If you want to win you have to follow the rules. I will delete all email that does not follow the rules below. Read the rules......

To enter send an email to giveaway@stevedgood.com.  

In the subject line of the email type (the contest secret word).
The contest secret word is located at the very bottom of my blog. If you are reading this from the blog post just scroll to the bottom to find the contest secret word. If you are reading this in the email newsletter, visit the blog and scroll to the bottom. scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com

In the body of the email you must fill out this information
Full name
Shipping address
_______________

Project Share: Wedding Card Box.

I mentioned earlier this week that I was making a wedding box. I make these for family members to hold gift cards and small gifts at the ceremony. I make them large enough to hold wedding memorabilia after the event. As you can see this one is closer to a chest than a box.

I wanted this box to have a country feel to match what I saw on the invitation. I went out on a limb and used pine for this box. I wanted to see the knots and some distress. Pine can be difficult to finish and I had to do extra prep work to minimize splotching. I used a very light classic oak poly/stain. There is still some splotching but all and all I like how it came out. The pictures muted the color a little. It had a golden hue.

Most wedding gift card boxes have a slot for the cards. Because I want the box to be used for more than a gift card box I leave the slot out.  Some of the guests will have to be prompted to put their gift card in the box but I think it works out okay.
The end panels are held in place by through mortises and pegs. The pegs are walnut. I did use glue but the pegs were tight enough to hold everything together without using clamps. I used the scroll saw to cut the mortises and the pegs. The pegs were cut strong and sanded to a sung fit.
 The inside of the box is lined with a felt like material. I used a light brown material for the lining. I wanted to keep the color scheme neutral to go with the country theme.

The lid is not hinged. It is just held in place by the two cross supports. The lid has very thin breadboard ends to hide the end grain. Pine end grain is almost impossible to stain. I added the same trim to the side walls for the same reason. Got to hide that end grain as much as possible.
The front and back of the box are framed. I am always concerned that the lettering will get knocked off and the frame helps protect the letters. It also gives a bit of a shadow box effect that I like. 

The lettering was cut on my Seyco ST-21 scroll saw. They are about 1.75 inches tall. 

I used 1/4" Baltic birch plywood for the bottom. It is covered by the felt material anyway and it helped keep the weight down just a little.

The box is 19 inches wide, 13 inches deep and 10.5 inches tall. The boards are all 5/8 inch thick. That also helps keep the box from getting too heavy. The letters are cut from  1/4 inch thick walnut. 

I always get asked to publish the plans for these boxes. The problem is that I just wing it on this type of project. Other than writing down the initial dimensions and printing out the text I just work with a story stick. I use the story stick for all the measuring. Every cut is made long and I sneak up to the fit. This technique is much more accurate than a ruler. This box is square to 1/32 of an inch. 

These boxes are very basic and easy to make but because of what they are used for they will hopefully have a place in the couples home for many years. If you have the opportunity to take on a project like this I encourage you to jump at the chance. As a woodworker there is a good feeling knowing that you make something that will out live you. I think it would be really cool if the couple pulled this box out of the attic on their 50th wedding anniversary and spent just a minute remembering who made it for them.  
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My mind is officially blown.

Some of you may remember that I got into 3D printers a while back. The second 3D printer I purchased was the QIDI Tech I. I bought it in March. I love the machine. It has worked very well.

The other day a shaft broke in the upper carriage assembly. Because the company who manufactures the machine is in China I figured I would be without this printer for several weeks waiting for parts. 

I have used their tech support one other time and it was very responsive but all I needed was information. This time I needed a part. 

I emailed their support staff with a picture of the part I needed. They responded is a couple of hours letting me know they would be shipping the part out Monday. They also sent the documentation, including videos showing how to replace and adjust the part. The same lady always answers the email. Her name is Audrey. She is incredibly helpful and seems to take making her customer happy a top priority.

Okay they were shipping the part but I would still have to wait several days or weeks to get it from China. Wrong! The part arrived Thursday. Shipped out Monday and arrived Thursday. From China! I was blown away when I saw the package on the porch. The surprise did not end there. When I opened the package, not only was the part I needed there but a whole care package of parts including belts, servo motor, springs and brackets. All I can say is  QIDI Technology has some of the best customer support I have ever experienced. Audrey is my new hero.

By the way. The part that failed was not under designed or of poor quality. I suspect it was defective from the beginning. I'm still confident in the quality of the printer.

Affiliate link: QIDI Tech I 

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Please support our monthly giveaway sponsor. Bear Woods,
your source for Pegas scroll saw blades and craft supplies.
_______________
Do you need a source for scroll saw ready boards?
Look no more because Heritage Wood Specialties is
the source you have been looking for.

Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results. 
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial  


Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.
This DVD has 1,964 patterns published from 2007 thru 2016.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.

You can view a video showing use of the DVD on a Windows PC and a MAC at this link

Click here to Order. 
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.

The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.


The Scrollsaw Workshop is primarily supported by donations. If you enjoy this Blog and would like to make a donation please click this Button. Your support is greatly appreciated. 
http://www.stevedgood.com/donate2.html

Fretwork Zebra Scroll Saw Pattern. 9.5" tall. Drillnado Giveaway.

http://www.stevedgood.com/estore/estore.html
This was a piece of public domain clip art that I found. I had to do considerable cleanup on the image to make it able to be cut on a scroll saw. I thought it was worth the work because this will make a beautiful piece of art. I made the pattern 9.5 inches tall to give it some mass. 
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Let's give away a Drillnado:

Last week I did a video review of the Drillnado. It is a dust extraction system for your drill press. I have both the regular Drillnado and the Drillnado XL

I don't need the regular sized Drillnado so someone might as well have it. The regular Drillnado is for all 12 inch and smaller drill presses with a 2.6" or less diameter quil. 

This is $49.99 value.

This contest is open to readers in the U.S. only

If you want to win you have to follow the rules. I will delete all email that does not follow the rules below. Read the rules......

To enter send an email to giveaway@stevedgood.com.  

In the subject line of the email type (the contest secret word).
The contest secret word is located at the very bottom of my blog. If you are reading this from the blog post just scroll to the bottom to find the contest secret word. If you are reading this in the email newsletter, visit the blog and scroll to the bottom. scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com

In the body of the email you must fill out this information
Full name
Shipping address

- -


Please support our monthly giveaway sponsor. Bear Woods,
your source for Pegas scroll saw blades and craft supplies.
_______________
Do you need a source for scroll saw ready boards?
Look no more because Heritage Wood Specialties is
the source you have been looking for.

Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results. 
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial  


Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.
This DVD has 1,964 patterns published from 2007 thru 2016.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.

You can view a video showing use of the DVD on a Windows PC and a MAC at this link

Click here to Order. 
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.

The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.


The Scrollsaw Workshop is primarily supported by donations. If you enjoy this Blog and would like to make a donation please click this Button. Your support is greatly appreciated. 
http://www.stevedgood.com/donate2.html

Ad: Affiliate

Woodstock D4151 110/220-Volt Paddle Switch


I installed one of these safety paddle switches on my contractor style table saw. Being able to kick the power off with your upper leg is a great feature and adds considerable safety to table saw operation.

If you are not proficient in working with high voltage and wiring you will need to find someone to install this switch for you. 

  • Rated for 2 horsepower motors; 110-Volt; Up to 35-Amp
  • Also rated for 3 horsepower motors; 220-Volt; Up to 20-Amp
  • Large paddle is perfect for emergency shut offs
  • Padlock shaft size: 3/16"