10" X 8" Coffee Sign.
Spiral scroll saw blades:
I might stir up a hornets nest here but what the heck. I get email every week asking how to better control spiral scroll saw blades. They usually tell me they are cutting fretwork and cannot follow the line.
Spiral blades are not suitable for cutting fretwork. They do have their place but it is very limited. Most scrollers who cut portrait style patterns use spiral blades. That is just about the limit of where they are suitable. That does not mean that some people have become proficient in their use and can do a decent job with them. Some can, most can't.
What do i mean by a portrait style pattern? It does not have to be a portrait of a person. It just refers to the style of pattern. The beautiful scrolled art above is a portrait style pattern by Charles Dearing. Notice how you mostly have organic shaped cuts. If you are not perfectly on the line with your blade no one will notice. Look at the size of the art work. You could not use a straight blade because the art is too large. You could not turn the board to make the cuts. With the spiral blade there is no need to turn the board.
For every other type of pattern the preferred blade choice is a flat blade. They will give you a cleaner, straighter cut and are easier to learn to use.
Every rule has it's exceptions. I'm not talking about exceptions. I'm talking about standard practice for most situations. I know some of you started with spiral blades and that is all you have ever used. That's fine. As long as you enjoy the art and get what you are looking for don't change.
If you are looking to improve your fretwork then learn to use flat blades.
The New LED Base Arrived Today:
I mentioned the other day that the original LED base I showed went out of stock. I found this alternative on Amazon and ordered one. It was delivered today.
This one comes with a remote. The slot is 2 3/4" long. It can be run on 3 AA batteries or a USB charger. I tested the AA batteries and they lasted about 24 hours. That would be enough to get you through a craft show or demonstration.
The remote allows you to cycle through the colors. You can control the speed of the cycle and it has a few default modes. When you turn the cycle speed up fast and set the color to red it is a great attention grabber. This one is $8.99 + $4.99 shipping.
They also sell a 12 pack if you plan to use that many.
I made good progress on the Personalized Signature Coin orders today. I will email everyone who has an order shipping today. The email will contain the invoice and a link to pay. It will also have my mailing address if you choose to pay by check.
I think I can have all the current orders finished this week. Thanks.
Important Information about Heritage Wood Specialties:
Some of you may have noticed that the Heritage Wood Specialties website is offline. They are aware of the problem and are working hard to get it going again. The good news is that they are trying to have a new site built to eliminate Flash. The Flash implementation was preventing iPad and iPhone users from visiting the page. You also had to have Flash installed on your PC to visit the page.
In the mean time if you need to place an order or have any questions here is there new 800 number.
1-800-524-4184
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Email Newsletter Readers: Remember that the Newsletter is just a copy of the daily blog post. To see the post in it's proper formatting click this link. If you ever misplace a pattern or any item you see here you can always find it on the blog. Everything stays on the blog forever.
Please support our monthly giveaway sponsor.
Bear Woods,
your source for Pegas scroll saw blades and craft supplies.
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.
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.
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
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