Mini Photo Stand Scroll Saw Pattern.

4X6 Photo Stand.

Ten-minute scroll saw project. Use every scrap of wood in your bin. This project is cut from a 2" X 1" X 1" block of wood. Take these to your next craft show and sell them for $3. Cut them from a few different species of wood for variety.

Everyone loves to display family photos. Most of the time 4 X 6 photos just live in a photo album and seldom get seen. These little stands allow you to display a few of your favorite photos out in the open.

 Cut the photo slit first. Make sure it is deep enough and parallel to the bottom so the photo sits straight. A #5 blade makes the correct kerf for the photo to stay in the stand well.

You can cut the slit so the photo sits straight or angled back very slightly.

I included a few different designs but you could also ad initials. or just leave it free of fretwork.

I found that if I glued some cardstock to the back of the 4 X 6 photo it sits on the stand better. If you don't add the stiffener the photo will droop a little at the corners. You might recommend this to anyone you give one of these stands to. If you want to be real nice cut up several 4 x 6 pieces of card stock and give them with the stand.

Midwest Scroll Saw and Woodworking Trade Show:

I have made my reservations to attend the Midwest Scroll Saw and Woodworking Trade Show in Dubuque Iowa. The show dates are:

Friday, August 3, 2018 9am to 5pm.

Saturday, August 4, 2018 9am to 3:30pm.

I will be a guest of Bear Woods and will be in their booth both days. I really enjoyed this show last year. It is probably the premiere scroll saw show in the country. If you can make the trip to this show you will not be disappointed. 

I hope to see some of you there. 

Here is the show website for more details   http://midwesttradeshow.com/

- -

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. 

www.scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com

Products for your consideration:

Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
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  

Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2017 in DVD

Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.

This DVD has 2,300 patterns published from 2007 thru 2017.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.

Click here to Order. 

If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.

The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing. 

Unique Wooden Vases:
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. 

My Sponsors:

Support the businesses who support our community.

Shop Bear Woods for your craft supply needs.

Home of Pegas scroll saw blades.

Visit Heritage Wood Specialties

for you scroll saw ready boards.

Ad: Affiliate

WEN 3410 3-Speed Remote-Controlled Air Filtration System (300/350/400 CFM)

I own this WEN air filtrations system and am very pleased with it. The price is phenominal for what you get.

• Powerful 1/6 HP motor;Ceiling or table mount
• 50 to 60 dB of noise is comparable to a quiet office, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services
• Remote control with a 26 feet range
• Filter and prefilter are easily replaceable and are designed to filter 5-micron and 1-micron particles
• Features a timer that can be used to automatically shut down after one, two, or four hours.

Han Solo Scroll Saw Portrait Pattern.

11" X 14" Han Solo Portrait.

Designed on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil

I mentioned in the last post that I sometimes do patterns on my iPad Pro with the Apple pencil. I said that if there were interest I would try to demonstrate how it is done. I received several emails asking for the demo. This portrait of Han Solo was completed tonight on the iPad and I videoed several minutes of the process.

It will take me a couple days to edit the video into something watchable. I will try to post it this week sometime. I kept the pattern pretty simple so I could just focus on the demonstration but you can add as much detail as you like with this process.

Until recently the Apple pencil was only compatible with the iPad Pro. At Apple's last announcement they brought out a new cheaper iPad that will allow you to use the Pencil with it also. This is great news for artist and pattern designers. This new iPad starts at $329. The Apple Pencil is around $100.

That's considerably cheaper than the iPad Pro.  

I would not recommend that you go out and buy the ipad and pencil just to do portrait patterns but if you are going to buy an iPad anyway it is a great device for this type of work.

One note is that the iPad Pro will give you faster results than the new less expensive iPad but from the videos, I have watched the new iPad is very usable with the Pencil.

Advertising Transparency:

I want to make sure everyone understands how I do advertising so there are no questions. There have been a few questions.

I am able to provide free content on the blog because of donations and advertising. I spend a quite a bit of money and time to maintain the blog and like anyone I like to make a little cash to cover expenses and keep me motivated. Trust me when I tell you that not many people are getting rich writing a blog.

In almost every post there is an affiliate link to a product on Amazon. I hand pick the product and try to make it something interesting to our community. When someone uses the affiliate link I earn a small commission.

Sometimes I have purchased the product and do a review of it with the affiliate link. Sometimes it is a product that I have had others tell me they like. Even other times it is a product that I have researched and felt like it will be of interest and has decent reviews.

I know that it will not always be the least expensive that the product can be found. By all means, do your comparison shopping and order from whoever you consider the best place to purchase a product. I do my best to make sure the product is priced reasonably. Sometimes Amazon prices are great and sometimes they get crazy. 

I know that some people hate ads. Sorry, but they are here to stay. Donations are great and I appreciate them very much but only a small number of people donate so that's not enough to maintain the blog.

I promise I will do my best to keep the ads interesting and of use to the community. Thanks for understanding. 

- -

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. 

www.scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com

Products for your consideration:

Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
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  

Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2017 in DVD

Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.

This DVD has 2,300 patterns published from 2007 thru 2017.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.

Click here to Order. 

If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.

The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing. 

Unique Wooden Vases:
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. 

My Sponsors:

Support the businesses who support our community.

Shop Bear Woods for your craft supply needs.

Home of Pegas scroll saw blades.

Visit Heritage Wood Specialties

for you scroll saw ready boards.

Ad Affiliate

Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw, Second Edition: Newly Revised & Expanded, Now 50 Projects in Wood (Scroll Saw Woodworking

Over 50 patterns for upright and interlocking puzzles including new patterns for a beagle, bison, a panda bear, caribou, red fox, and much more. Step-by-step instructions and 50 great patterns.

Horse Portrait Scroll Saw Pattern.

14" X 11" Horse Portrait

The horse just might be the most beautiful animal on earth. They are an amazing combination of strength and grace. I live in the Bluegrass of Kentucky and we have many beautiful horse farms in the area. Driving through the countryside and seeing the thoroughbreds in the fields is really special. 

This pattern is 14" X 11" and is broken up into four pages. It will be best cut on Baltic birch plywood for strength. I have seen these larger portraits cut from 3/4" hardwood panels and they look spectacular. 

You may be interested to know that I designed this portrait pattern on an Apple iPad pro using the Apple pencil. That is an amazing combination. I can't do most types of patterns with it but for portrait style pattern it is a great system. Let me know if you would like to see a demonstration of the process and if I get enough response I will do a video. 

Scroll Saw Blade Tension:

It can be difficult for new scollers to know what the correct tension of a blade should be. I understand that because when you hear someone explain the correct tension it sounds flaky.

The most common techniques you hear is to tension the blade until it produces a C note when plucked. What? How many people do you know that would recognize a C note when they hear it? 

The next technique you hear is that the blade should deflect a 1/8" when you apply moderate pressure on the side of the blade. Define moderate. A new scroller using a saw for the first time is very unlikely to know what moderate pressure is. That just does not work.

So what is the best way to teach correct blade tension? Take your choice because it all comes down to experience. You will start to notice that the blade drifts more easily when the tension is too low. You will also see concave or convexed edges on thicker woods when the tension is not right. These are signs of a poorly tensioned blade.

Most of the time a new scroller and even an experienced scroller will under tension the blade. Scroll saw blades are designed to work under high tension. Just for grins, set the tension the way you normally do, then bump it up a little and cut for a while. See if your cuts are more accurate. 

One thing that sometimes prevents proper tension is blade slippage. Blades slipping out of the clamps is almost never related to tension. If the blade is slipping the set screw and thumb screw are worn. The set screws that hold the blade in place are wear items and need to be replaced routinely. Do not over tighten the set screw to prevent slippage. You will damage the saw. You should be able to tighten the thumbscrew with your thumb and forefinger without cranking down hard.

Experiment with blade tension and see what the results are. You may be surprised. 

King Arthur's Tools 11307 Guinevere Total System for Sanding

Affiliate Link

Click to Purchase.

This is an expensive tool but is it worth the money? I have owned this system for several years and I am glad I have it. The feature that makes this tool work well is the inflatable drums. The sleeves fit over the drum then the drum is inflated with air. This makes the drum conform to the piece being sanded giving you beautiful control of the area being sanded.

Don't get me wrong. You can remove lots of material with the sander. That's why I like it. You get the best of an inflatable drum but the ability to remove lots of wood. You can also install hard drums in the system if desired.

If you have ever tried to remove blade burn marks from wood you know how difficult that can be with hand sanding. This tool makes that task easy work. Sanding inside of bowls is a simple task with this system. 

This system get's overlooked because of the price. I understand that. It's over $400. That's a lot of money for a sanding system. It took me a while to pull the trigger when I was thinking about buying it. 

I started this with a question. Is this system worth the money? I always try to answer that type of question with another question. Would I buy another one if this one broke? Yes, I would buy another one. I would feel the pinch when I typed in the credit card number but I would buy it again.

$3 PDF catalog update:

For those of you who use the $3 pdf catalog of my patterns, I will get the latest update out later this week. I have 42 new patterns to add to the catalog. Here is the link to the order page if you want to buy this product. There is a video on the page showing what it is for.

You do not need to purchase this product to have access to my free patterns. It is just an accessory that makes it easier to browse the entire catalog quickly. It is a pdf with thumbnails of all the pattern. You can quickly browse every pattern then download it from the name using the downloader included.

Click here for the order page.

- -

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. 

www.scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com

Products for your consideration:

Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
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  

Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2017 in DVD

Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.

This DVD has 2,300 patterns published from 2007 thru 2017.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.

Click here to Order. 

If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.

The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing. 

Unique Wooden Vases:
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. 

My Sponsors:

Support the businesses who support our community.

Shop Bear Woods for your craft supply needs.

Home of Pegas scroll saw blades.

Visit Heritage Wood Specialties

for you scroll saw ready boards.