Friday, October 19, 2018

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Scroll Saw Pattern.




Pray and Hope Mirror Hangers

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I wanted these patterns to be simple enough that you can make several of them if you want to pass them out. They are designed to hang from a rearview mirror. You can use them however you like.

12.4% of women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. The rate of breast cancer for men is much lower but no less tragic. About 1 in 1,000 men will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in women behind skin cancer.

Breast cancer that is detected in the early stages can be effectively treated in most patients. The key is early detection. The five-year survival rate after diagnosis of stage 1 breast cancer is 99%.
The five-year mark is important because that is the measure of a cure.  If cancer has not returned in that period of time it is accepted that the cancer is gone. 

There now seems to be uncertainty about the effectiveness of breast self-exams. Consult with your doctor and come up with a strategy you are comfortable with and stick to it. It just may save your life.

Handy Scroll Saw Tip by YouTuber Artisan Pirate:


This is a great tip for making backer boards for scroll saw projects. It's simple and effective. This YouTuber who goes by Artisan Pirate on YouTube. If you check out his video tip make sure you hit the like button and drop him a quick comment. 

Affiliate Review of the DATAVAC Electric Duster:


Let me start this quick review with a warning. This thing ain't cheap. Right now it's marked down to the lowest price I have seen on Amazon. It's $72.50. I know you think I'm crazy. Why would anyone pay that much cash for an electric air blower?

It's a great question but I would buy another one in an instant if I were to lose this one. I use it nearly everytime I go to my shop. If you want more opinions, check out the customer reviews on the Amazon page. It is very close to a 5-star product.

The DATAVAC is powerful. Let me repeat the DATAVAC is powerful.  It plugs into a 120vac outlet with a 12-foot power cord. This gives you plenty of room to walk around with the blower.

When I finish a project and am ready to go back in the house I use this blower to dust off my glasses and clothes. I use it on my hands, arms, and face. 

Have you ever seen those pictures of a dog hanging his head out the window of a speeding car? His ears flying back and his jowls flapping? That's what this thing does when I blow off my face. It's not a pretty sight but it works.


After I cut a board to size for use on the scroll saw I will blow off the residual dust. This makes the tape I put under the pattern stick better. If you apply the pattern directly to the board it will help prevent lifting of the pattern. The blower is so powerful that it removes all the surface dust and even lifts the dust out of the grain of the wood. This is perfect to use before you add a finish.

Speaking of finish. I sometimes use lemon oil on my projects. I fill a tub with the oil and dip the project to get it on all the interior cuts. It looks great but takes a long time to dry. After the lemon oil bath, I use the DATAVAC to blow away the excess oil. I can dip the project, blow away the excess and then apply a spray lacquer in just a few minutes because of the DATAVAC.

About once a month I open the shop door and blow out all the dust. I use the DATAVAC and my air compressor to do that job. 

You could buy canned air but it's even more expensive over time. You can use an air compressor but they are not nearly as easy to use. Every time I start my large compressor I have to wait for it to build up the pressure. The DATAVAC is always ready to go. 

This might not be a must-have tool but it sure is a lust-have tool. If the price does not scare you away then I can highly recommend the DATAVAC Electric Duster.

Disclaimer: The links in this review are my affiliate links. You can call this an ad or you can call this a review but I stand by every word. It's a nice tool.





$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.

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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.

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.


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