The custom 3D Name patterns I have been making have been very popular. I was working on a few today and decided to make a few for the vets out there. This pattern book contains patterns for all five branches of the US military.
There are two different strategies for cutting the compound cuts. You can use a compound cut 3D Jig to hold block as you cut. This gives you more to hold on to and also allows you to not remove the waste wood while you cut side two.
If you leave the waste wood in while you cut side two you will not have soft area voids where the blade wants to run away.
On a block this size I usually just cut freehand. I am more careful on side two. I pay attention to where the weak areas will be and cut slower. Either way works fine.
This Jig pattern is not long enough for the seven-inch block
in this 3D Veteran pattern book. You will need to modify it to
be long enough if you want to use the Jig.
You can also use a wooden hand screw clamp if you have one. I have used two
of these clamps when I need to cut a large block.
If you want to order these name block with your names they are $5 per pattern.
You can use a first and last name or two first names.
Order Here
The pattern will be delivered by email and you only pay after
you receive the pattern and are completely happy.
You will be able to pay through PayPal with a credit card
or send check or cash to the included address.
You do not need a PayPal account to pay
with your credit card.
Do scroll saw blades stretch and does it really matter?
A question came up today that I have heard discussed before but never paid much attention to. Ron ask this question. "Do you have an opinion on the subject of blade stretch? Some have the opinion that a new blade must be run in before using it to make cuts."
I have never considered this to be an issue but why not do some tests. You can learn new things even at my old age.
The concept of the problem is this. If the blade stretches during use, the tension will become lessened and could potentially ruin a delicate cut. The theory is that if you install the blade and let it run for a while you will get all the stretch out of the blade and not have an issue. Because of my technical background, I know that trying to answer a question like this without testing can make you look silly.
Let's see what happens.
I have never considered this to be an issue but why not do some tests. You can learn new things even at my old age.
The concept of the problem is this. If the blade stretches during use, the tension will become lessened and could potentially ruin a delicate cut. The theory is that if you install the blade and let it run for a while you will get all the stretch out of the blade and not have an issue. Because of my technical background, I know that trying to answer a question like this without testing can make you look silly.
Let's see what happens.
I wanted to measure the exact pre-stretch length of the blade. I chose a #3 blade because I figured a small blade would be more likely to stretch. You can see in the image above that this #3 blade was bowed. To get an accurate measurement I needed to make it as straight as possible.
I clamped the blade to a board using spring clamps pulling the bow out of the blade. I kept a straight edge next to the blade to judge how straight I had it.
I set my digital micrometer to millimeters and zeroed it out. I took a very careful measurement. It came out to 130.52mm.
I took the blade and installed it in my DeWalt scroll saw. The DeWalt give me the best mechanics for adding excessive tension. I really cranked up the tension on the blade. I wanted to stress the blade as much as possible to induce stretch. I let it set for 2.5 hours under this excessive tension.
I removed the blade and set up my measurement as close to the same as my pre-stretch measurement. The new measurement was 130.58mm. That is six-hundredths of a millimeter longer. To be honest that is probably with within the error tolerance of my measurement technique. But, let's say the blade did stretch six-hundredths of a millimeter. How much is that?
In the image above the red line is a scaled up width of a #3 blade. It's about 3 or 4 X actual. I had to make it larger in proportion to the blue line to make sure you could see the blue line. The blue line is what six-hundredths of a millimeter looks like compared to a width of a #3 scroll saw blade. That is a very tiny amount of stretch after 2.5 hours under high tension.
My conclusion based on this limited and not very scientific test is that I won't be trying to pre-stretch the blade before I begin to make actual cuts.
Even if the blade had stretched a significant amount I don't think a pre-stretch is called for. You are going to release the blade after every interior cut. When you reinstall the blade you will be tensioning the blade to it's new stretched length.
This probably was not as exciting as an episode of Myth Busters but I think this myth is busted. At least to my satisfaction. :) Does anyone have a different opinion?
Exciting News. We have another giveaway for this month.
Stephen over at Bear Woods recommended that we do a giveaway in conjunction with the Midwest Scroll Saw and Woodworking Trade Show. You do not have to be at the show to win.
We will have three winners.
#1 will receive a $300 gift certificate from Bear Woods sponsored by the Scrolsaw Workshop
#2 will receive a $150 gift certificate from Bear Woods sponsored by Bear Woods.
#3 will receive an incredible scrolled piece of art by Charles Dearing. This artwork will be cut live at the show. After the show, it will be packaged and sent to the winner. You will love this artwork.
The contest is open to the world. Enter once per day.
The entries will end 7/31/2018 at midnight. Winners will be drawn during the show.
We will try to stream the drawing live if we have a decent internet connection.
Midwest Scroll Saw and Woodworking Trade Show:
The Midwest Scroll Saw show is August 3rd and 4th 2018. I will be attending the show as the guest of Bear Woods. I will be in their booth both days. If you are able to make it to the show I know we will have a great time.
There are not many mostly scroll saw dedicated trade shows left. This one is hosted by The Veterans Freedom Center and Karen Boelman of The Art Factory. I attended last years show and it was excellent. The show was well attended and had enough vendors to keep your checkbook busy. They also have seminars, contests and more.
The show is in Dubuque Iowa. If you can put enough gas in your car to get there you should make the trip. Hope to see you there. Stop and say hello and we can talk shop.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Home of Pegas scroll saw blades.
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