Saturday, July 28, 2018

$800 Microscope Scroll Saw Pattern.


$800 microscope. .50 cents for the wood and $799.50 for the iPhone. What a deal. I assume you already have a smartphone.

Before I write too much let me mention that there is a video demonstration of this project below. This did not start out as a pattern for the blog. I just made this smartphone magnifying stand for my use. It works well enough that I decided to post it.

Most smartphones have built-in applications for magnifying objects seen by the camera. The magnifier application on the iPhone works really well. It does not work so well when you have to try to hold it steady. That is where this stand comes in handy. 

The application is not activated by default. You have to turn it on the settings. I show that in the video.
 The coin is on a small tray so it is easy to move around under the magnifier.
This is a screen capture at max magnification. As you can see it's pretty powerful. You can save the magnified image for later viewing. You can also turn on screen recording and record video of the magnified object. Good for viewing scary spiders.

Click to watch the video demonstration.

Deb Adams, Grand Champion. That's right...

Deb Adams from Iowa is officially the Grand Champion Over overall, Open Class. She entered her Sitting Bull portrait in the county fair and walked away with a blue ribbon. Actually, THE blue ribbon. 

I wanted to share this to congratulate Deb but also to encourage others. There is an incredible number of artists out there who never let anyone see their work. Maybe they will show it to a spouse or a close friend. I don't know if don't think their work is not good enough or they are just timid. 

Folks the average person has no idea what a scroll saw is. When they see a project made on a scroll saw they are amazed at how anyone could make such intricate cuts in wood. The reaction is generally "How did you do that. It's beautiful". 

The country and state fairs are in full swing right now. Almost all of them have contests in all the arts. Take a chance. Enter a piece of your art. You may or may not win a ribbon but you will feel good that you stepped out of your comfort zone. You will also meet new people and other artists and that is worth the trip.

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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. 

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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