This pattern book has three sizes of tray letters. You can use these letters for desk name signs or inspirational words. Wherever you need a sign these letters can come in handy.
The letters can be cut from any thickness of wood. You just match the slot in the tray to match the letters. In the above example, I cut the letters from 1/2" thick walnut so the slot needed to be 1/2" wide.
In this example, the letters were 1/8" thick
You can use any method of cutting the slot that you like. I used the table saw and moved the fence until the slot was a snug fit for the letters.
You can be creative with the base. Make a double layer base, add decorative routed edges or anything that you can come up with to add a little flair.
Scroll Saw Safety:
This is the worst injury I have had in nearly 30 years of using a scroll saw. If you can't tell, this is the end of my pointer finger. I'll have to admit it did make me say ouch but other than getting blood on my project it was a pretty minor accident. I really did not say ouch but this is a family friendly blog so I cleaned it up.
I bring this up as a way of beginning a talk about safety while using the scroll saw. The scroll saw is one of the safest tools in your shop. I have cut myself a few times with a scroll saw blade. Most of them did not even need a band-aid.
This cut happened when I was not even making a cut into the wood. I accidentally moved my finger into the blade while I was moving to adjust the air blower. I hit the front of the blade with a fair amount of force and it barely nicked my finger.
The fact that I did not get a serious injury does not mean we should be careless when using the scroll saw. You want to make it a habit of thinking safety every time you set foot in your workshop. Safety should be an automatic instinct.
Almost every scroller I know removes the hold down from the scroll saw. I remove mine also but it does serve a purpose especially for new scrollers. The worst injuries from a scroll saw often come from the wood jumping up from the table when the blade gets in a bind. When the wood comes back down it can pinch your finger. I have seen this cause a pretty bad blood blister. Not to mention that it hurts.
If you are new or if you are teaching a child to use the scroll saw you should put the hold down back on the machine.
Another issue that I have seen cause a minor injury is a pattern that is lifting while the cut is being made. Let me explain. The pattern starts to lift. You move your fingers very close to the blade to help hold the pattern down while you finish the cut. You get too close and get a nick from the blade. I'll have to admit that I do this all the time. I will have my fingers fractions of an inch from the blade. Sometimes this is just necessary. You have to judge when you feel comfortable doing this technique.
Another common injury happens when cutting thick or dense woods. You have to let the blade have time to make the cut. If you push the blade too hard you have a greater chance of slipping and contacting the blade. Let the blade do its job. The opposite of this problem is when you are cutting very thin wood. This wood is difficult to cut because there is little resistance against the blade. It's easy to slip. I will often stack cut 1/8" thick wood just to add resistance.
All of these injuries are minor but there is one injury you can get from the scroll saw that is not minor at all. Inhaling wood dust can lead to serious health issues. Some people will never experience problems and other will have serious problems. We are all different but why take a chance.
Let me tell the truth here. I rarely wear a dust mask at the scroll saw. I do not recommend my method but I'll tell you what I do. I have a fan that sits to my left side that blows the fine particles away from my face. I want to be truthful here because many of you have seen me scroll in my videos and will surely point this out. Smart money says you should wear a dust mask anytime there are fine particles potentially in the air.
Safety is something we should all take seriously. It is up to each person to use their judgment when it comes to what is safe and what is not safe. The exception here is when a child is in the shop. As an adult in the shop, you have to demand safety procedures be understood and followed by any child in the workshop. This includes children who are just visiting. If your child comes into your shop you should stop what you are doing and give them your undivided attention.
$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.
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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