This is Holly. She thinks she is the leader of our pack. The best I can tell she is correct.
This is a simple frame for a 4" X 6" landscape orientation picture. It is cut from Baltic birch plywood. I used both 1/4" and 1/8".
I used .050" Plaskolite for the glass.
Let's Talk About Printing Patterns:
Click to Enlarge
For some scroll saw patterns it is important that you print them the correct size. I design the patterns to print at 100% scale.
My patterns are distributed as PDF's. Adobe created the PDF to make it easy to share documents online. It works great most of the time. Adobe has a free PDF viewer named Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. It will allow you to override the print driver and tell the printer to print "Actual Size". See the red arrow in the image above. This should always be checked when printing a size critical page.
If your print dialog does not look like the image above then you are not using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC as your default PDF viewer. All the popular web browsers now have built-in PDF viewers. Those viewers do not have all the print features as Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. You may not have the option to print actual size. That's not good when you are printing patterns. I can't give you details here on how to make Adobe Acrobat Reader DC your default PDF viewer. It's not difficult but it's different for each browser.
If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader DC installed then let me give you another tip. When you click on any of the links above it will take you to a screen that looks like the next image. Before you hit the install button you need to uncheck the Optional Offers. You do not need them and they are a pain to get rid of.
Click to Enlarge.
What scroll saw blades do I use?
Disclaimer: The link above is an affiliate link. I get a kickback if you buy this product.
I get emails from readers every week asking which scroll saw blades I use. I have and use two brands. Pegas and Niqua/Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman blades are manufactured by Niqua so I am combining them together.
I was using these blade long before I associated myself with Bear Woods. The link above goes to Bear Woods. I figured out early in my scroll sawing that using the best blades was just about as important as the saw you bought. Maybe even more important. If you are using a poor quality blade you will be instantly sold when you try a good blade. These two brands are in my opinion the best.
If you are a fan of another brand that's fine this is just my opinion.
Those are the brands I use now what about the types of blade I use? I am a minimalist when it comes to blades. I probably cut 90% of my projects with either a #3 or #5 scroll reverse blade. If you are just starting out you can buy a batch of these two blades and get along just fine.
After you have gotten your feet wet and become more comfortable at the saw you can add more types of blades.
From the two brands I like the Pegas Modified Geometry blades and from the Niqua I like the Ultra reverse blades. Both of these blades will give you clean cuts and last longer than other poorer quality blades. The reverse teeth on these blades reduses the amount of sanding because they don't leave as much backside tear out.
There are features of both of these blades that I like. The Pegas Modified Geometry have been designed to reduce the drift associated with scroll saw blades. They still drift a little but cut much straighter that others. This makes it easier to estimate the direction of travel the blade will take after turning a corner.
The Niqua Ultra reverse blades have a feature that I really have come to appreciate. They have a notch that indicated which end of the blade is the top. As I grow older the sensitivity in my fingers has changed. On some small blades it can be difficult for me to determine which direction the teeth are pointing. If you have this issue then the Ultra reverse blade really help. Even if you don't have desensitized touch then the feature is just plain handy.
Those are the basics of what I use and why. I have just about every blade made in my shop. I will die with many of them still in their package. There are times when all of those blades come in handy for certain cuts but for the types of projects I cut it's rare.
Keep it simple at first. Buy #3, #5 reverse teeth blades to get started. Then add smaller and larger blades for when those times come that they are needed. The #2/0, #1 and #7 can be added next. Then you can move on to specialty blades like spirals blades, metal cutting blades and more.
Hope this helps a little.
$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:
Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2018 in DVD
This DVD has over 2,600 patterns published from 2007 thru 2018.
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.
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
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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