There are two platform Christmas ornaments in this pattern. There is the nativity shown above and the angel shown below. These ornaments are four inches in diameter.
The next image is the reverse side of the Nativity ornament. It's difficult to see but the three wise men are on this side of the platform.
WEN 3921 Scroll Saw: First Look.
This is not a review. It is just a first look after 1 hour on the saw.
I mentioned in my post on Friday,(Entry-Level scroll saw: Are they worth it?) that I ordered the $126 WEN 3921 to test in my shop. Thanks to Amazon the saw showed up on Sunday. I love the fast delivery but you have to wonder if we really need overnight delivery for a scroll saw. I can't even get my medications that quick. I guess I am part of the problem though. I signed up for Amazon Prime.
I took the saw out of its box and just set it on a table. I did not bolt it down or install a footswitch. I did remove the hold-down foot and get rid of the pin-end blades. The saw comes with a set of adapters that allow plain end blades. That is all I would consider using so I am not even going to test the pin-end blades.
I spent about 30 minutes coming up with a list of potential problems and thinking about possible solutions. I'll go over those in detail when I do the review.
I wanted to cut a complete project so I could see if there were any surprises. I printed out one of my personalized Christmas ornament patterns and started cutting. I used 1/4" Baltic birch plywood. I installed a Pegas #3 modified geometry blade.
As expected there was a bit more vibration than I am used to. Actually, the vibration is more of a chatter. The upper and lower clamp adapters do not perfectly center the blade. There is a slight side to side movement of the blade that causes the blade to occasionally grab the wood on the up-stroke. I think I can fix that then the vibration would be almost acceptable.
It took me several tries before I got used to the tension adjustment being at the back of the saw. No big deal but my brain had to adjust. It's only a 16" saw so the reach to the tension lever is not difficult.
Installing the blade was as expected, a pain. That comes from the expectations I have learned on high-end saws. Once I got the hang of removing the upper clamp to insert the blade in a new interior hole I got the job done. I will have comments on making this process better when I do the review.
I would guess that the ornament took me about 25 to 50 percent longer to cut than it would have on my other saws. That is mostly due to the blade clamping. To be honest, that's not as bad as I expected.
As far as accuracy goes, I can't complain. You can see in the picture below that I was able to follow the pattern line with no problem. The curves are curvy and the straight lines are relatively straight.
Please understand. This is not a recommendation for the WEN 3921. I am simply wanting to see if the saw is something a new scroller could use and not be held back by the machine.
You can see the finished ornament below.
Personalized Christmas Ornament Patterns:
I am still making good progress on ornament patterns. I should be able to get caught up today. If you have orders in the queue, keep your eye on your email inbox.
The price is $1 per name with a 5 name minimum. I keep the price as low as possible
because I want everyone to have a chance to make these ornaments for family and friends.
You only pay after you have received the order and are
100% satisfied with the patterns. Invoice included with
the pattern email. Pay by credit card(secure Paypal), check, or cash.
The patterns will be emailed to you after they are completed.
Please allow up to a week for delivery.
You can use last names on the ornaments if you like but remember that the more letters the more
difficult they are to cut. Ten letters and up gets pretty small. If you need to you can enlarge the patterns by 10% to make the interior cuts larger. No special characters are supported. I can get a hyphen in there but it looks odd. It has to connect the two letters so it does not just fall out.
$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.
All the same file but in an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
Now Available on USB Thumb Drive
Don't have a DVD drive on your new computer. No problem. Buy the catalog on a USB thumb drive.All the same file but in an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
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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Baltic Birch Scroll Saw Pack by Woodcraft Woodshop
- Contains 9 11-7/8" x 11-7/8" sheets
- Four 1/8" thick
- Two 1/4" thick
- Two 3/8" thick
- One 1/2" thick
