Sunday, March 10, 2019

Woven Basket Scroll Saw Pattern.



I have designed several of these basket weave patterns over the years. They are easy to cut and get a neat response from people who have never seen them before. You will often have people ask if you bent the wood or carved it. 

I cut this one from Baltic birch ply but they look better cut from a nice hardwood. Sometimes I will use two species of wood. I'll use a dark wood for the top and bottom and light wood for the weave layers.

Because we can take advantage of stack cutting this basket can be cut and assembled in under 1.5 hours. 


This is a stack of four layers of the outside weave.


Stack cutting is a scrollers friend. 


I have all eight layers cut and ready to glue up.


Alternate the layers and apply glue to all the posts.


Glue on the top and bottom and finish. Neat little project in just about one and a half hours. 


Would you spend 24 cents to make your projects look better?


Everyone likes to save money but is it always the best choice. A scroll saw blade costs about 24 cents if you buy them by the gross. A dull blade will lead to mistakes and poor quality cuts. Don't push the blade past its life just to save 24 cents. 

How do you know the blade is getting dull? 

The most common symptom is that you have to push harder to make the cut. Pushing harder will cause mistakes. When cutting thicker wood you will often see warped cuts if you push too hard.

You will start to experience chatter, especially when cutting thinner woods. Chatter is a distraction that can lead to mistakes.

You may see the edges of the wood start to scorch. The scorching has to be sanded off and can be difficult to get rid of.

Some woods will dull blades fast. Baltic birch plywood is terrible on blades. To cut the basket in this post I used four blades. I could have been stingy and only used one or two blades. Because I was stack cutting 1 inch thick it was not worth using a dull blade. It costs me $1 to cut this project. A dollar is a dollar but that's better than breaking the project and starting over.

Is there ever a time when it might be helpful to use a dull blade? Yes. When you are cutting very thin wood the added resistance from a dull blade can actually help. I'm generally talking about 1/8" thick.

There are places in our hobby where you can save money. Cutting with a dull scroll saw blade is not one of those places.

$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.

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Products for your consideration:


Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2018 in DVD


Purchase the entire Scrollsaw Workshop pattern catalog for offline access.

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.
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.

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 on an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.


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 shippingThis is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial  


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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https://www.stevedgood.com/donate2.html

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I use the full version but the Home Student version has everything you need to design your own patterns. 


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