Thursday, June 27, 2019

Custom Baseball Plaque Scroll Saw Pattern.



If you have a child or grandchild playing baseball they will love this custom plaque for their room. I have included the number templates so you can customize the pattern. 

This pattern is three layers thick. You can skip the third layer if you are okay with the wall showing through the numbers. You can also paint the third layer the team color. That color will then show through the numbers for an extra nice touch.

This is a pattern that lends its self to Baltic birch plywood. There is no strong reason to use hardwood for this project. The kids won't care one way or the other. Made from nice plywood this becomes an inexpensive project. You could make one for every player on the team without going broke. 

Further Explanation of my use of Lemon Oil to Finish Scroll Saw Projects:


Ten years ago I posted a video on YouTube that still generates emails today. It still gets lots of views. Nearly 35,000 views total. The video shows how I sometimes use lemon oil to finish fretwork. I still sometimes use the technique but it's not perfect so I want to explain.

Fretwork can be difficult to finish. It is hard to get a wipe-on or brush-on finish into all cut-outs. The easiest and quickest way to finish these projects is to dip them. There are a few things that you can use as the dip. I just chose Lemon oil because it was available. Boiled linseed oil works also and probably provides a little more protection.

Here are the pitfalls of using lemon oil. It does not cure. It evaporates. Over time the project will dry out and need to have more oil added if you don't give it a protective coat of some type. It takes a while and it still looks better than natural wood but it does start to dull out. 

Lemon oil will seep. If you do not give the project a protective finish after the lemon oil it will seep very slowly on to the surface it sits on. If you put it on a table cloth even after it feels dry, it will stain the cloth.

So, if it has these problems, why do I still use it sometimes? Because it works better than a spray acrylic or lacquer alone. The lemon oil gets easily into the fretwork. It makes the wood grain pop and looks beautiful. Walnut really looks great with an oil finish. I can then get enough spray acrylic on the project to seal 90%. The end grain that is exposed by the fretwork soaks up lots of the oil and takes a long time to evaporate. It never completely dulls.

I have used just about every finishing technique available. They all have good and bad points. I'm not saying that lemon oil is the best way to finish scroll saw projects. It is just another tool in your bag of techniques.

Here is that very old video.


$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


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Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
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The DVD is $10 plus shippingThis is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial  


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