Thursday, November 7, 2019

Veterans Day Scroll Saw Pattern.


There versions.

Download Below

Veterans Day is next Monday here in the U.S. Please take the time to thank a veteran for their service. We don't have to wait for a special day to say thank you but at least it helps as a reminder.

When I was attending the woodworking show in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago I saw many vets wearing their veteran baseball caps. I did my best to thanked each of them as they came by to talk. It concerned me that a few of them were surprised by my words. They had not heard, Thank you, enough to be comfortable hearing it. We owe these men and women a great deal of gratitude. They need to hear it more often.

This pattern is over eight inches tall. You can use different thicknesses of wood depending on how you want to display the piece. If you want to mount it to a backer board you could use 1/4" thick Baltic birch plywood. If you want to set it on a base the 3/4" hardwood would look nice.

I included three versions of the pattern. Both, male and female soldiers and each individual with the flag.


Wixey WR25 3" Mini Height Gauge: Do you need one?


 Buy on Amazon Affiliate Link

I asked the question above, "Do you need one?", I would say that for most of us the answer is no. There are plenty of analog ways to measure the height of a blade or bit. It is not as easy to measure the depth of a hole but we don't do that every day either.

If you do need to accurately measure the height of a blade/bit or the depth of a hole then the Wixey Height Gauge will give more precise results. I was able to zero out the gauge on my table saw. I placed the gauge over the blade and raised the blade. It pushed up on the gauge and I was able to set a perfect 1/4" height. Give or take a couple of hundredths. I'm sure I could get as accurate with my gauge blocks but they cost a lot more than the Wixey Height Gauge.($23.99)


The battery (A) was loose in the package. Be careful when you open it that it does not run away. (B) is a pointer that attaches to the ruler to measure the depth of a hole.(Shown below)


The battery compartment was not immediately obvious to me. I almost took the screws off the back of the gauge until I noticed the flap on top. You pull the flap up and out.


The most obvious use is to set the height of a table saw blade or router bit. The gauge reacts quickly so it is easy to get the height just right. The Wixey angle gauge suffers from slow response and I was worried this gauge would be the same. It is not. This works much better.


You can see here that I attached the pointer to the ruler. I can zero out the pointer on the surface. When you push the pointer into a hole you can easily read the depth. This would be nice for drilling accurate depth holes on the drill press.

I was able to set the Wixey gauge on my drill press and using the stop screw of the drill press to push on the top of the Wixey ruler and measure the depth of the drill bit in real-time. I may try to flush this process out because that would be it's most useful setup for me. 


If you do not have a micrometer, you can accurately measure the thickness of an object with the Wixey gauge. It is probably more accurate than eyeballing a ruler. This would be handy if you use a CNC machine. A micrometer is easier though.

Okay, I bought this thing. Will I use it. My guess is that 95% of the time I will not use it. That leaves 5% where I may want the extra accuracy I can get with the Wixey gauge. When that 5% happens I will be happy I bought the gauge. The truth is that it only costs $23.99 and I like tools. I have bought a lot of tools over the years that I don't use very often. If you have ever tried to remove a garbage disposal without a garbage disposal wrench it can be frustrating. I have only used mine twice but I'm happy I have it. 

Am I trying to talk you into buying the Wixey Height Gauge? No. If you cannot come up with a use off the top of your head then you don't need one. If you do have a use for one then you probably already know what you need.

Is the Wixey Height Gauge well made? It is at best average quality. This thing is $24. You are not going to get a steel body or rack and pinion adjuster for the ruler. It's plastic. It will probably break if you abuse it. 


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.

Personalized Pet Christmas Ornaments Ready to Order:


Sorry I have been so slow getting these Personalized Pet Christmas Ornament patterns ready. The order form is now live. The patterns are $2 per name with no minimum. The order form will take up to five names. If you need more than that I just fill out a separate form.

The ornaments include the year but you can cut that part of the pattern off if you prefer them without the year.

When you cut the veining on the ornaments you can add a touch of glue to the back after the vein is cut. This helps add strength back if needed.

$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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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


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


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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