My Second Box

Cut this one out last weekend from a Steve Good pattern. The nifty thing about it is that the top is held in place by magnets and it swings open and shut from either end. I made just a tiny mistake in that I drilled one of the holes for the magnet in the top too deep and the one in the bottom not deep enough but it turns out to be okay because it pivots like a post now. This little box is 1 inch deep. It is made from 1/4 inch oak for the top and bottom an 1 inch thick maple for the walls. It can be used for any number of things, paper clips, push pins, change, wrapped candy (you wouldn't put loose candy in there because of the finish), jewelry, your watch, just use your imagination. I will use it as an "eye catcher" on my desk at work to draw attention to whatever else I may have there to sell. On my bazaar table this one will go for $20.00. I like these a lot and will be making some more out of different kinds of woods in the future. I picked up a number of different 1 inch thick boards the last time I visited my favorite wood store.

I'm actually sitting here kind of depressed tonight. I was working on a custom order I got from a friend at work and I got just barely into it and was trying to cut out some small letters in her name and slipped and ruined it. Now I have a nice chunk of what we in the scrolling community call "designer firewood" Fortunately I do have another board I can use and I will just have to start all over. Bummer though. That is why I decided to photograph one of my successes and post it here on the blog.

Things are gradually slowing down. The basketball and hockey seasons are winding down so pretty soon I will have a lot more time to devote to scroll sawing. There are so many things I want to cut and just have not had the time to devote to them. But this weekend looks free and clear so far and I hope to have a lot of great things to show you next week. Unless, of course, I make more designer firewood.

A Valentines Day Sentiment

Have had a lot of requests for this little piece of word art but never got around to designing a pattern and then the other day I thumbing through a 2009 issue of Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts and BAM! there it was. This pattern was designed by Toni Burghout. Thank you Toni. You saved me a lot of time and (no doubt) frustration.

For the painting of this piece I used a similar technique to what I did with "Hearts in Love".
I started with a piece of poplar and painted it a glossy black. Then I covered both sides with painters tape, attached the pattern and sawed it out. Then before removing the tape I spray painted the inside gold and there you have it.

This is one of the most popular phrases for word art. People like to have it around to remind them to Live life to the fullest, Laugh because it feels so good, and never take Love for granted.

Last week was another hectic week for me. I was busy every night last week and none of it had anything to do with scroll sawing. It was basketball, hockey and a particularly painful committee meeting. All of it related to announcing. While I'd like to be in the shop these evenings I need to make hay on the announcing business while the sun shines. This week looks a little better.

I delivered the fretwork heart with the names and wedding date to Andrew last Monday and by the time he was through showing it around I had three more orders for it plus an order for a
couple of key chains and a kids coat rack! Looks like I have my work to cut out for me (as opposed to having my work cut our for me).

I'm working on another fretwork box right now that I hope to have done this week although this week is almost as bad for non scroll saw events as last. Then I'll get to those orders.
Pictures coming. Stay tuned (just can't get away from broadcasting ).

An Enjoyable Project for a Friend

A friend of mine at work asked me to design something for his up coming marriage and this is the result. I took a pattern for the Holiday edition of Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts and

enlarged it so I could fit the names and wedding date on it and cut it from a 3/8 thick piece of

oak . The finished project measures about 11 inches across and about 10 inches high at the peak of the arcs. I dipped it in Watco Danish Oil and then put two coats of Watco spray lacquer on it to seal it. I'm confident he's going to like it and I'm sure I'll get orders for more. Where to find the wood is another matter. I got this one at Johnson's Workbench in Charlotte (pronounced shar LOTT for you non Michigan folks) which is about 100 miles from here. Needless to say at $3.20 a gallon for gas I don't go running down there very often.

Enlarging the pattern and cutting our the heart was pretty easy. Designing and cutting the names and dates was another matter. I use Inkscape to design word art. It is a vector drawing program and I am learning to use it for more and more things. I have cut many free standing words, names and sayings where the letters sit on a base. Cutting letters INTO a piece of wood

is quite a different matter. When you do this you quickly realize that anything with a closed loop (e,o,p,d ect) requires another design technique called bridges to keep the center of the letter from falling out . There is a way to do this in Inkscape and there are some excellent tutorials on line to help you out. Unfortunately I am a slow learner and after watching the video about 25 times I finally got the hang of it and now it is quite fun.

Well that is the story of the Andrew & Andrea plaque (can you spot the letters I had to modify?)

Got a very busy week and, unfortunately, none of it involves scroll sawing so it will probably be another week between posts. Check back in from time to time and be sure to add comments if you have any. I love to read them.