Scroll Saw Blog

The parts for the old Porter-Cable micropinner came in today.  Wonder-of-wonders, I was able to put them right on ! Anyway, with a little trepidation and images of exploding power tools flashing in my mind, I shot out a few pins, and IT WORKED!!!
As to the Harbor Freight $25 special?  Well, I didn’t have [...]

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We’re up to 2-1/2 hours on Pedro’s “Garden Box”. I spent 1-1/2 hours on the work below.  This is not quite all the cutting; there’s some on the other end of the blank as well.  What’s taking so long? Well, on this project I’m shooting for sharp points and corners.  So each hole is taking [...]

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Taking a chance here…I really need that micropinner (My Porter-Cable PIN100 had an encounter with a slab of concrete and bent its nose) and I’m not sure when the replacement parts will arrive.  We were down toward Indianapolis today, so we swung by Harbor Freight and found they did have a 23 gauge micropinner. My [...]

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I’ve been using a Porter-Cable PIN100 micropinner quite a bit.  Mainly to assemble blank stacks, I also use it on occasion for assembly to keep parts together while the glue sets.  Well, the micropinner decided to take a tumble–bent the tip on the thing.  You really miss a tool when it’s no longer available.  Anyway [...]

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Lately I’ve been cutting butterfly wings from 1/8″ wood stacked 6 high.  This gives enough wings for 3 butterflies per pattern. By cutting out 3 at a time, I’m able to keep the labour costs down while still being able to make a profit.
Today I tried adding a couple of layers to the stack. I [...]

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Mahogany is a very nice wood on the scrollsaw. It likes to sit flat, and cuts smooth.  I took the remaining piece of the mahogany short I cut last week and resawed it into 1/8″ thick pieces.  One advantage of non-surfaced lumber is you can get more for your wood dollar. Rough is cheaper than [...]

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I haven’t been doing much serious cutting the last week (see previous posts), but I have been nibbling at the Hummingbird Clock faces.  One recurring problem I’ve been having is the glued-panels warping on me.  They’ll warp one way, and when you turn them over, they warp the other.  What’s happening is that moisture is [...]

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I decided to clean up a little, and having the parts cut out, I decided to go ahead and put it together. Just a little sanding needed… Well, first, the sandpaper on the drum sander needed replacing–no big deal there. Next I needed to reconnect the dust collection hose. See previous post [...]

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A couple of weeks ago I cut several plates and plate rims. The rims are 1/8″ wood, and when cut leave a decent size hole in the middle. Instead of just wasting this wood, I’ve been using these leftover pieces for butterfly wings. Below is a set of walnut wings ready for the [...]

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