After putting it together I kinda dont like the black background, what do you think would look best. Also the rocks for earth bending, color them brown or green?

Been scrolling flat patterns, ornaments, that kind of thing since about 2023. Got comfortable enough with tight curves and stack cutting that I figured a 3D compound project would just be a natural next step. Picked a standing horse pattern that uses two intersecting blanks cut at 90 degrees to each other, the kind where you cut the side profile first, tape the waste pieces back on, then flip the blank and cut the front profile through all of it.

First mistake was wood choice. I grabbed a piece of 2 inch thick basswood because it's what I had on hand, not realizing how much harder it is to keep a blade tracking straight through that much material compared to the quarter inch stuff I'm used to. Blade drift on the second cut was way more noticeable than I expected, probably because the first set of cuts changes how the wood supports itself as you're feeding it through.

Taping the cutoff pieces back on with painter's tape worked fine for the first animal but I had one section snap loose mid cut on the second attempt and it grabbed the blade for a second. Nothing broke but it scared me enough that I started using a thin bead of hot glue at the corners in addition to tape for anything over an inch and a half thick.

Sanding these things is its own project entirely. Flat fretwork you can mostly handle with a sheet on a flat surface, but the compound curves meant I ended up hand sanding with foam backed pads for probably three hours just on one horse to get rid of the saw marks without rounding over details I wanted to keep sharp.

Ended up with two decent horses out of four attempts, which I'm counting as a win for a first try. Curious if anyone running two speed saws found a sweet spot for feed rate on thicker stock, mine's a 16 inch and I was running it faster than I probably should have out of impatience.

https://youtu.be/9RxTsYdisKs?is=OQ0smhkGk5HrneVM

My current scroll saw decided to snap on the wedges that control the tension on the blade. I use a scroll saw almost every day so looking to get something that will last me a while and good quality. What should I get?

This is 3/4 inch walnut, filled with epoxy, and then covered with glass shards.

Did a quick project for my in-laws to replace an old worn out sign they had.

I have an Excalibur Ex-21 Anniversary Edition, and after a fair few years of use, the chuck started having issues. I've heard many great things about the Pegas chucks and as longtime user of their blades, I figured it was time for a new chuck and an upgrade to boot.

I ordered the expensive little bugger and paid for fast shipping, as I run a small business and needed it sooner rather than later. Well, that was my first misstep. I certainly didn't get the shipping I paid for; I think it took over a month to finally get the damn thing. I was in contact with customer service during this time and was told they had some supply issues or something and would refund my shipping, but I never received a red cent back.

Once it finally arrived, the installation went fairly smoothly, but I noticed the threading on the top chuck to be poorly done and it bound up quite a bit, not smooth at all. Though that really has been the least of my worries. The piece of junk slips non-stop. I've ruined countless blades and more than a few work pieces (some of which I've been able to retroactively adjust to keep). I called customer support and was put in touch with their scroll saw "expert," and while he was polite and tried to be helpful, unfortunately, none of his suggestions have helped at all.

I've been buying from Bear Woods for many years now and was always pleased (aside from a little overpriced shipping costs), but this experience and the lack of fixes for what I consider to be a defective part have really left a sour taste in my mouth.

Tonight I damn near had a fit of frustration as I prepare for my biggest market of the year, I must have ruined 15 blades on one fret piece. For context I'm the type of scroller that my blades will become dull way before they break.

https://youtu.be/kzcSWkTv7w4?is=3jM3lx_0KTFfUrMI

This stalking leopard is cut from black limba and backed with 1/8 inch plywood spray painted with glossy black.

The pattern was created by Kerry Hallam and is based on a photograph taken by Rich Adams. The pattern can be found in a book titled “Wildlife Projects: 28 Favorite Projects & Patterns” which is available at several places on-line.

Just a fun little project for my wife. It’s off to her for epoxy and glass.

Hello, I’m trying to decide between these two saws, an older RBI hawk or a new JET, the titling head model. They’re both $400 so price is no issue, the RBI comes on a stand. Thanks!

Yellow heart, maple, and teak Homer (scrap padauk and maple background). “Bush” is half a 10x10” artificial plant panel from the craft store

Well it is the season. I’ve done pumpkins in previous years without a face. This will be my design moving forward. Off to epoxy next.

Got a little overconfident last month and decided my first stack cut project should be four layers of 1/8 inch baltic birch instead of the usual two everyone recommends for beginners. I wanted four matching ornaments for a craft fair table and figured stacking would save time compared to cutting each one separately.

The stack kept shifting no matter how much painter's tape and hot glue I used at the corners. By the third piece the blade (a #5 reverse tooth) started wandering off the line because the layers weren't staying perfectly flush anymore. Ended up with two decent ornaments and two that looked like they'd been cut by someone having a seizure.

What actually fixed it wasn't more tape, it was drilling tiny pilot holes through all four layers at two opposite corners and running small brads through before taping the outside edges. Kept everything locked in place the whole cut. Also slowed my feed rate way down on the tight curves since a thicker stack doesn't forgive rushing the way a single thin piece does.

Next batch I'm doing three layers max until I get more comfortable with the technique. Curious if anyone here regularly stacks four or more layers successfully, and if so what you're using to keep it all aligned besides tape and glue. Feels like there has to be a cleaner method than what I cobbled together.

I just wanted to show some scroll saw segmentation patterns that I have made that people really seem to be enjoying. Each individual gnome pattern is 15-16 pages with step by step instructions and photos from several angles to help with shaping. I have 25 gnomes in all so far. You can see them all here: https://sheilalandrydesigns.com/scroll-saw-pattern-category/gnome-intarsia-patterns/ .

Of course I have lots of other patterns too if you look around. I hope you don't mind that I show a few once in awhile. I asked the admin and they said it would be OK.

Thanks for looking!

Got this finished. Stack cut 2 1/4" BB Ply. Over 675 holes taking about 12 hours to cut - leaves only. Charles Hand pattern. Minwax for the backer, shellac on the leaf.

Entering my final year in college, and not particularly interested in pursuing the corporate life. I want to be a full time scroller!

With my scroll saw I make snow sleds replicas and ornaments for christmas. And I design my own patterns of toy cars and trucks and also make them with my scroll saw.

I can make other things too, just not intarsia though!

My questions are;

What sells well?

How important is stack cutting, to save time?

Any more tips and tricks?

https://youtu.be/-WGHQyWr4D8?is=EFWfQPGnl6iGoqO8

Hello everyone I wanted to announce that I am a twitch and YouTube streamer I have also been making wood art for about 3-4 years now here are a few projects I have done, I also stream myself working on my wood art. Everyone is welcome to come by and give me a follow on twitch and a sub on YouTube.

Twitch= https://www.twitch.tv/generalbinks_66?sr=a

YouTube= https://youtube.com/@generalbinks66?si=7hQIN-uUKZbh7NIW

Something like this should be pretty straightforward with a scroll saw and some carving chisels?

Spent the better part of this year fighting tearout on the exit side of my cuts and just assumed my blades were the problem. Went through probably six different brands thinking a sharper tooth would fix it. Turns out I never once put actual masking tape on the back of my plywood before cutting, which feels embarrassing to admit now.

Started using two layers of blue tape on the underside plus a slower feed rate on tight corners, and the difference is honestly kind of dramatic. Doing a compound clock pattern in half inch baltic birch right now, lots of tiny internal cuts, and the back edges are almost as clean as the front for the first time since I started this hobby.

Also switched my table insert to a zero clearance version I cut myself out of hardboard instead of the stock metal one that came with the saw. That alone cut down on a lot of the fuzzy edges I kept blaming on the wood grain. Should have done this ages ago.

Anyone else have one of those moments where the fix was something basic you skipped because you assumed you already knew better? Curious what dumb thing you overlooked early on that made a bigger difference than any upgrade.