New to the Group

[Powakee]

Hi Folks
Thought I'd introduce myself. I am John Watson. I live so far south in NM that if I don't watch where I am going I'll be in Original Mexico. I have been scrolling since about 93 or 94. Mostly I think it was quite a while back. I'm on my third saw - presently using the DeWalt 788 and I've had it for about a year now.

I do mostly fret work and lately I have started making puzzles. We'll see how that goes. I use to use the Olsen blade but about 2 years ago I started using the Flying Dutchman blades that Mike sells and I like them so much I just don't use anything else.

I'll be glad to meet you all ~ by and by.

John

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hi John;
I was a little confused about your new topic.
Your topic heading said you are new to the group. Yet your join date says March 2005. Perhaps you meant new as a participant ?
Nice to hear you are getting into doing puzzles. Would be nice to see some pictures of your other fretwork as well..
Obviously being a member since last March you have seen some of the blade discussions here with the various viewpoints. But in case you have missed them, and because you brought up the subject of what blades you like in your "new to the group" message , here is my personal feeling regarding blades..

There are three main groups of blades.
Olson have been preferred by some for many years and still are.
TrueCut and FD blades made by Niqua in Germany along with some stencil lines of the same thing with different brand names are preferred by others.
And there are the comparitively newer on the market Swiss made Pegas blades which are my top choice of any blade made after spending many years scrolling and using the various brands. But what is best for some is not necessarily best for others.
It is generally reccomemnded to try the various brands and see which ones you like the best for your particular style of scroll sawing .

Keep on scrolling and making lots of dust and fretwork and puzzles.
W.Y.

[Powakee]

I think I joined the group, then I moved and then lost the web site. When I get on and start posting that means life has slowed down a bit and I can actually take some time to converse with others. I vaguely recall hearing of the Pegasus blades. I'll have to give them a try this fall when I get my next set of blades.

I just sent off for Pedro's "Victorian Bridge" and I have been gathering my wood. I am going to make it out of walnut and oak. I will be spending part of this next week cutting my 1/8 inch strips and then gluding them together to make the large parts to cut. It looks like it will be a fun project. I am hoping that I will be able to finish it in time to enter it into the county fair this fall. The big question after that is what will I do with it then?

John

[CanadianScroller]

Welcome back Powakee.

We look forward to seeing your questions and suggestions. The collective knowledge on this forum is second to none.

Happy scrolling

[William Young (SE BC)]

John;
Thanks for clearing up the time lapse mystery. Figured it must have been something like that . Moving can certainly have an effect on losing contacts for a while.
Good luck with the bridge . It should look wonderfull in solid walnut and oak with a nice semi gloss lacquer finish on it.
W.Y.

[3_M]

Hi John,

Do NOT glue anything together when making the Victorian bridge. You do that after you have everything cut out. The Bridge is 3 feet long and that would be very hard to cut without using spiral blades. The spirals would leave a lot of round corners. Duane and I used a # 3 and # 5 flat blades. I don't think you should use the wood you are metioning. The best is to use 1/8" Baltic Birch the pattern is desinged for that. That is what Pedro recommends also.
I am sure that you looked at the pictures of the finished product on this board.
If you have any questions email me, glad to help so will Duane.

Mike M

[Charlie_1]

Welcome to the Group John

Charlie,

[Sawduster]

Welcome John. I have been here only a few days myself and have already learned a lot ! .........had a few chuckles too enjoy !

[minowevie]

welcome back John. and good luck on the bridg. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.
no matter what wood you use. if i was doing it. I think I would use Mikes sugjestion. and use ply. only becouse of the breaking factor. ply is cross graind with a filler. and layers . that would hold your project together. I THINK> and it is cheaper. But what do i know. also you can stain the parts walnut or what ever you would like it to look like. I think plywood is alot more stabale thank hard woods in a project like this. hard woods would look better for sure. but would break in a hart beat. moving it around and such. just my 2 cnts worth.
Evei

[Old Mooner]

Welcome back. We love new blood in this group. Some of us get stuck in a rut from time to time and need new input. Hope you enjoy it.
Moon

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Welcome to the group John

Regards,
Marcel