I do have to say

[Dusty Buffalo]

that I've found a new respect for those of you that do fretwork.

A couple of years ago I ordered some patterns of 5 different state ornaments with the intention of making them for my mother. She had 3 kids and 2 grandkids living in different states. I decided to make them this year for her.

All I can say is I'm glad my youngest brother moved back to our home state. I don't think I could manage making all 5 of those stinking things. What a pain in the neck, or possibly lower.

I hold a new respect for those of you that can stand all that blade clamping and un-clamping. Geez, my fingers sure do hurt and I just about hurled that saw out the stinking winder at one point. I got the four of them cut out and need to do some light sanding and put a finish on them.

I'll stick to intarsia/segmentation and my cheesy yard art or things with very few if any internal cuts.

Fretwork artists - may hat is off to you.

[Minnesota scroller]

Simmer down Kelly. If you try and throw the saw out the winder, you may have more than hurt fingers. If your fingers are hurting, you must be clamping the blade much too tight. I learned, not too long ago, that it doesn't take a heck of a lot to hold the blade in the holder. So, lighten up, physically and mentally.

BTW, you forgot to post photos of the finished work.

[lucky788scroller]

Kelly, its pretty much a mind over matter thing. Its nothing for me to sit at the scrollsaw and poke the blade through a few hundred holes, and remove only a tiny bit of wood.I enjoy it. Now, on the other hand, I could cut out something simpler, and later teach you all the swear words there are while I try to paint them to look even remotely as beautiful as you can paint. So, I envy you! So pfffft! I do hope we get a peek at the states. Dale

[wwalker47]

Thanks Dusty, I do like my fretwork. And my hat is off to you and others on the intarsia....all that sanding . Altho, I am planning on doing some segmentation out of Neal's book.

-Bill

[Marsha]

I too like doing fretwork. I find it very relaxing. When I first started scrolling I hated fretwork and was mostly using my scroll saw to cut decorative borders on mailboxes, birdhouses, trays and shelves. I also cut a lot of puzzles, not the jigsaw puzzles but kids letter and shape puzzles, lots of animal puzzles too. The change for me came when I got my Dewalt and learned how to top feed the blade. Bottom feeding is, quite frankly, a PITA. Top feeding is very easy, and you don't bend near as many blades. Most times when top feeding with the Dewalt I find I don't even use a 2x4 to hold the arm up, I just hold the arm up with one hand, position the drill hole, let the blade back down, clamp it up and you're good to go. I would like to try an easylift, but I sit when I scroll, and my feet don't touch the ground, so I wouldn't be able to reach the easylift foot pedal. I had the same problem with an on & off foot switch, which I discarded very soon after hooking it up.

I also admire the scrollers who do the intarsia & segmentation art, as much as I love it, the sanding and shaping is just too tedious. I did try intarsia though, maybe I'll post a pic of it when I find it, maybe not though it's pretty awful.

Marsha

[CanadianScroller]

Blade clamping

Fretwork can be a pain in the thumb when there are many holes to thread.
I was spoiled when I started scrolling I had the Delta quick clamp.
Pop the blade in the jaws and flick one lever to clamp it and another to set the tension.
I do think if I had to turn a thumbscrew each time it would have been a little daunting.

I have seen a few tips where scrollers have made a handle that will slip over the thumbscrew to ease the pressure on the fingers.
There is always Frank Pozsgai's aftermarket clamps for many saws that will do the same thing.

I agree that top feeding would be much easier than bottom feeding.
I wonder if an auxillary table with a mirror set in it would be any benefit.

[Carter-Johnson]

My focus on cutting jigsaw puzzles is no accident! I made up my mind years ago that I would NOT get involved in fretwork or other scroll saw stuff where I had to diusconnect the blade. I also decided to not use a pattern or cut things that other people had designed.

It works for me. I am contented, motivated, and somewhat productive.

Have phun

Carter

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Easy Lift

Marsha,

There is no foot pedal on the easylift for the DW788, it's just a spring that counterbalances the arm to keep it in the air. very simple to install and quite effective.

So you use your hand to lift the arm and it stays up, then lower it by hand.


Sharon,

I'd like to see that piece, sounds interresting, and you have been doing beatifull work from what you have shown us so far.

Regards,
Marcel

[Marsha]

Marsha,

There is no foot pedal on the easylift for the DW788, it's just a spring that counterbalances the arm to keep it in the air. very simple to install and quite effective.

So you use your hand to lift the arm and it stays up, then lower it by hand.

Regards,
Marcel

Thank you Marcel, I haven't actually looked at one, I just assumed it would be a foot pedal. Can you point me in the right direction to see one?
Marsha

[lucky788scroller]

Im not Marcel, but I can point. http://www.jimdandy.com/products.html
I have the easy lift on both yella saws. I think for top feeding it probably wouldnt be as beneficial as for bottom feeding, which is what I do. Dale

[Marsha]

Im not Marcel, but I can point. http://www.jimdandy.com/products.html
I have the easy lift on both yella saws. I think for top feeding it probably wouldnt be as beneficial as for bottom feeding, which is what I do. Dale

Dale, that's a very interesting site, thanks for posting it. I don't think I'll buy the easylift, but have you used any of those super sanders? Do they actually work in the scroll saw, what speed would you use.
Also, I think you should learn how to top feed, as I said before, it's much quicker and you will not waste as many blades, trying to get them up through the hole.
Marsha

[lucky788scroller]

I havent ever used the sander thingys Marsha. 99% of the time the blade leaves such a nice smooth edge, I thing sanding it in that fashion would only do damage . I should have tried some of those on the cedar chess pieces Kyle was having trouble with, but it never crossed my mind.
I agree that I should learn top feeding,but teaching an old dog a new trick is pretty hard. I tried top feeding for a couple hours, before going back to bottom feeding.I dont really understand the blade bending thing,once I feed the blade thru the hole I grab it above the wood and pull up on the blade as the wood is lowered.One of my excuses for bottom feeding is because the teeth on the blade arent fighting the wood going through the hole, where with top feeding it seems like the teeth would catch on the inside of the hole on their way through.Most of my fretwork is small areas, and a teeny drillbit just big enough to fit the blade through.
As for faster... I do a typical 6 second hole change bottom feeding. Do you think I could trim that to 5.5 seconds if I top feed? I will try it again , just because you want me to, but I have to wait until I get all my Christmas cutting done, because if Santa hears me swearing so much learning top feeding, he probably wont bring me new tools this year!!! Dale

[Bill Wilson]

I think this thread illustrates one of the great things about scrolling. There are several avenues for folks to pursue this hobby from portraits, intarsia, puzzles, fretwork, etc. Scrolling is by no means a one trick pony. Each specialty has plenty to offer and often we don't cross over too much, so it's nice to hear perspectives from those who do other types of scrolling.