Woodworking Weekend (part 1)

This past weekend was my first meeting as a member of San Joaquin Fine Woodworkers Association. The meeting was the officer elections and the annual project contest. All I can say is Wow! The items were great! I can tell there is a lot of talent is this group and I look forward to learning as much as I can! One of the nice things about this association is they encourage education. Besides the meetings, they are holding classes almost once a month. What made the meeting even more special was that my 12 year old son tagged along and seemed to enjoy himself.

So I suggest to anyone who lives in central California to look into this association. Watch their website as I am sure there will be pictures from this last meeting coming soon. You can also look at pictures from past meetings at http://sjfwa.com/

And there was an added benefit to this meeting I will tell you about in part 2.

Photo Album

If you take a look at the bottom of the page you will notice that we have removed the map and replaced it with a photo album. These are various pictures from past post. There is also a link to the photo album in the links on the left.

Enjoy!

March 09 - Projects

Here are some of my recent projects I have done on the scroll saw.

Fae - I saw a piece of clip art of a green fairy. After blowing it up and printing it, I cut this from a piece of poplar and got some green wood stain. She measures about 10 1/2" tall.

Cross - I am sorry to say that I can not recall where I got this pattern. So whoever drew this, I give you the credit. Another piece from poplar that is 9 7/8" long and 6 3/4" wide.

Letter Opener - Well after the first one I made broke, my wife asked me to make her another one. She found the outline of the elephant that I put together with letter opener pattern by Steve Good. This time I thought I would use oak and maybe it would last longer.

Scroll Saw Update

When I first decided to purchase the DeWalt I had the choice of ordering it online or buying locally. The main difference was price. In the end I went with buying locally. When the saw died, I took it back to the store, who happens to be an authorized DeWalt dealer and service center. As I mentioned in my last post, I was told 2 to 3 days to 2 weeks. Well the fine folks at Ideal Saw Works http://www.idealsaw.com/ had my saw ready to pick up in less than one business day!

I do want to point out that this does not change my view of the DeWalt saw, I still think it is great!

So Thank You to Ideal Saw Works for your great service. Now back to making saw dust!

Good Things Come From Bad Situations

Last month I was lucky enough to get a new scroll saw. My original saw is a Ryobi. It is not an overly bad saw but I wanted better. After a lot of reading and thinking, I decided on the DeWalt. I am very glad I did. The weekend of the 28th I built a table specifically for my DeWalt. Then one evening I am cutting on a project and my wife comes out. I turn off the saw and we talk a moment. When flipped the switch to start cutting again… nothing. After checking everything I know to check still no power. So on Saturday I load up the saw and go to where I bought it to have it serviced. 3 day to 2 weeks, depending on what is wrong with it. No I am depressed! Good thing I still have the old Ryobi. But now I am spoiled.

So I start looking around the store and a gentleman strikes up a conversation. When I mention that I am still new to woodworking he tells me about the San Joaquin Fine Woodworkers Association. I am very excited about joining this group and attending the classes they offer.

If my DeWalt had not died, I would not have learned about these fine folks!
Check out their web site – the link can be found on the left (in the Links section).

Valentines Day '09'

Here are the last few things I have made for Valentines Day. The two boxes and smaller sign are made of poplar. The bigger sign (with the couple on it) is made of a poplar front and a pine backing.

Basket / Box

Here is a project I finally finished. I started and stopped this one a few times. I got motivated to finish this one when a good friend fell in love with it when she saw the lid half done. The box is 7” across and 4” tall and is based on a patter called “Queen Anne Basket” from the book “Scroll Saw Basket Weave Projects”.

Phoenix

I was asked (by my oldest son) if I could make the phoenix from the “Fantasy & Legend Scroll Saw Puzzles” without making it a puzzle. Seeing this son never asks for anything I jumped at the chance, so here it is. Now I need to get it in the mail to him.

For size comparison there is a quarter in the picture.

Heart Box

Once again I saw a wonderful pattern by Steve Good. I have made three so far. The box in the middle is made from poplar top & bottom and sides made of pine. The couple on the top is also made of poplar. The other two boxes are made of oak. The boxes are around 4” x 4”. With the lid on the boxes are about 1 ¼” tall. The inside is around ¾” deep. Also notice the quarter in couple of pictures. Look for these at the TnTCreation store on Etsy (see link on the left).

Puzzles

I missed posting these before the holidays. Here are a few puzzles I made for my kids and their friends. Made from various woods and coated with Dutch Oil.