A number of people seem to have enjoyed the recent spate of scrollsaw projects that have been posted and said something along the lines of, “I must dust off my old scrollsaw”. Well, here’s your chance!
Lin and I have consulted the finest (and cheapest) pattern designers we know and they have produced two free scrollsaw patterns exclusively for members of UK Workshop. These patterns are designed to be simple enough for scrollers who are absolute novices, yet detailed enough to be satisfying. Our challenge is to all woodworkers who have scrollsaws languishing disused – have a go at one or both of these patterns and surprise yourself with what you can achieve. And to those of you who don’t have scrollsaws, here’s an ideal opportunity to get one and see what you can do.
These are the two patterns:
Click on them to link to the fullsize patterns.
Lin has put together a quick guide to scrolling for those of you who need one. Of course, we’ll both be having a go at these patterns ourselves so you’ll be able to see how we get on too. Any questions or problems, we’ll be on hand to help out. When you’ve finished, don’t be shy – we’d love to see the results and share in your delight.
Bon chance!
Gill
Lin’s Scrolling Guide
Materials Needed:
Pattern printed out as “Fit to Page”.
Blades - #2 should work for either project (suppliers listed below)* but you will probably find larger sized blades are also effective.
½” or ¾” wood (tight grained pine will work fine for both projects).
Spray adhesive or artist’s repositionable spray mount adhesive.
Sand paper (various grits).
Drill bit (smaller than the smallest cutout area on the pattern).
Painter’s tape-blue or lavender (lavender is the better of the two to use - less wood fibres are pulled off with it). These tapes aren’t readily available in the UK. A low tack masking tape such as Scotch® Masking Tape is a suitable alternative and is available at branches of WH Smith, Staples, and other stationers. Conventional masking tapes tend to be a little too sticky, but they can be used at a push.
Two #6 wood screws 1” long (to attach the motorcycle to a base).
Countersink bit (for the motorcycle pattern).
Finishes of choice.
How to:
First take a deep breath and relax……this is supposed to be fun.
Trim your pattern down. Leave about ½” paper on the outside of the entire piece.
Sand your wood to 220 grit, wipe or blow off any excess dust.
Apply the painters/masking tape to the wood. Cover all areas that will have the pattern on it. This tape has two uses. It helps to lubricate the blade during the cut and makes removing the pattern a snap. Artists repositionable spray mount adhesive also helps to lubricate the blade, but not as much as masking tape. If you use repositionable spray mount adhesive, you can get away with omitting the masking tape. But be warned – the risk of having the pattern come loose around the blade will increase.
Spray back of pattern with adhesive (I prefer to give it a fairly good coat of adhesive…I don’t want my pattern pulling up during the cut) and place on the painters tape. Smooth out any folds or bubbles quickly. This glue dries fairly quickly.
After glue has dried drill your holes for cutting.
Find a comfortable position at the saw for cutting. A sore back and/or arms is not fun.
Make all the cuts, starting in or near the middle of the pattern and work your way to the outside. I generally cut the smallest cuts first then work my way to the larger ones for stability of the piece.
While cutting take your time and don’t get upset if you wander off the line a bit, just slowly bring it back on the line. The point that I want to stress here is that once the pattern is taken off, those lines are no longer there. I do not always stay on the line. There are times when I purposely cut off the line for wood stability or to help the look of the pattern itself. Other times I wander off just a bit, not intentionally but it happens.
Take your time while cutting. Remember, the saw is supposed to do the work, not you. If the cutting isn’t going well, it may be that your blade is dull and should be changed.
Do not be afraid to hold the wood with your finger tips close to blade while cutting. If the cutting area is extremely close to another cut this will help you complete the cut without the wood breaking.
After all cuts are completed do some touch up sanding on the back of the piece. There will generally be some fuzzies that need to be removed. Either by hand with 220 grit or a palm sander works much faster.
Remove the painter tape. The pattern will come with it.
Touch up sand the front of the piece to whatever grit you prefer.
If you are working on the motorcycle pattern will will need to take the piece and center it on the base you will attach to. Draw a light pencil line at the front of each of the flat area of the wheel. Find centre of this mark and back it up half the width of the wood thickness you used and drill and countersink your holes for the screws.
Finishing choices at this point are up to you.
We want pics please…………
If you want to try some practice cuts on a piece of waste wood before starting the project, here’s a ‘warming up’ exercise for you:
*List of online blade suppliers
Shesto
Hobbies of Dereham
Hegner
Flying Dutchman
Lin and I have consulted the finest (and cheapest) pattern designers we know and they have produced two free scrollsaw patterns exclusively for members of UK Workshop. These patterns are designed to be simple enough for scrollers who are absolute novices, yet detailed enough to be satisfying. Our challenge is to all woodworkers who have scrollsaws languishing disused – have a go at one or both of these patterns and surprise yourself with what you can achieve. And to those of you who don’t have scrollsaws, here’s an ideal opportunity to get one and see what you can do.
These are the two patterns:
Click on them to link to the fullsize patterns.
Lin has put together a quick guide to scrolling for those of you who need one. Of course, we’ll both be having a go at these patterns ourselves so you’ll be able to see how we get on too. Any questions or problems, we’ll be on hand to help out. When you’ve finished, don’t be shy – we’d love to see the results and share in your delight.
Bon chance!
Gill
Lin’s Scrolling Guide
Materials Needed:
Pattern printed out as “Fit to Page”.
Blades - #2 should work for either project (suppliers listed below)* but you will probably find larger sized blades are also effective.
½” or ¾” wood (tight grained pine will work fine for both projects).
Spray adhesive or artist’s repositionable spray mount adhesive.
Sand paper (various grits).
Drill bit (smaller than the smallest cutout area on the pattern).
Painter’s tape-blue or lavender (lavender is the better of the two to use - less wood fibres are pulled off with it). These tapes aren’t readily available in the UK. A low tack masking tape such as Scotch® Masking Tape is a suitable alternative and is available at branches of WH Smith, Staples, and other stationers. Conventional masking tapes tend to be a little too sticky, but they can be used at a push.
Two #6 wood screws 1” long (to attach the motorcycle to a base).
Countersink bit (for the motorcycle pattern).
Finishes of choice.
How to:
First take a deep breath and relax……this is supposed to be fun.
Trim your pattern down. Leave about ½” paper on the outside of the entire piece.
Sand your wood to 220 grit, wipe or blow off any excess dust.
Apply the painters/masking tape to the wood. Cover all areas that will have the pattern on it. This tape has two uses. It helps to lubricate the blade during the cut and makes removing the pattern a snap. Artists repositionable spray mount adhesive also helps to lubricate the blade, but not as much as masking tape. If you use repositionable spray mount adhesive, you can get away with omitting the masking tape. But be warned – the risk of having the pattern come loose around the blade will increase.
Spray back of pattern with adhesive (I prefer to give it a fairly good coat of adhesive…I don’t want my pattern pulling up during the cut) and place on the painters tape. Smooth out any folds or bubbles quickly. This glue dries fairly quickly.
After glue has dried drill your holes for cutting.
Find a comfortable position at the saw for cutting. A sore back and/or arms is not fun.
Make all the cuts, starting in or near the middle of the pattern and work your way to the outside. I generally cut the smallest cuts first then work my way to the larger ones for stability of the piece.
While cutting take your time and don’t get upset if you wander off the line a bit, just slowly bring it back on the line. The point that I want to stress here is that once the pattern is taken off, those lines are no longer there. I do not always stay on the line. There are times when I purposely cut off the line for wood stability or to help the look of the pattern itself. Other times I wander off just a bit, not intentionally but it happens.
Take your time while cutting. Remember, the saw is supposed to do the work, not you. If the cutting isn’t going well, it may be that your blade is dull and should be changed.
Do not be afraid to hold the wood with your finger tips close to blade while cutting. If the cutting area is extremely close to another cut this will help you complete the cut without the wood breaking.
After all cuts are completed do some touch up sanding on the back of the piece. There will generally be some fuzzies that need to be removed. Either by hand with 220 grit or a palm sander works much faster.
Remove the painter tape. The pattern will come with it.
Touch up sand the front of the piece to whatever grit you prefer.
If you are working on the motorcycle pattern will will need to take the piece and center it on the base you will attach to. Draw a light pencil line at the front of each of the flat area of the wheel. Find centre of this mark and back it up half the width of the wood thickness you used and drill and countersink your holes for the screws.
Finishing choices at this point are up to you.
We want pics please…………
If you want to try some practice cuts on a piece of waste wood before starting the project, here’s a ‘warming up’ exercise for you:
*List of online blade suppliers
Shesto
Hobbies of Dereham
Hegner
Flying Dutchman
If it had been a different sort of plane I'd have probably already started... :wink: :lol: 
