# Signals From The Bunker



## Gill

I’ve been taking piccies to show how my new hobby workshop has come about. Hopefully, there’ll be more to come and it'll become more interesting as I start to tackle proper projects in it.

Over the last few years I’ve been struggling to cope with making stuff in little hidey holes. The only problem is that as soon as I find enough space for myself, it gets cluttered up. Here are examples of three of the locations where there are tools:







*Scullery*






*Another view of the Scullery*






*Shed*






*Lean-to*

So I managed to negotiate a dedicated workshop for myself over the New Year ! His Lordship has agreed that it should be my space, which could mean he'll at least make a token effort to clear up after he's made a mess.

The workshop measures 8' by 18', which is about as large as our garden can accommodate if I'm ever to hang out any laundry again. We decided on a 4" solid concrete base, so His Lordship arranged for a couple of mates to pop over one wet Saturday afternoon (while he was in London at an astronomy exhibition :roll and dig a hole. They dug the hole and removed this much soil:






*Skip* Exciting, huh?

Then they went home because it was raining, came back the next day and filled the hole with concrete:






*Plinth* The sapling at the end is a walnut tree. One day... 

Although it was very tempting to 'sign' the wet concrete, I managed to resist the urge. Unfortunately, my chihuahua insisted that the plinth needed a finishing touch:






*Rio's signature*

After shopping around, we decided to buy the workshop from Tudor Garden Products in Hereford, as I've discussed elsewhere. It arrived in sections this morning, a week later than originally scheduled  , accompanied by a couple of thirsty blokes. First things first, get the kettle on.

This is how it's being put together:


















Obviously, there's still more work to be done so they'll be returning tomorrow to finish off the roof, windows, door and my teabags. Let's hope they finish in good time; it's Paskins' biennial woodworking exhibition in Kidderminster tomorrow and His Lordship wants to go there because he has an afternoon off work.

Gill


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## Philly

Looking good, Gill!  
Philly


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## Chris Knight

Gill,

Looks super - a fantastic step-up from your previous accommodation, you must be pleased. I am sure you will enjoy it very much - as long as it doesn't get invaded!


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## Charley

Looks great Gill 8) Now the fun bit - working out the 'layout' of where everything goes in side


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## Waka

Gill

Looks good, keep the pic's coming as you fit it out.


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## Noel

Hi Gill, good to see that the little room by the kitchen is still called a scullery. Shop is looking real cool.


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## Newbie_Neil

Hi Gill

I'll bet you can't wait to move into all that space.

Cheers
Neil


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## Aragorn

Looking good Gill!
Very excited for you.


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## Alf

Ooo, that's dead exciting is that. I'm all agog, so you must be practically unliveable with, Gill. :lol: 

Cheers, Alf


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## Mcluma

That will be bringing you a lot of happy times

McLuma


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## Anonymous

Fantastic Gill, just don't let him mess it up :wink:


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## Adam

(Looks great!) Have you plans to insulate it or do anything else to it?

Have you plans to make it very secure?

Adam


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## dedee

Gill, well done, looks huge. How long will it be before it is not big enough?

Andy


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## Les Mahon

Aw shucks Gill you beat me too it! Paying work seems to keep getting in the way. I'm currently sitting on a conference call looking out the window at:






With a bit of luck the roof will get finished today, The supplier phoned at 8 this moring to say they are out of siding and there is a 2 week delay. Ho hum, won't be moving in too soon then!

More photos here:
http://www.irishwoodshop.com/woodshop/workshop_build.html

Enjoy filling it up!

Les


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## Gill

Here's the constructed building! Tomorrow afternoon I intend to start weatherproofing it with Sikkens Cetol.





*
Finished workshop*

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone. Too many to address individually, but yes, I'm going to be fitting electrics to the workshop, then insulating and cladding the interior. If finances get a bit tight, I reckon I could quickly knock together 5 bunk beds and accommodate 10 Chinese immigrants quite comfortably. Well, _I'd_ be comfortable anyway   .

It's nice to see that your workshop is making progress, Les, albeit slowly. In any case, I cheated by having other people build mine.

The trip to Paskin's this afternoon was enjoyable and I came away with two books, _Making Wood Bowls with a Router & Scroll Saw_ by Spielman & Roehl, and _Scroll Saw Bench Guide_ by Zach Taylor. They came to less than £20 because of the 15% show discount, which pleased me. I'll post more about them when I've had a chance to examine and use them. His Lordship booked himself on a two day turning course at Whitsun with Paskin's resident turner. That should be interesting... :roll:

I'll probably pop back to Paskin's tomorrow morning and get a Trend Inlay Kit. I'm sure I'll be able to make my own templates without spending £6.95 on theirs (per template :shock: ). I'll also pop into the local B&Q for some electrical fittings plus insulation material and cladding for the workshop. In the past, this sort of stuff would have been much cheaper from Screwfix, but since they effectively became the same company the prices are comparable. Anti-competitive practice? Far be it from me to comment.

A very happy Gill


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## woodshavings

Hi Gill,

that really looks nice, I am looking forward to your progress reports as you decide how to fit it out.
Re your B&Q comment, Screwfix still seems cheaper on most electricals and they appear to have fixed their delivery problems. You will need a separate consumer unit, something like this
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro ... 4&ts=76709

Good luck

John


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## Drew

Gill

it looks great, I'm as jealous as a great green thingy (and they are pretty damn jealous). I've still only got my floor down, bad weather and a slight misshap with a v-cutter (anyone with sky will probably have seen these for sale, the guy selling them is telling the truth when he says they are sharp and to keep your fingeres or in my case thumb out of them  ) have delayed my workshop badly.
Good luck and good health to use it.

Drew


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## gwaithcoed

Hi Gill Cracking workshop, about electrics, do the new electric regulations which came out in Jan. apply to workshops and the like.????
Hope not because they are a real pain. gwaithcoed


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## Gill

Electrics? What a pain in the proverbial... .

Fortunately, His Lordship works with someone who is a qualified wiggly amp handler; he's promised to pop over and supervise that side of things for us. I'll post details of the developments.

The visit to B&Q today was a waste of time. Now that they're catering exclusively for Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen acolytes, they no longer stock useful stuff such as consumer units. There must be 50 different types of light switches, though. I suspect a trip to Wickes is on the cards, or even (if I can summon up the courage) my local builders' merchant. I'll probably end up buying most of the gubbins for the workshop from Screwfix anyway, but it doesn't hurt to shop around. I'm having second thoughts about internally cladding the workshop, having seen the price of cladding. And insulation isn't cheap, either. I might get the local builders merchants to drop off some sheets of plasterboard instead.

My friends shop till they drop at Dorothy Perkins, M&S, Etam... but me? Wickes, B&Q, Paskins, Jewsons... :roll: . Ah well, none of my friends have got such a nice workshop as I have 8) .

Can I slip in a couple of minor gloats? A router cutter inlay set and a Trend T5E, both of which should be delivered sometime next week . I preferred the way the old T5E model handles compared to the new T5 Mk2 which has a 'dead mans' power switch lever. Something else that appeals where Trend is concerned is that replacement parts for their routers are so readily available.

Gill


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## Chris Knight

Gill":3veyn1b9 said:


> Can I slip in a couple of minor gloats?



Gill, I think things have reached the point where such a delicately phrased gloat is unlikely to achieve the result you need. You need capital letters, several pictures (preferably a movie) and a soundtrack these days. Of course I am not saying who has contributed to this "gloat bloat"™

Anyway - congratulations!! Have fun with your new toys in your new shop.


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## Aragorn

Hi Gill
The insulation and cladding is expensive but really worth it!
Hope you enjoy your new toys. I have the router inlay kit, and often "sign" a piece by inlaying a heart shape somewhere unobtrusive.


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## Woodythepecker

Gill i am really happy for you. The workshop looks great and i am sure you will fill it with lots of goodies.

It really amazed me how small your cubby holes were, how did you ever work in there? 

Good luck in your new shop.

Regards

Woody


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## Anonymous

gill if i where you i would give toolstation a try they are a lot cheaper than screwfix imho the address is www.toolstation.com

Cheers,
Derek.


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## tim

Gill,

Workshop looks great. For insulation I'd recommend a company called Seconds and Co in Presteigne. They basically sell on (at great discount) slightly damaged sheets of Kingspan insulation. Most of the sheets have so little damage that you could hardly tell that they are not perfect.

Did my workshop with it - saved a fortune and its really good stuff - makes such a difference.

http://www.secondsandco.co.uk/

Cheers

Tim


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## Gill

Wow! I'm getting some really good support and advice here  . Thanks guys. I'll be following up all those links.

Gill


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## StevieB

Gill,

what type of insulation were you thinking of? I used rockwool loft insulation from wickes for mine and it was fairly cheap, just bulky to transport. I also have some polystyrene sheet 2" thick I put in the roof since it was left over from my conservatory floor. Again it was not that expensive and its easy to handle and cut.

I would also echo the comment that screwfix are cheaper than B&Q for electrics, except for lighting. Got three 4' strip lights for under a tenner each from B&Q, couldn't match that price anywhere online. 

Great looking workshop,

Steve.


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## tim

Steve":3by43yh1 said:


> screwfix are cheaper than B&Q for electrics, except for lighting



Not always true and worth checking first. Because B&Q and Screwfix are the same company they tend to swap stock and pricing around quite a lot I've found without any obviously transparent rationale.

Cheers

Tim


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## UKTony

tim":3gh673wj said:


> Gill,
> 
> Workshop looks great. For insulation I'd recommend a company called Seconds and Co in Presteigne. They basically sell on (at great discount) slightly damaged sheets of Kingspan insulation. Most of the sheets have so little damage that you could hardly tell that they are not perfect.
> 
> Did my workshop with it - saved a fortune and its really good stuff - makes such a difference.
> 
> http://www.secondsandco.co.uk/
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Tim




Gill, Workshop looks great

Tim, This link has just saved me a fortune, many thanks

Tony


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## tim

Tony

Maybe even better news for you:

When i was looking for the link last night for Gill, I found this one by accident:

http://www.seconds.co.uk

Probably pretty close to you I imagine - certainly much closer than Powys! That said I just checked the link and it says that boards are no longer available because of Regs changes. This note was not there late last night so I imagine they do have stuff available and if its not for a builiding that requires insulation anyway as part of regs eg workshops then there is no logical reason why you can't use seconds. Remember, I used the key word - logical!

Cheers

Tim


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## Gill

Seconds and Co have been in touch about their Kingspan type insulation material. They sell all thicknesses from 25mm to 100mm in 1.2x2.4 sheets. Prices range from £8.64 to £23.04 depending on thickness and the message says 'all plus VAT', so I presume VAT isn't included.

Wickes loft roll insulation at £18.95 (£12.63 with the 'Buy 2 Get 3rd Free' offer) would cover more area (10.63 square metres as opposed to 2.88 square meteres) and seems to be the cheaper alternative. I believe that B&Q offer an even better price, about £10 per roll.

The question is, would cheaper be better in this case?

What do you guys think?

Gill (who is up to her eyeballs in Sikkens Cetol timber preservative right now :roll


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## Les Mahon

Gill,

I was in the same quandry doing mine, and the advice I got from the gys in the Builders providers was that the insulation value of the Rockwoll rols and the kingspan panels was pretty similar however the sound insulation properties of rockwool were well supirior to that of kingspan. 

I have no idea if this is acurate or not, just pasing along what i was told - for what it's worth, i did mine with rockwool at the weekend IIRC it was pusing 200 Euro for the 12 rols of rockwool required, not cheap by any means, but it should mean the neighbours won't get annoyed!

Les


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## tim

Gill

I wont buy rolls of insulation because I find them messy, they absorb water and aren't self supporting.

The thickness of Kingspan I would recommend is 50mm foil faced - anymore is probably overkill. Any less is probably not worth it. 

My personal preferences aside - what you should really be comparing is the U numbers ie the insulation quality of the material. The lower the number the better the insulation.

I have also found that in general with building materials that cheaper is rarely better.

Cheers

Tim


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## Les Mahon

As a follow up to what tim said, I found that the cheap stuff from the DIY sheds is particulary messy to work with, the rockwool stuff is less messy, neither is pleasant to work with, but with a dust mask and washing up gloves gloves it's not too bad. When I did the attic, I got some of those disposable boiler suits from the pharma site I was working on at the time, perfect for the job, and bin them after!


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## Anonymous

Word on some of the building regs sites (local government and the like) is that you have to significantly increase the thickness of rockwool-style insulation to meet new regs for U-rating, whereas the PU/PIR boards (like Kingspan) will meet the regs as is. Screwfix do a 30mm version that claims .35U, which is pretty good (although I suspect the claim is based around all the other stuff around the insulation - type/thickness of plasterboard, membranes, wall structure etc). In a shed, where you're limited in the size of the frame-work, then the thinner PU/PIR boards give better insulation for thickness, and are probably better to consider.

(I'll be getting a bunch of the screwfix boards to insulate between studwork in the garage, in the very very near future)


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## Gill

So, despite the additional expense, it seems that it would be a false economy to use anything other than cavity insulation boards. I think that's the way I'll probably be going. The Screwfix boards look like particularly good value. Thanks guys.

Gill


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## Jake

Careful that you are comparing like with like, though Gill. Those Screwfix boards are pretty small. Each pack is only two full sheets.

Jake


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## trevtheturner

FWIW Kingspan insulation is highly regarded in the building trade. The company cannot produce enough of the stuff, is expanding and sends out dozens of artics. full each night, going nationwide and internationally. As Tim says, the 'seconds' usually have only very superficial damage, and not enough to affect its performance.

Never used it (yet) and no affiliation. Just a bit of local knowledge - the factory is about 8 miles from me.

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Anonymous

Jake":1631kkdh said:


> Careful that you are comparing like with like, though Gill. Those Screwfix boards are pretty small. Each pack is only two full sheets.
> Jake



:shock: 30 mm boards, 1200 * 450 mm, 18 in a pack! 3 packs is enough to do my whole garage!

Yes, the kingspan stuff looks good - spent ages browsing their site yesterday. Trouble is, I can't find anywhere that sells the 'timber frame' type of board. Travis Perkins, Buttles and other builders merchants seem to concentrate on the cavity wall boards, and the combined insulation/plasterboard sheets (very expensive). Kingspan do a couple of ranges designed to go between the studwork of a timber frame, but can't find a retailer.

Gill, you should measure the size of the frame-work in your new workshop - that'll give you the limits of how thick your insulation can be - the thicker the better, of course, but the frame's probably only 2x2s?


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## Gill

Hi ES

That was my line of reasoning too. I wasn't going to publish the price guide that Seconds and Co sent me, but since the conversation has turned to calculating value for money, here it is:


1.2x2.4 sheets.
25mm £8.64
35mm £10.08
40mm £11.52
50mm £14.31
60mm £16.50
70/80mm £17.28
80/90mm £18.72
90/100mm £23.04
Del £20.00 and del within 5 working days. All plus vat.

On that basis, Screwfix look very competitive but I'm going to have to do some measuring to confirm the size of the frame-work.

(Gill toddles off to find a tape measure...)

Okay, the gap between the supports is 21.5" (55 cm) and they are 2.2" (6.5 cm) deep. I'll do the maths later .

Gill


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## Jake

> Trouble is, I can't find anywhere that sells the 'timber frame' type of board. Travis Perkins, Buttles and other builders merchants seem to concentrate on the cavity wall boards



The difference between the two types being what?



> 30 mm boards, 1200 * 450 mm, 18 in a pack! 3 packs is enough to do my whole garage!



I was looking at the 45mm. OK, for the 30mm it is not quite 3.5 boards. Seconds (as an illustration because we have the prices) don't do a 30mm. So let's try 35. Screwfix = 16*1.2*.45 = 8.64 sq m for £63.57. You are after three packs, that gives 25.92 m2 for £190.21. 25.92m2 is 9 full boards at £10.08 from Seconds, plus 20 for delivery, plus VAT. Total is £130.


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## Jake

> Okay, the gap between the supports is 21.5" (55 cm)



In that case the 45cm cavity boards are not going to be much use to you. You'll need to compare prices with Screwfix's 60cm pitch roof insulation.


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## Anonymous

Jake":3pdy1vxg said:


> Trouble is, I can't find anywhere that sells the 'timber frame' type of board. Travis Perkins, Buttles and other builders merchants seem to concentrate on the cavity wall boards
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The difference between the two types being what?
Click to expand...


Dunno! lol But they're definitely different numbers. (tw50 vs tw55, I think)



Jake":3pdy1vxg said:


> 30 mm boards, 1200 * 450 mm, 18 in a pack! 3 packs is enough to do my whole garage!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was looking at the 45mm. OK, for the 30mm it is not quite 3.5 boards. Seconds (as an illustration because we have the prices) don't do a 30mm. So let's try 35. Screwfix = 16*1.2*.45 = 8.64 sq m for £63.57. You are after three packs, that gives 25.92 m2 for £190.21. 25.92m2 is 9 full boards at £10.08 from Seconds, plus 20 for delivery, plus VAT. Total is £130.
Click to expand...


Ah, ok - I get you now - by 2 boards, you mean 2.4 * 1.2 boards...yep. I hadn't seen the seconds price list, and you're right - they are better value. And agree that the 450mm boards wouldn't be appropriate for the frame Gill has - for me, I'll be putting the studwork in myself, so I'll be able to space for the boards. Mind you, having thought about it, if I use the insulating/plasterboard versions of kingspan, then I can avoid the inter-stud insulation and also avoid the ply I was going to face it all with - then the kingspan stuff starts coming out cheaper, even at full list price!


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## Jake

I don't think you need a special board to go between studs, perhaps the special one is just pre-cut, like the Sfix version, to the right width? It is very easy to saw this stuff up, so I wouldn't think of that as a consideration.

You'll lose the extra space if you go for the wallboard version, of course, and it will make it harder to hang things off the walls. I'd just go for between the studs, but buy from a builders merchant/seconds, whatever is cheapest and saw it up yourself.


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## Ian Dalziel

Gill,
Have a look in your yellow pages or phone book and see if there is a 'Sheffield Insulations' near you. i bought some 50mm thick x 1200mm x 600mm polystyrene insulation from b&q sold in packs of 4 for £10 but they only had 0ne pack left so i was told to try sheffield and they sold me 40 sheets of similar size and thickness for £40 plus the vat. 
I would imagine they do a far better deal than any of the major stores for any kind of insulation, they also have engineers employed that can work out the 'U' rating for a new build property. they would certainly be worth asking for advice on the best product to use in your workshop
it would certainly be worth a try.

Ian


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## Gill

I'm quite overwhelmed by the way that you guys are looking after me with such generous and good advice  ! Thanks ever so much.

Ian, I've just checked the Sheffield Insulations website and there is a branch a few miles from me in Birmingham. I'll email them and see what they have available.

Gill


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## Jake

Polystyrene would probably be a fair compromise for something like a workshop/shed here you are presumably going to be working so keep yourself warmer than sitting around in the dead of night. And as Ian shows, it is cheaper, although that is a truly truly remarkable price. I've never called them because their catalogue prices are goodish, but no better than that. I have missed a trick so far , so thanks Ian!


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## dedee

Gill, 
something else for you to consider, and others here to comment on, is the application of a reflective roof paint on your workshop roof.

My workshop (14'x8') lays east-west so one half of the apex roof is facing south all day and consequently attracts a lot of sun and heat during the day. 
There are both silver and white solar reflective paints available, I could only get the white at the time I did my shed but my garage is covered with the silver. This paint may well increase the life span of the felt as well.

Now obviously the insulation in the roof will help keep the inside cool but solar reflective paint may well help if it gets to hot in the summer. 

Andy


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## Adam

When we bought our house, the flat roof on the bathroom needed replacing. Our surveyor wrote up a "specification" for the seller to get the work done to (not surprisingly people selling try and get it done on the cheap) and this included getting silver solar reflective paint applied. 

Could well be worth considering - as the large black surface of a felted roof really does warm up quite a bit!

Adam


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## Karl59

Solar reflective paints should always to be used over the top of any bituminous surface which should never be left in its natural state i.e black.

The reason for this being two fold, first of all, left untreated bitumen will degrade under ultra violet light significantly reducing the lifespan of the roof. Secondly, as indicated by their name, solar reflective coatings will reduce the heat build up in the building space beneath the roof in question.

However, in Gill's case no treatment to the workshop roof will be required just yet, as the green mineral felt used as the cap sheet is acting both as a decorative as well as reflective finish.

Cheers

Karl


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## Gill

Despite having no electricity or insulation in the new workshop yet, I couldn’t resist butchering some wood in there today. We’ve needed a new address plaque for our house for quite a while, so that was what I turned my hand to. Since I’m a little out of practice, I decided to use some cheap material.

The first step was to screw two pieces of 9mm exterior grade plywood together and cut it oversize in an oval shape using the bandsaw.







I purchased an oval blank from a craft supplier some time ago, so I took this and screwed it to the plywood that would serve as the rear of the plaque. These prefabricated shapes make great templates for those of us who don’t have oval cutting jigs. Then I removed as much excess plywood as possible using the bandsaw again. 






The router table had a large profile following bit which trimmed the plywood into identical ovals.






Next, the plan was attached to the piece of ply that I had designated as being the face piece with artists contact spray adhesive. The lettering and motif were cut out using the scroll saw.






Unfortunately, there was considerable vibration when I first tried to use the scroll saw. This may be due to the fact that the saw was clamped to a workmate, but it might also be attributable to the workshop’s wooden floor. Anyway, I returned the scroll saw to the scullery where I secured it to a bench that is fastened to a brick wall and a concrete floor. That cured the vibration problems! I’ll have to think about how to minimise scroll saw vibration in the new workshop on future projects.

For the first time, I used Flying Dutchman reverse-tooth blades. These did seem to give a better finish on the plywood than I normally get but there was a price to pay; the reverse tooth definitely lifted the workpiece on the up stroke. I don’t have a hold-down on my saw so I had to apply more weight than I normally would when cutting. I soon adapted to this peculiarity but found the blade very tricky to use when I was cutting small details such as the inserts for the letters and numbers.






Tomorrow I’ll round over the edge on the plaque rim, sand it, then start painting it.

Gill


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## Alf

Crumbs, Gill, I don't know how you do it. I just know I'd have wandered over the line a few million times. :roll: Looking forward to the finished article. 



Gill":2r1b7ww4 said:


> These prefabricated shapes make great templates for those of us who don’t have oval cutting jigs.


Cunning, very cunning.

Cheers, Alf


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## Chris Knight

Gill,
It's great to see you back in action! The plaque looks good as it stands, I'm sure it will look absolutely terrific when you have finished.

PS - low tech anti-vibration solution - sandbags


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## amilford

Been interested in reading this thread as I too am just starting to build new shed/workshop.

Gill, don't know if you have lined the wall yet?
Had you thought about using sterling board/particle board?
When I last looked B&Q had this at about £9 per 8x4 sheet (10mm thick). Whilst a bit dearer than p/.board it is much stronger and would allow you to fix things directly to wall much easier.
It is what I have decided to use for the internal walls of my new w'shop.
(If anyone is interested, outside is going to be shiplap, and then 4x2 studs in between with insulation of some sort (prob. cheap f'glass) filling the gap (and a vapour barrier under the shiplap to stop damp)).


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## Les Mahon

Amilford,

That sounds very familiar! I just finished mine in exactly that way with no problems.

http://www.irishwoodshop.com/woodshop/workshop_build.html

Hope your workshop comes out ok.

Les


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## Gill

Hi Amilford

No, I haven't lined the workshop yet. The workshop has taken a bit of a back seat lately because of problems getting the electrics installed. I had been relying on one of my other half's colleagues to do this, but he's made it clear that he doesn't want to do the job . So we've been ringing round local electricians, only to find that they all have answerphones and only one has returned our calls. He looked over the job and gave us a quote of more than £1,000. I checked his prices against the Screwfix catalogue and found he would be charging us more than 3 times their price for each of the components he used!

My other half mentioned this to another of his work mates and learned that he has two nephews who are electricians and would probably be interested in the job. So we're waiting to see what happens next. Once the electrics are installed, then we'll look at insulating and cladding the workshop. I like the sound of using sterling board (especially from an economic point of view  ) so I'll probably give it a bash. Thanks for the suggestion.

It's probably a good thing that I didn't insulate and clad the walls immediately after construction because there was water ingress on the end gable wall when we had heavy rain last week. I telephoned Tudors and they sent someone round to fix it promptly. The leak had arisen where two panels had been butt joined. Normally, these panels would have been one piece but access to our garden is so restricted that the panel had to be constructed as separate pieces in order to fit through our garden gate. Tudors have sealed the leak and fastened a piece of timber over the top of the join to cap it; let's hope that does the trick.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have much time for woodwork over the next couple of weeks due to other commitments . Not that things have been going well in any case. I sanded the blotchy varnish off the house sign I've been working on (the embarrassing photograph is elsewhere on a different thread) only to start respraying and find the paint ran out. As a result, such paint as came out has spattered the work and needs sanding off again. So I hiked into town to our local 'shed' (Focus) only to find that they don't stock white gloss aerosol paint suitable for external uses. What sort of DIY shop is that :x ?

However, on the positive side I had a good time with a girl friend who came to stay the weekend. There was a Fleetwood Mac tribute band playing locally that she likes (Rumours of Fleetwood Mac) so we had a night out. It was great going for a spin in her new open top BMW roadster - it felt like we were travelling at about 40 mph at one stage but when I looked at the speedo she was actually doing the ton. Then she changed up into 4th gear. Wow - that was fun  8) ! Anyway, she had a look at some of my woodwork and reckons I'm good enough to turn professional. We had a long chat about our futures (I'm helping her plan a business project) and she reckons she has contacts that could give me an 'in' into the corporate world. We'll have to see what happens, but in the meantime it's nice to dream.

Gill


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## Gill

This little fella actually represents the first project I've ever made with proper wood, as opposed to MDF, ply, veneer and suchlike.






He's about 9 cm tall and made from mahogany and lime. All pieces were cut on a scrollsaw, rounded on a Dremel router station, sanded, then glued in position before applying a satin varnish. Working with proper timber is far less forgiving than MDF, as I soon learned; bits of my elephant broke off when I started rounding the edges with the Dremel. I believe I had too aggressive a setting, so next time I'll do the job in several passes.

Still, despite the piece not being perfect, I'm happy with the result and I've learned something for the future.

Gill


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## Aragorn

Gill, it looks excellent. Well done! Will this be the beginning of many pieces in real wood?


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## Chris Knight

Gill,

He's a great little chap. I am sure you will enjoy working with more woods and exploiting the colour and grain variations you can find in various timbers - as you will obviously know from your veneering experience.


----------



## Alf

One small elephant to us, but one *jumbo* woodworking step for you... :wink: Cute, Gill; I like it. The lime tusks work really well.  More!

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Newbie_Neil

Hi Gill

He looks wonderful.

Cheers
Neil


----------



## Anonymous

Lovley jumbo project Gill  

I'll bet Hannah will want to try as soon as she sees it (tonight after school :wink: )


----------



## Gill

Gosh, guys  . He's just an ickle elephant! But thanks, anyway.

Yes, Chris, I think I will be using proper wood more often and abdicating my MDF throne. I've always had problems sourcing proper timber, but now I have my own car and can travel to places like Good Timber I should be able to work in a more natural range of materials.

That said, there'll always be a place in my workshop for MDF and ply when it comes to making templates and jigs  !

Tony, I'm sure that elephant project will be well within Hannah's capabilities. I'll email you a copy of the pattern.

Gill


----------



## Aragorn

Gill":1nd07r7g said:


> I've always had problems sourcing proper timber


You seem to be able to make use of such small pieces Gill. Not wanting to sound too presumptious, but I'd happily send you a box of offcuts every so often if you'd pay for the postage. Maybe one or two others here would do as well.
PM me if your interested.


----------



## Gill

That's very thoughtful of you, Aragorn. My only concern is that wood is very heavy and the cost of the postage might be prohibitive.

Gill


----------



## Aragorn

This is true! I'll leave the offer standing...


----------



## Gill

The new house placque took a while to finish, for reasons I've explained earlier in this thread. However, it's a vast improvement on its MDF predecessor.







Gill


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,
It looks smashing - a proper job!


----------



## Charley

Nice plaque Gill =D> 

We have family in Worcestershire (Fernhill Heath). If you want next time we go, I can bring up a box of offcuts if they'll be useful to you as they'll only get thrown away/burnt if not.


----------



## Gill

It's taken 3 days and a loft clearance (don't ask :roll, but now I have electrickery in the workshop. YAY!!!!



The closure of MG Rover meant that His Lordship's electrically qualified colleague suddenly found the prospects of installing the electrics very appealling. And it cost nothing like the £1000+ we'd been quoted originally .

Unfortunately, further work on the shop will have to be deferred until His Lordship finds new work. At least I've got a fully functional play room now  .

Gill


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,

All the very best to your other half in his search.


----------



## Newbie_Neil

Hi Gill



waterhead37":1ct7om1o said:


> All the very best to your other half in his search.



I'd like to add my best wishes as well.

Cheers
Neil


----------



## Rosco

Dear Gill,
I would like to wish you and your other half all the best for the future.

All the best Rosco ( Chris )


----------



## Gill

Thanks, guys. Those messages mean a lot.

Gill


----------



## tim

Gill,

It has happened to me twice - both times as a result of the business being closed down. It was horrible in the short term but each time something much better than I could have imagined came along. Really difficult to believe at the time but true.

Please accept my best wishes and luck for the search.

Cheers

Tim


----------



## Rosco

Hi Gill,
By the way Blair has been talking there is going to be a huge sum of money for retraining. Has your other half thought of training as a plummer there is always a call for them. I once got laid of many years ago when the job situation was not as bad as it is now and I was offered retraining but I am afraid that they didn't take me to seriously I'm afraid as I opted to be a mortician they thought I was taking the **** the way I looked at it was that it was a buisness that would never die out.

All the best,

Rosco ( Chris )


----------



## stewart

Hi Gill
Best wishes to you and your other half for the future.
Stewart


----------



## Gill

I tried to cut some sycamore square on my Draper tablesaw today.






It didn't work, coming out skewed  . Now, I'm not too clever when it comes to handling tablesaws because I find them noisy and quite scary, but we've got a decent Freud blade on the machine so it should work okay. I think the problem lay in having a diddy mitre guide which was at full stretch, thus making it difficult to keep the wood stable as it was fed through. In fact the whole saw is quite diddy with a table that only measures 66 cm x 40 cm.

I'd like to pick the collective brains of the forum - I think I need a tablesaw with a bigger bed and capacity. What does everyone else think? If the concensus is that a new tablesaw is really needed, which would be most suitable, bearing in mind that I don't want one that'll take over the shop. I'm not worrying about the expense right now (although that'll be a consideration later) so long as the most appropriate machine can be identified.

I've tried using a home made panel cutter jig but it's a pig to manouvre, being bulky and in need of support from a wider table.

Changing the subject, it was a delight to sit chipping away at some marquetry with decent light to work in. I've not had such a pleasant working environment for years! This is the 'work in progress' piccy - I'm not sure what I'll do with it when it's ready to lay.





[Rolf Harris mode] Can you tell what it is yet? [/Rolf Harris mode] 

Gill


----------



## Philly

Gill
As top your tablesaw-have you checked whether the top is in alignment with the blade? I belive you can slacken off some bolts under the top and realign the top to the blade-this should get you back "square". A bigger surface? Why not build an outfeed/side table to enlarge it? I think Ian Dalziel made something along these lines in GW a little while ago?
Nice ballerina, by the way!  
Cheers
Philly


----------



## Anonymous

Gill

I'm sure you are about to get loads of recommendations (including a Festool plunge saw and guide no doubt  )


As i see it, the problem was that the mitre guage was not stable when p-ulled a long way toeards you at the start of the cut?

Most tablesaws that i have seen seem to have only a small depth of table in front of the blade and so you will always find the mitre guage a little trickyto use on largish pieces. My Kity 419 came with a sliding table and this extends way beyond the rear of the saw and allows me to cut much larger panels than witha mitre guage and so I would say look out for a saw with a sliding table (or ST option)

possibly a decent solution might be to buiild a small table at the infeed side and mill an extended mitre slot into it as a short term and cheap fix?


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,

I'm no fan of Draper but I wouldn't give up on it just yet. You are probably right about the mitre gauge and maybe as Philly says it isn't square to the blade - however, you could address these issues with a cross-cut sled. There is a bunch of these to be found on the web - here for example http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/howto_crosscut.htm

I built one for my saw using 1/2 inch plywood and a couple of stout bits of Iroko for the fences - I forget what I used for the runners but any hard wood will do.

BTW I like your ballerina (or ice-skater?)! How did you get her transferred to the wood - looks like a photo?


----------



## Charley

waterhead37":he1kxnrh said:


> but I wouldn't give up on it just yet.


Gill, if you have already/or just about to give up, I have a TS2000 table saw going spare for a good price :wink:


----------



## Gill

Great advice about setting up the tablesaw, guys. I think I'll have a go at building an extension table as you've suggested (and check the machine for square - it's a long time since I did that )

Woodwork will have to take a bit of a back seat for the foreseeable because His Lordship has had his redundancy confirmed . I'd like to say how much we appreciate the support that everyone on this forum has given us, much of which has been expressed privately. Thank you one and all.

He didn't like factory work much, anyway. Still, it bought in a good wage. At 53 years of age and after 25 years working at Longbridge he's going to find it difficult to adapt to another job. Nevertheless, we're trying to see the situation as an opportunity for him to find employment that he finds fulfilling. I've been discussing options with him and been surprised by how flexible he's prepared to be. So I think some good will come out of this interlude eventually.

Gill


----------



## SammyQ

My best wishes and regards to you both for both the near and extended future. Being of approximately the same vintage as "His Lordship" I can - in a limited fashion - empathise. My family has a saying "When one door shuts, another opens". I think your honesty and cheerful positivity on this thread have been remarkable. 

Sam


----------



## dedee

Gill,
Hope his lordship finds a way out of the situation soon. After 23 years in the same company I had more than just a subtle hint that my time will be up at the completion of the project I am currently involved with. At the moment I am quite looking foward to going - but that may change when the actual letter arrives - probably in July. 
I hope the redundancy packages offered will give him time to find a job that he wants to do rather than has to do.

Andy


----------



## Gill

Gosh, Chris, I've just realised that I've overlooked the question you asked about my ballerina  . I'm sorry!

Designing the marquetry pattern wasn't too difficult. I scanned a photograph into the computer, processed it through CorelDraw to convert it to monochrome, then reduced the colours to simple black or white. Next, I used my own judgment to manually tidy up the areas that didn't look right. Finally, I detected the edges using an OCR trace. This effectively gave me a line drawing which I printed out and traced onto the veneer using old fashioned carbon paper.

The pattern is a few months old and I wouldn't use the same software if I was creating a pattern today - JASC Paint Shop Pro is much more intuitive. Oh, and before I start cutting the veneer I use a pencil to shade the areas on the paper design that won't be cut, where possible. That helps me me when I inevitably start to wonder which side of the line I should be cutting :roll:  !

Whilst I'm waiting for a tuit to arrive so that I can build an extension to my tablesaw, I'm going to have a go at building a sled to replace my mitre guage. I actually made one a few years ago but it's a bit bulky for every day use and the fence is at the front (!) since it was a copy of a panel cutting jig I once saw Norm Abrams use :norm: . At least I know the saw is set up properly, having checked it in accordance with a tablesaw guide book that I was very kindly sent. So the chances are that the error lies with the mitre gauge and a sled should help overcome this.

Gill


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,
Thanks for the summary. I have just started using Photoshop edge detection for making drawings for carvings..

Re the sled, mine has a fence in the front and the back. Just mind your hands as you push the sled - the natural place to put the pushing hand is right in line with the blade!


----------



## Gill

Over the weekend I cut three mahogany boards to size, planed them to about 7mm thick, and jointed them together. I then debated if I should sandwich the jointed board between two sacrificial ply sheets and decided that the wood was probably thick enough to survive without wasting this ply.

Well... it wasn't  ...

Since this is the place to write about 'past mistakes', I thought I'd make a note of it here. I've worked predominantly in man-made material up until now, such as ply and MDF. I'm going to have to learn some new techniques when it comes to scrolling wood.

Amongst other things I noticed was that slowing down the stroke speed didn't necessarily mean that I could make finer cuts. Sometimes, it's better to actually increase the stroke speed when working with thinner material.

I also found that a conventional blade left a rather rough underside. Since I was working on fine detail which I didn't think would survive a later sanding, I decided to switch to an alternating reverse tooth blade. Big mistake! The reverse tooth had such a tendency to lift the wood that cutting became almost a secondary task to holding the dratted wood flat on the table. And of course, working with finely cut material meant this put such stress on the wood that it splintered.

At least I know more about scrolling this afternoon than I did this morning :roll:  .

Gill


----------



## Gill

Not everything went badly today. Mind, my photography is still rubbish.







Gill


----------



## Alf

=D> 

S'interesting; never really gave much thought to how different scroll sawing in wood would be to MDF - bit like being a newbie again in some respects I suppose.  

Cheers, Alf


----------



## dedee

Gill, 
is the wee dog the results of your trials with the 7mm mahogany?
He looks real nice to me.

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hi Andy

He certainly is. Unfortunately, the original idea had been to produce a large portrait of Admiral Nelson  . Then the timber disintegrated and I was left with small remnants. Some kind folks over at <cough> http://groups.msn.com/FreeScrollsawPatterns </cough> had just given me some patterns for long haired chihuahuas so I decided to make the most of a bad situation. I'm a chihuahua nut and I've been trying to get a pattern for years.

The piercing work on the chihuahua played havoc with the blades! If I have one criticism of the Hegner, it's the blade holding system. I don't seem to be able to make more than 5 or six piercing cuts before the blade breaks through bending at the top clamp.

Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill,
I've always striggled with blades breaking but interestingly I do not think ever at the top clamp. 
There seems to be so many variables that can cause a blade to break, tension, feed rate, top & bottom arm alignment etc. On my last pieces (the xmas candle holders) I screwed the top screw right down onto the bit that holds the blade and wacked the tension up until my thumb hurt. It seemed to do the trick at the time but I am not sure it was what the book reccomends.

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hi Andy

Securing the clamp on the rocker arm in the way that you describe is certainly what Roger at Hegner does. Mind, he also has a high blade attrition rate. It just seems so peculiar to me that the clamp is designed to swing freely in the rocker yet it works best when clamped in place.

I'm not so sure about wacking the tension up until the thumb hurts, though. Obviously, you need some tension - but my idea of woodwork is that it should be as pain free as possible!



Gill


----------



## Gill

It's not perfect but it's good enough for me. I learned a lot about scrolling and finishing (and trusting B&Q wood dyes :roll: :evil:!) from my first attempt at a scrolled portrait. This picture of Admiral Nelson measures approximately 17cm x 21 cm. I'm indebted to 'Noel' from the MSN Free Scrollsaw Patterns group who produced the basic pattern for me.






Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill, that is excellant. Well done. I know how to cut the outline but how do do cut the darker wood to fit? Do you do it at the same time with the darker wood underneath?

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hi Andy

Thanks. I've used gloss enamel black paint on the backer board which gives it the illusion of being on the same level as the oak  . The photograph was taken face on to the portrait so the cut edges don't show. Sneaky, huh  ? Actually, it doesn't matter what angle you use to view the portrait, your eye is drawn to the edge reflections in the gloss backer rather than the oak edge.

Gill


----------



## Noel

Glad I could help, Gill........
It turned very well.

Rgds

Noel


----------



## dedee

Gill,
very sneaky and very clever. 

Andy


----------



## Alf

Gosh that's clever. I like that, Gill. =D> Proper job. Gonna Splice the Mainbrace to celebrate? ccasion5: 

Cheers, Alf


----------



## DaveL

Gill,

Very nice, the black works well. I don't think my hand is steady enough or my eyes sharp enough for doing that level of detail.


----------



## Gill

Alf":xmeem0ct said:


> Gonna Splice the Mainbrace to celebrate? ccasion5:



You betcha!

 

Come on then... who's going to be the first to tell me they spotted that the portrait is cut from two boards edge laminated in the centre? I didn't just splice the mainbrace!

Gill

PS Whilst we're splicing all and sundry, how about celebrating the first UK Workshop thread to manage a hundred posts?
\/ ccasion5: \/


----------



## dedee

One hundred and one.

And I can't see the join.

Andy


----------



## Anonymous

Gill":ynqnhzh0 said:


> PS Whilst we're splicing all and sundry, how about celebrating the first UK Workshop thread to manage a hundred posts?
> \/ ccasion5: \/



Not all on topic though :lol: 

Lovely work Gill, truly wonderful!!


----------



## Alf

Gill":lkkli2n4 said:


> PS Whilst we're splicing all and sundry, how about celebrating the first UK Workshop thread to manage a hundred posts?
> \/ ccasion5: \/


No coconut  :wink: 

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Rosco

Hi Gill,
you started this thread by showing us some pics of your nice new orange shed. But no updates for a while have you managed to move into it yet with your new kity table saw, lets keep this thread going and hit the magical heights of 150 posts.

All the best,

Rosco ( Chris ).

p.s. have you got any patterns for siamesse and ragdoll cats as swmbo is getting me a scroll saw for my birthday and I would like to be able to strive for something like your doggy in the future.


----------



## Gill

Hi Chris

I've been meaning to post a comprehensive tour of the Bunker for a few weeks now, but I decided to wait until the Kity 419 was delivered. Guess what :roll: :x ?! If it isn't here soon NMA will be getting the sharp end of my tongue. I've phoned them a couple of times already and been nice but it would seem that being nice doesn't work.

It's amazing how quickly you can fill up a workshop. When the new TS arrives, I'll actually be struggling for space. I haven't been terribly productive since the Nelson portrait; my energies have been diverted towards a computer illiterate Other Half who decided that his hand writing was so bad he should fill out job applications on the computer. Every 5 minutes I'd hear, "Giiiiiilllll ..... the program's crashed again. It must have a bug in it. What do you mean? I've dropped the mouse loads of times before and it hasn't broken."

Such woodworking time as I've been able to find has been taken up designing a portrait of the Beatles. I had hoped to have it finished in time for his birthday (he's a Beatles nut) but it wasn't to be  . Oh well, at least our efforts hunting for a job on the computer seem to have borne fruit  .

Unfortunately I don't have a ragdoll or Siamese cat pattern as such  . Indeed, I don't think I'd recognise a ragdoll cat if I saw one. However, I'll see what I can come up with - Googling "ragdoll cat" seems to produce plenty of piccies that might be suitable for conversion into patterns.

Now - the important question... When's your birthday and what sort of scrollsaw is in the offing? Today I found out that the elusive J D Woodward company (manufacturer of the Diamond scroll saw that is so highly prized in the US) is still in business despite rumours to the contrary; it is just adopting a low profile because it has as much business as it can handle. There are overtones of DureEdge here, methinks. Anyway, the address is:

J.D.Woodward
Power Tool Engineer
7 Higham Way,
Burbridge
Hinckley,
LE10 2PU

That's not too far from me so I think I'll be going for a drive in the very near future .

By the way - my avatar was actually cut with a scalpel, not a scrollsaw - it's marquetry. Thanks for the compliment though  . The good news is that you should still be able to produce something comparable on a scrollsaw quite quickly once you get used to very basic techniques.

Gill

Edit: Chris, if you've got your eye on a SIP scrollsaw - beware. Although I've never seen one myself, I've been reading a very critical account of these machines on a 'Murrican forum. Their blade changing mechanism apparently leaves a lot to be desired when using flat blades.

If anyone here has experience of SIP scrollsaws, I'd love to hear from you.


----------



## Gill

The Kity 419 has now been assembled and installed, although I'm sure I'll have to do some tweaking over the next few days. For one thing, my Trend vacuum doesn't fit the dust extraction port - yet.

I did promise some updated shots of my workshop when the table saw was installed, so here they are. Apologies for dust on the camera lens :lol: !  My 8' x 18' workshop is now looking decidedly cramped and I'm going to have to rationalise it as we approach the autumn. Assuming His Lordship remains in employment, some insulation will be one of the first improvements that'll get carried out. After that, I'll install more shelving; I could do with some quite desperately.

Bear in mind that this is just my woodworking area. His Lordship has a separate area where he keeps his lathe and the Tormek (both of which are gathering dust :roll plus there's an area in our scullery which has a rather solid workbench and vice.

On with the show:







This is an overview seen from the doorway. I think it shows most things, except what is hidden in the corner next to the door.






This is where I spend most of my time when I'm woodworking, either at the scroll saw or cutting out marquetry. The CD/radio is an absolute essential.






This is the area next to the doorway, with router tables drill press, storage rack, veneers and Workmate bench plus some tool guide clamps.

That's about it. There's not much else to say, except I've actually got space to squeeze in one last power tool that I've been drooling over for a while now.

Gill


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,
Many thanks for the tour. It's shocking how quickly the space disappears isn't it?

I continue to moan about my lack of space but I visited a carver on Monday who does some of the best work I have ever seen (and lots of it) and his space is (I kid you not!) about 4 feet by 5 feet. With the stuff around the perimeter of his space, he has an area not more than 3 feet by 2 foot six in which he stands and carves.

In any case, I am sure you feel great about your new workshop and I hope it brings you much pleasure.


----------



## wizer

it's great to see this space filled Gill. I am very envious! The new TS looks like good fun. have you had much of a play yet?


----------



## SammyQ

As the great Alan Coren once wrote "Facknell!!! That is some place." One query.....don't you find kneeling to use the pillar drill a bit sore on the patellae?

Yours ribaldly and deep sea green with coveting, Sam


----------



## Gill

Thanks for the comments guys  .

Chris -

The place seemed so big when it was first constructed; where's the space gone? It's surprising how much time I spend at the desk using the scroll saw and the cutting board. I'm beginning to think of that area as 'the cockpit' because what happens in that small space drives the rest of the workshop.

Having windows directly in front and to the side of that area has proven to be a wise move because the natural light is so important. The angle-poise magnifying lens has a natural light bulb which I reckon will come into use more as the nights draw in and I have to rely on overhead fluorescent lighting.

It's great having the other machines around, especially the bandsaw, because when I need them I _really _need them. Nevertheless, it's the Hegner scroll saw that's the workhorse of my workshop.

Wizer -

I've not used the TS much yet because I want make sure His Lordship is around whilst I'm getting used to it for safety reasons. To be honest, TSs scare me. Anyway, he's got a day off tomorrow, so I should be able to make a start on producing a picture frame that I need.

Sam -

Kneeling isn't a problem for me - straightening the back afterwards can be!

As you can see, I don't have a workbench. It's not unknown for me to place a piece of timber I'm working with on the floor, kneel or sit on it, and then plane away or do whatever.

Gill


----------



## Anonymous

Lovely workshop Gill. Wish I had that much space  

Your kity TS lookls to be yellow and green? New colour scheme perhaps since the buy out


----------



## dedee

Gill":boyufk6z said:


> Trend vacuum doesn't fit the dust extraction port - yet.



Gill, this was my solution to get my 35mm extraction hose to fit the extraction port at the rear of the saw.






The white piece is the collar from a baby feeding bottle (Avent) the screw threads on the inside of the collar provide a tight push fit on the extraction port at the rear.
This does a good job of clearing the dust etc from around the blade but does not keep the inside of the cabinet totally clear. 
Tony tried to box in the base of the cabinet and extract from underneath but it appears he was not successful :- https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... t=419+dust

Any other Kity users cracked this problem?

Andy


----------



## Gill

That's interesting, Andy. What I was actually thinking of doing was cutting a cone on the scrollsaw to fit the extraction port. This would mean cutting a circle in some thick timber with the table tilted to about 12 degrees. It would also mean either making a circle cutting jig or doing some very accurate cutting by hand  ! I could then cut a similar but smaller cone in the middle of this larger one to accept the vacuum cleaner. If I apply some sort of sealant, it should be airtight (in theory  ).

Do you reckon that solution might work?

Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill, 
my visual imagination is not great . The principle sounds fine although I am not sure I could carry it out.

If your vac hose is 35mm I could send you one of the baby bottlle collars as we have a cupboard full of them.

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hi Andy

Basically, I'm describing a big bung with a plug hole in the middle of it  ! I don't know how successful it will be so I may well take you up on the offer of those bottle collars - thanks.

Gill


----------



## MikeW

Hi Gill,

Nice work space! And I really like all the windows.

btw, just how do you keep it so tidy?


----------



## Gill

MikeW":2f0pw1q7 said:


> how do you keep it so tidy?



Hmmmm... you should see the amount of sawdust that Kity 419 produces when the shop vac isn't attached :shock: !

One of my tidiness techniques is to keep His Lordship out :wink:  . The other is to keep the brush and pan busy.

Gill


----------



## DaveL

Gill,

Good to see your new shop, complete with new saw.  

Looking forward to seeing more of your work. 8)


----------



## Gill

Apologies for a rotten photo - no matter where I hung it, the light reflected in the glazing to obscure the picture.

Anyway, it's quite an important piece for me, being the first time that I've taken a photograph, converted it to a pattern, and seen it all the way through to completion. For those who are interested, the frame is lime and the main portrait is sycamore.


----------



## Philly

Nice work Gill! That truly is fab........... :lol: 
Glad your workshop is coming together nicely,
regards
Philly


----------



## Anonymous

Gill

Here is how I sorted mine out

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3615&highlight=kity


Nice picture by the way :shock:


----------



## dedee

Gill,
nice picture - it's not made from Norwegian Wood then?

Andy


----------



## Alf

Well Gill, you must have worked Eight Days a Week to finish it. When was that anyway? Yesterday? Did you have any Help at all? Don't tell me; "With a Little Help from my Friends" I suppose. You'll still be proud of it When I'm Sixty Four I don't doubt. Yep, it's all Come Together brilliantly.

Oh I could go on like this for ages, but I've got to Get Back. Proper Job. =D> 

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Gill

Alf please - Let It Be!

 

Thanks for the link, Tony - I'll see what I can come up with.

Gill


----------



## Gill

The background and the base are made of oak (which kept splintering as I cut it... grrrrr! Lots of glue on the breakages  ) and the deer is made from an offcut of something else. I don't know what it is - anyone care to hazard a guess?

Anyway, it's a desk clock. There are three scrollsawn mortice and tenon joints, but I'm not going to tell anyone that for fear of sounding like a proper woodworker :-$ .







Gill


----------



## MikeW

That's really nice, Gill.

I like it...but no guess on the wood. I do like that both pieces have a different grain to them though.


----------



## dedee

Very nice Gill. 
Have you got the Kity dust extraction sorted?

Andy


----------



## Gill

Don't talk to me about the Kity 419 :x ! You might have seen my post about it here. I haven't had much of a chance to do anything with the 419 because I've been tied up scrolling. That desk clock, although it looks simple, is actually quite deceptively difficult (especially when it's being cut out of oak that splinters when you cough). There are other scrollsaw projects queuing up, including one for a friend's forthcoming housewarming party (me... working to a deadline? How bizarre) so I've really not had an opportunity to do much besides proper scrolling projects.

Gill

PS Thanks for the kind comments, folks. The clock looks much better in reality than it does in the photo.


----------



## Gill

Someone (no names, no pack drill  ) rashly asked if I'd show some of my earlier marquetry, so here's an example.

Many, many years ago, I used kits such as _Sail On The Lake_ from the Art Veneers Company. I was in the air force when I first started making marquetry and I was faced with a duty over Christmas one year. I knew this would be tedious and require me to be in attendance rather than actually working, so I decided to take up a hobby to fill the time.

My father had once worked as a civilian in the air force and I can remember how he would take a marquetry kit into work with him to while away the silent hours. He'd made a very impressive silhouette of a ship in a harbour, with all the rigging finely detailed, which took pride of place above our mantle piece. For years, I had admired at this picture and I wondered if I could make something similar.

That Christmas I started out making a simple stylised scene from a kit, about 3" square. I found I was enjoying myself and as time passed I took on more demanding projects. One day I returned home and showed my parents the _Sail On The Lake_ picture I'd just finished. My father didn't say anything at first - he just took it over to the fireplace, removed his picture and set mine in its place. "That'll look nice there", he said. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

The picture's taken a battering over the years; I look at it now and see faults that are rather embarrassing. It's also a good example of how harewood turns from sapphire blue to slate grey over the years. Nevertheless, here it is:






Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill, nice picture and a nice story as well.

Andy


----------



## Alf

Gill,

_C'est magnifique_! Great picture, great story.

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Lin

Gill, Thank-you very much for posting......the story and the pic. Story kinda choked me up a bit. Your Sailboats are wonderful. I just love all the deatail that goes into "Marquetry"...So many colors....its great. 
Lin


----------



## Chris Knight

Gill,
Lovely anecdote - thanks. Nice picture too!


----------



## Anonymous

Lovely picture (especially the water that appears to ripple in the foreground) and lovely story too


----------



## trevtheturner

Gill":2f6zrhwm said:


> I look at it now and see faults that are rather embarrassing.



.........so where are they, then? On the back?? :wink: 

Lovely picture and story, Gill.

Cheers,

Trev.


----------



## Gill

Ah, Trev, that'd be telling :wink: . Don't you think that church tower looks a teeny bit crooked, though? At least it's not as bad as the picture of a kingfisher I once made. The beak was made of ebony which kept splintering and in the end I gave up trying to cut it straight. The rest of the picture was fine, but it's funny how your eye is automatically drawn to a fault when you know it's there.

It's great to see a response when pictures are posted, and all the better when it's positive. Kinda keeps you motivated.



Gill


----------



## trevtheturner

Gill":2rtj5nbw said:


> ....... that'd be telling :wink: . Don't you think that church tower looks a teeny bit crooked, though?



No, not really. I thought that was how the church was built, see. As you say, you cannot stop seeing it - but the rest of us would never notice! :wink: 

Cheers,

Trev.


----------



## Gill

A 1⅜" clock has been inserted into this offcut inscribed with a suitable message for the person who'll own it one day  ccasion5: \/.

In reality the clock looks much better than my photograph suggests. Unfortunately, the gloss finish reflected the flash back at the camera, so the photo has been taken at an angle which means neither the scrolled lettering nor the bottle and glass are very clear  . Next time, I'll have to make sure the scrolling isn't quite so delicate :? !






Gill


----------



## Gill

During the past couple of weeks I've been cutting a portrait of a lion from a pattern that was kindly sent to me by a friend. I wouldn't normally touch a portrait that had 239 cuts in it, many of which are quite detailed. Nevertheless, I pushed ahead. Here's a 'work in progress' photograph:






It's the first time that I've stack cut a piece like this, but there was no way I was going to make all those piercing cuts for the sake of just one picture! Since I wasn't too sure what the outcome would be like in terms of quality, I used B&Qs finest interior grade 4mm plywood for the project. Blades were mostly Hegner's Pebeco #3 and #1.

I cursed the picture from the outset because I thought it would be too intricate for me; just too tedious and not to my taste. Nevertheless, since I'd been sent the pattern as a favour, I felt somewhat obliged to make an effort so (reluctantly) I started cutting. Now I'm pleased I did.

Some of you may recall me bemoaning my Hegner in the past for a propensity to bend blades forward during piercing work. It came as no surprise to me at the outset of the project when my blades started bending, but after 70 cuts or thereabouts I began to notice that this problem had abated  ! Clearly, the fault had lain not with the machine but with my own technique. I haven't got the foggiest idea what I was doing wrong before because I didn't make a conscious effort to address the problem. Nevertheless, I seem to have worked through one of my own shortcomings by dint of practice and perseverence. It strikes me there's a moral in there somewhere.

Another enjoyable thing happened to me as the project progressed. I've heard athletes talk about being 'in the zone', as if everything they do just goes right and their efforts become effortless. Strangely enough, that happened to me - I suddenly found that I could do no wrong, just so long as I actually wanted the cuts to be accurate! It was weird, as if the saw had become a manifestation of my willpower. The pattern lines suddenly seemed to be as wide as the M1, not that it mattered because I felt as if I could have cut a hair down the middle. It was such a strange, transcendental experience. I'm hoping for a recurrence soon  .

How did the lion portraits come out in the end? The cutting is finished and I'm going to lay both pieces aside until I can build a suitable piece of furniture that can incorporate them as a matching pair. So here they are, fresh from the saw and awaiting sanding:






Apologies for the yellowy colour of the photograph - one day I'll take a decent picture and amaze everyone!

At least I can now put this project aside. I didn't want anything laying partially cut on my Hegner when I take delivery of my reconditioned Diamond tomorrow.

Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill, amazing pieces. So they took more than a couple of hours to complete . Can't wait to see the furniture.
Could you turn one of them over for a mirror image and incorporate than into door panels perhaps?

Hope the diamond is worth the wait.

Andy


----------



## tim

Well that is fantastic Gill. Well done. Glad that you felt that you improved and got into the zone as it were. Its happened to me a couple of times - its an extraordinary feeling - although in my case, the exit from the zone is normally harsh and sudden. Say no more.


What furniture are you thinking of incorporating them in?

Maybe a chaise longue - then you can enjoy them lion down :roll: . Its okay, its already on and I'm out the door..... 

Cheers

Tim


----------



## Les Mahon

Super work Gill! my meagre efforts at the scrollsaw challenge make me realise that there is quite a bit to this scrollsaw lark! I admire your perseverance - my workshop is strewn with bit's of things that seemed like a good idea, but just got left on the "too hard will come back to it" pile.

The Henger becoming an extension of your will power - mutant power tools - scary concept, you just keep that will power in check :lol:


----------



## cambournepete

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> ccasion5: ccasion5: ccasion5: ccasion5: ccasion5:

Very impressed Gill.

Make sure you put them somewhere safe before disaster strikes...


----------



## Alf

Coo. :shock:


----------



## les chicken

Gill
That is an amazing piece of work. You may have got into the "zone" because they are so life like they may have bitten you if you were not careful. As a matter of interest what are the sizes.

Les


----------



## tombo

Gill, 

bravo fantastic work! =D>, though its got me thinking... as know very little about scroll saws, shoot me down in flames if you like. 
I watched an episode of the NYW where norm filled some faults in pieces of stock with black epoxy and then sanded smooth. I was thinking that this technique might look good with a scroll saw portrait, fill the cut outs with a contrasting filler... what do you think? like i said i know nothing about scroll saws. 

Tom


----------



## Gill

Thank you all for the kind words.

It was a surprisingly simple portrait to cut, nowhere near as complicated as the Beatles portrait I cut a few months ago. There's no reason why a beginner couldn't complete this project; indeed, it would be a good way to hone skills. Apart from a few features such as the eyes and the mouth, it doesn't really matter how accurate you are. All you need is patience (and a scrollsaw with a supply of blades, of course :roll:  ).

Les - it's 24.5 x 19 cm (inside cut measurements) so it fitted quite nicely onto plywood that I'd cut to roughly A4 size.

Tim - I haven't decided how I'm going to use them yet. A small box such as a CD/DVD cabinet is most likely.

Tombo - It's funny you should mention that! It's something I intend to do very shortly. I've just been asking about how to infill with resin to achieve such a finish.



Tim":3498bnie said:


> Maybe a chaise longue - then you can enjoy them lion down :rolling eyes: .


Groan #-o 

Gill


----------



## tombo

Gill,

two forums i dont look at turning and finishing, if i had i would have seen that ideas in this area are far more advanced than i was contemplating. Though after a finishing disater a couple of months ago, that i have only just come to terms with, I should pay the finishing section more heed.

Tom


----------



## Gill

Stack cut from 4mm plywood and suitable for dangling from a car rear view mirror instead of furry dice. Well, _I_ like them  .







I used DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze Spray to finish these items. It's the first time I've used it and it's *great*! Available from Calico Crafts.

Gill


----------



## Jaco

The Lion looks GREAT! 8) 8) 8) 8)


----------



## Gill

A little while ago I had the good fortune to be given the trimmings of a waney edged board of hornbeam. I've never used hornbeam before and I found it to be a hard wood but a delightful one to work. When sanding the final piece, I had to be careful not to catch any of the sawn edges with my fingers because they were sharp enough to cut me!

I scrolled a layered Nativity scene measuring 2½" x 6½" and finished with one coat of Danish oil.






If there are any more hornbeam offcuts out there looking for a good home, remember me  !

Gill


----------



## Les Mahon

Stunning Gill.

This reminds me that I must give the Chopper a go if I get enough Workshop time over the weekend. 

Les


----------



## trevtheturner

Well, well, well! Superb, Gill.



Gill":2uvuz5p9 said:


> If there are any more hornbeam offcuts out there looking for a good home.........



Might be ............

Cheers,

Trev.


----------



## Lin

Well girl, You have wiped me out.....You my friend are on a roll.....The puppies are wonderful.....wishing I could paint besides the spray kind.....and the lions...they are something else. I have that pattern and have not had the guts to jump on that many cuts myself. You did a wonderful job on them....I to understand the "Zone" you speak of...it's a great feeling when it happens....everything just flows.....just wish it was like that every time I scrolled....
The nativity scene you did......is awesome....I like the layering. Some thing I have not tried out.....Hard to do?
Looking forward to your "table".....
Is your Diamond back yet and how do you like it if so?
So new many things I want to try and you are doing it......Wish I had you over hear to help me when I jump on a new one..
Keep it up.....loving the pics...
Lin


----------



## Gill

When I see the work that you people produce yourselves, it humbles me that you should praise mine. Thank you.

Lin, the layered cuts are very straight forward but you've got to follow the pattern very closely when cutting parts which have to align. Otherwise, you'll have a lot of sanding to do. I'm confident that such cuts are easily within your capability. Actually, it took me a lot longer to sand the Nativity piece than it did to cut it  . It was all cut from the one piece of wood, then each layer was sanded, scroll cut, and laminated back together. Since hornbeam is a very close-grained wood you can't really tell it's all from the one block. However, if you were cutting from something with a more pronounced grain it would be a different story. Patrick Spielman says that the scene should be enlarged considerably (118%, IIRC) before cutting, but I kept it small because the offcut wasn't terribly large. If it had been a bit bigger it would have been much easier - and less painful - to sand.

Yup, the Diamond is back with me but I've got problems with vibration because I don't have a suitable work surface to operate it on... yet! I've got my beady eyes set on part of His Lordship's lathe workshop which has a concrete floor. The idea is that he'll build a breeze block plinth onto which I'll mount a wooden box filled with sand. Resting on top of the box will be a piece of marble which will be bolted to the box and the saw will be fixed on top of the marble. The idea is that as the saw operates, its vibration will compact the sand and by tightening up the bolts through the marble base I'll be adding weight to the saw and thereby eliminating vibration. Well, that's the theory...

Table? What table :-$ ? For goodness sake, that's tantamount to accusing me of being a 'proper' woodworker! I've got a reputation to live down to, you know   .

Gill


----------



## Lin

Gill, Gotta a question....Could the layered nativity scene be done from two or three blocks of contrasting wood......all the same size to start with? Then the pieces be interchanged to glue back together.....would that work or not.....Thinking that might look really cool...different species in the same project....Could the scrolling be stack cut if done that way?
Curious minds want to know.....I have an interest in trying it if its possible....won't happen for quite a bit of time with the orders I have...might not even be till after x-mas....but sounds like a plan....maybe?
Lin


----------



## Gill

Hi Lin

What an interesting idea :idea:  . I don't see why you couldn't cut a layered scene with contrasting woods. The only problem is that all the details on each layer would contrast throughout the whole layer, and that might not look attractive. It could end up looking like a liquorice allsort, a piece of liquorice sandwiched between two coloured pieces of coconut:





Perhaps it might be possible to limit this effect. I'd suggest stack cutting in the conventional way, but remove those items you want to contrast as if you were segmenting a layer. Then interchange the 'segments' with their corresponding segments in a contrasting wood. Of course, this would leave a gap the width of the blade which you'd have to either fill or ignore. But if you only used the technique with background layers, the gap would only be visible under very close scrutiny anyway. Alternatively, it would make for good intarsia practice  .

Potentially more serious would be the problem of ensuring that the contrasting layers are of corresponding thicknesses to each other. You couldn't stack cut a layer that was 3mm thick with one that was 3.5 mm thick because the layers wouldn't lie on top of each other without gaps after they were swapped. Of course, you've got access to a drum sander so you wouldn't find this much of a problem. I'm not so fortunate - I'll have to rely on my as-yet-untested thicknesser auxilliary table.

I hope this makes sense - it would probably be easier to show you through photographs rather than trying to write a description. I'm going to be rather busy over the next few days but when I get some time I'll tinker about and take some photographs to show you what I mean.

Gill


----------



## Lin

Gill, Where did you get the layered pattern from?...Which book or what mag?....I probably have it and don't even know it....Would like to look at it and the intructions to help me understand better.....Looking forward to pics of what you are talking about to get it to sink in.\
Lin


----------



## Gill

Hi Lin

I got them from Patrick Spielman's Fun and Easy Scroll Saw Projects in which he describes them as 'logscapes' because he cuts them out of logs. It's a very good book and there are lots of patterns in there that I like.

Gill


----------



## Lin

I wondered but didn't think it was one of those patterns....I have the book...Thought they had to be cut from a log....Duh.....
Now I know better....You did it...I thought they were neat looking when I got the book but had no idea where to get my hands on a dry log without bark that was straight...You are right......there are lots on nice pattern in that book....I had only cut a few from it but now after seeing your layering without using a log....I'm going to dig it back out...
Thanks lady,
Lin


----------



## Gill

A number of people have recently posted pictures of some very charming doorstops they've made from offcuts. Having never made one of these, I decided to redress the situation so here's an Alsation doorstop I cut from maple:










And I made this from the offcuts:






See, Alf, I _can _use a table saw   ! Thanks for the help with the acrylic lacquer, Terry - it worked a treat  .

Gill (who might one day learn how to use a camera, too :roll: .)


----------



## dedee

Gill, nice table, and doorstop, where are the WIP photos?

What joints did you use? and how did you fashion the taper on the legs?

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hi Andy

I'm pleased you like the projects.

There aren't any WIP photos of the table apart from this one that I posted a little while ago:






It's a very simple project that most woodworkers here could do in their sleep, so I didn't think that WIP photos would be of any interest. I just cut four boards and double biscuit-jointed them to the legs that I'd tapered on the tablesaw to make the frame. To make the top, I edge laminated four boards, squared them off and routed a roundover on the top (which doesn't come out too clearly on the photo. Sorry about that :roll: ). Then I biscuited a couple of waste strips onto the inside of the frame, cut four elongated holes in them and screwed the top in place. Finally, I sanded and applied three coats of Chestnut's acrylic lacquer with a foam brush (which worked well - no problem with brush strokes or air bubbles  ). I might have been able to get away with fewer coats of lacquer but His Lordship had lost the sanding sealer - typical :roll: !

Dead easy, really, but I'm still trying to recover from the shock of having made something that doesn't have any scrolled details   .

Gill


----------



## Waka

Gill

Very nice nativity scene, I've never tried scroll work,how difficult is it to do?

Also love the table, what's next on the project list?


----------



## Gill

Hi Waka

It's not often I see you in this neck of the woods - welcome anyway, and thanks for your kind comments  .

Next up for me will be some scrolled wolf portraits that I'm going to stack cut on more of the maple I've got lying around. That shouldn't take too long, and then I'm going to have a look at those rather daunting Shaker boxes.

Scrolling really is a doddle. Just take a peek at what some of the novices have been able to cut on the Scrollsaw Challenge thread, or look at the doorstops that Aldel, Dedee, Jaco and others have produced.

Gill


----------



## Alf

Gill":16ny7573 said:


> And I made this from the offcuts:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> See, Alf, I _can _use a table saw   !


Mein gott, it is vunderbar! Please to be forgetting with this scrollsawing and making mitt the furniture, schnell, schnell! =D> 



Gill":16ny7573 said:


> It's a very simple project that most woodworkers here could do in their sleep, so I didn't think that WIP photos would be of any interest.


Go on then, make me feel bad why don'tcha? :roll: :lol: 

Unto the general populace I say "Show me your Work In Progress Pics!" Nothing is "too simple" - there'll be _someone_ out there who'll benefit from it. Chances are the majority will, 'cos at the very least we'll be freshly enthused with the desire to make something. 

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Gill

I'll make a point of taking WIP photos next time, Alf  . Actually, I thought the fact that I'd used biscuit joints rather than mortice and tenon joints would be frowned upon by my peers.

Somehow, I suspect that my next piece of conventional furniture is likely to incorporate an element of scrolling. It might be fretwork or it might be relief work; I haven't decided yet. But I feel that building a piece of 'proper' furniture (at last) is an important stage in developing my skills as a woodworker, especially in terms of self-confidence.

Thanks for being so nice about what in the grand scheme of this forum is a pretty basic project  .

Gill


----------



## Alf

Pish. And indeed, tush.  Even if nobody else does, I _always_ learn something from even the greenest newcomer or apparently "basic" project. Even if it's just not to make assumptions about what really counts as "everyone knows that". It's why I keep coming back to this forum. Knowledge from the experienced, enthusiasm from the beginner, and sometimes vice versa. :lol: 

So, one biscuit in the stretcher to leg joint, or two? My biscuit experience is woeful.  

Cheers, Alf


----------



## Gill

Alf":1aaccw3z said:


> one biscuit in the stretcher to leg joint, or two?



Two size tens. Let's hope they'll be strong enough :?  .

Gill


----------



## Waka

Gill":14h3c23r said:


> Hi Waka
> 
> It's not often I see you in this neck of the woods - welcome anyway, and thanks for your kind comments



Gill

I'm always lurking, but mostly keep quite because its not something I've done before and I don't want to show my ignorance.
Like all of the members I like anything thats created in wood and marvel at the levels of skill and the differant methods of acheiving the end result.


----------



## Gill

Having completed some 'proper' woodwork, here's another frippery to get things back to normal...






Gill


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## Lin

Bravo Gill....you did it.....and used the shapes to do it.....how hard was it to figure out before cutting? Some day want to try but have to admit......the freehand thing without a pattern is slightly intimidating me.....Extremely cool looking.....even more so because the weather here is cooling down fast....have had a frost or two in this area in the last week...I know the snow is not far behind
Lin


----------



## Gill

Hi Lin

As you seem to have realised, this was much more difficult than it looks. Great fun, though. It's one of those projects where you ad lib; I didn't have a particular notion of how I would cut it when I started. Fortunately, the card has easily defined sections that can be cut around, which was the main reason for choosing it. I found that the pieces almost defined themselves as I went along but I did have to stop after every cut, stare at it and ask myself, "What the heck do I cut now?!" :? 

The next jigsaws I cut from these cards will be slightly different because I've shown this one to Carter Johnson and he says it's not a good idea to have four pieces coming together at exactly the same point, as in the top left corner. He also asked me to consider avoiding straight lines on the border by making it wavy, but said this was just a minor point and he liked the way that I'd got pieces protruding. So, one significant (but constructive) criticism and one minor suggestion from a master like Carter means this project counts as a success in my book  .

Technical stuff - the jigsaw was cut out of 4mm (roughly 1/8") plywood with a FD 2/0 puzzle blade. The picture was stuck to the plywood with Copydex adhesive and sprayed with one coat of DecoArt Triple Thick gloss glaze which I let cure for a week before cutting.

Gill

PS Winter is definitely knocking on the door over here, too. It's a very damp Monday morning and the forecast is more of the wet stuff with high winds later.


----------



## dedee

Gill, I like the jigsaw especially leaving the odd bit outside the edge.

As for the earlier comments from Alf and the WIP images I echo what Alf said and would add further that by showing the WIP images the process of making any item is demystified somewhat. 
It also helps the likes of me who does not own a biscuit jointer, for instance, to get a feel for whether or not I could use one. 

Andy


----------



## Gill

Hallowe'en is almost upon us and our neighbourhood tends to attract all sorts of little witches and ghosties (usually accompanied by mum or elder sibling, thank goodness). We don't mind playing along with the 'trick or treat' routine that seems to be catching on, so to let people know that we're game I've replaced the the normal house sign with something that's a bit more appropriate:






It's just made out of 4mm plywood coated with a red cedar stain. The backing is gloss paint on 4mm plywood which could really do with another coat - next year perhaps. The font for the lettering is "Harry Potter"; I can't remember where I got it but I think it works nicely. If anyone wants a copy, pm me.

This was a very simple project that took next to no time to produce yet was fun to make. Now I'll have to concoct something for Christmas.

Gill


----------



## dedee

Gill, nice idea. 

Andy


----------



## Alf

Ooo, spooky, Gill. 8-[ 

Personally my scrollsawing isn't good enough to make what I'd _like_ to put up with reference to trick or treating... :evil: 

Cheers, Alf


----------



## DaveL

Alf":1g2rd306 said:


> Personally my scrollsawing isn't good enough to make what I'd _like_ to put up with reference to trick or treating... :evil:



*Binky*, complete with rider? :twisted:


----------



## Anonymous

Not been around much lately due to work and so missed these as they were posted. Lovely work Gill, particulalry like the table. the Kity finally earning its keep eh :wink:


----------



## Alf

DaveL":1xz7avlt said:


> Alf":1xz7avlt said:
> 
> 
> 
> Personally my scrollsawing isn't good enough to make what I'd _like_ to put up with reference to trick or treating... :evil:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Binky*, complete with rider? :twisted:
Click to expand...

That's an idea... :-k 

But I was thinking more of the difficulty of sawing out "S*d off you greedy little beggars. We are _not_ in North America and we do _not_ have a tradition of trick or treat just because Walmart, sorry, I mean Asda, start selling plastic buckets shaped like pumpkins for you to put your ruddy loot in. But if you want a trick I'll give you one with pleasure."

Besides it'd need a really big piece of ply... :wink: 

Cheers, The All Hallows Moaner :twisted:


----------



## wizer

lol here here Alf

Looks great Gill, Hadn't thought of lettering... can't wait to get going now!


----------



## Lin

I like it Gill. Simple yet says it all... The lettering you used really sets it off. Neat idea.
Will get with you about the font...that's one I don't have in my stash...lol
Lin


----------



## CHJ

I guess someone needs introducing to a scroll saw.

Gatepost decorations in Germany by my Texan daughter in law .


----------



## Gill

She's very talented, Chas, but I like my work to survive a bit longer than one night.

Incidentally, there is a piece of cheap software available for transferring images to pumpkins that some scrollers use for their scrollsaw patterns. It's called Me On A Pumpkin. Personally, I'd rather use a proper art program.

Gill


----------



## Lin

Well Chas.........Is Santa "Dad" going to bring her a scrollsaw for x-mas?
The pumpkin is awesome looking.....
Lin


----------



## CHJ

Lin":2j5q90tx said:


> Well Chas.........Is Santa "Dad" going to bring her a scrollsaw for x-mas?
> The pumpkin is awesome looking.....
> Lin



Now there is a thought, I doubt it would be wasted if she failed to make use of it. :twisted:


----------



## Lin

Chas, I'm sure that she would be thrilled to get such a nice "Toy" from "Dad" for x-mas.......and if by chance she didn't develop an interest...which I highly doubt.......possibly the lady of your house or of course you might take a shot and to see what all this scrolling stuff that I am so "Hooked" on is all about......Just a thought to mull over..
Lin


----------



## CHJ

Lin":3fb0nm6q said:


> Chas, I'm sure that she would be thrilled to get such a nice "Toy" from "Dad" for x-mas.......and if by chance she didn't develop an interest...which I highly doubt.......possibly the lady of your house or of course you might take a shot and to see what all this scrolling stuff that I am so "Hooked" on is all about......Just a thought to mull over..
> Lin



*Lin*, Those little :idea: balloons have been popping up I must admit, but I get so much tongue pie about the trails of sawdust around the house I don't think the lady of the house is willing to leave herself vulnerable to retaliatory comments. I have been working on the subject ever since we had a conversation with *Gill* & *Trevor* at a recent show. 

As we will be staying with said 'creator of pumpkins' over the Xmas / New Year period (COLD :deer COLD, COLD) I will work on the subject :ho2 .


----------



## Gill

Hi Chas

Christmas in Germany? How lovely  ! One day, when we don't have quite so many little woofers



, we're going to have Christmas in Germany too. Hopefully we'll get to visit the fabulous Christmas markets and possibly even the Erzegebirger (?spelling) region where wonderful Christmas pyramids are made.

Incidentally, I understand there are plans for a Christmas pyramid in the latest issue of Scroll Saw Workshop magazine. Unfortunately, my copy appears to be stuck somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean  .

Gill


----------



## CHJ

Gill":mqvxtnwh said:


> Hi Chas
> 
> Christmas in Germany? How lovely  !...snip.. .
> 
> Gill



(grumpy old man hat on) *COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD* (grumpy old man hat off)


----------



## Alf

CHJ":2sqyq7gz said:


> (grumpy old man hat on) *COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD* (grumpy old man hat off)


Good idea to put a hat on if it's cold... :wink:


----------



## CHJ

Alf":1gei37xo said:


> CHJ":1gei37xo said:
> 
> 
> 
> (grumpy old man hat on) *COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD* (grumpy old man hat off)
> 
> 
> 
> Good idea to put a hat on if it's cold... :wink:
Click to expand...


Very Funny. :roll: 

Got it covered, its the grumpy one I'm not allowed to flaunt in public.


----------



## Alf

Very fetching. :lol:


----------



## martyn2

where to in Germany CHJ i lived in Germany for 3 years christmas is fun there COLD but fun


----------



## CHJ

martyn2":ijyap36i said:


> where to in Germany CHJ i lived in Germany for 3 years christmas is fun there COLD but fun



Meilenhofen, D84048 MAINBURG. about half way between Regensberg and Munich.


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## martyn2

nice I hope you have a really good time :ho2 

martyn


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## Lin

Chas, Is there any thing I can do or say to help the "Subject" along.....
Have you gotten her to look at my website?.....The "Addiction" page is an update from the first one....prior to it there was an orginal "My Addiction" that told about my mistakes getting started and the fact that I bought my Hawk in April of 2002 with $$ I had saved from selling crocheted afghans...As they say....."I've come a Long Way Baby" in 3.5 years.
My journey shows that scrolling is fairly easy to get the hang of.....or I would've never stuck with it. I just had to make some wooden frisbees first and get questions answered online to help me thru some of the errors I was making. Up until I bought the saw....I had used a Dremel Adavantage a couple times and a jigsaw.....that was about it except for holding up paneling while my hubby put the nails in.....So everything was new to me....I feel that if I can do it...anyone can.
Would love to get her and your daughter interested.....would be a blast on the forum. Germany sounds cold......but fun.
Lin


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## Gill

I'm behind Lin all the way on this one, Chas. Your daughter in law seems to have such an eye for fretwork that it would be tragic if she didn't try her hand at scrolling. And it really isn't difficult to master the basics very quickly.

Oh, and if Di is a bit worried about the prospects of getting more sawdust in the house, just point out to her that the blades cut on the downward stroke so all the sawdust falls beneath the machine, except for a little that accumulates around the blade before it is quickly blown away. If she was to wear an apron, she'd catch practically all the dust on it that was produced and it would be easy to dispose of. Scrolling is the cleanest form of woodwork that I know of, except for marquetry.

Gill


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## Gill

It seems like ages since I added anything to this thread. His Lordship's had a couple of weeks off work, so I haven't been able to spend much time by myself in the workshop. In the meantime, here's something I cut out of maple, mostly using #3 blades:






The backing board is 4 mm ply painted with green enamel. The whole project was then sprayed with two coats of Chestnut's acrylic lacquer aerosol and it's come up quite nicely, with practically no discolouration of the white maple. I'd definitely use that product again.

I'm rather proud of this acute turn which forms the wolf's mouth 8) :







Gill

_Edited to correct colour distortion in the photographs - thanks for the help, Chris  ._


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## dedee

Gill Very nice piece, I can't begin to imagine how you managed that turn. I would have been tempted to take the blade out and turn it round.

Andy


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## wizer

:shock: :shock: blimey, thats bloomin lovely


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## Chris Knight

Gill,
You are welcome. I like the piece very much and I can see how difficult the mouth must have been.


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## Gill

I'm pleased you like it  .

Andy, you're right - I did remove the blade and rotate it. Nevertheless, the turn was still a formidable challenge and I used a technique that I'm not sure many people will be familiar with. I pressed the wood lightly against the back of the blade, turned the wood very slightly, then pressed the wood lightly against the side of the blade whilst moving forward and turning. The blade barely cut the wood but it created enough space for me to be able to repeat the process again several times and thereby create a very tight turn.

Gill


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## dedee

Gill,
What size is it?

At what point did you realise you would need to do that? I guess that there was the possibility of it going wrong at that point? On that basis did you make that one of the first cuts as it must have been nerve wracking to leave it until last.


Andy


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## Gill

Hi Andy

It measures about 20 cm from the tip of the stalk to the leaf point furthest away.

I was stack cutting two pieces secured by glue in the top right hand corner, so I made several cuts closer to the bottom left of the piece and I was moving inwards before I tackled the mouth. I suspect other scrollers might criticise this approach, but it had the virtue of giving me practice with the blade on other cuts. This in turn gave me the confidence to make the tight turn when I came to it.

I can't remember at which point I realised that the turn was going to be so formidable - probably after 6 or 7 piercing cuts towards the left hand edge of the project. I always study a pattern and look for difficulties before I start cutting, but this particular cut escaped my notice.

Gill


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## Lin

Gill, Wonderful looking piece.......You are getting darn good at those intricate cuts.......between the lion and this one your accuracy on the turns is top notch. I like the looks of the maple over ones I've seen done in red oak.
I have yet to cut any of the leaf patterns......Is this your first? 
Lin


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## Gill

Hi Lin

Thanks for the comments. Yes, this is the first leaf pattern I've cut - I'm sure there'll be others.

Gill


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## Greenfield Bob

Hi Gill,
You did a great job on the leaf pattern. The cut around the mouth was done like a pro would do it, you should be proud of yourself. 

Bob


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## Gill

My goodness, it's been cold today!

I picked up some router lettering templates at Stoneleigh and my first task has been to make a new house sign. I've tried to make something a bit more respectable than my usual efforts, although I reserve the right to produce customised signs for seasonal festivals :twisted: .

The first step was to take a plank of wood (oak),then cut and plane it to size. The template was clamped into position and the lettering was cut. According to the instructions, you're not supposed to go more than 2 or 3 mm deep, but I found that was quite adequate anyway:







Cutting the 'M' (the'E' has already been cut)

Next, I trimmed the sign to its final dimensions using the tablesaw, routed the edges with a roundover cutter, and gave it a good sanding. I picked out the letters with a couple of coats of black enamel paint before applying two coats of Danish oil. The result is disconcertingly presentable and it's visible from several hundred yards at night (and probably in thick fog, too :roll:  ):






I've fastened it onto the wall with a French cleat.

The templates were extremely simple to use. I had thought of making my own but it would have probably been more trouble than it was worth. Still, it would have been nice to have had lower case lettering too. All in all, a very quick and simple project that'll be very useful and will hopefully prove to be more durable than some of my previous efforts.

Gill


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## DaveL

Gill, 

You know now why I like having the wood burner in the shop.  

Nice looking sign, I think I would put a couple more coats of oil on before leaving it out for winter to attack. 

Are your templates from Trend? Is there any guide for the letter spacing, I vaguely remember making labels with a stencil that looked very odd due to my poor spacing. :roll:


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## Gill

Hi Dave

Another couple of coats, you say? Okay - will do  ! Thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure how many coats would be enough but the back of the tin said two would suffice. I was hoping someone here would chime in if more were needed  .

Yes, the templates are from Trend and the only advice given for letter spacing is on the instruction sheet which isn't much larger than a floppy disk [-( . That simply says the letters should be about 10mm apart. Perhaps my previous experience in making signs gives me a slight advantage when it comes to judging the distances between letters.

There's no space for a wood burner, I'm afraid. Still, my little electric heater is doing a sterling job (even if it's very electrickery hungry) and will keep me going until Santa delivers the oil-filled radiator which I believe is in his sack.

Gill


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## Gill

Pssst.... 8-[ :-$ wanna see a fretsaw cut sideways? Here y'are:






I'm still getting used to the Diamond and since the one I'm using is not brand new, I think it would be unfair to give a detailed report on how it performs. I must say, however, I do like the ability to be able to turn the blade through 360° rather than turning the workpiece. I'm making a festive doorsign which will be bigger than the Diamond's 24" throat :!: and I simply couldn't have done it on my Hegner 2. Blade changing is nowhere near as quick as on the Hegner but it's surprising how long the blades seem to last in the Diamond. The Diamond has a different cutting action to most parallel arm saws too, almost like a pendulum. As a result, the blade moves away from the workpiece on the upstroke when cutting in the conventional direction. I worried that this might make cutting at 90° inaccurate, but there doesn't seem to be a problem.

I just wish I had longer arms and a giraffe neck so that I can see what I'm cutting. It's quite an experience cutting a board more than 24" away from the blade and having to manoeuvre it as well!

Gill


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## Lin

Gill, The saw is soooo cool. I understand what you mean about seeing what you are cutting when working on a large piece......you are standing so far away holding the board......I can just see you on your tippy toes...trying to stay on the line.....  
That feature of turning the blade any direction..........now that could be very useful......
Lin


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## CHJ

*Gill*, I don't know how you are off for being able to support the far end of your work piece but something we used to do in a similar situation was to place the workpiece on a thin sacrificial panel (double sided tape or spray mount) protruding beyond the working end sufficient to have a small handle attached and guide from there. This allowed the operator to guide and adjust the cutter without the risk of dropping or lifting the work whilst leaning over to see the profile lines. We supported the 'far end' on ball roller guides and of course were working with metals.


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## Gill

That's an interesting idea, Chas, and I would certainly consider using a roller ball guide if the workpiece was heavy. However, this one is only 4mm plywood, thank goodness.

I'm not sure the sacrificial board would be necessary, though, because if I needed a handle I could simply put a clamp on the edge of the board and use that. One of the problems with cutting large boards on a fretsaw is that you've got to feed the workpiece directly into the blade whilst manoeuvering it, so simply attaching a handle won't resolve the problem. I find my hands are continuously moving all over the workpiece to ensure the correct feed whilst manouevering it. It's a difficult concept to describe, but it's the feel in your hands that gives you control of the cut; I can see why you've made your suggestion, but I don't think it's in the nature of fretsaw blades to be that accommodating.

Gill


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## Gill

We took our Christmas decorations out of the loft today :ho2 . I seem to recall that last year I was asked about our tree after I said that it was decorated completely with home-made 'baubles'. At the time, I didn't have a digital camera but Santa obliged me this year so here's a selection of stuff we hang from the tree:


























Since neither of us are religious, we top the tree with a snowflake rather than a star or an angel:






Here are some other bits and bobs:











These decorations are all very very simple to cut out on a scroll saw and are all my own design except for the sleigh (Patrick Spielman). Anyone with youngsters could give them lots of fun by asking them to do the colouring.

I would show you them hanging from the tree, but unlike the supermarkets I refuse to have the decorations up this early!

Gill


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## scroller frank

Hi Gill,
just wondering if you have a foot switch on the saws ? :?: 
I find on long ,or awkward pieces it allows you to stop without taking your hands off the work, also you can stop the saw momentarily, whilst 
you turn your workpiece and sort yourself out again.!!!!!!!
---therefore not cutting the bits of that you want , and having to start all over again :roll: --- :twisted:
what i need for the long bits is better eyesight!  ( or an eye on a stick!)
-------Frank---------
PS i too have a "new" scroll saw


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## Gill

Hi Frank

Foot switch? 'Fraid not, although one would be useful. It's not easy groping for the power switch underneath 24" of plywood.

There doesn't seem to be much paint-loss on the treadle of your saw so I'm guessing you've got something of a bargain there  . I'm also hoping that your camera's going to show us what the saw's capable of   !


Gill


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## Waka

Gill

I love the tree decorations, with the grand Children around anything unbreakable has got to be a bonus.

Wonder if Santa will bring me a Scroll Saw?


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## Alf

Gill, nice.  I like the snowflake - three sided? How'd you do that then?

Frank, treadle power! My favourite thing. Looks in lovely nick too. =P~ 

Cheers, Alf


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## Greenfield Bob

Nice ornaments Gill.
Ornaments are one of my favorites to make on the scroll saw. Everybody always wants some of them for their Christmas tree.

Bob


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## Gill

The snowflake? I just stack cut three and then chamfered the edges of each connecting 'arm' on the sanding station until there was a good fit. It was all done by eye.

Gill


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## scroller frank

Gill,
I like your crimbo dec's, 8) 8) 
spose i'd better get on with some, it will be here before i'm ready,
although i personally don't "do" christmas, - not at all religious,- i like to make them and give them away!  

Alf,
it's magic!, came from "e-bay just as you see it ,
it needs a new belt , £6.00 ish from "Hobbies"
then it needs working!!!!!!!!!


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## stewart

Hi Gill
Nice decorations - better ones for me to start on WHEN i get time...
Stewart


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## Gill

At least it doesn't have flashing lights 8)  !


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## CHJ

Very Po-osh *Gill*, do I see a theme/trend here? Easter, Whitsuntide, Summer solstice, Halloween, Midwinter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter!

A Sign for all Seasons, that should break the monotony for the posty.


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## Alf

I like. =D> D'you have them on velcro tabs or something? All these quick changes.  

Cheers, Alf


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## Gill

French cleats, Alf :wink: - very quick to change.

Indeed, there is a theme, Chas. I've got a standard 'respectable' sign which I can swap with more appropriate signs as the season dictates. The next one could be Valentine's Day, but it's more likely to be Easter.

Gill


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## Gill

I've never made a scrollsawn/bandsawn box before, so I had a go using an offcut, freehand:





The components were cut. I should have used a less coarsely set blade on the bandsaw, but never mind. I used a fretsaw to cut the drawers.





The frame was glued back together. The legs were then detailed with a fretsaw.





Edges were rounded over and the inner corners were finished off with a knife.

I then routed out the drawers. With hindsight, I'd have achieved a better finish if I had removed the rear and front of each drawer, then cut out the waste and re-assembled them. I'll remember that next time.








The finished box, with several coats of Danish oil.

Gill


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## dedee

Gill, looks very nice. What will you do for knobs/handles?

Andy


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## gwaithcoed

Excellent Gill, I like it.    

Alan.


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## Gill

I'm pleased you like it  .

Andy - It's such a small box (no taller than 20cm) that the drawers don't need furniture. A light tap on the back or a slight forward tilt and they slide out quite merrily.

Gill


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## Adam

I like it too. Its very cool.

Adam


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## DaveL

Gill, 

Looks very good, I must look for a tuit to try that out, but I have just bought the SIP scroll saw so the scroll saw challenge is next on the list.


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## Bean

Gill Very nice  well done \/ 

Bean


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## Waka

Gill

I do like that, very nice indeed, thanks for sharing.


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## Newbie_Neil

Hi Gill

That looks great.

Cheers
Neil


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## CHJ

His Lordship bought you that much jewelry :wink: lucky girl.

Perhaps you can do a combined effort next time starting or finishing with a 'round'.

Well done for tackling something different.


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## Gill

The following post is really more of a diary event than a contribution to the fund of woodworking knowledge. In some ways, it's also a gloat. But I've had a very happy day which has a woodworking theme running through it, so I thought I'd share it...



My partner drove me over to a wonderful little workshop just outside Rugby today so that we could collect the Diamond AF-24VS that I had won on Ebay from Matthew, a designer and manufacturer of doll's houses and other children's toys. Matthew was a delightful gentleman; it's the nearest I've come to meeting a real-life Santa Claus. His wife had just reached retirement age so he'd decided to follow her example and also retire. As a result, his workshop was rather depleted but he still showed me some toy castles and doll's houses that were awaiting collection.

We spent quite a while discussing his production processes and how he marketed his wares. On the face of it, making children's toys is quite an idyllic occupation, but it isn't without its pressures. Matthew told me that he spent a lot of time travelling because most of his customers were in the London area – and there's only so much of the M40 and M25 motorways that a sane man can take! Also, he had to cope with personalised orders which had to be completed in time for a child's birthday. That wasn't normally a problem unless something such as contamination of a paint finish happened, but things could get quite out of hand as Christmas approached. Once, he'd even found himself delivering a doll's house which still had wet paint to a customer at 3 am on Christmas morning! Still, he always enjoyed his Christmas dinner all the more for thinking about the delighted children who'd be playing with his toys. Now that's job satisfaction!

Matthew's Diamond saw was approximately 5 years old and had been purchased to cut some figurines for a special order. He said he'd only used it a handful of times, and I could well believe him because it was in an excellent state of repair. He had a couple of spare drive belts, a variety of blades, and a fence, all of which he gave me because he would have no further use for them. I told him he was giving me probably the best value for £100 I'd ever had, but he was happy just to see the saw go and tick another box on his retirement checklist.

From Rugby, we drove to Hinckley and Doug Woodward had a look at my other Diamond AF-24VS which needed a new variable speed controller. He repaired it on the spot and only charged for the parts, not his labour; now is that good service or what?! Then he turned his attention to a slight knocking sound he'd noticed when testing the machine and found that the lower arm was lightly tapping against the motor. I wasn't even aware of this fault, but Doug detected it immediately and set to work adjusting the saw so that the tapping was eliminated. Again, there was no charge for his work! This is the sort of customer service that just doesn't seem to happen anywhere else.

Afterwards, we discussed the possibility of producing a tension release mechanism for the Diamond. I had my Hegner 2 in the car so I showed Doug how Hegner had tackled the problem. Interestingly, he had already produced a similar prototype mechanism on a Diamond upper arm. However, he wasn't happy with the design because it would mean replacing the whole arm and that would be expensive for current Diamond owners. He's trying to develop a mechanism that can be simply bolted in place and which will still allow users to rotate the saw blade when required. The only problem is that this R&D is a distraction from his production of new saws, so it may be quite a while before we see a tension release mechanism become available.

Moving slightly off topic, Doug showed me a Hobbies hand-held fretsaw his uncle had bought in 1917 and which had a cam operated tension release. This sort of device has been around for years! But what a marvelous experience it was to hold that saw. It had a pistol grip handle which was set just slightly forward of the blade and the weight of the cam release countered the weight of the saw frame. It was perfectly balanced and made from a steel that had retained its condition over the years. I could imagine myself turning to such a saw every now and again simply for the sake of nostalgia, even though I've got a selection of electric saws which are much more efficient.

I'd like to thank Doug for welcoming us once again to his workshop and taking such extraordinarily good care of us and the saw.

Gill


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## Lin

Gill, I enjoyed the story of your new saw and the previous owner plus the great service you recieved on yur other saw.you are right.......most do not fix anything for no charge except the parts.great service is really hard to come by nowadays............
But I do have to ask a question..........You now have three scrollsaws.......right?
Is hubby scrolling also or have you learned to scroll with both hands and a foot?..............I just had to ask..... :lol: 
Lin


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## Gill

Hi Lin

I now have an embarrassment of scroll saws  : two Diamonds, two Hegners and a Spiralux. But when you see a lightly-used Diamond for sale at only £100 (roughly $175)... well, you'd be mad to ignore it. It would have cost over £600 (over $1000) brand new.

Now I've got to find somewhere to keep my saws because the Bunker just ain't big enough. His Lordship muttered something this afternoon about how he could easily find space for a scroll saw and a bandsaw alongside his lathe, once we've stopped using his workshop as a general storage facility whilst a new kitchen is fitted*. So he may have a secret desire to start scrolling but just be reluctant to articulate it.

Alternatively, now I have all these saws, perhaps I should start running classes! :lol: 

Gill

* The suppliers' warehouse burned down, so that's now going to be delayed until June. The delay is quite understandable but it's nevertheless frustrating because I'll have been operating without a kitchen for 7 months by the time work is finished.


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## Chris Knight

Gill,
Thanks for the story - you indeed had a wonderful day.


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## CHJ

*Gill*, Perhaps if all the saws are now fully tuned you can orchestrate a bit of a concerted effort and put on a show for us.

P.S. Di sends her sympathies on the kitchen, nine months operating out of cardboard boxes and surrounded by building debris is one of those experiences she would rather you did not have to share.


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## dedee

Gill,
a girl can NEVER have too many diamonds - well done. 


Andy


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## wizer

Fantastic story Gill, It's great to hear there are some nice people in the world.


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## Anonymous

What a great day Gill.

For the record, I think you should run classes, although I only met you once, I have read many of your posts and seen much of your works and I think you'd be a good teacher.


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## Lin

Gill, That is a heck of a deal....One I doubt if I could pass up either. 
Classes..........hummm............I think you may be on to something there.
Once you get your space back.......that sounds like a plan. (Here I am thinking you now have three saws.and you have five)
Lin


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## Gill

Scroll Saw Workshop magazine is hosting a communal project for woodworkers to produce a 5” x 5” tile which can then be assembled with other tiles to create a large panel. This panel will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to a children's hospital charity.

Here's my submission, a segmented piece of MDF cut according to a design of my own:







If there are any other scrollers out there who would like to participate in this event, send me a PM for further details.

Gill


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## Paul Chapman

That looks really nice, Gill.

Paul


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## Gill

More MDF...






Here's how I secured the backing board and acrylic:






Gill


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## CHJ

Another good one *Gill*, do I note a Terpsichorean theme creeping in to your work?

Like the finish you are getting on the figures.


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## Gill

I'm glad you like it, Chas  .

Terpsichorean? Where on earth did you drag that one from :lol: ! It's surprising how many of my projects do have dance themes, now you come to mention it. The next few won't be any different.

The finish is just a coat of acrylic sprayed on.

Gill


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## Paul Chapman

Another nice piece of work, Gill =D> 

What sort of MDF do you use? You achieve such a nice finish I assume it is one of the better quality ones that doesn't go all furry when you machine it :? 

Paul


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## Gill

Thank you Paul; you're very kind.

I use standard MDF from whichever of the local DIY 'sheds' is handiest. It's nothing special. After sawing the wood to size and shaping it, I sand it down to 240 grit. Then I apply a coat of Wickes Acrylic Undercoat which provides a good base but unfortunately tends to lift any exposed fibres. So it always gets sanded back to 240 grit again and another coat of acrylic undercoat is applied. After that, it's just a matter of brushing on acrylic paint. I normally cover large areas with a foam brush and smaller areas with a bristle brush, applying two or three coats depending on the colour. Then I spray on some acrylic to finish it.

It's very simple; each coat only takes about twenty minutes to dry yet the results are quite satisfactory.

Gill


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## Paul Chapman

Thanks, Gill, that's helpful  

Paul


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## dedee

Terpsichorean :!: I had to look it up as well. 

Nice work Gill, I must try acrylic sprays one of these days


Andy


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