The Sawdust Chronicles

In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, finding ways to relax, unwind, and tap into our creative potential has become more important than ever. One such avenue that has gained significant attention is the art of scroll sawing, woodworking, and the creation of toys, art, and puzzles. Beyond being a hobby or pastime, these activities have been found to have profound effects on improving one's mood, fostering a sense of accomplishment, and promoting overall well-being. In this post, we will explore the therapeutic power of scroll sawing, woodworking, and creating toys, art, and puzzles, and how they can positively impact our mental and emotional state. A Channel for Self-Expression: Engaging in woodworking, and crafting provides individuals with a unique platform for self-expression. Creating something tangible with their own hands allows individuals to unleash their creativity and bring their ideas to life. This act of self-expression is deeply rewarding and can uplift...

A Delicate Dance of Glue, Clamps, and Prayers! Intarsia, the art of creating intricate wooden masterpieces, is like walking a tightrope between precision and pure chaos. Let's take a moment to appreciate the hilariously challenging journey of gluing those teeny-tiny pieces together. Brace yourself, it's a rollercoaster ride! Step 1: Apply glue. Sounds simple, right? Wrong! It's like trying to paint the Mona Lisa with a blindfold on. You carefully squeeze a tiny drop, and suddenly you've unleashed a glue tsunami that threatens to engulf your entire workshop. Note to self: Always keep a mop nearby. Step 2: Now comes the clamping stage, where your woodworking project starts to resemble a medieval torture device. You fumble around with clamps, desperately trying to hold everything in place, while secretly wondering if you accidentally created a wooden Rubik's Cube instead. Step 3: Fine trimming and sanding—a delicate dance that requires the finesse of a neurosurgeon. On...

Most advice people will get about scrolling, and in particular cutting and fitting Intarsia will be how to adjust AFTER the cut. Let's take a step back, and give you something to learn for your next piece.  I always strive to learn at least one new technique and improve at least one technique each time I do a piece.  In this case, let's start with your initial cuts. 1.  Plan your cuts - After mounting your template on your wood, take a look at the individual piece you are about to cut. Plan the way you are going to cut, what point you start at, where you will drill your inside cut pilot holes, (plan on cutting inside cuts first).  Also decide what direction, and what areas you will skip as they are sharp so you will go back later. For example, I find that when I scroll and I am turning my piece counter-clockwise, I have the best control, I can see the line as it comes up so I can follow it... As I plan I look along that line and figure out where my skips are, where m...

"Bluebird, flying high, tell me what you see. Can you see a world that's waiting, just for you and me?"  These iconic lyrics from The Beatles' song "Blue Bird" perfectly capture the spirit of my latest artistic endeavor. Today, we delve into the realm of segmentation, combining the beauty of nature and the power of craftsmanship to create a stunning representation of an Eastern Bluebird. This project is a labor of love, I love listening to the birds singing outside my bedroom window in the morning. I wanted to reflect the beauty of their song.  Using traditional scrollsaw techniques, I cut nearly 30 wooden pieces, each one capturing the intricate features of the Eastern Bluebird and its habitat. But the creativity doesn't stop there. Inspired by the vibrant hues of the bird's plumage, I have taken to the canvas of wood with various rattle cans of spray paint. Every individual segment has been adorned with at least three different colors, chosen to re...

I decided to start on a different project today, rather than the bi-plane, in order to teach myself Intarsia. However, one of the complicated parts of Intarsia is cutting various wood species separately, then sanding and trimming to fit. I decided to do a hybrid effort, so I can teach myself "shaping", this will also help me learn to fit.  This technique is called "segmentation", pretty much what I do when I make a puzzle from a single piece of wood. However, after cutting I will use Intarsia techniques. For this, rather than using different woods to create color and texture, from this single piece of wood, that is cut and shaped, I will airbrush the colors into it. I have now cut and sanded with the barrel sander, the basic profiling of the edges. Now I will shape them more, and also add some "risers" to get an increased 3-dimensional look. Once I have that done, I will then hand sand to a fine/smooth finish, and then paint each piece. From there I ...