Don't Fret...

...Scrollsaw upgrades for newbies

When I first started scrollsawing I bought a cheapo, Chinese Hegner lookalike for a song (can't remember the song ).

Firstly, I made this jig to allow me to quickly get my blades the right size for my saw.

Should be self explanatory. Use your saw to cut the shape in a piece of ply and attach that to another piece of wood (lumber to those from the US).

How about a blower? Gosh, makes me sound like a porn site

Get a tennis ball. Pinch a piece of Scarecrow's 4mm dripper polypipe and a joiner. Grab a piece of scrap wood from the project-in-waiting box.

Check the piccy to see how you install it here:

Really works, trust me

OK. How about an extension table with a zero clearance hole custom made for the table?

Get some wood. Remove the blade. Lay the wood on your saw and draw around the underneath of the wood.

Wack in some slats to hold the table on. Put the blade back and cut your access hole.

Should fit like a glove.

What about us oldies who can't see??

How about a magnifier?

Grab a couple or ten cheapie magnifying glasses. Take them apart. Get an old lamp with a goose neck attachment and attach the mag glass to it. Take off the top thingy bit of your saw and drill a hole in the top to take the screw part.

Should look like this:

And, voila, you have a cheapo scrollsaw that is as good as a Hegner (well, this machine has been in use since 1986 and is still going strong).

Hope this is useful to others.

Regard,s Doc

More Shady Requests

Once again, Scarecrow made another request for shade.

Whatjaneed:
Some star pickets/post (4, in this case)
2" Ag Polypipe
Hacksaw to cut pipe
Choccy Bar

Don't forget to click on the piccies for a closer look.

Step 1
Select your site. This was an area that had a willow tree providing shade where Scarecrow did gardeny things.

Unfortunately the wind destroyed it one day. Hence the request.

Step 2
Wack in the pickets.

Step 3
Cut your pipe to length and wack them onto the posts.

The 2" pipe slides right over the top.

In this case the two polypipes are 4 metres long and the gap is approximately 3 metres.

This is a more-than-adequate span for here.

Step 4
Cover with shadecloth. This is 70% shade.

Step 5
Add a table and bench and do your gardeny things.

In the near future I am planning on using the same technique to build a small carport to provide shade to our 3 vehicles

Step 6
Eat choccy bar for doing such a good job

Hope you find this useful

Regards, Doc