I recently made a trade of my work for a Hegner scroll saw, which I feel should properly be called an electric fretsaw. It is to my Tradesman scroll saw as Rolls Royces are to Yugos. I have only begun to experiment with its capabilities and possibilities.

These pendants are about 3/8” thick. #1 – Amboyna Burl “Om” #2 – Zebrawood “Dragon” #3 – Eucalyptus Burl “Luck” #4 – Zebrawood “Ghost” #5 – Zebrawood “Love” #6 – Amboyna Burl “Peace”

I LOVE this saw!

Pic1 – Wave style in Maple

Pic2 – Wave style in Cuban Mahogany and Walnut

Pic3 – Love Keychain in Zebrawood

Pic4 – Love Keychains in Cuban Mahogany

Pic5 – Love Keychains in Bloodwood

Pic6 – iHeart Keychains in Birch

These are carved freehand on an old 12” Craftsman bandsaw and/or my newly acquired Hegner scroll saw.

The first couple are 2-Finger Knuckle rings in Mesquite, Maple and Birdseye. (NY)

3rd – Exotic mix name keychains – Rosewood, Pau Amarello, Madrone, Claro walnut, Amboyna, Bloodwood. (OH)

4th – Pau Amarello his and hers love keychains. (AUST)

5th – Paduak wood name keychains. (AL)

6th – Cuban Mahogany love keychains. (TX)

They are all carved freehand on a 70s era Sears bandsaw with an eighth in blade.

Thanks again for looking.

These are crafted by hand with a different exotic wood “cap” for each letter. Fine hardwoods like Cocobolo, Rosewood, Pau Amarello, Madrone, Zebrawood, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, etc. are bonded to a Maple substrate.

It is a great way (though time consuming) to use up precious little bits I cannot bring myself to toss.

They are done freehand on a 70’s era Craftsman bandsaw with an 1/8” blade, then sanded to 600 grit and 3 coats of clear lacquer are applied.

Thanks for looking!

This week from my shop.

1- Mixed woods door plaque. Mesquite, Oak, Purpleheart, Birdseye Maple, Walnut and Amboyna

2- Mustache 2-Fing Ring. Walnut with Mesquite and Maple.

3- Initials Heart Ring, Birdseye Maple (inlaid Paduak heart) with Mesquite and Maple.

4- Love Keychain in Birch

5- Keychain in Ebony and Yellowheart (pau amarello)

6- Mesquite 2-Liner Keychains (x50)

These are all done on a 1970’s era Craftsman Bandsaw with a 1/8” blade and enough sanding to lightly coat all the newts (leaping lizards) in my shop.

No politicians were considered in the making of these.

#1 – New Walnut “Wave” 2-Liner keychain

#2 – Mesquite and Birdseye maple knuckle ring

#3 – Cuban Mahogany Love Keychain

#4 – MiniTag – Amboyna Burl with Pau amarello reinforcing back

#5 – Google Doodle for fun! Maple with acrylic inks.

#6 – Bloodwood Keychains

The orders come from all points of the globe. I am still amazed how the internet allows me to share my work worldwide from the comfort of my sub-tropical home.

All my work is free-hand carved on a 1973 Craftsman bandsaw with a 1/8” blade.

Thanks for looking!

These are orders from the past week.

The first pic is of Pau Amarello (yellowheart) keychains with inlaid Paduak hearts.

The rest have hearts colored with acrylic ink. The woods (respectively) are Boxwood, Purpleheart, Zebrawood and Pau Amarello (again).

They are cut on a 1976 Craftsman Bandsaw, with either a 1/16” or 1/8” blade.

The free-hand letter style is one I have developed to be flexible with different letter combinations, so that “short grain” is minimized. They are surprisingly strong.

I sand them to 600 grit, apply three coats of clear lacquer.

They are fun to do and EVERYONE loves their name.

1st ~ Paduak Keychains

2nd ~ Paduak and Birdseye Maple double-sided keychains

3rd ~ Maple and Zebrawood double-sided MiniTag

4th ~ Mesquite two-liner keychains

5th ~ Alexandrian Laurel keychain

6th ~ Colored Maple two-liner keychains

The first two pics are of my 45 degree miter jig for my radial arm saw. I t is easily unclamped and removed from the table.

The last three are of a vibration dampening box for my garage sale scroll saw. What an improvement! 2 ” of clean sand is sandwiched between the saw base and box. Plus it allowed me to level it on my tilty countertop.

Thanks for looking!

This is new and fun for me. I can not stand to throw away cool knots and weak burly pieces. So I now save them up for the slow times and experiment with adding new mediums. Wooden jewelry is IN.

The first pic is of my standard keychains in Alexandrian Laurel, Bloodwood, Lauro Preto and Cuban Mahogany.

Second… Large Mesquite knot that I stabilized and added some reclaimed turquoise.

Third… Large Eucalyptus burl with turquoise.

Fourth… Mesquite knot (small) with aforementioned turquoise.

Fifth… Amboyna burl/knot, again with turquoise.

Last… Standard Cherry Desk Holder.

Thanks for viewing.

1st – Cherry
2nd – Cherry
3rd – Cumaru (Brazilian Teak)
4th – Wenge
5th – Puprpleheart with Paduak HeartCharms
6th – Cherry

All free-hand cut on a 12” Sear bandsaw with an 1/8” blade. Sanded to 600 grit and finished with three coats of lacquer.

Thanks for looking!

The first two are in cocobolo. The letters are approximately 3/8” tall.

The third is the same size in cherry and the last is my standard 5/8’ Cherry.

Thanks for looking!

1st – Cherry
2nd – Wenge, Pau Amarello, Bloodwood
3rd – Narra
4th – Cumaru w/ Paduak hearts
5th – Cocobolo
6th – Cherry card holders

School Fundraiser Project

Conquering the world… one keychain at a time.

I was contacted back in October by Mr. Toy, at Westborough Middle School in South San Francisco, about perhaps working with him and his students on a Christmastime fundraiser, to raise money for a class trip to the National Steinbeck Center and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I had never done anything like this and was, at first, skeptical about the logistics and time frame allotted for production of a large wholesale order in the midst of my busiest season. After a couple of emails back and forth, we had the details worked out and the plan came together.

Mr. Toy had it all worked out. He created flyers/order forms, with photos of my handmade products for the students to take around and make sales. Beginning the first school day after Thanksgiving, the students had two weeks to sell and collect monies for their orders. He then scanned the orders into .pdf files, sent them to me. I totaled them up and sent him a PayPal invoice for the agreed wholesale prices. He paid the invoice immediately and production was begun at my end.

The students had sold 183 of my handmade, personalized keychains. After carving and finishing, I separated each student’s order into their own zip lock baggie, with a copy of their order form, put them all into a Priority Mail box, and off they went.

Because of my pesky “real” job, turnaround (payment to shipping) was necessarily extended to 8 days, but could have been half that, had I been at it full time. Mr. Toy received my package exactly 2 weeks from the date of purchase and distributed the packages amongst the participating students for delivery.

These are the personalized items that they took orders for.

Standard Keychains
(5/8×5/8”) in Red Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Maple and White Oak;

MiniTags
(3/8×3/8”) in Red Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Maple and White Oak;

Love Keychains in Maple and Cherry;

Specialty Keychains: HeartFobs and MusicFobs
(5/8×5/8”) in Red Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Maple and White Oak,
inlaid with Paduak hearts and Purpleheart music notes ;

Here is a photo of the completed total, before separating into individual orders.
183 handmade gifts!

As a sales incentive, I offered 1 free keychain to students selling five or more items on an order.

This was a positive experience for me. I didn’t make a whole lot on the deal, but I really enjoy doing these. Thanks to the work of Mr. Toy and the students who did such a great job selling, I will welcome future projects like this from schools, churches, and other organizations.

You can review my body of work here on Flickr.

Peace in Wood,
Scott

I can’t bring myself to toss interesting cut-offs away. I have found a way to use them up. EARRINGS! Wooden jewelry is HOT right now. These wooden gems are fun to make and lightweight and comfortable to wear.

The above photos are in Paduak, Manzanita, Gaboon Ebony, Olive, Bloodwood and Zebrawood.

Thanks for looking!

Two names are carved in one of the 19+ fine woods I stock, Minitag style, and then pressure bonded atop each other. The woods pictured are (in order) Cocobolo, Cumaru, Maple and Red Oak. Other woods to follow.

The ♥ is carved adjacent to the name that I feel will balance the piece, and is colored with a non-toxic acrylic red ink. The assembled piece is then finished with three coats of clear lacquer.

The letters are approximately .375 inch tall x .25 inch thick, by however long the names are. Once bonded together, the overall height is about .75 inch.

The freehand letter style is one I have developed over 28+ years for strength and legibility. They are done on a 35 year old Sears bandsaw.

No computer bytes were harmed in production of these these.

Another batch of monikers has found happy new homes.

The first is Yellowheart with a Purpleheart musical note. Following that, in order, Cocobolo, Purpleheart, Madrone, Cherry and lastly, a Paduak MiniTag.

Done on an old Sears bandsaw with an 1/8” blade. These are fun to do and everyone loves their names.

In order, the woods are Purpleheart, Cherry, Maple, Mesquite, Brazilian Cherry and Walnut.

I use a vintage 12” bandsaw from Sears with an 1/8” blade. They are sanded to 320 and finished with three coats of lacquer.

I really enjoy doing these and they enable me to meet people all over the world, via the internet.

The first two picture are a standard size keychain, approximately 5/8×5/8”, in Brazilian Cherry and Yellowheart.

The second two are the MiniTag size, about 3/8×3/8”, in Purpleheart and Yellowheart.

The last photo is a pair of minitags in Maple and Zebrawood

In order, the woods are Paduak, Brazilian Cherry, Red Oak, Pau Amarello (Yellowheart), Cherry and Walnut.

They are free-hand carved in a style I developed myself for strength and readability on a 1976 12” Sears bandsaw.

Thanks for looking.