# Outside the box scroll saw projects



## MrUnix

I love my scroll saw, and use it for all sorts of stuff. My primary passion is doing portraits, as they never cease to amaze me. I continue to be impressed at what can be done with just a simple piece of ply - and the hardest part (at least for me) is making the pattern so they appear semi-photorealistic, like this guy:










But I always like to push the limit on what a machine can do/make, so am always looking for other stuff that can be made on it. It keeps it interesting, and sometimes makes the wife grin 

So my question is - what else have you made on the scroll saw that wasn't your typical 'scroll' type work? I'd love to see the creativity from other members - and maybe provide some inspiration to others to try different things. I'll start off with a couple of things I made that are not your typical scroll saw type projects.

This one is a scroll saw shell that I made to be used as a candy bowl:










I've made up a few of them, and they are fairly easy to make - but take forever to glue, sand and finish. I've seen some really impressive ones around here and on other sites, so thought I'd give it a try as well.

And here is another example - a collapsible bowl/basket made out of a piece of 1×8:










So, what else have people been using their scroll saw for besides the usual stuff???

Cheers,
Brad


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## tomsteve

beautiful work!!

heres my last ss project:

http://lumberjocks.com/tomsteve/blog


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## wormil

Impressive. I don't own a scroll saw, don't think I have the patience anymore for things that intricate.


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## oldnovice

+1 Rick.
I had a scroll saw for about a year; the owner changed his mind about giving it away!
They are nice to have if you have the room.


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## MrUnix

> heres my last ss project:
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> - tomsteve


That is quite an ambitious project! How many hours of saw time do you think you have into it?!?

Cheers,
Brad


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## marc_rosen

Hi Brad,
That is very impressive work (and so is Tom Steve's; wow, so many open spaces!). What wood and finish did you use on your collapsible bowl? The kerf is almost non existent. What table angle and blade set up did you employ? I've made a couple of these "baskets" but they always looked sloppy to me. 
I appreciate your sharing your stuff, read you later,
' Marc


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## MrUnix

> What wood and finish did you use on your collapsible bowl? The kerf is almost non existent. What table angle and blade set up did you employ? I've made a couple of these "baskets" but they always looked sloppy to me.
> - marc_rosen


That basket/trivet thing was made from a piece of scrap 1×8 that was actually part of a home made water bed platform in it's previous life 

I think it's poplar… whatever the cheap stuff is that you get at the BORG and certainly nothing special at all. It was my first one, so I considered it more of a prototype than anything else. Finish is a wipe on poly (50/50 mix of poly and MS).

I don't remember the exact angle used. I basically did what was shown in this video:

How to make a Collapsible Wooden Basket / Bowl with a Scroll Saw

The angle will be different depending on the thickness of the stock being used… so I made test cuts as shown in that video to get an acceptable angle. I think it wound up being right around 5 degrees - but it's been a while, so I don't remember exactly. And I'm pretty sure the blade was a #5 (maybe #3?) Olsen reverse tooth, as that was what I mostly used back before I switched to the Flying Dutchmans.

Cheers,
Brad


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## tomsteve

> heres my last ss project:
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> - tomsteve
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> That is quite an ambitious project! How many hours of saw time do you think you have into it?!?
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> i might do the base this winter
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> Cheers,
> Brad
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> - MrUnix


apologize for not responding sooner. in all honesty not nearly as much as i thought i would. a LOt of the parts are mirror images from left to right side, so there was a lot of stack cutting. i think there were only 3 pieces that didnt have multiples. i would estimate about 50-60 hours at the saw.

i will add that that picture isnt the one i completed. heres mine:


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## Finn

I do not do anything as complex as those fretwork projects. I am impressed! I make simple toys using my scroll saw and also do a lot of double bevel inlay using a scroll saw. I have done some intarsia also. I sell everything I make.


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## wood2woodknot

MrUnix,

The candy dish is awesome. Do you have any pix of the segments before they were glued up? Do you have a pattern for the ss cuts?

How much was cut with the ss? and how much had to shaped by hand (by rasp, etc.) - before or after glue up? I would like to see your process.

Thanks,
ajh (wood2woodknot)


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## MrUnix

> The candy dish is awesome. Do you have any pix of the segments before they were glued up? Do you have a pattern for the ss cuts?
> 
> How much was cut with the ss? and how much had to shaped by hand (by rasp, etc.) - before or after glue up? I would like to see your process.
> - wood2woodknot


I usually take 'progress' shots, but for some reason… I didn't take any for the shell. No pattern involved really. You just start out with a coin or washer and go from there. Depending on how you do it, you can get lots of variations. For example, here are two more I made - one is destined to be another candy dish and the other is just for display (and still needs a few more coats of poly):










BTW: I got all three of those shells out of a single construction grade 2×4 just under 2 feet in length.

If you google "scroll saw shell", you will get lots more examples and information. This video by Steve Garrison does a good job of showing the steps involved. There are also some members here who have done some really nice ones, like Bob Collins, 'alwaysscrolling', 'ProjectX' and a few others.

Cheers,
Brad

PS: Jim - I've always admired your boxes… but that Marvin the Martian is the bomb!


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## wood2woodknot

Thank you. Always looking for a new challenge and something interesting.


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## Pete_LJ

Einstein project is quite incredible. Nice work!!!


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## CharleyL

Have you tried Compound Cutting (3D) ?. I did, about 10 years ago and haven't done much else with my scroll saws since then. Last year I made 426 of the reindeer and gave them all away between Thanksgiving and New Years. The smaller ornaments use the same cutting process as the reindeer and they are each cut from one piece of solid wood. The larger ornaments were stack cut. There are two patterns for each, one with a center slit down from the top and the other with a center slit up from the bottom. They get slid together with glue.

Charley


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## MrUnix

> Have you tried Compound Cutting (3D) ?
> - CharleyL


Strangely enough, one of the first things I did when I got the saw was make some of those reindeer! Of course, the first few came out looking nothing like reindeer - more like fat cows (kind of) with weird things on their head  I saved the very first one just to show how bad I was using the saw. They did get better with practice… so I imagine you could probably do them in your sleep after 426 of them!

Never tried doing the ornaments. Those you did are beautiful. Maybe I'll try my hand at a few now that the holidays are fast approaching. About the only other 3-d type stuff I've done are those key chain things with peoples names, and some business card holders - which all were given away as presents to friends and family as well.

Cheers,
Brad


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## CharleyL

There is an interesting book called "128 Compound Scroll Saw Patterns" by Sam Keener and published by Fox Chapel that may interest you. All of the patterns in the book start with 1 3/4" square blocks of wood, but the patterns for the front and side cuts are different. After it's cut out, turn it one way and you see an Angel. Turn it 90 degrees and you see a butterfly on a clover flower. Every pattern in the book produces two very different images when you look at them from different directions.

It's still compound cutting, but with a bit of a twist.

Charley


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## MrUnix

I was trying to think of stuff I could do that involved both my scroll saw and the lathe, and I immediately thought of a lidded box with some scroll work on top. Then the light went off and a Potpourri bowl came to mind! I did a search on the internet, and was surprised at the lack of examples out there. There are quite a few people who basically make a lidded box and use those round metal inserts for the top, but very few who do the scroll work. So I thought it would be a neat idea and a great way to test out my new Hegner. This is the 'prototype' that I made from some scrap oak that I had. The pattern was a slightly modified trivet pattern I found on the net somewhere. It was fun to make, and the wife loves it, which is a win-win.










Cheers,
Brad


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## Redoak49

I love the shell and it is on my bucket list. I typically do Intarsia projects like this owl and puzzles for my Grandkids.


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## GrumpyGolfGuy

Here's a sample of what I've done

Chris


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