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My first intarsia attempt and second and third

A

allen levine

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Location
new york city burbs
Bought a book for beginners
Author is Kathy wise
Not promoting her just mentioning here I got the pattern

Taped poplar and Spanish cedar for 2 pieces
Now I can mix and match for color contrast
Even though it's a goldfish gotta use what I have for now
Did not sand just finished cutting
Plastic teddy bear eyes work great for this project
 

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Tedious but fun
I had to stop as the eye strain was too much for ocular myasthenia sucks

And then I got the results from the mri before
All bad
Herniated and bulging discs
I have to see a neuro surgeon and I start physical therapy thirsday
Gonna kill my intarsia time but my foot numbness and back pain are beginning to cripple me so I have little choice and my doctor just went thru severe back pain and won't let me go to see anyone but his physical therapist he swears the guy is the best on Long Island

On another note the real estate agent will be here Friday am
We finally started the process and the thought of moving my shop is already giving me stress but it will all get done
I told my 2 boys son and son in law and my brother in law I'm calling in all favors and will need all hands on deck when the time comes to move
Even my neighbor said he will help me
I guess me never saying no to anyone is finally paying off
 
Brent Dowell said:
I think you and that scroll saw are really getting along!
Click to expand...
The eye strain is rough as following lines for 2 hours is tough but it's oodles of fun
These are not going to be like turning things that I can finish a pen or bowl in an hour
This fish is the easiest project and it took me hours and o still have to glue and finish
 
That looks good. I can see that can become addictive. I have always loved this art form but never bit the bullet to get a Good scroll saw. Just a cheappie that is really not much fun to run. Looking forward to future projects when health issues are resolved.
David
 
And years ago I posted a piece of a school of fish in ocean which is now hung in my sons pool house and he wants these mounted with same color background board
Here's the finished product
Didn't seal either wood just sprayed poly not that great especially Spanish cedar but I'm learning
I'll sand the edges of the other fish better to blend in with piece it's connected to

I think it looks fine for his pool house wall
I will choose my species carefully and thinking about the finish before I start
 

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i ruined the other one, I tried to stain it and the poplar pieces came out awful where I sanded them down, I wont try to work on it, my son will hang it up anyway he said, I changed the background piece to a small circle, looks alot better, eventually Ill have it near my phone, tomorrow if my back and foot permit I will start the next one in the book, a butterfly. the butterfly has alot more inside cuts that will be way more challenging. my guitar project is sitting on the shelf staring at me everyday so I have to either move on with it, order a kit, put it together, or just give it up and get it out of sight. my son ofcourse says, dad, go for it, it can always hang on his wall....not my original intention, thought Id actually make one that plays.
 
Ok no laughing
After a torturous physical therapy session I decided to redo a wing again for the third or fourth time on the second butterfly intarsia
Inlays are just not my thing i guess
I tried all different ways of cutting inlay pieces and I'm done for now
This is the result
I still have to attach those pieces of wire but I posted some of the off cuts and poor inlay work
Don't know how people can get it exact freehand
Practice practice practice is my only thoguht
Here's the book pic and my poor work
And for the record I'm using what species I have on hand I'm not purchasing ebony ore yellow heart or whatever it's called
Not at this point
 

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Honestly it doesn't look to bad to me either, especially not for the amount of time you've had on the machine so far. I think expecting book like perfection up front is wildly unreasonable although modern media and expectations can often lead us to that conclusion.

One trick I've seen folks use is to VERY slightly tilt the table (like maybe 2 degrees) so you are basically making a the inlay a slight wedge. That requires carefully aligning the piece so that the inlay is actually wedged into the outlay (I don't think it's actually called the outlay.. but y'all know what I mean hah) which can be a bit of a trick based on my very limited attempts at it.
 
turns out Im stupid also.....couldnt get the quick tension clamp to hold today....or yesterday, or the day before, i loosened the tension on the arm, but only a quarter turn. someone on scrollsawvillage told me to loosen turn and ahalf and that did the trick in a second. I feel foolish not figuring it out, but Im happy someone knew my problem...tomorrow I start a new project, not sure which one yet....Im not thrilled with some of the projects in her book, but Ill choose at least one other one.
 
this scroll sawing is just like turning in one way, its highly addicting. once you start turning, you just fall deeper into it and keep buying more. for me, turned out my arms and hands would poop out too fast because of this cruddy neuro disease, and I had to keep stopping and it got way too frustrating. scroll sawing is almost too good to be true for me, I get to sit, no arm strain, very little hand strain, I could do it for hours upon hours once my back feels better. and the projects are endless, there are thousands of them. and I could see scrolling taking me all the way till Im too old to do anything else.
 
That's pretty good for three or four tries :thumb: Don't expect book-quality perfection with just that little bit of experience. ;)
 
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