The Owl Family, designed and cut by Judy Peterson, is a popular puzzle at craft shows.

Owl Family Puzzle Scroll this freestanding puzzle for the animal-lover in your life

Scrolled hardwood animal puzzles are always a hit, both as gifts and at craft shows. To give scrollers plenty to choose from, Judy and Dave Peterson have gathered their popular animal puzzle patterns into a new book, Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw, which will be available in September, 2005. While the book provides a wide variety of animal puzzles--it just wasn’t possible to include every species. Scroll Saw Workshop is proud to offer this exclusive owl family pattern courtesy of Judy and Dave Peterson--available to SSW readers only! The most difficult part of the puzzle is the eye details of the owlets’ faces. Drill a blade-entry hole for one eyeball, and then cut the “monkey face” of the owlets, starting in one eyehole. Everyone cuts differently--Judy cuts to the right side of her blade (on the left side of the line)--so all her patterns are set up to cut on the right side of the blade When she started scrolling, she wasn’t consistent about the position of the board and pattern, in relation to the scroll saw blade--and ended up with burnished surfaces. These burnished surfaces show up glossier than the surrounding areas after the puzzle is finished--so she spent a lot of time sanding the burnished areas off. A presenter at a scroll-sawing demonstration suggested that she cut on the right side of the blade. Because of the way scroll saw blades are manufactured, the teeth end up canted to the right. To compensate for this, push the board into the blade so the teeth are tilted toward the line you are cutting. When you come to a turning point in the pattern, turn the board clockwise to keep the blade in the correct position with respect to the line you’re cutting. If you cut on the left side of the blade, it is more likely to burnish the wood. TIP   MATERIALS & TOOLS Squaring your blade Make sure your blade is square to your saw table. There are several ways to check for square such as using a small square against the blade or cutting a piece of scrap and checking that for square. If your table and blade are not square when cutting a puzzle, it will be difficult to reassemble the completed puzzle.   MATERIALS: 7/8" x 8" x 8" hardwood of choice (I use spalted cherry) Repositionable spray adhesive Sandpaper, 220 grit Sanding disk TOOLS: #9 skip-tooth or reverse-tooth blades or blades of choice Square Disk pad Drill with variable speed lock Drill stand Flap sander   PATTERN Owl Family Puzzle Pattern Downloadable Patterns To view the downloadable patterns you will need the FREE Acrobat Reader from Adobe Systems. To download it now click the Acrobat Reader logo below. To download files, right click the link and click on "save target as..."       About the Authors   FURTHER READING A former teacher and librarian, Judy Peterson found her niche in life as a woodworker. A winner of many design awards, she sells her puzzles at art shows around the country. She is also a frequent contributor to Scroll Saw Workshop. Her husband, Dave, runs the record-keeping side of Judy’s small business. Add a digital camera, a flair for writing, and a little organizational skill and out comes a book. Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw is their third book with Fox Chapel Publishing. Their other books include Dinosaur Puzzles for the Scroll Saw and Fantasy & Legend Scroll Saw Puzzles.   Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw By Judy and Dave Peterson Tips, techniques, and two step-by-step descriptions for making animal puzzles. Includes four ready-to-cut patterns including Noah’s Ark, barnyard animals, dogs, and cats. Available September 2005 from: Fox Chapel Publishing 1970 Broad St., East Petersburg, PA 17520 Phone: 800-457-9112 FAX: 888-369-2885 www.FoxChapelPublishing.com Or check your local supply store.

Back To Top