newbie

[nazarine]

Hi everyone! My name is Nazarine and I am a complete newbie to scroll sawing. I started on this because I love to paint wooden wall hangings for my kids. I got tired of just painting plain old squares so asked my dad to help out and cut out the character shapes for me. I LOVED the way they turned out. But dad is really busy and lives halfway across the country so I got to thinking I could do this on my own. I'm looking to make simple cutouts like Tinkerbell, etc for the kids' walls. I would also like to make chunky piece puzzles for them (they are only 1 and 2 years old so nothing intricate). Based on that info, I have a few questions:

1) any recommendations on a beginner's scroll saw? I really don't have a lot of cash to spend so something easy to use and quiet (I'll be working in the garage while the kids sleep).

2) recommendations on wood to use. Again, these are simple wall hangings for the kids' playroom and bedrooms. Nothing really fancy...yet!

3) anyone in the Indianapolis area? Would love someone to learn from and a hobby buddy!

Thanks!

[sappy]

Hello Nazarine, and welcome to the forum. I don't really have a saw recommendation as I use a delta and they are no longer being made. I'm sure someone else will jump in with ideas on that. You may want to check local papers or yard sales for a used on. On the wood question, for what you are doing I would probably use pine. It's very available and can be painted with waterbase paints to be safe. But I am fairly new myself and I'm sure you will get more information from others on this forum. You have come to right place.

[wood-n-things]

For the puzzles I would make tray type puzzles first. These I would make out of 1/4" Baltic Birch as you can probably get it at a local home depot or Lowes.

Check out our forum on puzzles and read some of the threads over there you will find a ton of information and help.

For the wall hanging's I suppose you could use pine but most of us use thin Plywood the same as for the puzzles, at least as a beginner.

Saw's well you will get different answers on that.
Buy the best saw you can afford without keeping those kids out of college.

Really, try to spend some time reading the different forums, learn how to use the search function, you will learn much more that way.

Welcome aboard.

[ubgoofy2003]

Hi, Nazarine. Welcome to our great site. If you just look through all the info that is available here, you will find about all the info that you will need to start. Like Tools & Blades. First, you will need to know all you can about a scrollsaw & the different types of blades, etc. Just one saw that might interest you is the Dremel. I'm sure that others have some in mind besides that one too. Just getting started will cost you time, because, it will help you a lot to read as much as you can to learn Scrolling. If there is specific questions, just ask. Everyone will be happy to help you. Good Luck Perk

[reads2kids]

Welcome! I also started out as a painter. I cut out shapes from pine and painted them to sell at craft shows. Then I saw some stand up puzzles and started making those. Now, I rarely paint, but have embraced how artistic wood can be. There are free patterns out there for puzzles to start with, and SSWC often publishes puzzle patterns in the magazine and Foxchapel has several books on puzzles. You will soon get addicted.
Patty

[lucky788scroller]

For a good affordable saw, take a look at the Hitachi saw sold in a couple of the big box type stores. You need one that takes pinless blades, with variable speed and easy blade changes, with minimal vibration, and in that respect I think the Hitachi will serve you well, and is about the lowest price one with all those features. Order your blades online, you will save a huge amount of money on them, and get better quality blades.And, by all means, inquire for an issue of Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine, quite often there is a nice puzzle pattern in there, as well as a lot of priceless info.