#scroll saw

I've had this Little Debbie tree idea stuck in my head for over a year, and I'm so glad I made it.

I follow a lot of amazingly talented scroll artists on social media, and they inspire me so much. Mine is nothing like their art, but it won't be. I have to put in the time and effort to learn. My brain says things have to be perfect or it's pointless, so it's a battle I fight. But here I am, making something a little wonky but fun. Challenging myself by not only making something imperfect, but then showing it to the world.

And that's on personal growth.

Go learn something new, have the audacity to be bold and brave. Make some odd looking first pancakes. Have fun. Be safely reckless.

Putting the finishing touches on the Philco 39-45 radio. This time, I’m building a wooden structure to support an antenna. This way, the owners won’t have to string up an antenna along the wall. 

The original version (first pic) came from a duplicate 39-45 that I’ve been using as a parts chassis and reference for my restoration. 

First I traced the upright structure onto some plywood, then cut it out using my bandsaw and scroll saw. Then I glued some ‘feet’ to the uprights to enable me to screw them into some base boards (5th pic) which I got from my local hardware store’s bargain bin. :D

Next I screwed them in place at the correct distance, and cut some dowels to support the top. This whole structure was wrapped with wire (7th pic).

Last 2 pictures show me gluing some labels back into the cabinet. This includes the tube chart, and the Philco label. Used some gel medium which is something my wife recommended (she uses it in her art). Seemed to work quite well, and now the labels are back in the cabinet.

Last pic shows me soldering a fuse into the line cord. Some people mount the fuse under the chassis, but I wanted the new owners to be able to change it out easily if something happens. I split the line cord with a knife, then cut the positive wire back somewhat and mounted the fuse holder there. 

One cool thing to note is the “helping hands” alligator clips. These were a gift from my folks for Christmas, and came on a heavy steel plate, but they use strong magnets, so I was able to just stick them to the radio chassis to help me hold the wires as I soldered them. Made the job SO much easier. :)

Aston Martin DB5 

I picked up a scroll saw last year and wanted to do something fannish with it. The pattern is taken from this paper-cut silhouette.