Christ Ascending

This is a Jeff Zaffino pattern. His website is listed in the links section. He creates some very detailed patterns. Most of them are a challenge to even expert scrollers. This one is called Christ Ascending. It has around three hundred inside cuts. I've actually cut this one before, but it was before I started making mitered frames, so I thought it was time to cut it again.

It is framed in a custom made mahogany frame with keyhole slots at the back to hang it with. The cutting is luan. The backing painted plywood.

The original cutting I done is lited on Estsy for a hundred dollars. It's higher because it is completly encased with mahogany backer and all. This newer cutting was done with cheaper woods so I could get the price down to seventy five. I think it still looks just as nice.

Jesus's 2nd Fall

As promised, here's my latest cutting. After my last post, I just had to hurry up and get a new cutting to post. I finished the Last Supper order and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do another religious themed portrait. So I remembered a pattern I had downloaded a while back from Scrollsaw Village. This portrait is called Jesus's 2nd Fall. It was designed by Cathy, a Scrollsaw Village member's wife. I think she did a great design job.

The frame is custom made of mahogany. I always cut keyhole slots in the back to hang them with. I tried something a little different on this cutting though. The portait is cut from luan plywood. It's a beautiful plywood that is used a lot by cabinet makers. Then, contrary to my hate for paint, the background is spray painted black. I think it gave a more consistant color than my usual stain. I may do some more portraits in this style.

As always, until I get this listed on Etsy, anyone wishing to purchase it can contact me at greasemonkeyredneck@yahoo.com .

Anyone looking for a great online scrollsaw community should definately check out Scrollsaw Village at http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/ . It's a very friendly site and we are always thankful to have new scrollers join. It doesn't matter if you've been scrolling for years or are only considering buying a saw. Go check them out. Sign up and make some new friends.

Out Of The Shop And My Mind

I'd like to apologize. I've been out of the shop for a couple of weeks now. Therefore, I haven't had any new projects to post. It's been driving me crazy. A some of you know now, my health isn't very good. I get down sometimes, as I have lately, and jst can't get to the shop to work on anything. I got back to work about two days ago. I've been working on some more Last Supper portraits. I have more sold than what I had cut, so that was a priority.

As soon as something is done, I will be posting more items. Until then though, please feel free to check out all the archived posts. Most contain different projects. A lot of them I have on hand now. For the ones I don't, I' always happy to do custom orders. Don't forget to click on "older posts" at the bottom of the page.

Any of my projects you see on this blog are for sale. Some are listed on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6823431 . For the ones not listed there, please contact me at greasemonkeyredneck@yahoo.com . Also, feel free to comment on any project you like, or dislike for that matter. I can't improve my work or know what people really like if noone gives me any feedback. Under every post is a "comment" link. You do not need to be a member of blogspot to comment.

Last, but definately not least, thanks so much for all who are interested in my work. It means so much to me that you are willing to take the time to look at my work.

Rocking Iron Horse

It's been a slow going as of late with this dreadful Mississippi heat and all, but here's my latest work, another Rocking Iron Horse. If any of you seen my previous ones, then you'll notice this one is stained a little differently. Yes, that red is stain, not paint. As some of you know, I don't like paint on kid's toys. All paint eventually peals, cracks, chips, or fades. Stain stays while also showing the wood's grain beautifully.
This train is made entirely of solid cottonwood. I never use plywood or particle board. All screws are countersunk and covered with plugs. The only exposed screws are under it, attaching the train to the rockers. I do this because I have had customers in the past remove it from the rockers and use it as a display piece.
Another big difference, even if it is hard to see on the photos of this one, is the mounting. In the original plans, it calls for a fore and aft board across the rocker runners to mount the train to. On my previous trains, I thought this to be a bit tacky. So, on this one, I installed pads under the frame to mount it with, therefore eliminating the runner boards. I like this style much better.
I chose this color scheme over the past ones, because I wanted to create a train that more resembled the old darker trains of the past. So, what do you think? Is this design and color scheme a keeper? Click on the comments tag below and let me know.
As always, if anyone wishes to purchase this one or has any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

The Last Supper

Here is my latest portrait cutting. It is The Last Supper, a pattern I ordered from Wildwood Designs. The cutting measures ten inches by twenty inches. It is cut in cottonwood. The backer board is stained ebony. The frame is made of mahogany. This portrait is so nice that I had to cut two, one to sell and one to hang in my own home. There are two keyhole slots cut into the back of the frame to hang it on. Please contact me if you are interested in puchasing one of these cuttings.

Pirate Shelf

Here is a neat little shelf I made from a pattern I got from Steve Goode over at Scrollsaw Workshop. The shelf is three quarter inch thick while the back is half inch. You can't see it in this photo, but the two shelf supports are pirate swords that look rather unique. It is made of cottonwood and then stained with dark walnut stain. The shelf part has keyhole slots at the back to hang it with.
As usual, if anyone is interested in purchasing one, please contact me and let me know.
Soon, I will start back to listing items on Etsy at my Wooden Memories site. I haven't been able to find a better way to sell my projects online without having to raise prices to the customer, which I am not willing to do. Etsy does a good job and accepts major credit cards and Paypal. So, for the time being, it is the best option for all concerned for selling and purchasing. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know. Thank you all for taking the time to look at my projects.

Decorative Saws

These are some decorative handsaws. There are three different designs, the eagle, the wolf, and the deer. The saw blades are made of cottonwood, while the handles and the stands are made of mahogany. As usual, if anyone is interested in purchasing one, please contact me.

If anyone is interested in cutting these for themselves, you can download the patterns for free from Scrollsaw Workshop at http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/

Poke Chop

Meet Poke Chop, the rocking porker. This rocking pig is made entirely of cottonwood, and, like most pigs, he is heavy. He is made of solid wood. The rockers and the bow is stained a dark walnut color, while I stained the pig pecan.
Anyone who is interested in purchasing Poke Chop can contact me as usual. However, shipping will be pretty much cost prohivitive due to the weight. Therefor, it will be local pickup only.

For The Deer Hunters

These are also some projects from a while back. I'm trying to make sure I've got posted all the past projects for future references. My plans are to get that out of the way. Besides trying to find a source for selling my projects straight from the blog, I want to make sure everything is here so I can spend more time in the shop and less online.

The top picture is a Deer Spindle Shelf. It is made entirely of cottonwood. The bottom two pictures are different deer themed Display Rifles. The bottom one is three quarter cottonwood. The top one is one quarter cottonwood attached to half inch mahogany. The both have their own little display stand. They look great on a mantle or shelf.

As usual for now, just contact me if you are interested in buying any of these. There is a contact link in several different places around the site.

Portraits

These are not actually "new" projects. They were done a few months back. I was looking over the site though and noticed that while I have a lot of fretwork posted, there was not many portraits. Portraits are sort of the staple of scrollsawing for so many people that I figured I'd add more to the site. I hope in the near future to sit down and take the time to learn a new trick. Over at scrollsaw village, there is a lesson on making your own patterns using a program called GIMP. There is a link to Scrollsaw Village at the right if you'd like to go check it out yourself. I want to learn this technique so I can turn photographs into scrollsaw patterns. I think that would be just the coolest thing.

Anyway, the portraits you see are all mounted on a piece of stained cottonwood. They are scrolled into birch plywood. I no longer use plywood, but these were cut back before I got my planer. They were framed with a simple shadowbox style. If you've been keeping up with the site, you know that since then, I have been polishing up my mitering skills by making some nicer frames. After getting multiple opinions, I think the mitered frames have won the vote of public opinion. So, in the future, unless requested otherwise, that's the style I'll use.

Butterflies

The last two days have been very time consuming. Here you see my wooden butterflies. The largest one of the sixteen is about eight inches across. The bodies are made of quarter inch cottonwood. The wings are made of eight inch mahogany. There is a wire hook on the back of each of them to hang them up. They are very delicate, just as a butterfly should be. I know two days sounds like a long time for sixteen little butterflies, but these are a lot more time consuming than one may think. If you are interested in making your own though, the plans can be bought at Wildwood Designs.

Please let me know if any of you are interested in purchasing any of these or a set. Also, if needed, I'll be happy to email you individual pictures of each butterfly with the exact dimensions of each.

Bud Vases

It's been a very long week and I haven't been able to get much done. Here is my latest projects though. These are little bud vases. They are made for a single flower. You can get the patterns from Wildwood Designs. They are a little time consuming, but not that difficult. Even a beginner could make them with a little patience. Just contact me if you'd like to purchase any of these. I can also email you some closer individual pictures if you like a particular one.

Chandelier

Here's my latest work. This chandelier is what has kept me offline for several days. This is thirty six inches tall at it's tallest point and twenty four inches wide at it's widest. The dowel rod that it is made of is oak. The angel candle holders are cottonwood. Everything else is mahagony. It is hung on a gold chain that is six foot long so it can be adjusted for different hieght ceilings.

Anyone who wishes to build one of these, the plans can be bought at Wildwood Designs. There is a link at the right. Just go to their catalog and see what all they've got. I only recommend this project though to the experienced or very patient. The plans call for one quarter inch wood throughout. I used half inch for the angels for more stability. Of course, all the other parts have to be adjusted accordingly.

As with all my projects, please contact me if you'd like to purchase one. There's links to email me in several locations throughout this page. Also, I have numerous photos of this project if you'd like to see more. I'd be more than happy to email them to you.

Elegant Candelabra

This is called the "Elegant Candelabra" by the seller of the patter, Wildwood Designs. The plans can be bought at http://www.wildwooddesigns.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1195 . This one is made of mahogany. The candle cups are bought from the local craft store. One day I'll be good enough on the lathe to turn my own. For now though, these do look nice on there. It stands twenty inches tall. As you can see, it has much intricate cutting on it. It actually turned out to be much more time consuming than I expected.

If anyone wants to purchase this one, please don't hesitate to contact me. We will make arrangements. As I posted earlier, I am in the process of setting up payment options on this site. I will not be listing my items any longer on the Etsy site.

Changes In The Works

At the right, you may have notice in the past the links section. In that section, and sometimes in my posts, you can also find exact locations where anyone can get the patterns to build the projects I feature on the site. If any of you have ever clicked on one of these links, then you may also notice what some of these patterns cost. Just at this time, I have probably at least a thousand dollars invested in patterns. I had a conversation about this a few days ago with a reader. I was asked how they could help simply because they liked my work. So the idea was born for the donate button. You will now find this button at the right too. Any money donated will go to patterns or saved for maybe an eventual better web site.

In the near futre, there will be another button placed to the right to buy my projects. As I stated in an earlier post, I am trying to move away from an outside site and start selling directly from here. In the meantime, however, if anyone would like to buy anything I have written about on this blog, and do not wish to go through Wooden Memories at the Etsy site, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yes, there is a link at the right to do that too. I will be glad to get back with you with a price plus shipping. Then, for now, you could just pay using the donate button. I do hope in the near future that this will simplfy a few things. Then maybe I could spend more time in the shop and not online.

Let There Be Lights

Things have been slow lately. I've been having various health and personal issues. I cut every chance I can though. This is my latest work. It's called the "King's Candlestick". It came from another pattern from Wildwood Designs. It is made from solid aromatic cedar. The exception is the five candle cups. I'm not quite good enough on my lathe yet to create those, so they were bought at the craft store. I'm not sure of the wood species on them.

In the coming weeks you may notice a few changes here and there on my site. I'm going to try and redesign everything to sell my projects straight from this site. I've heard several complaints about the Etsy site. While I do recommend Etsy to any and all craftsman, I just think a better route for me will be selling direct.

Also, I still am getting no comments. I welcome all criticism, suggestions, or compliments. My work can only get better from feedback. Below every post is a the word "comment". Click on it and you can leave comments for me to read. You do not have to have a blogspot account to leave one.

Mythical Creatures

It has been a rough couple of weeks. I haven't gotten a whole lot of cutting done. Here are my latest works though. Both are eleven by fourteen portraits. The patterns come from Wildwood Designs. You can find the link to that company in my links section if you'd like to cut these yourself. Both are cut into cottonwood that has been planed to a quarter inch. The backer is an eighth inch sheet of cottonwood that has been colored with ebony stain by Minwax. The frame is mahogany.

These were actually the first mitered frames I've made in years. I wanted to give them a more special touch. These two are going to my wife for Mother's Day. I am not listing these at this time on the Etsy site simply because I have no more cut right now. If anyone would like to buy one though, please contact me. I can always cut some more. As for that matter, anything you see on this site can be ordered. Simply contact via the email link at the right side and bottom of the site page. I do not post my phone number here for security reasons. You can email me your phone number though or a request for mine and we can make arrangements for your purchases.

Chopper Display

Finally, here is my latest project. The lady who ordered this one doesn't have kids to rock on one of my Rocking Roarers. She just wanted one to display in here home. Then she slipped and told me that she wanted one different than anyone elses. That gave me the green light to be a little more creative with this one.

As you can see, it's mounted on a pecan platform instead of the rockers. Also, I did some playing around with the front forks to give it more of a "chopper" look. Then, when mounting it, I tilted it back just slightly so the front tires were a hair higher than the rear, giving it more of a swept back look.

Please click below and leave comment letting me know what you think. I look every day to see if I've gotten any comments. I'm getting visitors here, but no comments. Without comments, I can't know what everyone thinks of my work.

Nothing Rocks Like A Deere

I didn't even start a new sale project today. I've been looking for a trailer for some time now. I've given up on finding one to my satisfaction. So, I rode over to Harbor Freight today. I bought one of their unassembled four foot by eight trailers. Then I spent the afternoon with my boys helping me assemble the frame. I needed to get this done to make sure all the parts are there. Later on, as I have time, I'm going to build it the way I want. It'll have oak flooring and sides. What I got in mind will be nice, so down the road, you may see pictures of it.

So instead, today I'm posting one of my past projects. Here is a rocking tractor. I built this several months ago. I wanted it green, but I am definately not a fan of paint. So, after consulting the sales lady at the Home Depot, I found out they could tint stain. I didn't know this. So what you see on this tractor is green stain. I personally loved the way it turned out.

Rally On The River '09

The Rally On The River event was a success considering the weather. I hated to hear that the night's events were called due to weather. I read about it in today's paper. The daytime events though went off without a hitch though, almost. For the vendors that cancelled, you missed a great opportunity. True, we did have to pull our wares inside the tents a few times due to light rain, it was all in all a good day. I think everyone had a great time. I met people from all over. I think the customers who came the farthest was a couple I spoke with who travel here every year from Seatle, Washington. The wife was originally from here. I just hope the husband makes it back home alright. He kept making wise cracks at southerners. We'll do it again next year. I hope everyone who came comes back and invites at least a few friends too.

I want to thank every single person I talked to at the Rally. I had a great time. While I may not recognize every single person if you call, please understand I talked to probably a thousand people yesterday. I do appreciate from the bottom of my heart though you stopping by my booth. I also thank you all for the wonderful compliments you gave me on my hard work. I do put a lot of time into my work. More importantly, I put a lot of love into it. This wood is my passion. You can rest assured that anything I create for you is done with pride and quality.

Quick Project

Well I finished the motorcycle project today. I've got the bike rally to do Saturday, and I figured I had enough time to make a couple of business card holders. So I had a really nice design I'd downloaded from Steve Good's site at http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/ . I can't remember the date he listed these, but they shouldn't be hard to find of you want to make some.

Motorcycle Project Day Three

Well it has been a very long day in the shop. You can see how far we've come in three days. The motorcycle assembly is done. If nothing goes wrong, I'll get the rocker assembly done tomorrow and the project will be done. I got another order tonight. A local lady wants one mounted for display. So, be looking for photos of that in about a week or two.

Motorcycle Project Day Two

Well it's day two of my motorcycle project. In the picture, you can see that the motorcycle is pretty much put together. Looks like it's almost done? Eh? No! Now I have to do a lot of shaping, a lot more sanding, and take it back apart. Yes. That's right. Take it apart.

You have to assemble it like this to get the fit right. Then you have to take it apart while doing your shaping of items such as the seat and gas tank. Then you stain everything and put it back together.

If anyone wants more pictures of this project, they can be found at http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6 .

Motorcycle Project

My posts may be kind of limited this week. I'm on a tight schedule to get this motorcycle done for this weekend's bike rally. Here is a few "in progress" pictures of the project. The first one is a picture of the two main body pieces cut out and laying on the plans. The second is the assembled body with the outer frame pieces attached. The dowels are used to allign everything. If you don't allign everything perfectly at this point, then it will not go together right later.

I may post several picture this week of this project in progress. I hope everyone enjoys them.

Decorative Rifles

As promised, here's a couple more of my rifles. The top one is called "The Lawman's Rifle" It is cut into three quarter inch cottonwood. As with all my rifles, the entire thing, including the barrel is wooden. The bottom picture is the "Westward Bound" rifle. It is cut from one quarter cottonwood and laminated to half inch mahogany. Both of these rifle stocks are sixteen inches long. that doesn't include the barrel. They stick out about twelve inches past the stock.

The patterns for these rifles come from http://www.woodcraftplans.com/osc/ . The "Lawman Rifle" is for sale at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6823431 . If anyone wants to buy the other one, either email me or leave a comment below. I can list it on Etsy. It sells for forty dollars plus shipping.