Angels & Airwaves Inspired Sign Using a Scroll Saw

I recently posted an Instructable on how I repaired an old scroll saw and wanted to get more experience. I figured I would make something inspired by one of my favorite bands (if not my #1 favorite).

In my opinion, people are almost giving these old scroll saws away. Granted, most times they need a working motor but those can be cheap as well. In fact, I saw someone drop a vintage scroll saw (no motor provided) in my area from 50 USD to 5 and it just looked like it needed some superficial rust removal and a healthy cleaning. This is what I did for my other scroll saw Instructable: (Dunlap) Scroll Saw Repair.

Scroll saw & wood

Safety gear

Drill

Paper template [The image I produced from a web search and modified in Paint. Yes, Paint sufficed :) ]

Glue (I used spray adhesive)

Wood glue

files/sandpaper, or both

Sand paper (to get the leftover template off)

Spray Paint

String lights (or fairy lights) & power source (mine uses batteries)

Fasteners

Hanging hardware (if you want to hang it on your wall)

This video, while it does show a bit of the process, is more geared towards problem solving. As the description states, I ran into some issues with my Dunlap scroll saw and needed to purchase another one (...I know...).

Funny how my lyrical project reflects perseverance.

I did an internet search for lyrics and thought that this one was appropriate. I saved the image and printed it big enough to place it on my piece of wood, which was 1/4-inch plywood. I used spray adhesive to place it on my wood and drilled out the parts that needed to be cut out. This hole will obviously need to be big enough for the scroll saw blade to enter.

SIDEBAR: Once I started the cut, about half way through, my Dunlap scroll saw crank seized and needed to be serviced. Luckily, others have had this happen to them and after a little mechanical agitation and filing, it was good to go again. However, I did purchase my 3rd scroll saw for $20, a Delta. This was serendipitous due to this model taking a finer blade, which was needed to complete the smaller letters...Again, it is funny how that happened!

I will assume that if you are reading my Instructable, you have some or little experience with scroll saw action. I am a novice & had only one easy cut under my cap (this will be my second attempt). Here are some things I found to be useful and if you have other suggestions I would love (and others, I'm sure) to hear them in the comments!

1. Don't drink coffee prior to making fine cuts. Shaky hands may make shaky cuts.

2. Make relief cuts like you would with a jig/band saw. This means that when making curved cuts, don't let your blade "lean" into the entire curve or circle. This will likely bend or break your blade. Make several cuts perpendicular to the curve so that the wood will break off and relieve your curve cut.

3. For making smoother corners, ride the back of the cutting side of the blade (This was more pertinent with the wider Dunlap blade, however). This may not make sense but it was a huge tip I got from watching Jimmy Diresta on the band saw. If you want a better explanation, I suggest watching his YouTube video with band saw tips. But basically when you make a normal cut, you will push your material into the blade moving in a forward direction (toward the blade, away from you). Right? Makes sense. You are doing that with regular scroll sawing. What I am talking about is moving the freshly cut corner backwards but still barely riding the edge of the blade, almost at around a 35 to 55 degree angle. You can make some more detailed cuts to make your filing/sanding less tedious later. Hopefully that made sense.

4. Take your time. Sounds lame but I am very impatient, especially when I was almost done. I goofed up some cuts and had to take more time later to make them look good again.

5. For letters with "holes" (for example, a P, D, O, A, R, B, you get the point), I still cut out what I needed and then used wood glue to mount them in place later. Not really a big deal but for me, when I started cutting the 'P' I was thinking, "Well...yeah...I will deal with this later."

6. Always respect your machine!! Take breaks if you need to, Always Watch Your Blade, and Always Watch Your Material. The moment you get complacent is when you may cut yourself. You may get by with a close call 99 out of 100 times but the moment you make that 1 mistake, you will carry it with you the rest of your life. Please be cautious.

Once I got the lettering completed, I used my makeshift planer to sand off the remaining paper (I got this idea from JSK-Koubou on YouTube). Afterwards, I filed and sanded some of the rough edges of the lettering to make it look more crisp. I got some scrap wood and made a housing. I then glued the inside parts for my holed letters, like the P and whatnot. Once the glue was dry, I spray painted the whole thing black. For the string lights, I mapped out where I wanted them with painters tape. I didn't want the bare lights showing right through the letters so I tried to deal with how they were strung inside. Any stubborn parts I stapled down to the wood directly.

Afterwards, I mounted the hanging hardware. I have a place right when I walk into my shop/garage and another on my peg board.

Thank you for looking at my project and please check out my other Instructables!

I hope this was inspiring and if a laser cutter is not in your price range or there are no options for a maker space in your area, try and check local websites for a scroll saw. Again, let me know in the comments if you have other tips, maintenance items, or similar projects you've completed.