And the Season Begins...

We had a suprisingly warm Saturday. They were predicting cold & rainy, but it cleared up, the sun came out, and we ended up near 70. I had a school group meeting in the morning, and should have done homework in the afternoon, but with that kind of weather, who can resist doing a little yard work??? (especially when your neighbor's tree fell in the yard a couple months ago)

I bought a chainsaw and chopped that sucker up. It took me about 3 trips to the dump to get the little stuff out of there. Then I called Tony to see if he wanted the wood for next winter. He sounded happy. Later Jim told me that he had already promised the wood to Pete... Well, if I had known.... Anyway, they can fight it out for the wood. I just want it out of the yard!

I also bought a scrollsaw to start work on the porch ballusters. I've decided to make sawn balusters, rather than replacing the turned balusters. I like the look of them better. Of course, I've never used a scrollsaw, so there will be a learning curve, but I'm up for the adventure.

Here's a picture from a catalog of the baluster I want to replicate (notice how the center design is similar to the rosette from the earlier post):


So I adjusted the size to the right dimensions and printed it out to make a paper template. Then I tested it cutting a piece of poplar on the saw.

I went through 7 blades, and didn't finish my sample piece :(
But I guess that's how you learn...
Here's what I ended up with after the 7th and last blade broke:


Monday I talked to a guy at work who does a lot of workworking and asked him for advice. He gave me some pointers and also told me to go to Rockler to get new blades. I went there today at lunch, and I think it's my new favorite store!!! I also talked to the guy there about getting a router/router table set up - that may be what I do with my income tax return... hmmm....