I’m starting early over here with Christmas gifts and I’ve teamed up with a fabulous group of bloggers to hopefully motivate you into DIYing a few gifts this year. I recently found out that my blogger BFF Amber was DIYing my gift so I followed suite and I’m DIYing hers. Since I’m going to see my gift when I read her blog today, I want her to see hers. No surprises for you Glen CoCo. Keep reading to the end of this because we have some lovely sponsors who will be giving away a BUNCH of cool stuff!
She loves my monogram that we have in our entry so I decided to make her one using my scroll saw. I am SO in love with my scroll saw and I’m amazed at how well it cuts! I discovered a little scroll saw hack during this cut session so keep reading to learn how to cut easier!
scroll saw
pencil
paper
printer
Marleylilly App! (to make your monogram) Apple Android
tape
plywood (I used 1/8″ ply)
150 grit sand paper
Drill
3/8″ drill spade bit
1/4″ drill bit.
Creating the monogram design
Make your monogram using the app and save it to your phone.
Import the image onto your computer and open it in paint.
Crop the monogram by removing the excess above and below the design (This will save you ink and paper).
To make the monogram larger than an 8×11 piece of paper
File>Print>Page Setup>Scaling
Then decide how many pages you want your monogram to fit. I chose 4 but I could have gone larger.
Now, print the image and use the tape to piece the monogram together. It will look pixilated but that’s okay. It will give you a great guide to trace.
Tracing the design onto the wood
Tape the design to the wood. Use a sharp pencil and press firmly while tracing the design. If you press hard enough, you will leave the design in the wood once the paper is gone.
Cutting the outer parts of the monogram
Wear safety glasses, and slowly feed the wood towards the moving blade. I had the speed all the way up and I adjusted the tension as I made the cuts. I find that I get better cuts when then tension is pretty tight. The knob at the top is for tension adjustment.
Follow the outer line until the piece is cut out.
Cutting the center bits of the monogram
This is where we are going to cut the swirly parts and the inside of the O. First, drill a hole into each center bitsI used a 3/8″ spade bit. For the smaller center cuts, I used a 1/4″ drill bit.
UNPLUG THE SCROLL SAW!
NEVER mess with the blade when the saw is plugged in. Loosen the knob that holds the saw on the top and loosen the tension on the tension knob until the blade comes free.
This is where the hack happened! Instead of using a jigsaw to cut the center bits, I removed the blade and fed it through the drill holes! This allowed me to make perfect cuts since I’m really comfortable with the scroll saw.
Once the cuts were finished, I sanded the edges smooth with 150 grit sand paper.
I’ve decided to leave the gift unfinished so Amber (being the DIYer that she is) can customize it to her liking.
I hope this tutorial was complete enough for you to follow. If not, please let me know if you have any questions.
Lura
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Now, it’s time to check out the other projects made for this link up.
I’d like to especially thank our sponsors for providing our readers some lovely prizes!
And now for the giveaway!
he giveaway is for 11 prizes of $50+ value each. We will be choosing 11 winners – each will receive one prize. Winners will be randomly drawn from all contest entries on November 14, 2016. They will be displayed on the widget so make sure you check back!
Very cool!
Have been asking for a scroll saw from Santa, but nothing yet. Wonderful idea!
Aw Linda! I hope you get one. You will love it! Promise!
Lura
I love this ideated the easy instructions!
Thank you.