Victorian Scroll Saw Patterns by Patrick Spielman is one of my favorite books. Some of my favorite patterns came from this book. If you like to read a lot and don’t care about patterns, this isn’t the book for you. Victorian Scroll Saw Patterns is patterns and almost nothing but patterns.
The only complaint I have about this book is the patterns are not uniform in the way they are presented. Some of the patters have the area that has to be left uncut a light gray, that is what I like, others are dark gray, black, diagonal lines, etc. This isn’t really a problem but it would be better if they were all the same.
As far as the type of patterns, you are in for a real treat. There are religious items, crosses. I really like the ones found on page 48 and 49. One person I know liked the cross I made for her from page 48 so much she had it used as a pattern and had it tattooed on her back. I’m not sure I like it that much but she did.
You will also find a lot of wall plaques, shelves, picture frames and much more. I’m sure you will find the paper cutters and folders a must make, I did. The fancy basket on stand on page 138 – 141 is beautiful when completed. You just have to make one of those.
There is no doubt in my mind that you will find enough great patterns in Victorian Scroll Saw Patterns to keep you busy for a long time.
Puzzles Boxes And Toys Creative Scroll Saw Patterns by Percy W. Blandford is a hard cover book and was published in 1991 by TAB Books. I consider this to be a very good book for woodworkers of all skill levels. It has projects from the very simple to projects that will require more time and effort.
Some, but not all, projects include full sized patterns that you can make copies of and transfer directly to your wood. However, many of the patterns are for larger projects and will require you to use larger paper and draw your own using the book as a guide.
A good place for me to start this review is at the beginning, the Table of Contents. Puzzles Boxes And Toys Creative Scroll Saw Patterns is divided into an Introduction and eight chapters. Below is a brief description of each section.
The Introduction provides very basic information about the book and for the most part talks about scroll sawing. It makes one statement that I found interesting. It says “Many of the 39 projects in this book also include several possible variations in pattern and design…” This gives you the opportunity to make items that aren’t all the same if you so desire.
Chapter One covers “Preparations” and covers such things as enlarging patterns, saw blade selection, cutting and joints. For the most part this is very basic information, however some of you may find a few items of interest here. This chapter is only six pages long so you don’t get a lot of details on each topic. However, “Preparations” isn’t what most of us are after. We want patterns so that we can create finished projects.
Chapter two is “Simple Cutouts” and for sub topics covers Jigsaw puzzles, animal shapes, solid jigsaw puzzles, thickened cutouts and jewelry and decorations. This chapter runs from page 7 to 28. Here you will find a number of patterns for what I call “Little Critters”. These are small cutouts that can be made very easily and just rough sanded. I don’t put any finish on them. I make them from scrap wood and find that aromatic red cedar is the most popular wood to use. If made out of aromatic red cedar the ladies love them for a natural air freshener and put them in clothing drawers, on shelves and anywhere else that they want to smell very nice. Don’t forget, after a few months the great cedar smell will start to diminish. When it does all you have to do is sand it and the cedar smell will be as great as when you first made it. You will certainly love the ease of making these and the popularity of the finished item. All the items in this section are easy to make. There are too many to describe them all.
Chapter Three covers “Basic Flat Projects” such as hanging boards, door plates, lettered signs, note and bulletin boards and an inlaid panel. Chapter three is from page 29 through 54. Here you will find a number of key holders and wall racks to hold items on pegs and hooks. It goes into making inlaid panels from two types of wood that can then be glued together for very interesting projects.
Chapter Four gets into “Small Toys”. The items covered here are pull-along toys, doll house furniture, a folding farm, a ring game and Victorian stick toys. This chapter is from page 55 to 80. If you would like to make some pull toys for the younger children you will find this chapter very interesting. The items include things like animals, cars, circus wagons and more. There is a large number of doll furniture and even a folding farm to use with the animal cutouts.
Chapter Five is “Large Toys” such as a German cradle, rocking horse, wheelbarrow, sand box and tools and a junior go kart. All of this in pages from 81 to 110. It appears that most of the larger toys will require you to create your pattern from a larger paper using squares drawn on the paper and using the book for an example.
Chapter Six gets into “Light Furniture”. In this chapter you will find a corner shelf, a take-down display rack, plywood coffee table, foot stool, outlined bracketed shelves, fretted bracketed shelf and a magazine rack. This chapter extends from page 111 to 142. These patterns will also require you to draw your own on larger paper. However, don’t worry the process is simple and instructions are provided. I find the magazine rack very interesting and may make one for myself.
Chapter Seven goes on into “Large Furniture” such as a pedestal side table, Jacobean stool, telephone wall unit, birds’ feeding table and a TAB bookcase. Chapter Seven is from page 143 to 170. Now you are getting into projects that will take longer to make. The finished items are certainly worth the effort so take your time and create a heirloom that will be passed along for generations. Don’t forget to burn your name and the date into the bottom so your great grandchildren will know who made it and when.
Chapter Eight is “Utility Articles”. Here you will find clothing hangers, kitchen tools, clock stands, fretwork photograph frames, plastic items, toast rack, table servers and a cutlery carrier. This final chapter runs from page 171 to 212. These are some very useful items. You just can’t buy clothing hangers like these and I’m sure you will find the finished project very useful. I like the belt and tie racks. If you would like to try your hand at making kitchen tools you will find patterns and instructions for making spoons, forks and scrapers. I like some of the clocks. My wife likes the one on a stand that allows you to pivot the clock to make it easier to read if it is on a lower shelf or table. The table servers and cutlery stand are not only useful but will look great on your table.
The final section of this book is the index on pages 213 and 214. This makes finding what you are looking for a little easier.
As you can tell, I own “Puzzles Boxes And Toys Creative Scroll Saw Patterns by Percy W. Blandford“. I haven’t used it a lot because I have so many woodworking books in my library and just haven’t gotten to it. After writing this article I think I will give some of the projects a try. I find some of them very interesting.
Today I am going to tell you about a book that is totally different than most of my woodworking books. The books name is Decorative Scroll Patterns and it is by Deborah Freeman. The reason this book is different is the patterns don’t contain the intricate internal scroll cuts like those in other scroll saw books. Instead it is written for those people that like to cut out nice patterns and paint the wood after its cut.
This book was put out for RBIndustries who sell one of the very good saws that I used after I had been scroll sawing for a while. If you are looking for patterns that you can cut out, paint and hang on the wall, sell or give away then you seriously want to consider this book. Even if you love to do all the internal cutting that many scroll sawyers do, you still want to consider this book. The products take much less time to cut and the finished item certainly looks great.
OK, now on to the book review. There are 188 pages in this very interesting book. The first 38 pages cover a variety of things that I will cover below. On page 39 is an excellent description of this book. It says “Patterns To Get You Started – Simple To Cut & Paint. I couldn’t have said it better. It is a great book for the beginner or novice and will also be useful to the most experienced among us.
Chapter 1 covers “Sawing Techniques” and goes into such things as getting to know your saw, how to choose your wood, altering patterns, transferring the pattern to wood and getting the best cut. This is very important information for the beginner and novice need to know. The old timer may even see a different way to do something.
Chapter 2 is titled “Now That I’ve Cut It – What Do I Do With It?” As you have guessed, this covers what to use to finish the item and how to actually do the painting. It goes into great detail in the approximately 28 pages of this section. If you would like to learn how to paint wood items of this sort, this is the book for you.
The rest of the book is patterns. These patterns don’t just give you the outline and put you on your own. They actually show you exactly which areas to paint. You could make a copy of the page and transfer the lines to the wood after you cut it.
The remaining chapters are titled; Patterns to get you started – simple to cut & paint Increasing your skill level “Now that you think you’re good” patterns Patterns with words & alphabets Bevel cutting instructions & patterns and Let’s get creative
The let’s get creative section covers things a little different than in the rest of the book. Here are the sub titles; Construction Variations, Make a puzzle out of anything, Making bookends, Making picture frames, Making doorstops and Using overlays & thin stock decorations. I know everyone will enjoy this section of the book.
As you can see the book starts you off with simple patterns and works its way to more difficult ones. I think this is an outstanding book for everyone. I know that I enjoy it even though I don’t do much painting. That I leave up to my Beautiful And Usually Charming Wife who has a much steadier hand for painting than I do.
I hope you have enjoyed my review of Decorative Scroll Patterns. If you find this review interesting and would like more information on the book and its price you can use the link below to find what I think is the lowest price for it available.
Victorian Scroll Saw Patterns by Patrick Spielman is one of my favorite books. Some of my favorite patterns came from this book. If you like to read a lot and don’t care about patterns, this isn’t the book for you. Victorian Scroll Saw Patterns is patterns and almost nothing but patterns.
