Thread: Recommended books for scrollers newbie

Hi
You must have been deafened by the silence of the non replies. I have the ideal book for you. It's called the New Scroll Saw Handbook by Patrick Spielman. It goes through all main aspects of scrollsawing , with black and white photos of close-up things.

This, together with a little book called the Scroll Saw Workbook by John A Nelson, which gives you graded exercises to learn the basic skills, is what any newcomer needs to really get to terms with the scrollsaw.

When I bought my husband his scroll saw, I quizzed an expert who sells them, and these two books were recommended. In fact, he threw them in for free. Although hubby wanted to walk before he could run, he dutifully went through the exercises and learned quickly.

Cheers
LiliB

Thanks LiliB,

Ya, I have had the impression that nobody are interested in real books these days, every one just googling and find what they want. I'm an old fashion guy although I still use computer, but nothing can replace the feeling of a good book.

I'll check this 2 books out.

Cheers

If you are interested, my partner Sheila recently started teaching a beginner's scroll saw class at the Lumberjocks forum. It's really informal and you can jump in anytime. She will be keeping each lesson short and expects to get in the neighborhood of 15 lessons in all. She currently has 3 lessons posted.

Online Scroll Saw Class - Incredibly Fun Adventures in Scroll Sawing #1: Introduction - Sign Up and Objective


Online Scroll Saw Class - Incredibly Fun Adventures in Scroll Sawing #2: Basic Supplies and (EGADS!) Homework!


Online Scroll Saw Class - Incredibly Fun Adventures in Scroll Sawing #3: Applying the Pattern for Scroll Sawing


She also does a daily blog aside from these lessons on our website and on Lumberjocks.

I'm a great believer in the value of having a book to work through. You can go at your own pace, and even go back to refresh things.

A good example of this is compound cutting. In the normal course of learning the scroll saw you would not necessarily do compound cutting until you've been scroll sawing for awhile. Yet you will get experience at the right time in your personal development schedule via the workbook.You will also probably find you'll want to go back to the book to refresh your memory of the key elements later.

Carbatec has the Scrollsaw Handbook for $33, and the Scroll saw Workbook for $28. So we're not talking a huge investment in the learning process. Those prices are about average for a book of plans for scrollsawing.

Things like Sheila's classes are also a great adjunct to learning. Most of all, though, from watching David's learning experiences, practice is the key. Get yourself some thin pine and some MDF (and of course a dust mask for the MDF) and start cutting once you have your book. You'll get plenty of practice at the basics and then get little things to make that a lovely, and also reinforce your learning with the motivational aspect of having something nice to show for your work.

Cheers
LiliB

Hi Ecsk,
I must have missed your original post sorry, the books that LiliB recommended would be good for you to check out. You can also check out your local library to see if they have any books in their catalogue.

Im not sure what part of Sydney you are in, but you may also want to meet up with other scrollers to share and learn some tips too. Im getting back into the Central Coast Scrollers group (mostly because I used to be a member when I lived up there) and there is also another good group out at Hawkesbury also, the Hawkesbury Woodcraft Co-operative Ltd, speak to John and he will let you know when they meet up if you are interested.

I also recomend spielman's book
This book was the only instruction I have had
Ted H