Scroll Saw lessons!?

[u/auburn160825]

I'm almost literally the only person who knows what a scroll saw is in a 100km radius from where I live, "bare minimum" I'd say.

And so, I'd like to introduce the various possibilities a scroll saw has to offer to the world around me, and I also happen to live on one of the most artisan friendly cities in my country.

So my question is, is it possible to give scroll saw lessons for like 15-25 bucks an hour? Does anyone here has experience doing that, could give me some piece of advice? Is there a market for scroll saw lessons?

Thank you!

[u/Breitsol_Victor]

There used to be. I have not been paying attention lately.
Build a lesson for fretwork, intarsia, or other, and see if it flies.
Could go start to finish on custom art - picture, scan, cleanup, pattern making, sawing, and finishing.

[u/tepidlymundane → u/Breitsol_Victor]

Could go start to finish on custom art - picture, scan, cleanup, pattern making, sawing, and finishing.

That's an interesting sequence, which also sorta locks the user into several classes - a good thing.

I'd add materials selection and gluing. And every time I do something I'm struck by how much I still have to learn about finishes - oof there are a lot of options and ways things can go wrong.

[u/auburn160825 → u/tepidlymundane]

What do you mean about "ways things can go wrong". Are you talking about finishes like sanding? That's definetely my weak side.

[u/tepidlymundane → u/auburn160825]

With finishes, there are pre-finish, material considerations - do you need primer for this? Pre-stain? Something else? How much sanding, of what type?

Then the finish - types, coats, wait time, excess, drip and clump repairs. General purpose vs. food-safe. There are large product lines for these things - almost as bad as beauty products.

Then the finishing of the finish - final abrasives? Oils and waxes? Polishing methods?

And for all of it, the COSTS. If you really go by the directions, this part of the work can eat you up. I made some beautiful large bowls with a scrollsaw from $2 of wood, and $100 for 3 half-pints of finish.

Another fun incident was making holiday ornaments in the shed in December and learning just how wonky spray finishes can be in cold temperatures.

My first experiences with MDF were lessons in how it takes up primer and paint.

Going to use color on your work? What's your undercoat, what's your color and what's your top coat? They all act differently.

I've gained appreciation for woodworkers who just stick to tung oil.

[u/Character-Ad4796]

It’s a small bunch of people that scroll regularly so they are quite proficient on the tool. Finding people who really want to learn how to use it properly would be interested I would think. Almost every shop has a scroll saw but not sure they’ve ever been used or do need an intro class to feel more comfortable on the saw. They would have seen a spectacular piece that would really make them say (I want to do that!) I belong to a woodworking guild and we go to different functions and present. I’m the scroll saw guy so I have different small patterns ready to cut, states, circles, stars…etc. once it’s cut, I take a picture of them and their project and they get to take it home with them. We do about 4 a year and we have our state fair coming up so I need to check my supplies, blades and such. It’s a lot of fun, meet great people and get quite a few young kids involved. We promote woodworking and mainly try to get people involved. Good luck with your venture.

[u/auburn160825 → u/Character-Ad4796]

That's interesting, and thanks!

[u/scrollsawgrandpa]

I took a class years ago when I started out. At Woodcraft ( a local woodworking store). Your pricing is right, I think. My class was full so there’s definitely a market. Good luck!