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Looking for something to interest the kids (or grandchildren) this
summer? How about introducing them to the basics of woodworking with
these simple scroll sawn nightlights.
These nightlight projects are a lot of fun and simple to complete, and they make great gifts.
Needed for this project:
- Pinless blade scroll saw
- No. 2 or 5 skiptooth blade (optional)
- Epoxy glue
- 3/4" Wide masking tape
- 1/8" Thick plywood
- Aluminum roof flashing (optional)
- Nightlight kit (National Artcraft Co., part #393-256-03; telephone 888-937-2723 for catalog or www.nationalartcraft.com)
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You can make yours from scrap wood or even metal, and use a stack cutting technique to really speed up the process. If you are introducing kids to the shop, starting out with 1/8" plywood is recommended.
As you might guess, kids love this sort of project, particularly since they get to actually operate a power tool! (Scroll saws, if approached properly, are one of the safest power tools around.) Even if a child does not do the actual cutting, they can paint or decorate the cutouts as they choose: from a single color (like the flocked frog) or painted with a lot of detail, or simply left natural to show off the wood grain.
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Tip: A quick and unique finish is flocking. Flocking gives a cloth-like feel and look to a project. Simply apply a special coat of flock paint to the project, and apply flocking material per instructions. You can get a flocking kit from any craft store.
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Use epoxy to attach the nightlight's clip to the scroll sawn project. Five-minute epoxy will do fine.
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Use parchment paper to line the back of see-through lights.
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| Stacked cutting is a great way to speed up the process of creating these nightlights. For best results, don't stack parts thicker than about 1/2". |
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For a high-quality, printer-friendly downloadable PDF of this article, click here.
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