Children's Dinosaur Puzzle/Scroll Saw Project

If you are looking for a quick easy project to build something for your kids then this is it! Both a project to hone your skills on a scroll saw and something to educate your children.Be sure to check out the above build video!

Wood of your choice, I used Walnut

Scroll Saw

Scroll Saw Spiral Blades

Table saw or Jigsaw

Drill press or Hand Drill

Small Drill Bit

Scroll Saw Pattern of your choice

Spray Adhesive

Power Planer

Dewalt Orbital Sander

Orbital Sander Sand Paper

Butcher Block Oil

If you purchase wood that has already been surfaced, say a 1 x 8 piece of oak board purchased from a big box store you will not have to do this step. I personally have a ton of rough cut walnut laying around. So I started off by surfacing two sides of the board until smooth.

After you have selected the pattern you would like to use, simply use some spray adhesive the glue the pattern to the wood.

At this point you will want to remove as much material as you can. I used my table saw to cut as close to the outline of the dinosaur as I could. This could also be done using a jig saw.

Now the fun part! With a spiral blade inserted into the scroll saw I started by cutting out the outline of the dinosaur. I found for best results you will always want to be pushing the piece away from you in the same direction. In other words the means you will be rotating the piece as you are cutting so that you can always be pushing away from you.

Continue to cut out the separate pieces until they are all separated.

If your pattern has any cut outs that will have to be done in the interior of the pieces you will have to start by drilling out pilot holes. I was able to use a 1/8" drill bit as it was small enough to fit inside the outline. Mainly you will just have to use a big enough bit so that you can then pass the spiral blade through the wood which is in the next step.

Remove the top portion of the blade, pass it through the work piece and finally reattach it back to the scroll saw. From here you can finish cutting out any interior holes.

Everyone's favorite part! I started by laying a piece of 80 grit sandpaper on my work bench and sanding any rough edges left by the scroll saw. I then moved over to the disk sander to remove the scroll saw pattern paper. This can be done by hand or sometimes the paper will lift off if the adhesive doesn't stick as well as mine did.

Finally I sanded each edge of the pieces to remove any sharp corners as well as sanding everything down to 120 grit sandpaper.

I wanted to be sure to use something that was safe for my son. So I chose to use Butcher Block Conditioner picked up from my local big box store. If it's safe for food, it's safe for little hands! Start by applying liberal amounts all over the pieces and rub it in thoroughly by hand. Getting into all the nooks can be a bit challenging. An after thought was that a small tooth brush would have helped with this. Just make sure not to use your wife's current tooth brush;) Once all the finish is applied wipe the excess off with a clean towel or rag. I used a shop towel for this.

Now the project is done and it's time for the little one's to play and learn!