Scroll saw master!

Today we visited the City of Mitcham (South Australia) Sustainability Community Fair. In "The Shed" we saw the woodworking section where the men make toys and all types of projects in wood. This guy in my blip, (who still has all his fingers), really fascinated me, using the scroll saw. It looked like a lot of fun. See it in LARGE.

I was not familiar with scroll saw and so looked up a bit of background info on it to share with you. Scroll saws are the tool of choice for creating intricate designs in woodworking projects. The small blade and simple operation make an excellent combination for producing eye-catching fretwork and seamless inlays.

Unfortunately, many woodworkers have a hard time controlling the precision of their cuts. The secret is lots of practice.
Note the blur of the arm of the saw, vibrating up and down.

The craftsman was keeping his dominant index finger close to the blade to improve cutting accuracy, and then allowing the wood to feed into the blade. He told me that forcing the blade into the wood will cause it to break and potentially ruin the project.