Born in
Budapest, Hungary, scroll saw guru Frank Porzsgai attributes his love for
wood cutting to his early days in concentration and "displaced
persons" camps in Germany.
Awaiting liberation, he found solace and amusement in creating some
artistic or usable object out of wood whenever he could find a scrap. Later on, while attending college in Los
Angeles, Frank excelled in art, especially drawing and painting. While he went on to pursue a career in
industrial engineering and facilities engineering management, he never lost
his love for wood and art. Finally, in
1989, Frank found himself laid up with back problems. As part of his "boredom therapy"
he purchased an inexpensive 15" scroll saw. Suddenly his artistic talents and
industrial engineering background started paying dividends! Frank set to work , retrofitting the
machine with numerous custom-designed accessories to make it more user
friendly. He also began creating
three-dimensional patterns, and finally, he added the idea of carving his 3-D
figures to give them greater realism and personality. Soon he was being urged by other saw users
to go into mass-production of his accessories and designs. Because of his success, Frank has been
featured in Woodworker's Business News, and presently teaches weekly classes
and workshops in the Portland, Oregon area. He continues to work with users, manufacturers and retail
stores. Frank's "how-to"
videos have enjoyed great success. His
company, Porzsgai's Designs, is dedicated to "Removing Obstacles to
Success," and he works hard to develop unique state-of-the-art products
and strong technical support for customers.
Frank's previous six books, The Scroll Saw Book, Scroll Saw Pictures,
A Scroll Saw Christmas, 54 3-D Scroll Saw Patterns, 79 Wildlife Patterns for
the Scroll Saw, and Incredible Stackables: Ornamental Scroll Saw Patterns,
have received critical acclaim. These
two new books should please those who wish to share in his arts & crafts
talent. Frank Pozsgai lives in Aloha,
Oregon, where he runs his workshop & business. Mark
Downing was born in Hotchkiss, Colorado and raised at Ragged Mountain and
Paonia, Colorado. After service in the
Navy, serving in Vietnam, Mark worked
as a fourth generation coal miner. He
began his scroll saw work after being disabled in a coal mining
accident. His wife bought him a Dremel
two-speed 16 inch scroll saw, hoping that it would give him some way to
occupy his time. After cutting for
some time in wood, a friend asked Mark if he could cut out metal designs with
the scroll saw. Mark says "Like
an idiot I said 'Sure I can do that!' then I had to figure out
how." It was in this time that
Mark called Frank to order some new blades.
Though they have yet to meet, they have shared their love of scroll
sawing ever since. It seemed a natural
for them to team up for a book on metal scroll sawing. Mark now resides in Grand Junction,
Colorado, with his wife, Johanna, and son, Ryan. His two daughters, Laura and
Jamie, are grown and on their own. His
16 year old niece, Mandy, is now an apprentice in Mark's shop.
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