Born inBudapest, Hungary, scroll saw guru Frank Porzsgai attributes his love forwood cutting to his early days in concentration and "displacedpersons" camps in Germany. Awaiting liberation, he found solace and amusement in creating someartistic or usable object out of wood whenever he could find a scrap. Later on, while attending college in LosAngeles, Frank excelled in art, especially drawing and painting. While he went on to pursue a career inindustrial engineering and facilities engineering management, he never losthis love for wood and art. Finally, in1989, 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 andindustrial engineering background started paying dividends! Frank set to work , retrofitting themachine with numerous custom-designed accessories to make it more userfriendly. He also began creatingthree-dimensional patterns, and finally, he added the idea of carving his 3-Dfigures to give them greater realism and personality. Soon he was being urged by other saw usersto go into mass-production of his accessories and designs. Because of his success, Frank has beenfeatured in Woodworker's Business News, and presently teaches weekly classesand workshops in the Portland, Oregon area. He continues to work with users, manufacturers and retailstores. Frank's "how-to"videos have enjoyed great success. Hiscompany, Porzsgai's Designs, is dedicated to "Removing Obstacles toSuccess," and he works hard to develop unique state-of-the-art productsand 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 forthe Scroll Saw, and Incredible Stackables: Ornamental Scroll Saw Patterns,have received critical acclaim. Thesetwo new books should please those who wish to share in his arts & craftstalent. Frank Pozsgai lives in Aloha,Oregon, where he runs his workshop & business. MarkDowning was born in Hotchkiss, Colorado and raised at Ragged Mountain andPaonia, Colorado. After service in theNavy, serving in Vietnam, Mark workedas a fourth generation coal miner. Hebegan his scroll saw work after being disabled in a coal miningaccident. His wife bought him a Dremeltwo-speed 16 inch scroll saw, hoping that it would give him some way tooccupy his time. After cutting forsome time in wood, a friend asked Mark if he could cut out metal designs withthe scroll saw. Mark says "Likean idiot I said 'Sure I can do that!' then I had to figure outhow." It was in this time thatMark called Frank to order some new blades. Though they have yet to meet, they have shared their love of scrollsawing ever since. It seemed a naturalfor 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 andJamie, are grown and on their own. His16 year old niece, Mandy, is now an apprentice in Mark's shop.
