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.