The Story Behind the Saw
Built by a scroller.
For scrollers.
I’m not a programmer. I’m a project manager who fell in love with a scroll saw, got frustrated with the tools that didn’t understand the craft, and decided to build the one that did.
How This Started
A Ryobi in a box.
Still in the box.
While on disability in retirement, a friend decided I needed something to do. One day she dropped off a Ryobi 16″ scroll saw — still in the box. I had no idea what was about to happen.
Two weeks later, after watching almost every Steve Good video on YouTube, I finally got on the saw.
“I fell in love.”
The focus. The quiet.
The way everything else just… fades.
The Gap
Every board is
a calculation.
Here’s the thing about being on disability: supplies cost money. Mistakes cost more. I wanted to design my own patterns, but the tools out there? Either way out of my budget, or built for graphic designers who’ve never held a blade.
They don’t understand blade width. They can’t warn you when an island’s about to fall out. They think in pixels, not blade widths.
So I had a choice: walk away from scrolling, or build what we were all missing.
I chose to build.
About the Name
It kept ripping
my ideas apart.
I’m not a programmer. I’m a project manager. But I know how to break down complex work, and I partnered with AI to help me build this.
Early on, the AI kept busting my chops. Every idea I had, it would tear apart. “That won’t work.” “Here’s why that fails.” Constantly ripping me up.
“You know what?
— The moment the name stuck
I’m calling you RipSaw.
Because you rip me up
all the time.”
For the Ones Who Shaped Me
RipSaw exists because
they made me stay.
I can’t talk about this journey without talking about the people who got me here.
Wood portrait by Vern Bishop — used with his kind permission.
In Loving Memory
Steve Good
Founder of the Scroll Saw Workshop
His videos taught me everything when I was just starting out. His generosity with patterns, his patience in explaining techniques, his way of making beginners feel welcome — there was nothing quite like it.
For nearly twenty years he shared his patterns freely — almost every day — with scrollers all over the world. He asked for nothing back. He just wanted more people to feel the quiet joy of the saw.
Steve has passed, and it hit the entire community hard. But what he put into scrollers lives — in every pattern we cut, in every beginner we encourage, in the peace we find at the saw.
Kathy Wise
Her patterns make me dream of scrolling. That’s the only way I can describe it.
Newton Makes
Skills beyond my comprehension. The kind of craftsmanship that makes you want to keep pushing.
Wendal Woodworks
Danielle
A wholesome family woman whose heart shines out in her work. You can feel it in everything she creates.
This is for them. And for everyone they’ve inspired.
What I Hope You Feel
I still can’t believe I can create the things I create now. Every time I finish a piece, there’s this moment of genuine surprise.
That’s what I want RipSaw to give you. Not just a tool — growth in your craft. The confidence to try patterns you thought were beyond you. The ability to design what’s in your head and actually cut it.
I made that.
Damn, I can’t wait to see what you make.
Who I Am
Roberta Matera
Scroll saw artist. Retired project manager turned scroll saw application developer. Community contributor.
I’m not building a tech company. I’m building a tool for us — shaped by scroller feedback, open for the community to improve.
The Details
- OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit — Mac coming soon
- Built with: Python, PyQt6, Shapely
- File format: .forge (human-readable JSON)
- Export: PDF at 1:1 scale, multi-page tiling
- Cost: $99 one-time
RipSaw handles the physics.
Less Computing · More Scrolling
You handle the art.