I came to the web site today thinking Mothers' Day and it seemed like Steve read my mind. I downloaded the pattern and got ready to go. The only wood I have in both 1" and 1/2" was cherry (in case that makes a difference later) so that's what I used.
Amazing, on my first try at an angle, I got a perfect 1/4 relief. I got the feeling it was all going to go well. I didn't think that for very long.
I was using a number 7 FD scroll reverse blade. Maybe that was my first mistake but I am still a little iffy on blade selection. When I cut my little bi to test the relief depth, I couldn't get a sharp angle so I had this bright idea that when I got to where I had to turn the corner, I'd back out and change to a number 5 blade. (In hindsight, I realized that would probably have screwed up my relief depth anyway.) Well, it didn't get that far because as I began backing out, I must have twisted the wood or something because all of a sudden the whole piece was banging up and down. I stopped the saw, got a good grip on the wood and tried again. Repeated several times with the same result - banging wood. Finally, I just released the blade at both ends and tried to remove it from the wood with a pair of pliers. Long story at least a little shorter, I now have a chunk of #7 plade trapped in the wood with no little bits extending out either side.
Any ideas on how to get that out of there?