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General Category => Ask Steve a question. => Topic started by: Jim-78028 on January 07, 2016, 06:39:25 am
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Steve
Santa brought me a scroll saw for Christmas and I got tired of cutting lines so I drew this up for her store, my first real project. Any and all comments, criticisms, etc would be welcome. Two layers of 1/8" plywood, different stain on each.
Looking at the silhouettes, the narrow part separating the body and arm with the purse - the one on the left survived, the one on the right broke. How in the world do you manage to hold down slim pieces like that to avoid the saw from vibrating them and breaking them?
Do you soak or dip the finished piece in stain or do you stain it first? I stained it first but the leaves the edges of the cutouts unstained. Best option?
I obviously have a long way to go. My biggest problem is focus. When I use hand tools for furniture building, etc, I look where I want to cut, looking at the blade and line is against my habits I guess. Any tips on re-learning that technique?
Thanks
Jim
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Jim,
I really like your project. Especially for a first time try, you did great.
As far as the narrow part breaking off, well "poo-poo occurs" for all of us. I probably would have saved the broken piece and glued it to the backer in the appropriate place.
As far as staining goes, I never stain or put any finish on until the whole part is cut out. I seldom stain the top piece anyway and the backer is OK to stain (in my book) to get the separate distinction of color but, do not put any oil or coating on until the gluing is done. Glue doesn't like to stick to oil or finish very well. You can use a Q-Tip, tooth pick, very small brush, or something to get the stain down onto the edges of the cutouts if you really need to. I don't "dip" finish at all because it usually takes longer to dry out.
I usually wipe on a coat of BLO (boiled linseed oil) to pop the grain on the wood as the last thing and maybe a coat of shellac, lacquer or polyurethane on top of that depending on the look or gloss that I want.
Scroll saw items are not used or handled much for the most part so almost any finish (even none) will last for a long time.
The best tips I can give you for focusing while cutting.....
Your eyes should be on the point where the line meets the blade.
Feed slowly and let the saw do the hard work.
Take a deep breath before starting, shrug your shoulders a bit and start cutting REMBERING TO BREATHE WHILE CUTTING! People tend to hold their breath when trying to concentrate and that is a bad thing! If you find yourself stopping a bit to take a breath, you are not breathing when the blade is working which is the most important time to focus.
Good luck with your next few projects....Oh yea, KEEP THAT FIRST ONE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!....Stay in touch and keep making saw dust. And practice, practice and practice.
Rog
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Thanks Roger, I wonder why I never thought of gluing the piece in there - sigh. I'll try the breathing, I really didn't pay attention to that but you are probably right.
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I cut my blank, sand it, wipe with tack cloth, cover with contact paper, spray adhesive the back of the pattern and apply.
After cutting, I mop sand everything. then I stain with MinWax stain, either dipping or brushing depending on size. Wipe it very well with paper shop towels. Blow out openings with the air compressor.
I make wire hooks to hang it from, then I let it dry at least over night then spray with clear spray from Walmart. Let it dry overnight and then gently rub with a square of brown paper sack.
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Mop sanding? could you explain what you mean?
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Hi Jim:
Check the attachment
This is a mop sander that you put on a drill press
Fab4
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Now that is something new to me, added to my shopping list, thanks Fab
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I have mine mounted on a 1/4 hp motor mounted on a plank which is clamped to my work table so it is sideways instead of up and down. Steve did a review on one some time back.
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I have mine mounted on a 1/4 hp motor mounted on a plank which is clamped to my work table so it is sideways instead of up and down. Steve did a review on one some time back.
Thanks for that idea Judy, I fabricated a jig to hold an old corded Drill for the mop sander. It hangs on the wall now ready to fasten temporarily to the work bench when I need it.
Jim
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Great work! I like the way you did the black and wood background. It makes it stand out! Keep it up!
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Jim - If you hadn't have said anything I would never have guessed something was missing from your intent. As for vibration and small pieces breaking off, cutting a single layer of 1/8" is to easy to break. This happens with 1) to large a blade or 2) trying to turn to tight or aggressively. I'll often cut small intricate areas with a small blade say #1 or #3, then cut larger areas with a #5 or #7. My blade choice is FD-UR blades. Lastly, I often will cut two (or three) pieces of 1/8". This slows down the cutting process giving me time to cut to the line and the multiple layers help support the more fragile pieces. Personally, I like to finish all my pieces separately and use yellow glue if raw wood is still available for gluing. Otherwise, I use gel super glue for attaching finished pieces. PS You have a good designer eye. Cheers Brian
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Brian, thanks for the kind words, really appreciate them.
FD-UR blades - Could you explain what you mean? I'm still learning the lexicon for this hobby
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Jim - one of the scroll saw blade manufacturers is under the name of Flying Dutchman (FD). Mike Moorlach started selling these fine blades about 20 years ago and recently sold is business to "The wooden Teddy Bear". You can still buy blades from www.mikesworkshop.com or www.woodenteddybearonline.com . Wooden...bear will fill your order either way. Another blade manufacturer is Olson Blades. A fair number of people like them also. www.sloanswoodshop.com is one distributor for these blade although some of the big box stores carry a limited choice of their blades. Cheers Brian
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Thanks for the explanation Brian, appreciate it
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Well I think I am starting to get the hang of it, of course now that I said that it will all go to ...
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Awesome work Jim! Where did you get the pattern for the motorcycle?
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JIm
you did a really good job on your first project attempt
you mentioned saw vibration, was wondering what saw did you get?
(does it have a variable speed control on it?)
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@ Danny - I saw something like that a long time ago and drew it, then scanned and cleaned it up in photoshop. What I ended up with is less a pattern than a blotchy picture and I "interpreted" the edges as I was cutting. Can't see it in the pic, but the back of flames have a red tint to it, I steel wooled the flames and put a sedona red stain on top of the red oak stain and the red is subtle enough to show in person.
@ tinker - Thanks tinker, I have the Porter Cable from Lowes. I replaced the plastic puck that is in the middle of the table early this week and it has made a difference. The puck was not flush with the table and it was sagging in the center. I read a thread where someone else had done that and it made me examine my machine.