How To....

[saggioculo]

Is there a secret to making smooth, small, round cuts?  If you look in the Brag Forum at my Madusa, I needed to make really small round cuts, but they didn't come out as rounded and smooth as I would have liked.  I'm using the Flying Dutchman #3 Reverse tooth blade.  The wood is 1/4 inch.  I know plywood is probably not the best wood, but I have ALOT of it.

[Shogun]

saggioculo, The best way I know of is demonstrated in one of Steves tutorials:
http://www.stevedgood.com/school/video0007.html, it may help you. In my opinion making small round cuts is the hardest thin to do. It may help to turn your speed down and cut slower (if you have a variable speed saw) and literally use almost no pressure letting the blade do all the work. I don't know if the old timers would agree with me but it's what I do and it works for me. I wouls also take some scrap and just experiment with cutting the same kinds of cuts to find the speed and pressure that works best.

[dgman]

Hey Anne, it's hard to come up with a solution with out seeing you cut. My suggestions would be to experiment with a smaller blade, feed rate and saw speed. I teach my students to set the saw at a medium speed. If it seems your cutting is going slow, speed it up. If you can't control the cut, slow the speed down.
As I'm cutting, I use a finger to use as a pivot point while turning the workpiece with the other hand.
The most important thing to do is practice, practice, practice!

[jrpeteo]

I'm not sure what you are referring to, I looked really close and I saw nothing wrong with your curved cuts. If you're talking about all the little in and outs of her hair, they look good too. You are your own worst critic. Personally I would have gone with a spiral blade in the hair, but that's just me.
Pete

[saggioculo]

It's probably hard to see in the picture, but some of the curved cuts end up pointed rather then rounded.  There is a pattern I'm dying to try, but it has rosary beads, so making those round cuts are going to be more noticable then the medusa project.

I'm not sure what you are referring to, I looked really close and I saw nothing wrong with your curved cuts. If you're talking about all the little in and outs of her hair, they look good too. You are your own worst critic. Personally I would have gone with a spiral blade in the hair, but that's just me.
Pete

[saggioculo]

What size blade would you recommend for 1/4 inch pine ply?

Hey Anne, it's hard to come up with a solution with out seeing you cut. My suggestions would be to experiment with a smaller blade, feed rate and saw speed. I teach my students to set the saw at a medium speed. If it seems your cutting is going slow, speed it up. If you can't control the cut, slow the speed down.
As I'm cutting, I use a finger to use as a pivot point while turning the workpiece with the other hand.
The most important thing to do is practice, practice, practice!

[saggioculo]

Thank you so much for the link.  I will try going at a slower speed.  I tend to run my saw alittle on the fast side thinking the blade going faster would somehow make tight turns easier.  Not sure what I thought that.

saggioculo, The best way I know of is demonstrated in one of Steves tutorials:
http://www.stevedgood.com/school/video0007.html, it may help you. In my opinion making small round cuts is the hardest thin to do. It may help to turn your speed down and cut slower (if you have a variable speed saw) and literally use almost no pressure letting the blade do all the work. I don't know if the old timers would agree with me but it's what I do and it works for me. I wouls also take some scrap and just experiment with cutting the same kinds of cuts to find the speed and pressure that works best.

[Kepy]

You might try stacking two of the 1/4" pieces.  This should give you better control.

[IBMer]

Just take your time, go very slow and practice.    Grab a scrap piece of wood and cut loops and circles until your run out of space.    Cutting letters is harder for me than let's say an image of an animal.   We have a very detailed concept of how the letter B or S must look.    On the other hand if you cut out a fish or bird, it's not necessary to be make perfect curves.   They eye isn't trained to seek out specific shapes in objects and adapts to small imperfections, where we have a need to see perfectly shaped letters.

[dirtrider73068]

When I do curves, or small circles, I start the curve and don't stop till the end, if you stop in the middle then start again you will have a bend or spot where you stopped. I also look ahead in the curve as if driving giving me time to adjust and follow the line, I also leave a tad at the line so if I have to sand or use my needle files it leaves some wood to take out to make it better or near perfect.

[dgman]

As I was sitting behind my saw cutting away today, I thought about another tip that may or may not help you. If you stray off the line as you are cutting, do not make an abrupt return to the line. Making a gradual return to the line will be less noticeable. Straying off the line is inevitable, but it does not have to be noticeable.
Here is another tip. Most blades have a burr on the right side from the manufacturing process. If you make a miss cut, you can go back with the right side of the blade and nibble away at it till it's smooth. Hope this will help you!
PS. For 1/4" pine plywood, I would use a FD Ultra Reverse #1 or #3.

[dirtrider73068]

As I was sitting behind my saw cutting away today, I thought about another tip that may or may not help you. If you stray off the line as you are cutting, do not make an abrupt return to the line. Making a gradual return to the line will be less noticeable. Straying off the line is inevitable, but it does not have to be noticeable.
Here is another tip. Most blades have a burr on the right side from the manufacturing process. If you make a miss cut, you can go back with the right side of the blade and nibble away at it till it's smooth. Hope this will help you!
PS. For 1/4" pine plywood, I would use a FD Ultra Reverse #1 or #3.

I found this out real fast when I stray away not to stop and go over it can be seen, I learned pretty quick to slowly go back on line, its easier to sand, file, or dremel out then trying to get a V point out of a curve. Or like you said go back and shave the wood off to the line.

[Danny]

This has been a Good Topic to read.  From my experience cutting a single piece of
say 1/4" Ply or Pine or most any soft wood is much harder more difficult to say cut
a Curve line.  Using a scrap 1/8 bottom piece makes the world of difference.  I always
Stack cut most all my projects.  My experience with the Speed is I have almost 100%
accurate control of following the line with my saw approx. 3/4.  I have some problems
staying on the line with the saw going SLOWER.  I also 100% Swear by FD-UR #1
blades for cutting even up to 3/4" stock.  Hard-Hard woods are different.  Danny  :+}