Butterfly Exercise

[Kierri]

Hi all,

As previously mentioned, I'm working on the butterfly project in Scroll Saw Workbook and have got as far as the photocopy. Me thinks I'm scared of failure and so research instead of practice.

Anyway, it is suggesting 3/4 pine or even thicker and a No.5 Skip Tooth Blade. So I find what I think is a No.5, although it looks ever so fine and the pine seems ever so thick to me.

It didn't seem to mention any other blades for the internal cuts.

Would this be correct?

Many thanks,

Kierri x

P.s. Hegner quick clamp ordered online today! Yay!

 

[ChrisR]

Kierri.

Number one, don’t be afraid of failures, it is frustrating to have a failure but after many years of scroll sawing I still have a failure from time to time, as do everybody.

Number 5 skip tooth blade will be ok for that thickness of wood, just depends on how intricate the pattern is, you may be able to use a number 7 if not to intricate. With pine the skip tooth will clear the saw dust better, especially if the pine is a bit green (not completely dried out), but if dry then a reverse tooth blade may be better as it will have minimum breakout on the underside of your work piece, which means less sanding and cleaning of the cuts.

I use reverse tooth blades most of the time, and my go to sizes are number 3,5 & 7.

You will soon get the feel of which size blade is wright for the job in hand.

Hope this is of help.

Chris R.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi Kierri. I agree with Chris and his comments.I also do a lot of internal cuts,I am cutting a piece of Beech for a door plaque.Beech is harder and I am using a No 5 Reverse Skip.Kierri please don't be frightened about starting a project.
It is the same with any hobby,practice,practice,and more practice.I prefer to be hands on,than reading a book,and sooner be shown than to read.I seem to pick it up better.
We all can make mistakes,that is part of joy of our hobby.Experience can not be bought but has long has we learn along the way from our mistakes then we get a little wiser. :roll:

Bryan

 

[gilljc]

Give it a go, if you find the internal cuts difficult, try different size blades, the tighter the turn, the finer the blade you need to make it easy, if the blade seems to be 'running away' with you either slow your speed down if you can or use a finer blade. I much prefer reverse tooth blades cos I hate the sanding needed otherwise. remember you can cut any pattern that has been printed, and you can experiment with different thicknesses of wood for a different look to the same project - make up your own rules

 

[finneyb]

Or you could try the internal cuts on a piece of scrap to start with - eg on a unused part of the main wood.

Brian

 

[Kierri]

Thank you everyone for your kind replies and advice. I guess there is only one thing for it, get started, stop reading, just do it! Very good advice for many other areas of life too! I take everything on board and will take all advice and use it. I also must remember... It's supposed to be fun! So making my own rules, is excellent advice indeed. Big smile

Silly question time.... I've seen YouTube videos of people making tight angle turns and curves, how do you do this when the blade bends? It seems to get twisted in the wood and I'm scared it will break. Should I use a slower speed for this kind of thing?

Thanks guys - my lil heroes )

Kierri xx

 

[gilljc]

Hi Kierri
with tight turns, keep watching the videos, and practice. The blade will turn if your tension is good, don't be afraid of tightening up your blade Putting it in words is difficult, but when you get to the turn 'lean' the wood into the back of the blade to slow the cut and 'spin' the wood whilst using your pressure hand as a pivot point, the blade will twist around and won't break. Experiment with different speeds if your saw is variable speed. Check out Sheila Landry's site, if I remember right, she has some very good video tutorials on there.
Have fun
Gill

 

[Kierri]

Hiya Gill,

Thank you for your advice! When I tried tight turns on the cheap SIP saw, I could never get it right - but I did manage to get a better turn, on the better Awfs18 - but still not what I want. I watched the videos by the guy from the Woodworkers Guild of America and he makes it look so easy! But will keep on trying and I will visit Sheila's page again, as I am already a regular visitor there. Thank you

Re: blade tension... On the backside of the table insert there is a slight indentation from the blade, does that mean my tension is not tight enough?

Thank you

 

[gilljc]

Um - not sure about indentation on table insert, doesn't sound right, you should get a high pitched 'ting' from the blade, again check Sheila's videos, she tests a scrollsaw on one of them, and although it may be different saw, she 'pings' the blade and you can get a rough guide from that. have you checked your PM?

 

[Kierri]

PM? I have no private messages... So I'm guessing you don't mean that...

 

[Claymore]

.........

 

[Kierri]

Oh I know what you mean! I get so frustrated when I make such a mistake, especially when it's not easily hidden. I didn't know what was the best approach, as I wondered if people say to spin the work quickly would only work if the blade was going really fast, but not at a slower speed. With blades, speeds & materials, it's a lot of information to take in.

Your intarsia is fab! Do you cut around each little piece by piece, shape and sand, or the whole thing as a whole jigsaw type piece and then colour and sand?

You're a proper genius If I ever have enough money to pay you what you deserve for one of your intarsia, I wouldn't have to think twice!

Kierri xx