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JimiJimi

Established Member
Joined
7 Jan 2013
Messages
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Location
Hebden Bridge
Hi All

I've been tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to make a bowl on the scroll saw but it is impossible to even set up the table! I understand that I have to tilt the table, but how is it even possible to saw at a 40 degree angle without the wood sliding off? And how the hell do I drill accurate pilot holes at that angle? I made a pattern with concentric rings 15mm apart and am wanting to use 15mm wood. I would have thought the angle would work out at 45 degrees but according to the tilt measuring scale on the scroll saw, it is 40 degrees once I line up the blade. I have tried eyeballing the drilling angle - didn't work. I have tried using my dremel drill press but there is no way to accurately set an angle. Maybe it is just that I don't have the correct tools? More likely that it is a skill that is beyond me though.

Has anyone else had any success at this?

Jimi
 
UPDATE

The holes that I drilled on the dremel drill press turned out to be 30 degrees and not 45, so this must have been error on my part. I set the scroll saw table to match the holes that I had drilled - rather than the other way around - just to see if it would work. Obviously the bowl won't now fit together, but it is possible to cut along the lines without the wood sliding off, although it is a killer on the wrists. So now my next issue is drilling accurate pilot holes.

Watch this space...
 
I am using a Dremel drill press. There are unmarked notches that allow the drill - rather than the table - to be tilted. I think they must be at 15 degree intervals. I will try again tomorrow to drill at 45 degrees. Another problem is that when I tilt the saw table by 45 degrees, the dust extraction port gets it the way of turning the wood. I will have to look to see if it can be taken off. I have already discovered that I have to remove the table insert.
 
UPDATE:

Well I managed to drill 45 degree holes with some sort of accuracy, using the Dremel drill press. However, 45 degrees is a lot harder to cut out than the 30 degrees I tried before. It is very hard to follow the line - I haven't made anything this lumpy since my early days of scroll sawing. In the end, I didn't need to take off the dust extraction port, as I cut off most of the excess wood from around the pattern first.

I did find this site ScrollMania! which has an angle calculator tool for accurately working out the angle to set the table

Other problems I came across were that I couldn't put the blade in the top clamp as far as I usually do, as the quick release knob was in danger of banging against the wood (as the right side was now raised by 45 degrees). There was one heart-stopping moment when the blade slipped out mid-cut,

Also, the edge of the previous cut was really sharp and difficult to hold. And there was some serious blade bending going on, as the wood would slowly slide down the table as I was cutting it.

I am gluing the pieces together now, minus the base, as this should make the insides of the bowl easier to sand. Overall, the pieces seem to fit together quite well, meaning that the lumpy bits on one ring fit together with the corresponding lumps on the next ring! I will try to post some pictures - if the whole thing doesn't look too embarrassing!

Jimi
 
This is exaclty why I opted for an excalibur style scroll saw
 
Don't rush out an buy one JimiJimi. Read the threads on the scroll saw forum section first
 
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