Big Question

[Bubba1962]

Ok folks, here's the deal,

I've been trying like the devil to make a bowl, in accordance with Carole Rothman's directions in the latest edition of scrollsawer...

I've got the DeWalt 788, I drill the holes at the 28 degrees, but HOW DO I KNOW FOR SURE IT IS THERE?

I'm just trusting that the scale on the saw is correct, and am having a tough time. If you have this mag, and look on page 42, picture/step 7, my cut pieces are nowhere near as close to fitting as hers.

Any suggestions before I go crazy? Thanks in advance

 

Bubba

[Gypsum]

If you don't have one, I would go to Sears, Woodcraft, etc; and purchase a protractor. Take a 3 X 5 card and draw the line on it. Line the blade up with the line and you should be good. One of the Mags, I think it was ScrollSawer had a gauge that you could photocopy and then cut and fold to make a pretty good tool for blade alignment. I use it all the time. Hope this helps.

[Travis]

I've never made bowls, but here is my understanding of the process. The angle will vary, depending on the thickness of your wood. I'd do a few test cuts on some scrap first to find that magic angle. It doesn't have to match exactly, just get close to the mark. Glue the sides of the bowl together and then sand the inside of the bowl to even everything out. Once you're happy with the results, glue on the bottom. Then sand the outside of the bowl. I think that will save you a lot of frustration trying to find the exact angle. Besides, any little flex in the blade while you're cutting will make the bowl pieces not line up perfectly anyway. Using the sanding in conjunction with the bevel cutting will produce really cool results.

[Dan]

Travis nailed it on the head. I've done a few bowls and I just set the table tilt close to the angle needed. The pieces never fit perfectly and it does take a lot of sanding. Once sanded, the bowls look amazing. The first one I made from pine so I could see what I was in for. I was fustrated until I finished sanding then saw how well things fit. If I make any more of them (and I probably will) I'll invest in an oscillating sander.