Help with two questions.....please

[bronx]

First question:

 

I have been busy cutting and a friend asked me to do an event for Foster Care Children. The only work I have finished are from the patterns I have found on here The Village, Steve Good site, and a few I paid for.

 

I know the very few I paid for is not a problem for me to sell along with Steve Goods patterns. But the best ones come from here The Village. Would there be a problem with me selling finished products from the patterns I have made from here for this and future events or is this just dead wrong...? 

 

I never thought about doing an event. It just never crossed my mind. Actually I was surprised...LOL

 

Second question:

 

Why in the world can't I square a picture frame, a box, etc. I just can't get the miter cuts to line up correctly. I watched YouTube videos, read articles, watched TV programs, and practiced a boat load of times and still can't get the corner to line up correctly.

 

I do have a miter saw and saw the corners at 45 degrees.

 

Any help or hints will be well appreciated.

 

Thanks in advanced

Ciao cliff

[WayneMahler]

I can try and help on the miter cuts. The first thing I would do Is to make sure the saw is adjusted to cut a true 90 and 45 degree angle. I use a quick square for this. If it is out adjust as needed. I also make sure the back support is even on both sides. Mine is not so I cut all my 45's from one side. I'm waiting for a replacement from Ridgid . Also make sure your measurements are dead on. Always cut to the same side of the line you marked. I cut to the outside of my marked line . I always dry fit and frame or box to make sure it fits right and the corners are tight and even. I do this in clamps as applied pressure does affect things. Measure corner to corner to verify the sides are the same size. When things are right, I then glue it up and re-measure then wait for the glue to dry. I hope this helps but doing it this way for me has made it fool proof almost. Oh don't be in a hurry, like scrolling, patience is always good.

[hawkeye10]

Addressing your picture framing question if you are doing it on a table saw every thing has to be square. The blade has to be square with the mitre slots in your table and your mitre gauge has to be dead on 45*. It's really hard to do if you don't have a good after market mitre gauge. If you are doing it with other tools the key to your success is the same. ""Be perfect in your adjustments""

[Bill WIlson]

Cutting precise, tight fitting miters is always a challenge.  First, as Wayne stated, it's imperative that you tune the miter saw to cut exact 45's.  If the saw is off, even by 1/2 a degree, you will have problems, because that 1/2 degree error is on both cuts, so the whole angle is off by 1 degree.  Not all miter saws are easily capable of holding alignment.  Even a little bit of blade wobble will affect the cut.  Do you own a good table saw?  If even after carefully tuning your miter saw, you find that you are still having difficulty getting consistent and accurate cuts, you can try to build a /cross cut/miter sled for your table saw.  There are tons of videos out there on how to do it.  A lot of guys who have struggled using miter saws (even good ones) for picture frames will swear by the accuracy they can achieve with a well designed, yet simple miter sled.

 

Next, good fitting frames require that the matching sides are cut to exactly the same length.  Use stop blocks when cutting 2 or more pieces of the same length.  Also, it's common for wood to move slightly, once the blade has contacted it.  You probably won't even notice it happening, but it does.  Make sure to grip the stock firmly.  If your saw includes an integral stock clamp, use it.  Also helpful is to use a piece of sandpaper, adhered to the fence of the saw, to help hold the stock securely in place.

[Lucky2]

Cliff, of course you can sell the items you make of off the patterns you get on here, that's why the designers post them. They hope we will cut them out, and do what we want with them. Most scroller sites are like that, the only patterns that you can't sell will have a statement on them telling you so. As to your second question, the only thing I can tell you that might help, is that you need to practice making them. Your saw has to be set just so, and the wood has to be straight. If you have these two things, you should be all set. I can cut an almost perfect miter cut at any angle, but, to do so, I wasted a lot of wood. It took a lot of practicing to get so that I could cut them, so that they turned out perfect. So, get some junk wood and practice practice practice! If your cuts are a bit off, sandpaper can be your best friend.

Len

[Clayton717]

Yes you can sell the finished items unless it states on the pattern for personal use only. You just can't sell the patterns,those belong to the designers.

[bronx]

Thanks for the response guys. This will be great help.

 

Ciao

Cliff

[NC Scroller]

Most (especially the low end miter saws) are not exact and sliding miter saw are even worse at getting true 45's and 90's.  They may only be off a degree of so which is fine for most work except mitering for frames.  You can fix your cuts but it requires a shooting board.

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=shooting+board&view=detail&mid=35D1569AE85F200848CA35D1569AE85F200848CA&FORM=VIRE

[amazingkevin]

I can try and help on the miter cuts. The first thing I would do Is to make sure the saw is adjusted to cut a true 90 and 45 degree angle. I use a quick square for this. If it is out adjust as needed. I also make sure the back support is even on both sides. Mine is not so I cut all my 45's from one side. I'm waiting for a replacement from Ridgid . Also make sure your measurements are dead on. Always cut to the same side of the line you marked. I cut to the outside of my marked line . I always dry fit and frame or box to make sure it fits right and the corners are tight and even. I do this in clamps as applied pressure does affect things. Measure corner to corner to verify the sides are the same size. When things are right, I then glue it up and re-measure then wait for the glue to dry. I hope this helps but doing it this way for me has made it fool proof almost. Oh don't be in a hurry, like scrolling, patience is always good.

 

 

Cutting precise, tight fitting miters is always a challenge.  First, as Wayne stated, it's imperative that you tune the miter saw to cut exact 45's.  If the saw is off, even by 1/2 a degree, you will have problems, because that 1/2 degree error is on both cuts, so the whole angle is off by 1 degree.  Not all miter saws are easily capable of holding alignment.  Even a little bit of blade wobble will affect the cut.  Do you own a good table saw?  If even after carefully tuning your miter saw, you find that you are still having difficulty getting consistent and accurate cuts, you can try to build a /cross cut/miter sled for your table saw.  There are tons of videos out there on how to do it.  A lot of guys who have struggled using miter saws (even good ones) for picture frames will swear by the accuracy they can achieve with a well designed, yet simple miter sled.

 

Next, good fitting frames require that the matching sides are cut to exactly the same length.  Use stop blocks when cutting 2 or more pieces of the same length.  Also, it's common for wood to move slightly, once the blade has contacted it.  You probably won't even notice it happening, but it does.  Make sure to grip the stock firmly.  If your saw includes an integral stock clamp, use it.  Also helpful is to use a piece of sandpaper, adhered to the fence of the saw, to help hold the stock securely in place.

 

 

Cliff, of course you can sell the items you make of off the patterns you get on here, that's why the designers post them. They hope we will cut them out, and do what we want with them. Most scroller sites are like that, the only patterns that you can't sell will have a statement on them telling you so. As to your second question, the only thing I can tell you that might help, is that you need to practice making them. Your saw has to be set just so, and the wood has to be straight. If you have these two things, you should be all set. I can cut an almost perfect miter cut at any angle, but, to do so, I wasted a lot of wood. It took a lot of practicing to get so that I could cut them, so that they turned out perfect. So, get some junk wood and practice practice practice! If your cuts are a bit off, sandpaper can be your best friend.

Len

 

 

Most (especially the low end miter saws) are not exact and sliding miter saw are even worse at getting true 45's and 90's.  They may only be off a degree of so which is fine for most work except mitering for frames.  You can fix your cuts but it requires a shooting board.

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=shooting+board&view=detail&mid=35D1569AE85F200848CA35D1569AE85F200848CA&FORM=VIRE

I'll bet that's why i can't o frames too.Figures

[bronx]

Thanks again. I think the problem I'm having is my miter saw. Now it is a DeWalt miter saw that locks in at 45 degrees. Now I did buy this saw from a pawn shop for 10 bucks when I was building my beck on my house. I never changed the blade when it came from the pawn shop and then I put a boat load of cut to build that deck. 

 

So I think i'm going to change the blade and see what happens.

 

Thaks you guys are the best.

[NC Scroller]

Thanks again. I think the problem I'm having is my miter saw. Now it is a DeWalt miter saw that locks in at 45 degrees. Now I did buy this saw from a pawn shop for 10 bucks when I was building my beck on my house. I never changed the blade when it came from the pawn shop and then I put a boat load of cut to build that deck. 

 

So I think i'm going to change the blade and see what happens.

 

Thaks you guys are the best.

Get a blade made strictly for a miter saw. NOT a combination or general purpose blade. Miter blades are generally thin kerf and have a negative hook (angle) on the teeth.

[bronx]

Get a blade made strictly for a miter saw. NOT a combination or general purpose blade. Miter blades are generally thin kerf and have a negative hook (angle) on the teeth.

Thanks....I glad i didn't go buy it yet...LOL

[Jim Finn]

Another approach to making frames is to cut the last cut, (the only one that is a problem) using your scroll saw.  I saw a video once from Japan, I think, where the guy cut all four corners with a scroll saw and did not go for a straight line.  He ended up with wavy miter joints.  I have not tried this (I do not make frames) but it may be worth a try.  What he did was, overlap all four corners, hot glue them together,  and make the  wavy cut using a scroll saw.

[Vott1]

I too was having a problem with Miter cuts. I solved the problem by building a Miter Sled for my table saw. There are a lot of good videos out there on how to build one