Pressure - the one thing that's indescribable?

[new2woodwrk]

One thing I notice about many techniques and aspects of wood working is the amount of pressure to apply during various stages of application. Yet, I've only read maybe 1 or 2 articles that actually describe the amount of pressure to use during techniques.

Here are a few examples:

• Scrolling - how much pressure do you apply when pushing your work piece to the blade?
• Hand Sanding - how much pressure do you apply when sanding a work piece?
• Painting - how much pressure do you apply when painting a coat on a piece, do you dab, do you stroke, do you "tickle"?

I now know when scrolling to use just enough pressure until the blade starts to cut the wood - I also notice, that sometimes the blade cuts really well when a certain amount of pressure is applied and not very well when less pressure is applied.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

[MTCowpoke22]

As far as pressure when cutting, ya just have to try different things and see what works best for you. But generally you only want to push hard enough to keep the wood moving through the blade. Don't force it or you can bend the blade and/or your cuts won't be square. For me, sanding depends on what I'm doing. Finish sanding is pretty light, but if I'm removing a pattern, it can get fairly aggressive. However, you have to be careful when sanding thing plywood. Don't want to sand through the top layer. Painting??? Almost every project I do gets spray finish or oil finish. If it has a backer, it's also spray painted.

[Dan]

Well Jes, people have come up with various ways to describe the amount of pressure they use for different tasks. The truth is, even if there were measurements, not everyone would agree that it is correct. I may push hard on the blade and someone may be using the same pressure and say they are hardly pushing on the blade. It all comes down to what you feel comfortable with. And, that may change as you get more familiar with the way you like to cut. The same goes for sanding and probably everything else. Don't get hung up on it or you'll go crazy. Just cut and enjoy. And, like the late Carter Johnson always said, "just have phun". 

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, new2woodwrk said:

One thing I notice about many techniques and aspects of wood working is the amount of pressure to apply during various stages of application. Yet, I've only read maybe 1 or 2 articles that actually describe the amount of pressure to use during techniques.

Here are a few examples:

• Scrolling - how much pressure do you apply when pushing your work piece to the blade?
• Hand Sanding - how much pressure do you apply when sanding a work piece?
• Painting - how much pressure do you apply when painting a coat on a piece, do you dab, do you stroke, do you "tickle"?

I now know when scrolling to use just enough pressure until the blade starts to cut the wood - I also notice, that sometimes the blade cuts really well when a certain amount of pressure is applied and not very well when less pressure is applied.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

I think it's because it's something that you just have to develop over time and experience. If you never get the "feel" for what you are doing, you are not cut out for working with power equipment. Nothing like experience. It's still the best teacher. A certain amount of common sense enters the picture too.

Ray

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

There is no way to measure that type of pressure because everyone is different. I may use my fingers more than someone who uses their arms more and so forth. Just establish what works for you and run with it. No rights and wrongs here.

[SCROLLSAW703]

It's all perty much been dumped in your lap. I think I would add a couple things to it, though. Dan & Cowpoke said it best! You have to figure out what works for you.

Depending on the thickness of the material you're cuttin', the blade you choose to use, blade speed, & how well you're lookin' after your saw deck, all play into pressure. Learn to listen to your blade. Every blade has it's own voice. If you try to put to much down pressure on the project, relax a little bit, let the blade do the work.  And Speed creates heat. Learn to cut at a speed you're comfortable at, & progress. 

Sanding? I do all my sandin' before I even consider puttin' a pattern on. Depending on the size of the project, I run it thru the drum sander, both sides, a couple times, then use a palm sander & sand it down to 220. The reason I use a palm sander is bcause there won't be any circle marks from a ros sander. Pressure on the sander is just enough to control it. There ain't any need to work yourself to death sandin'. Let it do the work for ya. Same if ya start with a belt sander, or use a ros. The more pressure ya put on it, the more wood the sander is goin' to eat, in turn, more marks to deal with. Common sense kinda kicks in for most folks.

I use a craft knife to clean the entire pattern off the the finished product. Then lightly go over it with a palm sander & 220 grit paper. Then do the back side, too. 

Hopefully I didn't over step my bounds. This is most of what I do. jm .02 pennies worth.

[wombatie]

One thing I do know is that you should not cut when you are in a hurry, because you put excess pressure on the blade and snap it.  I learnt that one a couple of times.

Marg

[Rockytime]

Haste makes waste for sure.

[JimErn]

I'm two years new to this too, and what I found helps the most is to stop watching video's of the "pro's" cutting something.  (Sorry to those who spend the time doing that)  I see the speed and accuracy they exhibit and it makes me want to do it too, when I find myself doing that, competing so to speak, that is when I have problems.

I feed the piece slowly, probably drive a "pro" nuts watching, but I find I enjoy it more and there is less fuzzies to deal with when I am done.

[tomsteve]

1 hour ago, JimErn said:

I'm two years new to this too, and what I found helps the most is to stop watching video's of the "pro's" cutting something. 

i think we both highly respect those that make the videos, but i also agree. it woulkd be like learning to ballroom dance and watching pros make it look real simple- id get frustrated.

i think the 3 questions posed has the same answer as an old jack benny joke:

how do you get to carnegie hall?

practice,practice,practice.

 

[kmmcrafts]

I tend to put too much pressure when cutting thick wood that is just going too slow for me.. 

When I first started sawing I was cutting thin wood.. the cutting was going so fast for me I had a hard time staying where I needed to be cutting at..  so then I learned about stack cutting.. I started stack cutting and learned that it's easier to control my cutting with some thicker wood.. I got used to "how to cut" by cutting stacks.. at a comfy pace... then I started cutting different things.. Most people don't learn this stuff over night. 

When I started being successful with selling my crafts.. a good friend of mine wanted a piece of the action too.. and thought he'd make some easy money ( I made it look easy ) so he started shopping scroll saws.. found an awesome deal on a brand new Hawk 216VS that was .. $100... I gave him about 3 blades of every blade style and brand I had and some pieces of ply to get started.. He did make some stuff but found it not as easy as I made it look.. One thing that set him up for failure right away was the fact that.. His sole purpose for scroll sawing in the first place was what? ( Make some money ).. I see this all the time.. people browsing handmade sites such as etsy and whatnot and thinking they want to make some easy money and choose a craft style or item that interest them.. and they want to do that.. without really knowing what the craft actually involves.

Sorry I got off into the business topic again.. I always do that somehow I only mentioned it because much of what I gather from you're post make you sound much like my friend... Most all successful crafts business's start by accident rather than on purpose.. They find that they love what they do and can make some money doing what they love.  Iggy didn't start his puzzle empire by going all in and getting a saw etc because he seen some puzzles online and thought he could make a business doing that.. He started making them for his grand-kids.. then started giving them away.. because he enjoyed making them..one thing lead to another and now he's making money doing what he likes.. same for me.. 

As JimErn said.. watching you tube videos of the pros.. you won't start out like that.. and not many people will video their failures.. or they might video them.. but they won't end up on youube.. because most people will not admit failures. LOL..  and actually.. it might be a good idea to video yourself and then play it back to watch for yourself.. you might learn something about your cutting by watching what it is your actually doing..  

I hope you don't take offence to what I say here..  just take your time in learning the hobby.. relax it's not a race.. you'll enjoy more and learn much better by just taking your time.. scroll saws aren't fast cutting machines unless your purposely trying to go slow 

Edited March 11, 2018 by kmmcrafts

[Bill WIlson]

The thing about pressure is that most folks use too much.  The old adage of letting the tool do the job applies in all these cases, even the paint brush.  Use a good quality paint brush.  It will hold a lot of material.  Draw the brush across the board and let the material flow off onto the surface, rather than push it down and try to force the finish onto the wood.  It's all about technique, just like with the scroll saw and the sander.

[Rockytime]

Kevin, I agree with your assessment. I just scroll so I can admire some nice sawdust. The only things I give away are puzzles I give to my little friend Hope. Hope is a little adopted Chinese girl who unfortunately is missing either an X or Y chromosome. My puzzles are good for a nice hug. I know her through my Bible study.  I think I have made a friend for life which probably not be that long. :>)

[new2woodwrk]

11 hours ago, JimErn said:

I'm two years new to this too, and what I found helps the most is to stop watching video's of the "pro's" cutting something.  (Sorry to those who spend the time doing that)  I see the speed and accuracy they exhibit and it makes me want to do it too, when I find myself doing that, competing so to speak, that is when I have problems.

I feed the piece slowly, probably drive a "pro" nuts watching, but I find I enjoy it more and there is less fuzzies to deal with when I am done.

Yah, I would agree with you completely - also, right now I'm slower than molasses!

When I do try to speed up, I inevitably screw up - happened this past weekend, thought I could turn up the speed on an outside cut and messed the whole thing up.

Also thought I could jump right in and do some letters... Nope - major failure there.

I enjoy watching some videos, where they're attempting to teach something unfortunately I don't learn very well from watching - I much prefer to try, then ask questions or be "guided" while I'm trying. Guess I'm just old school that way.

 

9 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I tend to put too much pressure when cutting thick wood that is just going too slow for me.. 

When I first started sawing I was cutting thin wood.. the cutting was going so fast for me I had a hard time staying where I needed to be cutting at..  so then I learned about stack cutting.. I started stack cutting and learned that it's easier to control my cutting with some thicker wood.. I got used to "how to cut" by cutting stacks.. at a comfy pace... then I started cutting different things.. Most people don't learn this stuff over night. 

When I started being successful with selling my crafts.. a good friend of mine wanted a piece of the action too.. and thought he'd make some easy money ( I made it look easy ) so he started shopping scroll saws.. found an awesome deal on a brand new Hawk 216VS that was .. $100... I gave him about 3 blades of every blade style and brand I had and some pieces of ply to get started.. He did make some stuff but found it not as easy as I made it look.. One thing that set him up for failure right away was the fact that.. His sole purpose for scroll sawing in the first place was what? ( Make some money ).. I see this all the time.. people browsing handmade sites such as etsy and whatnot and thinking they want to make some easy money and choose a craft style or item that interest them.. and they want to do that.. without really knowing what the craft actually involves.

Sorry I got off into the business topic again.. I always do that somehow I only mentioned it because much of what I gather from you're post make you sound much like my friend... Most all successful crafts business's start by accident rather than on purpose.. They find that they love what they do and can make some money doing what they love.  Iggy didn't start his puzzle empire by going all in and getting a saw etc because he seen some puzzles online and thought he could make a business doing that.. He started making them for his grand-kids.. then started giving them away.. because he enjoyed making them..one thing lead to another and now he's making money doing what he likes.. same for me.. 

As JimErn said.. watching you tube videos of the pros.. you won't start out like that.. and not many people will video their failures.. or they might video them.. but they won't end up on youube.. because most people will not admit failures. LOL..  and actually.. it might be a good idea to video yourself and then play it back to watch for yourself.. you might learn something about your cutting by watching what it is your actually doing..  

I hope you don't take offence to what I say here..  just take your time in learning the hobby.. relax it's not a race.. you'll enjoy more and learn much better by just taking your time.. scroll saws aren't fast cutting machines unless your purposely trying to go slow 

No offense taken.

You are correct in that I would like to make extra money with this hobby. However, I'm also realistic about it - I know I suck at it but I do see improvement.  I'm starting to notice that first my saw is a little bit of a hindrance, which I expected.  Only so far in that fretwork can get very tedious: saw  trying to insert the blade: Loosen the tension, remove the adapter from the head, Undo the blade from the top adapter, try to thread the blade through the next hole, reattach the blade to the adapter, place the adapter back on the head, tighten the tension.

I'm thinking a higher end saw would make that much simpler as I've watched Steve G. with his Dewalt and it looks much easier than my Wen.

Also, for the past year and 1/2 or so, I've been learning as much as I can about woodworking - from a hobby perspective of course and hoping that I could make a few items that were worthy of selling (which I think I've made a few nice tables).

The problem for me and woodworking in general, is space. I don't have enough to make a bunch of tables, chairs, cabinets etc. to store and try and sell.

Then I found Scroll sawing and BAM! Now this is more to my liking.

I can cut a project in less than an hour rather than taking 2-3 days to complete a woodworking project - and I can even tell what it is when I'm done - yeah, I'm liking this. And if I don't like it, I can trash it - no major financial loss - just a piece of BB ply (at the moment), rather than lose a hundred dollars or more on wood for a table I miss cut, miss Dadoed (which I always seem to screw up) or miss measured.

So yeah, I'm like your buddy in that I would like to make some money, but I'm also enjoying the "chase" and learning lots of stuff - it's much easier to learn stuff when a failure only costs a buck or two, and restocking blades is about .65 cents each rather than $30-$60 per!

Plus I get to blog about my mistakes and achievements and get you guys to correct me as needed LOL

Edited March 11, 2018 by new2woodwrk