Compound Reindeer

[Jim McDonald]

I am not a novice at compound cutting (not an expert either), but I tried cutting some reindeer this weekend and the results ended up in the burn barrel.  I was cutting from 1" square poplar and got fuzzies that I would have needed to trim with a knife and they were extremely hard to remove after the second cut.  I almost had to chip the scrap away to get them out.  So tough I lost an antler along the way.

I was using a #3R Pegas blade and I know some say not to use a reverse blade on compound cut, but other than that, anyone have suggestions on what may have caused by troubles?

No pictures since they ended up as firewood starters.

[Sycamore67]

With wood that thick, I would use a skip tooth blade and a #5.  Here are some small ones I cut  year so.

[OCtoolguy]

40 minutes ago, Sycamore67 said:

With wood that thick, I would use a skip tooth blade and a #5.  Here are some small ones I cut  year so.

Very nice job. Can you give us any idea of wood type? It might be nice to know for future projects. Thanks for posting.

 

[innar20]

Thats mine reindeer. Wood - pine. Blade -? 

[Rockytime]

5 minutes ago, innar20 said:

Thats mine reindeer. Wood - pine. Blade -? 

I cut most everything from pine. You demonstrate how well it works and it's inexpensive too.

[MrsN]

a #3 blade sounds a bit small for 1" material. 

My guess is that the blade was deflecting as you were cutting so that the cuts were not square, making it hard to get apart. 

[CharleyL]

For my larger reindeer, I use pieces of 1 X 2  which is actually 3/4 X 1 1/2 and the length is just a bit longer than the reindeer pattern is tall. The wood for my larger reindeer is either pine or poplar, but look for wood that has as very little hard grain lines as possible, since the hard grain lines can deflect the blade. I usually use a Flying Dutchman #1 or #2 skip tooth blade with the reverse teeth on the bottom. For the two smaller sizes I've found that soft woods don't work because they break too easily. I've gone to hard maple for the smallest and either hard or soft maple for the next larger. Blades go dull much quicker when cutting either the hard or soft  maple and if you have been cutting well with a new blade and then all of a sudden the reindeer begins to get a Sunburn tan in places, you have a dull blade and It's time for a new one.  

I use high blade tension on my DeWalt saw when cutting reindeer or doing other compound cutting, usually a #4 tension setting.

Absolute squareness of the blade to the table is required, both in the side to side direction and well as the front to back direction. If it isn't perfectly square you are going to make some weird looking reindeer and the scraps will be difficult to remove. This is very true with all compound cutting, and not just the reindeer. 

I use maple for the two smallest sizes, because anything else that I've tried is so soft that their legs or antlers fall off before completion, or very shortly afterward. For the ear ring size it is always hard maple,

For ear ring reindeer I found that drilling the hole through their heads went easier if I did the drilling first and then cut them on the scroll saw. Having a flat surface makes the tiny drill bit walk around much less and you get the hole where you want it, and not where it ends up. The tiny bits are extremely flexible, and fragile. I have even resorted to using a very small machinests center crill bit to put a dimple where I want to drill the hole. I now have two bench top drill presses side by side because of this, one with the center drill and one with the small drill bit. The bit size will depend on your jewelry findings. I have bought from Hobby Lobby, but have gone to internet purchases from Fire Mountain Gems to get larger volumes at better pricing. They have been very good to me so far.

I have now named the 4 sizes of reindeer that I make to help me keep track of them, their patterns, and keeping the blocks of wood for making them from getting mixed.

Rudy - short for Rudolf is the largest. Then there is Judy,- his wife. - she is a little shorter than Rudy, followed by Trudy- the teenager, a little shorter than Judy,  and then the little guy that becomes the ear rings is simply Junior. So far, in the last 14 years of making reindeer, as of last Thursday I have made and given away 4,327 reindeer. All get black magic marker eyes and a big red nose.  When I first started making them I carried the red marker and at the point of giving one away I would ask what his name was. About 90% wanted Rudolph, so now they all get red noses and I leave the red marker in the shop. The first reindeer that I made were first cut on the scroll saw, and then rounded to look more real. Then I was applying a very light brown stain followed by 2 coats of clear spray lacquer. Then I found that people loved them with no final shaping or finishing, so Rudy and Judy go to new homes with only the magic marker eyes and nose, and no sanding or finishing, other than a few strokes of a fingernail board on the corners to remove the fuzzies. The smallest two sizes, Trudy and junior, get the fingernail file treatment and then the clear lacquer spray. I sometimes trim the fingernail files with scissors to make the end narrower, so it fits in tight places. No staining and no rounding is ever done anymore. 

It's a sickness, and for me there seems to be no cure. Also,  after reading this post, I think this sickness that I have, may be contagious and I've given it to all of you. The  "bug" that makes you want to make reindeer just like me. I just can't stop making them, and giving them all away. I now make them and give them away all year, and not just at Christmas time.

I made a special tool for removing the wood from between their legs and antlers. It's just a 6" length of 1/8" beech dowel rod, sharpened at both ends with a pencil sharpener. When clearing the wood from between their antlers, I've found that it goes easiest when pushed from the rear of their head forward. Once this piece is out, the side pieces come way without catching easily. The pieces between their legs are always easy to remove, but this tool makes it easier.

I also use this tool to hold down a piece of the pattern if it begins to pull loose. If it gets cut I can always return to the pencil sharpener. This tool resides in my shirt pocket, so it is very close and handy to reach for when I need it. My little scroll saw tool box usually has about a dozen of these already sharpened and ready, so I don't even need to stop when I loose or cut the tip off of one.

I pre-fold the cut patterns along a straight line between their front and side views by positioning the side view on the wide side of a piece of wood, let the face view hang off the edge of the wood with the line between the two views centered along the sharp edge of the wood. Then I run my thumb down the edge of the wood, creasing the pattern along the line between the two images. I do a whole bunch this way, using the same block of wood.

Then I open the bottle of rubber cement and evenly coat one edge and one side of the block of wood. Then I pick up one of the pre-folded patterns and apply it, making certain that the reindeer's feet touch the end of the block of wood. I use rubber cement because it holds well, and because there is no need to remove a paper pattern when doing compound cutting. All of the pattern falls off along with the wood scraps, much like a baby chick sheds the pieces of his shell. The reindeer is in the center, just like the baby chick. 

Charley

[Sycamore67]

I cut the miniature reindeer from oak, ash and Sycamore.  The smallest that I have cut is just over 3/8" tall. 

[CharleyL]

2 minutes ago, Sycamore67 said:

I cut the miniature reindeer from oak, ash and Sycamore.  The smallest that I have cut is just over 3/8" tall. 

A great attempt, but I can see that you had to increase the size of their legs after shrinking the pattern down to that size because their legs will fall off if cut at the reduced pattern size. I've done a few tiny ones like that, but my eyes and fingers aren't good enough for that  size any more, and I just spend too much time making small pieces of  firewood. My goal was to be able to make ear rings using them, and my 3/4" tall ones are good for this purpose with almost no failures, so very little firewood. 

I'm now making small 5/8" tall black walnut crosses for ear rings and I  have a larger 1 1/2" tall version that I will be cutting for use on a neck chain. Sorry, no pictures yet, as I'm still working on how to go about cutting them well. So far I have one good pair completed and found out that my clamping idea for cutting them was a complete failure. Now to find a better way. They are only 1/8" thick. 

Charley

 

[CharleyL]

4 hours ago, innar20 said:

Thats mine reindeer. Wood - pine. Blade -? 

He looks very good, but You didn't say how tall he is. Nice smooth arcs and shape though. Be careful now that you are making them Reindeer can fly, if seen by a female wandering through your shop. These little guys seem to be in high demand by females of all ages. Only men who are woodworkers will admit that they like them. Add some black eyes and a red nose. I use marking pens. It dries almost instantly.

Charley

Charley

[CharleyL]

6 hours ago, Jim McDonald said:

I am not a novice at compound cutting (not an expert either), but I tried cutting some reindeer this weekend and the results ended up in the burn barrel.  I was cutting from 1" square poplar and got fuzzies that I would have needed to trim with a knife and they were extremely hard to remove after the second cut.  I almost had to chip the scrap away to get them out.  So tough I lost an antler along the way.

I was using a #3R Pegas blade and I know some say not to use a reverse blade on compound cut, but other than that, anyone have suggestions on what may have caused by troubles?

No pictures since they ended up as firewood starters.

Try it again with a piece of soft wood like pine or poplar and look for wood that has almost no visible grain lines. Square your blade both front to back as well as side to side. Use high blade tension. I run the tension about 4 out of the 5 max on my DeWalt. It's almost tight enough that you think it will break, but with a good saw it won't. I would go with a #1 or #2 skip tooth reverse blade. Use a good brand of new blade and your fuzzies should only require a few strokes of a fingernail sanding stick if any at all.  I get no fuzzies at all for the first 3 or 4 reindeer and then the blade begins to dull. I replace it with a new blade when the reindeer begins to get a Sun tan in places. If the blade cut without burning when it was new, something has changed. At the same speed it can only be a dull blade. At the cost of $ 0.20-0.30 each I just trash them. Of course, you could slow the saw some and get another reindeer or two before the Sun tan problem re-appears, but why do this for suck a low cost blade. You want to enjoy this hobby don't you?  Try a #1 or #2R Skip tooth   blade and I think you will have better luck. Run the blade tight and make certain that it is square both ways to the table. Compound cutting is quite a bit different that flat work or stack cutting. It's going to take some practice, a good clamp, and patience. Don't give up now. Keep at it and you will have it figured out in no time.

Charley

[Sycamore67]

I make a lot of the Reindeer each year and have been for a long time.  I get bored making the bigger ones and anything above 3/4" as they are easy to make.  One of my favorite uses for the tiny reindeer is to put them in ornaments.  I make a few each year and give them away.  On larger ones, I use a pin with a red head for the nose.

[OCtoolguy]

You folks leave me in awe. Fantastic work people.

 

[innar20]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

I make a lot of the Reindeer each year and have been for a long time.  I get bored making the bigger ones and anything above 3/4" as they are easy to make.  One of my favorite uses for the tiny reindeer is to put them in ornaments.  I make a few each year and give them away.  On larger ones, I use a pin with a red head for the nose.

That is amazing! 

[amazingkevin]

Nice!!!

[CharleyL]

14 hours ago, Sycamore67 said:

I make a lot of the Reindeer each year and have been for a long time.  I get bored making the bigger ones and anything above 3/4" as they are easy to make.  One of my favorite uses for the tiny reindeer is to put them in ornaments.  I make a few each year and give them away.  On larger ones, I use a pin with a red head for the nose.

My eyes aren't good enough to make them that size. You have much better eyes than me. I do like making ornaments similar to this, but without the reindeer inside.

Charley

[Sycamore67]

I struggle with my eyes also.  But, I have a very good lighted magnifying light which makes the small ones possible.  I might make more but arthritis in the hands and wrists mean I can only do so much.  Such is getting old......

[Jim McDonald]

Thanks to all for the suggestions and guidance.  Now that is starting to get cold, my cutting is diminishing since I cut on the patio.

[Rockytime]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

I struggle with my eyes also.  But, I have a very good lighted magnifying light which makes the small ones possible.  I might make more but arthritis in the hands and wrists mean I can only do so much.  Such is getting old......

Oh yes, the hands and wrists and arthritis. It's getting cold and I am old. I feel the chill in my bones.