Ruined A present for my Father in Law

[Macman]

With all the help and advice on learning to use the scroll saw I decided to make a gift for my father in law today. 

He has been a fisherman all his life so you can imagine my delight when I found a mariner based pattern by Travis. 

Also it was the first time using “real” wood instead of mdf or plywood. I reduced a lump of wood on the table saw and got it as smooth and flat as I could. I have no idea what the species is The base  will be from the same wood  

I am still making mistakes but my confidence is growing and there was a brief moment when I found myself in the groove. As soon as I started over thinking the mistakes started. 

I have ordered a clock from Amazon and will make the hole for it when it arrives. 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Macman
Update

[meflick]

Great job. Your father-in-law is going to love it, thanks for sharing.

[bobscroll]

Good job there Andy! It's nice when you can create something out of a piece of wood and look at it and say I did that!

Thank you for posting,

Bob 

[rjR]

Looking fine.

 

Scroll sawing is an addiction waiting to happen!

[Rockytime]

That looks great! You will go far in this hobby.

[John B]

Nice looking piece and is sure to be a hit with the Father inlaw

 

[amazingkevin]

You are climbing the scroll saw ladder 2 steps AT A TIME WITH THIS BEAUTY!

[daveww1]

very nice

[Gonzo]

Lookin' good!  Nice job!

[oldhudson]

Looks very nice. I generally drill large hole for clocks before the scroll work. It seems easier to position to the fence and clamp when it's solid. Sometimes the bit wants to grab the stock and pull it. Just my 2 cents.

[smitty0312]

22 minutes ago, oldhudson said:

Looks very nice. I generally drill large hole for clocks before the scroll work. It seems easier to position to the fence and clamp when it's solid. Sometimes the bit wants to grab the stock and pull it. Just my 2 cents.

Great tip there....Clock looks great, keep up the great work Macman....it shows

[Macman]

44 minutes ago, oldhudson said:

Looks very nice. I generally drill large hole for clocks before the scroll work. It seems easier to position to the fence and clamp when it's solid. Sometimes the bit wants to grab the stock and pull it. Just my 2 cents.

I totally agree with what you are saying. I was impatient to get started and the clock delivery is on Sunday. I wanted to be absolutely certain of the aperture required before making the hole  

Hopefully I won’t regret my decision. 

Thanks for taking the time 

[Macman]

So the clock and drill bit arrived today. I drilled a few test holes on some scrap wood. 

Feeling confident I set about drilling the actual piece. The forstner bit wondered off centre and the piece is ruined. I did drill a tiny pilot hole to avoid this. 

I guess all bits are not equal. Feeling gutted. 

[Sycamore67]

I always drill the hole first with large holes.  It is much easier to clamp securely.  

Normally, Forstner bits are pretty easy to use and keep centered.  It would help us help you if we could see a picture of the bit.  Did you use a drill press?

[Macman]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

I always drill the hole first with large holes.  It is much easier to clamp securely.  

Normally, Forstner bits are pretty easy to use and keep centered.  It would help us help you if we could see a picture of the bit.  Did you use a drill press?

I had it clamped. You can see the bit didn’t follow the pilot hole I bored. No drill press unfortunately. Just ordered some quality bits. 

Will start again tomorrow  

Edited November 4, 2018 by Macman

[loftyhermes]

Forstner bits do not need a pilot hole, always drill with a pillar drill and make sure the table is square to the bit and the wood is held securely..

[Macman]

17 minutes ago, loftyhermes said:

Forstner bits do not need a pilot hole, always drill with a pillar drill and make sure the table is square to the bit and the wood is held securely..

Thanks for this. New bit should arrive tomorrow and I will use my friends drill press. Another thing to buy 

[Jim McDonald]

19 minutes ago, Macman said:

Thanks for this. New bit should arrive tomorrow and I will use my friends drill press. Another thing to buy 

Look around at pawn shops and resale places for a drill press. I got one from Habitat for Humanity for $20 that works great (looks rough). People upgrade or find out they really did not a press and donate or pawn them. Also check Craigslist listings. No sense paying top dollar just yet.

[Sycamore67]

A Forstner bit does not need a pilot hole....that is correct.  However, having a small pilot hole makes it easy to get the bit centered and you can feel when the center of the Forstner bit is in the right place.  

A good Forstner bit should work fine.

Another way is to drill a hole of the same size in a scrap board.  Then position the hole in the scrap board over your work piece in the proper location and clamp securely.   You then use this as a guide. 

Drilling larger holes by hand can be dangerous and inaccurate.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Lots of good tips on drilling. As with any pattern you can enlarge or shrink and use any size insert. I agree about drill holes before because you can secure bette but I make many clocks and drill holes after. It is a matter of knowing that a bit can grab and the duller it is the more harder you push and the more chances it grabs and pulls it out of your grip. No need for pilot holes. Those bits have a starting cutter so it needs to center itself to become dead on. What I do and I drill tons of insert holes is use an awl and just puncture the cross hairs. Now when I go to drill I line up that starting cutter with the punctured hole with the drill press off. I then secure the piece in some fashion and the slowly start drill and advance it. A good sharp bit is the key.  

One other note always use a drill press with forstner bits. Do not use a handheld drill. Asking for trouble.

Edited November 4, 2018 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Macman]

18 minutes ago, Sycamore67 said:

A Forstner bit does not need a pilot hole....that is correct.  However, having a small pilot hole makes it easy to get the bit centered and you can feel when the center of the Forstner bit is in the right place.  

A good Forstner bit should work fine.

Another way is to drill a hole of the same size in a scrap board.  Then position the hole in the scrap board over your work piece in the proper location and clamp securely.   You then use this as a guide. 

Drilling larger holes by hand can be dangerous and inaccurate.

I like this idea. Thanks for taking the time to share. 

[Macman]

4 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Lots of good tips on drilling. As with any pattern you can enlarge or shrink and use any size insert. I agree about drill holes before because you can secure bette but I make many clocks and drill holes after. It is a matter of knowing that a bit can grab and the duller it is the more harder you push and the more chances it grabs and pulls it out of your grip. No need for pilot holes. Those bits have a starting cutter so it needs to center itself to become dead on. What I do and I drill tons of insert holes is use an awl and just puncture the cross hairs. Now when I go to drill I line up that starting cutter with the punctured hole with the drill press off. I then secure the piece in some fashion and the slowly start drill and advance it. A good sharp bit is the key.  

Another great tip. You guys are certainly cheering me up. Thanks. 

I love your design. Is that a personal pattern? Also the clock is phenomenal. Spent ages looking online for a nautical themed one without success. 

[Scrappile]

I would not toss that one.  You could cut the part off that holds the clock, cut a new one and glue it to the base.  You have plenty of meat there to glue to the sailor to the base base.  Coarse this is almost as much work as starting over, but would save some of it.  The base and clock could even be a contrasting pieces of wood.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Scrappile

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 minute ago, Macman said:

Another great tip. You guys are certainly cheering me up. Thanks. 

I love your design. Is that a personal pattern? Also the clock is phenomenal. Spent ages looking online for a nautical themed one without success. 

No that is not my design That is an old pattern from the Berry Basket that I believe is still around but owners do not own it any more. That insert is not available any more. Believe me I tried. It was an expensive insert and I got them from Steebar Corp many many years ago. Keep at it you will enjoy making clocks because people love all kinds of clocks and they are not going out of style any time soon. 

[oldhudson]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

I would not toss that one.  You could cut the part off that holds the clock, cut a new one and glue it to the base.  You have plenty of meat there to glue to the sailor to the base base.  Coarse this is almost as much work as starting over, but would save some of it.  The base and clock could even be a contrasting pieces of wood.

 

Great idea, absolutely worth saving!