Scrolling tips

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I am in the process of making a few of my IBEW desk clocks shown here. I have to say these are probably one of the hardest designs I have cut over my years. The logo with the lettering and hand and lightning bolts is challenging to say the least. The older I get the more unsteady my hands are but sold these out last year so thought I would make a few more this year for the shows. But as I was doing these I was thinking it maybe a good idea to post a few tidbits that I have found over the years to help me with projects like this. 

Now for the season scrollers this is probably old hat so you can skip reading now. First off this top part of the logo is red oak and is 1/4" thick. No I can not stack cut because over the years I found I have better control when cutting one piece at a time and actually goes faster because with the lettering it is so delicate and thin that you need complete control. I also have tried smaller blades such as #2 and #3  but always go back to my trusty #5 double tooth penguin silver reverse FD blades. The reason is because they are stiffer and do not wander like some thinner smaller blades will. Can not afford this. I know how they react and can control them and this is the first tip. Use a blade that you are comfortable with not one that you think needs to be used because the piece is delicate and the cuts are thin. I am living prove that a #5 blade is a great blade size for just about all cuts. 

#2 tip and as I said seasoned scrollers know this trick. When making tight turns you need to have the blade cut smoothly around a turn and to do this I file the back side of the blade and knock the sharp corners off the blade using a diamond hone card. This gives me better control as I make and need sharp turns. 

#3 tip when making sharp turns it is not necessary to do so if the corners are square. I say this because again back to my example, when you spin the blade in a corner you exert much more pressure on the inside piece or making outside turn the outside piece. To help here you nibbl You enter the corner straight on and then make another pass next to it on the waste side so now you have room for the blade to spin easily without the extra pressure and helps with burning in corners. because if you spin in a corner inside or out the blade needs to keep cutting at the same speed as straight aways because it will heat and burn faster in corners and woods that are prone to burn show it well. 

#4 tip No matter where you start your cutting weather it is on a corner or in the middle of a straight  line, do not go right to the line and try to follow the line because you will make a hump or divot. Gradually start the cut and when the fret piece is cut out you can always go back and plane with the side of the blade to eliminate the hump or divot. You notice most stamped blades have the teeth pointing to one side usually the right looking at the blade and that is due to the way they are stamped out on a machine. There are many blades that are milled differently and do not have this feature. Those are called precision blades. 

#5 this tip is probably one of the most important when it comes to doing delicate work such as the cutting I am showing. We always like it and feel the difference when we insert that brand new blade and start cutting and notice how easily it cuts the wood. Well in this case that can be a huge pain in the butt. Those teeth are so sharp and any touch of wood it is cutting and when you are working in small confines as these letters you do not want that because you spin the wood and next thing you know that blade catches a piece that it was not suppose to cut and the project is ruined. So what I like to do is follow all above tips and add this one where I actually dull the blade by running it through some hard wood to take the sting out of those teeth. Now this is a fine line in that you do not want to dull too much or else you have to push too hard and that causes more problems. But being I have been doing this for so many years I get the feeling right away. I make a cut and if still to sharp I do some more dulling. 

Anyway hope some of this helps newbies out there. and by the way here is the project I was talking about. 

[meflick]

Thank you John for taking the time to write out and share these tips for newbies, and those like me who may not be complete newbies, but always like to be”reminded” of such good tips.

[Foxfold]

Thank you, thank you,,  some great tips there for people like me. I have 'cut and pasted' them and put them in my 'Scrolling' folder so that I can read and re-read.  It's great when more 'experienced' people pass on their hard earned knowledge and much appreciated.

[kmmcrafts]

Great advice JT.. I might add a tip..

The placement of your drilled pilot hole is very important too.. as is the direction you normally cut.. Many may not pay close attention to the direction they cut.. but drilling a hole so you cut out a inside cut cutting out around the fragile part first.. I'll use your photo JT and try to explain this.. I added a red dot to where I would drill a hole for cutting out the R in your photo.. From this red dot I found that cutting down to the bottom of the leg of the R and cutting in a counter clockwise direction cutting along the middle ( inner ) portion of the R makes the inner part stronger than cutting the outer part and then there is no support for the inner portion.. IF you cut in a clockwise direction.. I suggest drilling the hole on the other leg of the R and cutting along the inner part of it.. Hoping this makes sense to someone, LOL

So in the beginning I pay close attention to the placement of my pilot holes.. so I drill them in a spot so I'm cutting out the fragile ( or what could be fragile ) first 

 

[Rockytime]

Makes no difference how long one scrolls it's easy for tips to slip the mind on occasion These reminders are excellent. Thanks John.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Kevin I hear what you are saying and maybe saying the same thing but my hole on the "R" is top left corner. Two reasons and one I think you covered. I start cutting the outside of the R and work my way around with still lots of material to hold that center and then up that outside leg to meet in the corner. I try to make my holes especially these because the bit is about as wide as the cut, nearest the most intersection that has the most material. Top center of the T, center of the H, Top left corner of the E and F basically all other does not matter because the bit is the same as the pattern as I mentioned. I prefer to start in corners because they are sharp and no need to spin in that corner. In this pattern the toughest letter to cut is the "O"s because of the tab between both halves is so small and you need to make the curves to make it look like the rest of the other letters to match the font. Those I drill in the center of each side. As I mentioned above if i need to plane a little I can easily do this without fear of taking out that curve.

Edited August 13, 2019 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

12 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Kevin I hear what you are saying and maybe saying the same thing but my hole on the "R" is top left corner. Two reasons and one I think you covered. I start cutting the outside of the R and work my way around with still lots of material to hold that center and then up that outside leg to meet in the corner. I try to make my holes especially these because the bit is about as wide as the cut, nearest the most intersection that has the most material. Top center of the T, center of the H, Top left corner of the E and F basically all other does not matter because the bit is the same as the pattern as I mentioned. I prefer to start in corners because they are sharp and no need to spin in that corner. In this pattern the toughest letter to cut is the "O"s because of the tab between both halves is so small and you need to make the curves to make it look like the rest of the other letters to match the font. Those I drill in the center of each side. As I mentioned above if i need to plane a little I can easily do this without fear of taking out that curve.

Sounds like you do the same thing but in the top outer corner. I drill more into the lower center of the R leg and cut down to the outer corner, then work my way over to the center part of the R. Same thing you do I think. I probably didn’t explain it well enough. 

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Good review.  I'm guilty when it come to tip #5. I get a head of steam going and when I have to change blades, can be remiss in dulling the new blade a touch. Whoops, there goes the project!

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 hours ago, ScollSaw Slasher said:

Good review.  I'm guilty when it come to tip #5. I get a head of steam going and when I have to change blades, can be remiss in dulling the new blade a touch. Whoops, there goes the project!

Yea many projects you can get away with it because the area you are cutting is larger even when you have to turn and things. But with small confined spaces that is a no no. I will be honest with you I did those last year and sold out so it wasn't till this past week I started making a few more for this year. But I forgot exactly what I did to cut this out and tried a new blade and bam cut some ugly letters so I put it aside and actually threw it out. That night I started thinking of why I could not cut these and it dawned on me about the dulling of the blade. I now write this tidbit on the master pattern so I remember to do this and not waste time again.

Use that as tip #6 Make notes of any little things you do when making a pattern that you do often. Never know when it comes in handy. When I first started scrolling I had a pad that I described the process especially when I made those trivets. The angle of the table, the size of the blade and the direction of cutting (this matters when doing them) Somewhere that pad still exists. I do not cut as often as I once did so I do forget things. 

[Bill WIlson]

Good stuff John.  I find that I do most of those things, but usually without thinking about it.   I think that being self taught, one will eventually discover a lot of these tips and tricks just by trial & error (maybe more error than trial   ).  I doubt I could have explained any of them as clearly and concisely as you did.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Well cut another today just the letters and the circle parts. Took 2 hours to cut. Probably another hour to cut the rest. Then I sand the back and glue it to the walnut (1/2") and then cut the entire outline at once and that is the hardest and main part of this clock. 

I like to use 2" brass inserts in the lightning bolts but ran into a problem last year. I bought a bunch from Wildwood Designs (aka Cherry Tree) Do not know who the maker is but assume they are China made. Well I tested many of the ones I was using for my clocks and they worked and if not I use another one and sent back 5 for replacement. Went to test and all worked for a week which is about how long I test. Go to use more and they do not work and now I can not return. All the batteries were dead when I got them but that was not a big deal because I get those for pennies. It made me looking for a new supplier and I think I may have found them. The Wooden Teddy Bear They are alot cheaper and look like a better insert. Again no name and I am running tests on them now. So far the batteries died 2 days in. Changed the batteries and will test. Now with these they are advertised with batteries so if the batteries are the problem I will call them on it. But this time I am going to put a longer test on these. I never had a return on an insert as long as I have been doing this so do not need to start now. I guarantee my inserts for the life of the clock.   I did have a lady return a 2-3/4" insert to me saying it did not work and she bought a clock from me. Looking at it right away I saw it was not one I use an I told her so but I did replace it free of charge and made a point saying I am doing this one time only. Hoped she would buy something else but never saw her again. Win some lose some. 

Edited August 13, 2019 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[stoney]

Great tips John!   I agree with you on the use of #5 blades.   I use a lot of #5 blades.   They flex less, break less, and are easier to control than the smaller sizes.   I also have found they work well on a lot of scroll saw patterns.  I step down to a #3 when necessary  or even a #1 occasionally when required.   I have yet to cut a pattern that required the use of a 2/0 or 3/0 blade and I have cut a lot of patterns.  Once in a while I'll see a picture of someones cutting that they say was cut with a tiny blade like a 2/0 or 3/0 that I have successfully cut the same pattern with a #5 or #3.  I wonder why they would use a smaller blade than required?   Do they just like the challenge or is it the bragging rights?   Oh well, whatever blows their hair back.   JMHO            

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 hours ago, stoney said:

Great tips John!   I agree with you on the use of #5 blades.   I use a lot of #5 blades.   They flex less, break less, and are easier to control than the smaller sizes.   I also have found they work well on a lot of scroll saw patterns.  I step down to a #3 when necessary  or even a #1 occasionally when required.   I have yet to cut a pattern that required the use of a 2/0 or 3/0 blade and I have cut a lot of patterns.  Once in a while I'll see a picture of someones cutting that they say was cut with a tiny blade like a 2/0 or 3/0 that I have successfully cut the same pattern with a #5 or #3.  I wonder why they would use a smaller blade than required?   Do they just like the challenge or is it the bragging rights?   Oh well, whatever blows their hair back.   JMHO            

This was one of my points and tips. Just because  project looks fragile and tiny cuts does not mean you have to step down in size of blades. To me the #5 is the king of blades. I have used a #7 or #9 when I needed a wider kerf as with those fold down baskets or trivets as they are called. Now I have used many 2/0 blades but they were jewelers blades when I scroll brass. There you do not and I mean not spin a blade you will break easily.