traded steno machine for a scroll saw

[LauraBeth]

Hello from Richmond, VA.   I loved learning steno, but the activity hurt my arms too much. I do love working with my hands though so I sold the steno and bought a scroll saw. Great idea! I am starting with the Scroll Saw Workbook by John Nelson, planning to go through each exercise in sequence. I'm also reading The New Scroll Saw Handbook by Patrick Spielman. I've reached a frustrating project this week trying to cut stacked pieces of acrylic sheet. I used duct tape on the top layer, cutting with a #5 crown tooth blade. I slowed the speed on the saw. Some of the cuts melded back together though. I'm planning to slow the speed of the saw even more and to go slow with the feed rate. I'm wondering if I ought to take apart the stack and tape each layer? I'm also wondering if the material I picked up at home depot just isn't great stuff: Optix, acrylic sheet.

I'm pleased to have found SCV!

 

 

 

[daveww1]

welcome to the village

[wombatie]

Welcome to the Village LauraBeth.  I know you will enjoy scrolling but tell me please what is a Steno Machine, I have never heard of one.  Plus, sorry I can't help with your acrylic problem because I have never stack cut it.

Marg

[Tomanydogs]

Welcome LauraBeth. I also have never cut acrylic, so I’m no help either. You’ve picked a great place to come, very friendly people here. Enjoy. 

[LauraBeth]

Thank you for the welcome! I've set the acrylic project aside. I enjoy wood so I'll stay with wood projects for now. I got a variety of blades in the mail recently. Today I plan to order some wood online. Wood from my local woodcraft seems pricey for a newbie like me so I'll try using a link from a resource listed on SSV.

-Marg, a steno machine is like a specialized typewriter. Court reporters use one to write in shorthand every single word being said during court proceedings. Sitting for hours on end and holding my hands, arms in position writing on the steno ended up too much for this body. I'm simply so surprised at the timing. The very day I sold my steno I picked up a book of puzzle scroll saw patterns and couldn't resist checking the activity out. I tried using my father-in-laws very old pin-end Craftsman once. Within days I took the cash I got from the sale of the steno and bought a Delta. I'm learning so much just every single day, AND the hands/arms don't hurt!  

[meflick]

Hi LauraBeth and welcome to the Village from East Tennessee.  I happened to be browsing for some other things today in some old magazines and ran across an article regarding working with Acrylic.  The article was by Faye Benezue and is ironically enough entitled "Working with Acrylic".   Unfortunately, the magazine it was in was "Creative Wodworks and Crafts" which is no longer in publication AND thus it is hard to track down back copies.  I have a few a fellow scroller passed on.  This particular article is in the June 2010 edition, no. 148, for anyone looking.

I will give you a quick summary of information from the article. First, she notes that while the "big box" stores sell some acrylic, that in her opinion, the quality was not as good as some.  Note, this was 10 years ago SO that could have changed.  She preferred to get her acrylic from a glass store. She also noted that she had tried with acrylic pen blanks used by pen turners but had not been successful as it would become so hot it would melt back together. This sounds like what you experienced.  She doesn't say so, but I suspect it would happen because it was thicker. She also noted that while you can get it in various thicknesses, that she preferred to work with 1/8" thickness for the best results when scrolling. She says she was able to cut any design that se could in wood and that small, intricate designs worked really well for her.  She clearly said that cutting acrylic did not work well with stack cutting because the layers tendered to melt together and even if you could later pull them apart. You would need to do a lot of sanding.  She also noted that if you did want to try to stack cut, she recommended that you put something between the layers like wax paper, thin paper, or thin scrap of wood. but that even if you did that, you would probably have some places where the acrylic melted it together. She preferred to adhere one sheet of acrylic to a piece of scrap wood to cut in order to have a firmer foundation and give it more thickness to cut beyond the 1/8" acrylic.  She used double sided tape to secure the wood and acrylic together. She indicated she preferred to use Oh Line Premium blades - No. 5 for regular cuts and No. 2 for more detailed cuts but notes that these are what she likes, others may have others they prefer. She left the paper on both sides of the acrylic while cutting.

She did say that "the most important thing to remember when cutting acrylic is to GO SLOWLY".   She indicated that in her experience, it was best to slow the RPMs down and to keep the blade speed at about 2 or 3. "Take your time, letting the blade tell you when to advance.  Don't hurry the blade, otherwise the blade will get too hot. If it gets hot, the acrylic will melt and fuse together behind the blade." She further noted that going to get can also leave a residue, similar to "fuzzies" like cutting wood.  She said if you "smell" the acrylic getting hot, your are too too fast or the RPMs were too high. To add color, she would cut two of the same piece, then add a piece of thin colored paper (she liked to use origami paper) between the two and glue it all together.

Hope that gives you some information to try again.  I have not yet tried to cut anything in acrylic yet, but it's on the "to do someday" list.  I will try to remember this information myself when  I give it a try.

 

 

[meflick]

Also, found this video by Steve Good where he cut some acrylic:  (As a new scroller, if you are not familiar with Steve Good and his blog and Youtube channels - be sure to check them out here:  Blog: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com and Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sdgood/home) a quick search of Steve's blog for "acrylic" turned up several items worth checking out: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/search?q=acrylic )

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by meflick

[DJ2772]

Welcome! The short time I've been here I've already learned so much. Add to that stacked acrylic cutting!

[Oges]

9 hours ago, LauraBeth said:

-Marg, a steno machine is like a specialized typewriter. Court reporters use one to write in shorthand every single word being said during court proceedings. Sitting for hours on end and holding my hands, arms in position writing on the steno ended up too much for this body. I'm simply so surprised at the timing. The very day I sold my steno I picked up a book of puzzle scroll saw patterns and couldn't resist checking the activity out. I tried using my father-in-laws very old pin-end Craftsman once. Within days I took the cash I got from the sale of the steno and bought a Delta. I'm learning so much just every single day, AND the hands/arms don't hurt!  

Welcome to the group LauraBeth, we are a pretty friendly bunch here and more than willing to help with anything you need

I did a search on Steno Machines and could only find the one you describe, at first I thought you were referring to a woodwork machine, this clears things up

As for acrylic, I have not cut much of it. I have stack cut it before but was only two layers. The acrylic we get here in Australia has a layer of paper on it, so when I stacked them and covered in clear packing tape I didnt get any fusing together. Apparently the packing tape help lubricate the blade a bit when cutting

[wombatie]

14 hours ago, LauraBeth said:

 

-Marg, a steno machine is like a specialized typewriter. Court reporters use one to write in shorthand every single word being said during court proceedings. Sitting for hours on end and holding my hands, arms in position writing on the steno ended up too much for this body. I'm simply so surprised at the timing. The very day I sold my steno I picked up a book of puzzle scroll saw patterns and couldn't resist checking the activity out. I tried using my father-in-laws very old pin-end Craftsman once. Within days I took the cash I got from the sale of the steno and bought a Delta. I'm learning so much just every single day, AND the hands/arms don't hurt!  

Thanks LauraBeth, I thought it was one of those but then I thought maybe it was a type of craft machine in America that I hadn't heard of.  Yes I can see that it would be hard on the back, hands and wrists.  Just remember scrolling is addictive and there is no known cure. 

Marg

[Rolf]

There are various plastics that are called acrylics. They do cut differently. Lexan is one type that is super tough and hard to break. 

I personally like using FD polar blades for plastics.  I would not use a crown tooth or any reverse tooth blade.  I also usually put a crap plywood backer under it.  And speed is critical. The friction of the blade generates heat which will weld the plastic back together. slow down feed and speed as the others have said.

[Denny Knappen]

Welcome to the Village forum from TN

[amazingkevin]

I learned the hard way cutting plastic. Vinyl records cut great, like the 33-1/3 speed ones Welcome I'm sure we will learn from you too! Thanks for finding us friend!!

[Fedido]

Welcome to the SSV nation. You will learn as much as you want on this site. I have only scrolled for ten months and the improvement I have made in this time is in no small part without these people. The knowledge here is mind blowing...in fact, pull yourself socks up tight because once they are blown off, can’t revoke them... (Sheldon Cooper). 

[clocks and more]

I use shipping tape when cutting Acrylic.

[Phantom Scroller]

A big WELCOME from me. Roly