Another H Botas Pattern

[Danj84]

Just finished this H Botas pattern using a #2/0 spiral blade on an A4 1|4 inch BB plywood sheet

[FrankEV]

Nicely done!  But oh, aren't those whiskers a bugger to do?

H.B. has some very interesting and unique  patterns!

[rjR]

WOW--way past my patience or abilities too.

 

GREAT JOB!

 

[heppnerguy]

2 hours ago, Danj84 said:

Just finished this H Botas pattern using a #2/0 spiral blade on an A4 1|4 inch BB plywood sheet

I love how you continue to use the spiral blade. I hope it pushes more people to take the time to  master them, as it is a great blade for delicate fret work. Really nicely done

Dick

heppnerguy

[lawson56]

Nice Kitty, WOW What an Awesome job!!

[Rockytime]

Dynamic cutting on a wild pattern!

[Danj84]

11 hours ago, FrankEV said:

Nicely done!  But oh, aren't those whiskers a bugger to do?

H.B. has some very interesting and unique  patterns!

Thanks Frank oh yes they are !! A few moments in there I thought they would break but all turned out good I really like H Botas patterns as you say they are interesting.

Edited May 20, 2021 by Danj84

[Danj84]

8 hours ago, heppnerguy said:

I love how you continue to use the spiral blade. I hope it pushes more people to take the time to  master them, as it is a great blade for delicate fret work. Really nicely done

Dick

heppnerguy

Thanks, I used to hate spiral blades ,only went back to them about 12-18 months ago but perseverance has paid off now I love them,you can do a lot with them even fine work,thanks again

[heppnerguy]

Exactly. So many scrollers seem to fear them and don't want to make themselves familiar with them, hence never get to understand their real value 

 

 

[FrankEV]

5 hours ago, Danj84 said:

Thanks, I used to hate spiral blades ,only went back to them about 12-18 months ago but perseverance has paid off now I love them,you can do a lot with them even fine work,thanks again

 

4 hours ago, heppnerguy said:

Exactly. So many scrollers seem to fear them and don't want to make themselves familiar with them, hence never get to understand their real value 

 

 

Learning to use spiral blades is intiminating to most, but once they are mastered they become the "go-to" blade for most work.  I have found that even  on projects that would be easily completed with a standard type blade I will use a spiral. 

With me it ws all about not looking on adjscent parrallel cut areas.  There is a tendency for the blade to go where you look and it would always go toward the adjacent cut area.  Now I can ignore the adjacent cut area and the blade will stay on the line I'm cutting.   

Since I do most of my work on 1/8" thick ply of various types, I find I even tend to predomintly use the very small #2/0 spiral blades so I can get nice pointy/sharp intersections and corners.   

[daveww1]

very nice job

[Danj84]

7 hours ago, FrankEV said:

 

Learning to use spiral blades is intiminating to most, but once they are mastered they become the "go-to" blade for most work.  I have found that even  on projects that would be easily completed with a standard type blade I will use a spiral. 

With me it ws all about not looking on adjscent parrallel cut areas.  There is a tendency for the blade to go where you look and it would always go toward the adjacent cut area.  Now I can ignore the adjacent cut area and the blade will stay on the line I'm cutting.   

Since I do most of my work on 1/8" thick ply of various types, I find I even tend to predomintly use the very small #2/0 spiral blades so I can get nice pointy/sharp intersections and corners.   

That’s it Frank exactly, I struggled to use them at first because I was too busy looking at where I didn’t want the blade to go instead of just blocking that out and concentrate on the line.Now I use them for nearly every project I do ,in my opinion they are the most under rated blade ,you can do some incredible detail with them just takes practice and patience,I still have a lot to learn but am enjoying the journey and learning new things everyday

[heppnerguy]

7 hours ago, FrankEV said:

 

Learning to use spiral blades is intiminating to most, but once they are mastered they become the "go-to" blade for most work.  I have found that even  on projects that would be easily completed with a standard type blade I will use a spiral. 

With me it ws all about not looking on adjscent parrallel cut areas.  There is a tendency for the blade to go where you look and it would always go toward the adjacent cut area.  Now I can ignore the adjacent cut area and the blade will stay on the line I'm cutting.   

Since I do most of my work on 1/8" thick ply of various types, I find I even tend to predomintly use the very small #2/0 spiral blades so I can get nice pointy/sharp intersections and corners.   

I decided to start learning  to use spirals and do more delicate fret cutting and though I have never completely sold on the spiral, I did find if the cuts are really small and delicate I still will go for the spiral blade to prevent the breakage. Because I do not use them all the time, I do find that it can still be a little difficult but I still can manage them pretty well. The part I dislike the most about them is the 'fuzzies' they create.

Dick

heppnerguy

[heppnerguy]

4 minutes ago, Danj84 said:

That’s it Frank exactly, I struggled to use them at first because I was too busy looking at where I didn’t want the blade to go instead of just blocking that out and concentrate on the line.Now I use them for nearly every project I do ,in my opinion they are the most under rated blade ,you can do some incredible detail with them just takes practice and patience,I still have a lot to learn but am enjoying the journey and learning new things everyday

You definitely have the right attitude on using the spiral and the rewards for taking the time to learn them are well worth the struggles at first.

 

[FrankEV]

1 hour ago, heppnerguy said:

...The part I dislike the most about them [Spiral blades] is the 'fuzzies' they create.

Dick

heppnerguy

You are correct about the fuzzies.  I have learned to ignore them. Some amount of clean up of fuzzies is necessary on all cuts.  I have a three step process for removing the fuzzies. 

First I use a sanding mop (the one from the UK that foxfold recommended) to remove all the very loose stuff from the back of the panel.  I will do this often during the cutting to prevent a build up under the panel that interferes with smooth sliding of the panel on the table.

Second, after the cut is done and the sanding mop has done its job, I actually use my palm sander with 220 grit paper on the back side.  Yeah, have to be careful with delicate areas, but I really haven't had much problem as long a I keep the sander flat.  This removes a lot of the fuzzies and only takes a few seconds.

Third, to get any and all fuzzies left behind, especially in those small/narrow/sharp pointy areas, I use a butane torch. Poof - as long as you are quick and carefull - they are gone. 

Use the spirals more, and soon you won't want to use a regular blade much any more.  I only go to a #3 or #5 Pegas mgt R blade when I cut the long straight/oval/circular lines of a frame area that is part of the pattern.   
 

Edited May 20, 2021 by FrankEV

[WolfmoonCT]

So when using a spiral, are you pushing sideways on the cuts or do you just spin the work with the saw off so you are always pushing forward?  I bought my saw used YEARS ago, and the guy I got it from has sooo many spirals, and I just never touched them. I mainly cut Cherry, Ash, Oak, Maple, I really don't do plywood, and I cut mainly 1/4" using Olson #2/0 R blades.

[heppnerguy]

On 5/20/2021 at 12:26 PM, FrankEV said:

You are correct about the fuzzies.  I have learned to ignore them. Some amount of clean up of fuzzies is necessary on all cuts.  I have a three step process for removing the fuzzies. 

First I use a sanding mop (the one from the UK that foxfold recommended) to remove all the very loose stuff from the back of the panel.  I will do this often during the cutting to prevent a build up under the panel that interferes with smooth sliding of the panel on the table.

Second, after the cut is done and the sanding mop has done its job, I actually use my palm sander with 220 grit paper on the back side.  Yeah, have to be careful with delicate areas, but I really haven't had much problem as long a I keep the sander flat.  This removes a lot of the fuzzies and only takes a few seconds.

Third, to get any and all fuzzies left behind, especially in those small/narrow/sharp pointy areas, I use a butane torch. Poof - as long as you are quick and carefull - they are gone. 

Use the spirals more, and soon you won't want to use a regular blade much any more.  I only go to a #3 or #5 Pegas mgt R blade when I cut the long straight/oval/circular lines of a frame area that is part of the pattern.   
 

Thank  you for your encouragement. I will use them again and see how I am doing at that point. Some patterns just seem to scream to use the spiral and then I don't hesitate to do so

Dick

[Danj84]

8 hours ago, WolfmoonCT said:

So when using a spiral, are you pushing sideways on the cuts or do you just spin the work with the saw off so you are always pushing forward?  I bought my saw used YEARS ago, and the guy I got it from has sooo many spirals, and I just never touched them. I mainly cut Cherry, Ash, Oak, Maple, I really don't do plywood, and I cut mainly 1/4" using Olson #2/0 R blades.

Hi wolfmoon ,yes I just push the work sideways forwards and back with the saw on ,it takes a while to get used to working with them but you soon get the hang of it and you can get some great detail cut using spirals,I just make sure I cut inside the line and work up to it a bit like when your colouring I suppose and watch where I am cutting and not looking at the other lines as the blade tends to wander to where you are looking! that’s all I use now unless I have a very long straight line I need to cut otherwise it’s spirals all the wayjust give them a go keep persevering and you won’t look back

Edited May 22, 2021 by Danj84

[FrankEV]

On 5/21/2021 at 8:18 PM, WolfmoonCT said:

So when using a spiral, are you pushing sideways on the cuts or do you just spin the work with the saw off so you are always pushing forward?  I bought my saw used YEARS ago, and the guy I got it from has sooo many spirals, and I just never touched them. I mainly cut Cherry, Ash, Oak, Maple, I really don't do plywood, and I cut mainly 1/4" using Olson #2/0 R blades.

 

15 hours ago, Danj84 said:

Hi wolfmoon ,yes I just push the work sideways forwards and back with the saw on ,it takes a while to get used to working with them but you soon get the hang of it and you can get some great detail cut using spirals,I just make sure I cut inside the line and work up to it a bit like when your colouring I suppose and watch where I am cutting and not looking at the other lines as the blade tends to wander to where you are looking! that’s all I use now unless I have a very long straight line I need to cut otherwise it’s spirals all the wayjust give them a go keep persevering and you won’t look back

Danj84 above said it all very well.

To me using spirals is like moving a puck around on a Wigi board. Both hands move the work around and your eyes (and brain) controls your hands so the blade follows the cut line.  You can't "think" follow the line.  After a lot of practice, you just do it trying not to stop along the way.  Restarting can often mean a little (sometimes big) wiggle will ocur.

I personally find I don't care to cut straight up/away or down/toward me.  I'm almost always following the line off a little from true vertical.  The shape of the cut out and its location in the panel will dictate which direction you cut.  For me, I always try to cut in a counterclockwise route around to cut.  My brain dosn't like going clockwise for some reason.

And like Danj84, I try to cut on the waste side of the line.  It is easy to trim/shave off some material to get to the line, but as you know you can't put material back.