My Greatest Scroll Saw Challenge.

[Dave Monk]

I've been doing intarsia projects the last couple of days and sawing a lot of 1" lumber. If you have done any intarsia you understand the importance of a perfectly square cut. I  must say that I struggle with that. Occasionally even cutting puzzles. I've checked and rechecked my blade squareness. I think my left hand puts a bit of side pressure on the wood but not totally sure. It doesn't take much to put a very slight angle on a piece. It sure is frustrating.  

[rjweb]

Sorry I can’t help, but will be waiting to see another beautiful project you do Dave, RJ 

[Wichman]

Especially when I am cutting thick pieces, every few seconds I will let the piece go (gently holding so as not to lose all control) and let the piece "float" for a sec to allow any side pressure to dissipate. I've cut  very small sliding dovetails in 1 1/2" purpleheart  with this method.

   I favor FD Polar blades because they resist the side flex well.

 

[John B]

I do feel your pain Dave.
My stand up puzzles I cut from 30mm timber and some of the small boxes are 45mm.
I find every now and again I have to take a deep breath and remind myself not to put pressure on the blade, let the saw do the work.
I check every puzzle piece "as I cut it" that it slides nicely into it's adjoining piece from the front and the back and every now and again one is a little tight.

 

[dgman]

Dave, most of the puzzles I cut are from 7/8” to 1”. It is difficult to cut that thick of wood without beveling the edges. However, it is doable. The trick is to be conscious of what you are doing. All to often, we just zip through the cut without worrying about how the blade is cutting as long as you stay on the line. It is important to not push on the blade laterally. That is, when you are turning the wood into the blade. As you are cutting into a curve, stop occasionally to let the blade catch up. Sometimes, you will actually see the blade straighten up. Set your blade speed high. You might even use a larger blade. One important trick that works for me is to use a pivot point. What does that mean? When I’m cutting, I use a finger to creat a pivot. Witch ever finger is closet to the blade as you are turning the wood. Push down with that finger. As you turn the wood, it will pivot where you are pushing down. This will help keep the wood blank turning with out pushing on the side of the blade blade. 
larger blade, higher speed, slower feed rate and pivot point. You can do it!

[preprius]

40 minutes ago, Wichman said:

...... I will let the piece go (gently holding so as not to lose all control) and let the piece "float" for a sec to allow any side pressure to dissipate. .....

I just cut 0.75" poplar using this technique.   But it did not slide out of the top only slid out of the bottom. Motor speed was 30%.

So I checked the squareness of the blade again. I was sure it was not going to square.   But it was square.

Using #1 MGT.  Might change higher blade #5 next time.

I need to practice this technique more. 

And watch this posting for better techniques.

So as a write this up, I went and looked at the tight spots. It was the tightest on a very very straight cut that is about 4inches long.  

The second cut is loose enough to slide thru both ways.

.

Edited May 12, 2022 by preprius

[Wichman]

I finished cutting this one yesterday morning.  3/4 basswood, FD Polar #1  1400 SPM. The rose slides out either direction. My intention is to glue the rose back into the piece with the top surface of the rose just proud of the oval (the thickness of a toothpick, about 5/64"). FYI I use a 1 2 3 block to square my table.

 

[Dave Monk]

7 hours ago, preprius said:

I just cut 0.75" poplar using this technique.   But it did not slide out of the top only slid out of the bottom. Motor speed was 30%.

So I checked the squareness of the blade again. I was sure it was not going to square.   But it was square.

Using #1 MGT.  Might change higher blade #5 next time.

I need to practice this technique more. 

And watch this posting for better techniques.

So as a write this up, I went and looked at the tight spots. It was the tightest on a very very straight cut that is about 4inches long.  

The second cut is loose enough to slide thru both ways.

.

Please don't tell me you are going to make yourself some wooden cowboy boots.

[Roberta Moreton]

When I found a similar problem, the set screw on the bottom clamp was the problem.  Very small problem, but fixing it helped me.  

[OCtoolguy]

12 hours ago, Wichman said:

I finished cutting this one yesterday morning.  3/4 basswood, FD Polar #1  1400 SPM. The rose slides out either direction. My intention is to glue the rose back into the piece with the top surface of the rose just proud of the oval (the thickness of a toothpick, about 5/64"). FYI I use a 1 2 3 block to square my table.

 

Wick, what is a 1-2-3 block?

[Wichman]

1 hour ago, OCtoolguy said:

Wick, what is a 1-2-3 block?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00092CJC6?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Accuracy and squareness on all sides within .0001"-.0002"

It's a chunk of tool steel 1" x 2" x 3". Some are solid steel, others, such as mine, are drilled and tapped to allow more flexibility in jigs.

Just as simple as I am. Set one on the table top, thick enough it won't fall over, and if you're looking for a 90* angle......

[OCtoolguy]

3 minutes ago, Wichman said:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00092CJC6?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Accuracy and squareness on all sides within .0001"-.0002"

It's a chunk of tool steel 1" x 2" x 3". Some are solid steel, others, such as mine, are drilled and tapped to allow more flexibility in jigs.

Just as simple as I am. Set one on the table top, thick enough it won't fall over, and if you're looking for a 90* angle......

Thanks, I had an idea that was it but wanted to be sure. 

[lawson56]

I have done intarsia yrs ago, I enjoyed it, don't recall having the trouble your having. I do hope you keep it up. It will be very rewarding.

[preprius]

here is a video how to check blade angle.   Simple....

 

[Dan]

I had problems doing intarsia but only on the corners. I didn't realized the problems until I started making puzzles. Side to side alignment was fine. My saw was designed for an aggressive cut and there was a bit more front to back movement of the blade and with thick stock there was a significant angle on the corners only. I shimmed up the back of the table until the front to back movement was negligeable. Now my puzzles cut very accurately. I need to try some intarsia again. 

And before you ask, yes I did adjust the blade clamp first. Lol

[Dave Monk]

1 hour ago, preprius said:

here is a video how to check blade angle.   Simple....

 

That's the method I use. I think it is better than using a square.

[John B]

7 hours ago, Dave Monk said:

That's the method I use. I think it is better than using a square.

I use the same method. I usually use a credit card or protractor to set it up and then use the "Flip the cut" method to check.

[don watson]

This is the method I use but I never thought of saving a block with the blade number on it for an easy setup next time. Thanks for that I will do that in future and probably end up with various blocks using various blade widths/thicknesses. I can't remember the last time I tilted the table or what I was doing it for but this is a good idea to keep in mind.

Don W

 

[Norm Fengstad]

On 5/11/2022 at 7:40 PM, Dave Monk said:

I've been doing intarsia projects the last couple of days and sawing a lot of 1" lumber. If you have done any intarsia you understand the importance of a perfectly square cut. I  must say that I struggle with that. Occasionally even cutting puzzles. I've checked and rechecked my blade squareness. I think my left hand puts a bit of side pressure on the wood but not totally sure. It doesn't take much to put a very slight angle on a piece. It sure is frustrating.  

When this happens to me I will use # 5 or so spiral, insure it is square with the table and use it like a sander to square ,trim the cut