Finally got some practice in!

[Eplfan2011]

Well grass is cut and the yard was tidied up so I had a free after noon and decided to try something out of my comfort zone. Didn't go completely to plan as I ended up having a thin piece break off on me ! .

Going to sand and clean these off as my wife seems to think I should keep them, go figure may try paint on some of them.

Maybe I'll try some good wood next week instead of scrap! I'm improving slowly!

[OCtoolguy]

3 minutes ago, Eplfan2011 said:

Well grass is cut and the yard was tidied up so I had a free after noon and decided to try something out of my comfort zone. Didn't go completely to plan as I ended up having a thin piece break off on me ! .

Going to sand and clean these off as my wife seems to think I should keep them, go figure may try paint on some of them.

Maybe I'll try some good wood next week instead of scrap! I'm improving slowly!

Get in the habit of sanding your work piece before you cut it. Take it to 220. Then you won't have to be so careful with it afterward. Even if using old scrap wood, it's a good habit to get into. I'm still having trouble remembering to do it. Definitely makes a big difference.

 

[Eplfan2011]

2 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

Get in the habit of sanding your work piece before you cut it. Take it to 220. Then you won't have to be so careful with it afterward. Even if using old scrap wood, it's a good habit to get into. I'm still having trouble remembering to do it. Definitely makes a big difference.

 

Thanks Ray that's a great idea, I've got these three projects cut now I'll work out how to clean them up efficiently, I suppose that's a good reason to finish them instead of just putting them on the shelf. TBH I'm not a big finishing fan.

[OCtoolguy]

1 minute ago, Eplfan2011 said:

Thanks Ray that's a great idea, I've got these three projects cut now I'll work out how to clean them up efficiently, I suppose that's a good reason to finish them instead of just putting them on the shelf. TBH I'm not a big finishing fan.

Another suggestion. If you have a piece of tile or glass or anything really flat, you can use spray adhesive and stick 4 sheets of 220 paper down to your medium. Then turn your project upside down and very gently run it over the paper and smooth it out. I've done that but what I have is a piece of corian that was a cutout from our kitchen sink that came with our home. I have 220 on one side and 400 on the other. You might check around with kitchen installers and see if you can get a couple of pieces of the same stuff. Any of the man made materials are very flat.

 

[Eplfan2011]

29 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

Another suggestion. If you have a piece of tile or glass or anything really flat, you can use spray adhesive and stick 4 sheets of 220 paper down to your medium. Then turn your project upside down and very gently run it over the paper and smooth it out. I've done that but what I have is a piece of corian that was a cutout from our kitchen sink that came with our home. I have 220 on one side and 400 on the other. You might check around with kitchen installers and see if you can get a couple of pieces of the same stuff. Any of the man made materials are very flat.

 

Another good idea, I have a glass sharpening plate which I don't use anymore ( used to sharpen chisels on it, scary sharp method ) as I now use diamond stones.

[OCtoolguy]

27 minutes ago, Eplfan2011 said:

Another good idea, I have a glass sharpening plate which I don't use anymore ( used to sharpen chisels on it, scary sharp method ) as I now use diamond stones.

Perfect. I had one of those at one time but when we sold out to go fulltime RVing, it got sold. Along with everything we owned. When we came off the road I had to start all over buying tooks. I had taken up woodcarving while we were traveling. 

[heppnerguy]

I am quite impressed  with your quick improvements in your cutting. It appears you are able to stay on your cutting lines quite well. Once you feel you are really happy with your cutting, then is the time to step to a pattern that you would like to cut but maybe have been a little afraid and feeling it is too difficult. Perhaps then you might give that scary one a try. Remember though, it is a good idea to slow down even more as you feel out the new pattern cutting process. You should have little trouble as you progress as long as you do it in steps, so to speak

Dick

heppnerguy

[Eplfan2011]

6 minutes ago, heppnerguy said:

I am quite impressed  with your quick improvements in your cutting. It appears you are able to stay on your cutting lines quite well. Once you feel you are really happy with your cutting, then is the time to step to a pattern that you would like to cut but maybe have been a little afraid and feeling it is too difficult. Perhaps then you might give that scary one a try. Remember though, it is a good idea to slow down even more as you feel out the new pattern cutting process. You should have little trouble as you progress as long as you do it in steps, so to speak

Dick

heppnerguy

Thanks Dick.

TBH I thought the fish one was beyond me but as you said break it down and do it step by step. I'm glad I tried to cut it as I learned a lot. I was having problems cutting 90° inside corners, but when I changed my hand positions it all seemed to click and it started to flow. Feed speed let the blade do the cutting. 

 I appreciate all of your comments a lot are very helpful as well as encouraging, I came to the right place to learn !

[heppnerguy]

1 minute ago, Eplfan2011 said:

Thanks Dick.

TBH I thought the fish one was beyond me but as you said break it down and do it step by step. I'm glad I tried to cut it as I learned a lot. I was having problems cutting 90° inside corners, but when I changed my hand positions it all seemed to click and it started to flow. Feed speed let the blade do the cutting. 

 I appreciate all of your comments a lot are very helpful as well as encouraging, I came to the right place to learn !

One question for you. What is the thickness of the wood you are using to cut  the fish and what blade and blade size did you use?

Dick

heppnerguy

[Eplfan2011]

1 minute ago, heppnerguy said:

One question for you. What is the thickness of the wood you are using to cut  the fish and what blade and blade size did you use?

Dick

heppnerguy

Dick, 

It was a scrap piece of bad quality sanded ply 1/2 and a #3 FDUR to cut the whole thing. After I had finished cutting it I wondered if I should have used a spiral on the narrow cuts? . I have a variety of pegas MG blades arriving tomorrow to try but I've been happy with the FDUR blades so far.

[Eplfan2011]

The flag got a coat of paint today (I found some craft acrylic paints in a box of my daughters stuff) oh and I cut the backer board too. I'm no artist so....  

Edited September 2, 2022 by Eplfan2011

[Eplfan2011]

I'll close this thread out now with the the last finished piece as the gnome is not going to get painted untill I get myself a airbrush ( could be another slippery slope).

[heppnerguy]

17 hours ago, Eplfan2011 said:

Dick, 

It was a scrap piece of bad quality sanded ply 1/2 and a #3 FDUR to cut the whole thing. After I had finished cutting it I wondered if I should have used a spiral on the narrow cuts? . I have a variety of pegas MG blades arriving tomorrow to try but I've been happy with the FDUR blades so far.

I am not sure about your comment about the spiral blade on thin cuts. If you mean using it instead of the flat or using the spiral after the cut. I am not sure how much spiral you have cut but most people have a lot of problem using the spiral as the primary blade. It takes some practice to get the feel of the spiral but well worth the effort to learn, especially if you get into patterns with a lot of really small holes, then the spiral often with save you from breaking of some pieces that the flat blades often can do in a tight turn. One thing some people do on really narrow cuts where the straight blade doesn't allow the opening to be seen very well on a finished project, is to make the cut with the narrow opening with the straight blade, followed by using a spiral down the same cut to widen it. The spiral will want to follow the previous cut and widen it so it can be seen easier.

  That said, you will find the Pagas blades to be sharper than most other blades and may seem a little too aggressive at first. After you get used to them and learn the feel and ease of how they cut, you may really enjoy them.

Dick

heppnerguy

[Eplfan2011]

1 hour ago, heppnerguy said:

 I am not sure how much spiral you have cut but most people have a lot of problem using the spiral as the primary blade. It takes some practice to get the feel of the spiral but well worth the effort to learn, especially if you get into patterns with a lot of really small holes, then the spiral often with save you from breaking of some pieces that the flat blades often can do in a tight turn. One thing some people do on really narrow cuts where the straight blade doesn't allow the opening to be seen very well on a finished project, is to make the cut with the narrow opening with the straight blade, followed by using a spiral down the same cut to widen it

I've not used a spiral very much at all but opening the existing cut up using the spiral blade was where I was going. Also I found buy gently rubbing along the line you can tidy up if you didn't quite get on the line.

I think I'll have a busy weekend and beginning of the week but I hope to try out the pegas blades soon.

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, Eplfan2011 said:

I've not used a spiral very much at all but opening the existing cut up using the spiral blade was where I was going. Also I found buy gently rubbing along the line you can tidy up if you didn't quite get on the line.

I think I'll have a busy weekend and beginning of the week but I hope to try out the pegas blades soon.

Just remember, once you remove the pattern nobody knows where you went off line unless you make it worse by trying to over-correct or "cleaning up" your mistake.