Please give me criticism and what I could do to improve myself

[Robert R]

Any and all criticism would be truly accepted, I want to be better at this.

[rafairchild2]

From what I see you need to slow your blade speed down a bit, and also slow down how fast you feed your wood to the blade.  Go really slow, let the blade do the work, do not push.  Pause frequently and back up a little.  Speed will come later. Blade speed you will need to adjust depending on thickness and hardness of wood.

Also, try using real wood as that looks like a composite.  The glue will mess you up as you learn right now.  Baltic Birch plywood is another good learning wood.  Start with 1/2 inch.  The thinner the wood, the tough it is to control at first and you get those blowouts you see on some of your lines.

The main point is GO SLOW... nail those lines splitting them perfectly.  Going slow you will also get smooth lines, focus on those two things first.

Plan your cuts and turns too, know in advance if you are going to back up, change directions, do a nibble cut, or sweep into the waste area and then turn back to nail a 90 degree.  Note the 3rd image and how I go past my line into the waste area and nibble out an area where i can turn my blade to the opposite direction. This way I get really sharp corners.

Also, if you do not have a 5x magnifier I would recommend one. (4th image) See the image below.  I go REALLY slow to nail lines.

Edited July 24, 2023 by rafairchild2

[Robert R]

All things I would not have thought of, at least as of to date. I will keep these in mind, and my wife has a lighter magnifier on a stand and I don't think she uses it.  I will have to borrow it, she won't notice.

[Gene Howe]

Having tried those types of magnifiers, I find them cumbersome to use. Got me a head mounted one that's really useful for me. They're light and use ear pieces like glasses. I wear tri focals so, they're removed, first. 

Mine came from Amazon. I can't seem to get the web address to show up here.

Edited July 24, 2023 by Gene Howe

[rdatelle]

I agree with Richard on the wood type and thickness of wood and size of blade. Easier to stack cut something like that and it will make it easier to control the blade. With those types of cuts you need to slow down a little and let the blade do the work. If I was cutting something like that I would probably stack cut two or three 1/4 inch B/B ply using a # 3 or 5 ur blade. Other than that you did pretty good. Practice makes perfect.

[rjweb]

I think you have done a beautiful job and excellent cutting, RJ

[daveww1]

nice job

[Rolf]

Robert R.   A couple of things, we do not criticize we comment, guide and suggest things that can be changed to improve our work.

  The first thing looking at you piece is , as others have suggested, use better wood and a better quality blade. 

That will give a you a cleaner cut with fewer fuzzies.

What saw and blade did you use for your project?

[Robert R]

Rolf, I used a #3 Pegas from BearWoods, Reverse Skip 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Robert R

[rafairchild2]

1 hour ago, Robert R said:

Rolf, I used a #3 Pegas from BearWoods, Reverse Skip 

I did an experiment with blades this past weekend. Pegas, Flying Dutchman and Niqua.  I found the #3 Pegas RS and the Modified geometry, although very sharp to be very aggressive in its cut.  The #3 was harder to control vs the #5. Niqua is a rebranded Flying Dutchman.

What I have found over the last 100 projects I have worked on, that I tend to go-to the Flying Dutchman #5 Ultra Reverse as my 'every-day blade".  I control it very well from 1/4 to 3/4-inch wood. it cuts clean with no fuzzies, no need to sand my cuts either, saving time.  It is not as aggressive as the Pegas, which fits my slow cutting style.

That being said.  Get yourself a mix of blades to experiment with, you will find what WORKS FOR YOU.

Edited July 25, 2023 by rafairchild2

[Dak0ta52]

I guess I'm a little different than others that have commented. I like an aggressive blade that is sharp and cuts fast. That's why I use the Pegas blades. The rate of cut is not going to be any faster than the rate you feed your material into the blade. The reason I like the sharper blades is because, in my opinion, it cuts straighter (between clamps) rather than creating a bow as you feed the material. Also, I have a tendency to use the smallest possible blade for the material I'm cutting so that I geet nice, crisp corners. I've found to get the sharp corners with a larger blade you have to "nibble" your way into the corner to make your turn.

[Ron Johnson]

I think you’re doing just fine Robert. I think it’s the material you’re using that appear to be giving you fussies. Try the same pattern with maple, cherry, etc. in ¼” or ½” using a #5 blade cutting at a steady speed you can control. Speed is fine as long as you have control and the blade is not burning the wood. Everyone has their preferences in blades. Mine is Olson, double tooth, skip tooth, and precision ground in #3,5& 7 used most often. 

[MarieC]

Robert, I am pretty much the same as Rodney @Dak0ta52, I like the smallest sharpest blades as well. And Ron @Ron Johnson is so right on about the wood....Nice wood is soooo much more fun to work with.  On blade speed,  I would say my blade speed is medium-slow, and I feed it slow because that works best for me.   I used to do things so fast, work, eat, run , whatever.... and now that I am retired, I say to myself, "Self, what is the hurry?" when I feel I am rushing.... and these days I do so much better.  Hope to meet you someday soon....  From one Eastern Washingtonian to another 

[RabidAlien]

Agree with most of the above, regarding sharp blades (I use Pegas MG blades, 0/2 if I'm single-cutting, #1 or #3 if I'm double/triple stacked).  Speed.....medium to med-high, on my cheap Wen 16".  Reverse-tooth blades do wonders for trimming up the out-stroke fuzzies/feathers, and another trick I picked up here is to spray the back of the blank wood with shellac.  That'll be the side that sits on the saw table.  The shellac gives enough extra "stiffening" to REALLY cut down on fuzzy edges (har..."cut down"....yeah, I know, I'm not quitting the day job).  I've also heard of folks wrapping the whole thing in packing tape to help cut down on edges, but that seems like a mess and a lot of packing tape, to me.    But if it works for someone, I'm not gonna knock it. 

 

Slow down, take your time, have fun.  Usually there's no time limit on cutting, and if I cut three pieces out of a pattern in one day, sometimes that's all the sawdust time I get and I'm happy for it.  Find patterns YOU enjoy looking at, don't look at the number of holes (EVERY pattern is just one-hole-one-cut-next-hole), and have fun with it!

[goldfish]

Like the mag idea might have to try that. Good start at scrolling, like the others say the wood looks like MDF not the best of woods to use. It maybe better with a finer blade #1 or #2 maybe

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by goldfish

[Robert R]

OK, so I did another project, this time I tried to implement many of the suggestions that were given to me.  Mainly, I slowed both the speed and myself down and I changed blades often (just ordered another group of blades.

Please comment again, they are truly welcome.

This time I used walnut ply, did not find solid walnut, yet.

[Scrappile]

I'd say bring out the solid walnut.. That looks great to me.  How do you feel about it?  That is the most important critic.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Scrappile

[Robert R]

4 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

I'd say bring out the solid walnut.. That looks great to me.  How do you feel about it?  That is the most important critic.

I feel there is always room for improvement, given that, I feel pretty good about this one and in my case slower is better.  I still need practice in turns even when I'm going real slow. LOL

I have some solid on order, not sure when it will arrive.

[Charlie E]

Looks to me like you're doing very well. Definitely got the knack for the hobby.  

[Phantom Scroller]

I can safely say you don't need my help, great work. Try a sandwich of three layers and you will find the one in the the middle is best.   Roly 

[Robert R]

13 minutes ago, Phantom Scroller said:

I can safely say you don't need my help, great work. Try a sandwich of three layers and you will find the one in the the middle is best.   Roly 

Now that is the third time I've heard "try stacking three layers" but how does one attach the layers to not misalign them while cutting?

 

[BadBob]

19 hours ago, Robert R said:

how does one attach the layers to not misalign them while cutting?

Nails, tape, and glue are the ones I have tried.

I like glue. I put a small drop of wood glue in the waste area and clamp it for about 20 minutes. It is cheap and never moves. Be sure to cut the waste off last.

Try these.

Edited July 31, 2023 by BadBob
Add search link.

[Bill WIlson]

22 hours ago, Robert R said:

Now that is the third time I've heard "try stacking three layers" but how does one attach the layers to not misalign them while cutting?

 

There are a number of ways, but the one I've settled on is to use hot glue.

Works best if all the blanks are the same size.  I clamp them with several spring clamps, making sure all the edges are even, then run beads of hot glue across the edges.  This works best with smaller blanks.  Once they get too large, then you may need to attach them in the middle someplace.

[Phantom Scroller]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:25 PM, Robert R said:

Now that is the third time I've heard "try stacking three layers" but how does one attach the layers to not misalign them while cutting?

 

I would use Sellotape but I have heard people use hot glue but it might be difficult to get apart. I use Sellotape over my patterns anyway.

[don watson]

30 seconds in the microwave should see the hot glue ease off.