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General Category => Brag Forum => Topic started by: Gabby on March 29, 2011, 12:20:41 am
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Hey Y'all:
Had a good day practicing put in about 3 hours working on a fretwork EARLY train one where the engineer stands on a platform at the back of the engine, and the coaches look like stage coaches.
Larned something too!
Steve and mrsn make it look so easy, but the part that doesn't come across, is how lightly they hold and feed the wood to the saw. I was holding DOWN like it would jump over the moon, which caused a bunch of tension, twern't fun neither, I wasn't able to tell how the blade was cutting since I was putting all that pressure, down, forward, and sideways.
Once I loosened up and relaxed I was even able to swing 90 deg. and more without stopping or breaking a blade from binding. Too cool!
One of these years if I live long enough, I may get the hang of this itty bitty saw. ;D ;D
Gabby
MAKING SAWDUST, YEE HAW!
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Good for you! You must be a rootin and a tootin.
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Good for you! You must be a rootin and a tootin.
Nope no beans tonight. LOL
Hands want to cramp though. You think I might have over done it? ;D
G
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Gabby mate it sounds like you gotta relax, I got arthritis (sp) and I know if I bin holding and pushing the wood to tight, the next day I can no scroll and that anit no fun.
So matey RELAX....
***Merlin***
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Just keep working at it Gabby. The "feel" will come to you! Keep reminding yourself to "let the blade do the work", you're just there to be a guide! If your hands are getting tired, you're definitely putting too much "umph" into it! ;) Normally, the only thing tired after a session at the saw are my eyes and my brain from concentrating so much. Then again, I probably have to concentrate a lot harder than most! :D
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Gabby, relax and go with the flow, practice will make it all fit into the big picture...
Bruce ;D
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I'm learning, I'm learning!
I have problems with cramping, hardly get through a night without one, making me hobble around in the dark to get it ro ease up. My hands cramp from doing unacustomed work. Sitting here typing doesn't do much for hand strength.
Thanks for the nice thoughts and advice guys.
Weatherman says clear tomorrow, I'm hoping he's right for a change.
Gabby
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Way to go Gabby. Keep up making sawdust.
Denny in TN
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Hey Gabby, What kind of blades you using. If your using a reverse tooth blade, you have to hold the wood down more than if you were using a non reverse tooth blade. I start my students off with a skip tooth blade so they aren't fighting the board.
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Hi Dan
I was using both types of blades, but I don't think that was the problem.
It was between my ears. :o
Once I started to relax and just gentle the material along, it felt and worked so much better.
I was still holding it down but not trying to push it through the table, which was canceling out the feel for the tool.
If you have played pool, you can probably remember holding the stick too tight which causes
unintended movement when you make the shot. That's what I think was happening. I had noticed when finishing a cut the blade would spring back to one side or the other depending on which way I was pushing it sideways. At first I didn't know how to prevent the side forces. When I eased off all the unneeded pressure, and could feel what was happening, it pretty much went away.
Now that I know what I was doing wrong I think it needs to become a matter of practicing it until it becomes second nature like driving a car without having to think about every move, which is why I'll finish the fretwork train I'm cutting. I don't expect it to be something to brag about, but a lot more fun than just cutting zigzags or wavey lines. I'll just keep it as a benchmark to look at and see whether or not I'm improving.
Thanks,
Gabby