Messages

91

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: drying wood

« on: January 17, 2012, 09:43:03 pm »

Hi Clive,

The wood will dry more efficiently once the logs are sawn into boards.  The sawyers around here recommend rough sawing the lumber about 1 1/8" thick in order to be able to get boards that finish out at least 3/4" thick when jointed & planed.

If you are looking at a large qty of wood, it may be worthwhile to invest in a moisture meter, especially if you want to use the wood as soon as possible.  The rule of thumb of air drying 1" per year is pretty general and depends a lot on the particular species and the drying conditions.  You will want to keep your stack as flat as possible.  Any unevenness in the stack will transfer to the lumber as it dries.  In general, air dried wood will get down to around 12-15% moisture content.  Conventional wisdom is to allow the wood to acclimate a couple weeks in the shop before final milling.  With a MC that high, wood can still tend to warp, twist or cup, even after air drying for a few years.  Kiln drying will generally achieve a MC of around 6-8%.  Furniture makers prefer a MC of 10% or less, but I use a lot of air dried wood and if dried and prepared carefully, it will work just fine.

Keep the stickers evenly spaced (no more than roughly 2' apart) and in line with each other through all the layers of the stack.  Weigh the top layer down to prevent warping & twisting.  If the stack is exposed to the weather, cover the top only, leaving the ends and edges open to encourage air movement.  If stacked indoors, you may need to place fans and/or a dehumidifier in the area to help disperse the moisture.  It's important that the stack get plenty of air circulation to promote even drying and prevent mold.  Build the stack well up off the ground to prevent insect infestation. 

Air drying your own lumber can be a satisfying experience, if done properly.  Good luck!

92

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Getting Rid of Fuzzies

« on: January 08, 2012, 07:55:12 pm »

One thing I've tried recently and works really well is a sanding buff, mounted in my Dremel.  I admit it isn't the most economic means, they seem to wear fairly quickly, but they work really well, easier & faster than cleaning pieces by hand with files, emery boards, sandpaper, etc.  Using a low speed on the Dremel and a light touch, even fairly delicate fretwork can be cleaned up with these.  If they were a little cheaper or lasted longer, they would be the greatest thing since sliced bread.   

93

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: spraying laquer in basement

« on: December 18, 2011, 07:27:32 pm »

Lacquer is pretty nasty stuff.  Without proper and adequate ventilation, I would avoid it in the basement.  I agree with the suggestion of switching to a waterborne product for spraying inside and I would still want to have at least some means of ventilating the area.

One advantage to shellac is that it can be sprayed in cold weather.  Can't be too damp, but cold temperatures don't adversely affect it like many other finishes.

94

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Ornament Help

« on: December 15, 2011, 10:28:26 am »

Like Dan, I don't use lemon oil, but use boiled linseed oil, thinned with mineral spirits.  In fact, I'm in the midst of finishing a bunch of ornaments now.  I applied the BLO a few days ago and am topcoating with shellac.  Shellac has become my favorite finish for scroll work and spraying it is my method of choice.  It dries so fast, I can apply multiple coats in a day.  I started spraying early this morning and I expect to have all 70 ornaments finished with 2-3 coats, both sides by late this afternoon.  They will be dry enough to handle and give away by tomorrow.

I don't always apply BLO first.  In this case, the ornaments are made from cherry & ash and I wanted to darken the cherry to get good contrast with the ash.  The amber tint in the oil works best with darker woods like cherry, walnut, mahogany, etc, to really pop the grain.  I typically skip the BLO if I'm using a lighter colored wood and want to maintain the light color.

95

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: I got's me a DILEMNA!!!!

« on: December 15, 2011, 10:01:58 am »

You can easily flood enough BLO on with a brush.  I usually use an old one that I don't care about much.  Working it into the frets can be kind of hard on the bristles, so I don't want to use one of my good brushes.  I lay the piece on an old towel or t-shirt and just slather it on.  For bigger projects or more 3 dimensional stuff like clocks, I've used one of those misting sprayers like you use to water your plants.  Makes a mess, but it gets it in all the nooks & crannies.

Just a reminder for those who maybe haven't heard this PSA before, take great care in handling and disposing of BLO soaked rags.  Under the right circumstances, they are prone to spontaneous combustion.  I take mine outside, lay them flat and allow them to dry before disposing of them.

96

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Is there still a use for standard blades

« on: December 08, 2011, 05:50:58 pm »

If by standard cut blades, you mean ones that don't have reverse teeth, like a skip tooth, then yes.  There are still uses for them.  Skip tooth blades have larger gaps between the teeth, which allows better chip clearance.  These work well for compound cutting where the material is thicker.  Reverse tooth blades tend to pack the sawdust in the kerf and build up heat.  This slows the cutting process and dulls the blades faster.  That's one application for non-reverse tooth blades, anyway.  I'm sure there are more.

I don't use spirals often.  They do have a learning curve and take some getting used to, especially if you are used to straight blades.  Newer designs seem to be easier to use than old ones.  I think the new style Flying Dutchman are a big improvement in ease of use. 

97

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Any real advantage in an expensive saw

« on: December 08, 2011, 01:05:07 pm »

As you can see Malc, there are a variety of opinions on this topic.  The same question can be asked in just about any hobby.  Is there an advantage to the weekend golfer to own a set of top of the line clubs?  Is there an advantage to the casual fisherman to own an expensive bass boat?  Pick your hobby and you can ask the same question and apply the same logic to the answers.  Scrolling isn't all that much different, in this context.

Bottom line is it all comes down to what priority you place on the enjoyment of your hobby.  I think the more time you spend at a hobby, the more benefit you gain from top quality equipment.  It may not necessarily make you better (whatever "better" is to you), but it can make it much more enjoyable.  If it's more enjoyable, then you are more likely to spend more time doing it.  If you spend more time doing it, then you will be more inclined to tackle more challenging projects.  As you challenge yourself, your skills improve.  Did the saw make you better?  Maybe not in and of itself, but perhaps it provided some incentive for you to improve.

98

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: First scrollsaw class!!

« on: November 28, 2011, 06:50:28 pm »

Hi Math!

Thanks for posting about your experience.  I'll be teaching my first scroll saw class next Spring and I appreciate hearing of the experiences of beginners and the problems they encounter while trying to learn this craft.  It all will help me develop the curriculum that is of most benefit to the students. 

How many students were in your class?  What kind of things did you do?  I think I have a pretty good handle on what the class will consist of, but I'm always willing to learn from the experiences of others.

Good luck and have fun making sawdust!

99

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Saw in the Basement

« on: November 28, 2011, 06:42:45 pm »

My shop is in my basement.  It's partitioned off from the rest of the basement, but I don't have a dust collector.  I use a shop vac to get as much as I can from various tools and I have a fan in the window with a furnace filter over it to help draw fumes & fine dust out of the air.  It's all pretty ineffective, but the scroll saw is probably the least serious offender when it comes to dust generating tools in my shop.

The one thing about a scroll saw, is that most of the dust stays localized within the footprint of the saw (and on the user  ), as opposed to other woodworking tools, such as a table saw or radial arm saw, or even a router. Without the benefit of dust collection, these will spew the fine dust into the air and chips all over the place, making cleanup much more difficult and fine, airborne dust more of a health concern. There are some relatively simple ways to keep the dust at bay in a basement shop.   I wear a dust mask and also wear  hospital scrubs over my clothes, so that I can just pull them off before going upstairs. 

If all you are using in the basement is the scroll saw, keep a broom and your shop vac handy and the dust problem shouldn't be too bad, comparatively speaking. 

100

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Re: Advice

« on: November 23, 2011, 08:07:28 am »

The problem could be due to several conditions.  You may have shifted the parts slightly during assembly, which would spread the glue onto the surrounding surfaces.  The glue may be too thin and ran during assembly.  You mentioned that you applied a drop.  That's kind of a subjective measure, so I'm not sure how big the drop was, relative to the glue surfaces, but it may very well have simply been squeeze out of the excess glue from the joint.

There are a couple things to do to prevent this in the future.  First, limit the amount of glue used to only what is necessary, especially where removal of the excess will be a problem.  Then use the glue most appropriate to the application.  For areas where the glue surface is limited, you can use a gel CA glue.  Aleene's Tacky glue is also good for situations like this.  It's a little thicker, bonds quickly and dries clear, so a little git of squeeze out may not be as noticeable as some other glues.

Next, during assembly, take special note of the glue joints and clean up any excess before it dries.  Once assembly is complete and you are ready for the finish, wipe the project down with mineral spirits.  This will show you where there is glue that needs removed.  Use a razor blade as a scraper, or sandpaper to remove as much of the excess glue as possible, without damaging the surrounding surfaces.  Bottom line is, it's much easier to prevent excess glue squeeze out than it is to deal with it after the fact. 

Good luck!

101

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Shop quirks and rituals..

« on: November 17, 2011, 01:15:15 pm »

TV is usually on in the shop, but it's mostly background noise.  Sometimes I'll listen to the local sports station on the radio.  Don't listen to music as much as I used to, except for this time of year when I'll listen pretty much exclusively to Christmas music.

One other ritual I have is kind of a tribute to my Dad.  Dad worked in construction all his life and as a teenager, I worked with him a lot.  When I was 16, Mom got us each a leather nail apron for Christmas. When he passed away, I asked my Mom if I could have his.  It was well worn, patched and repaired a number of times, but he wore it almost daily for over 25 years.  It's hanging in my shop today, right next to the door.  As I pass by, on my way in & out of the shop, I will often reach up and grasp it for a moment and just think of Dad.  First few times I did that, I couldn't hold back tears.  Now, 8 years later, it's easier and usually brings a smile to my face.

By the way, I still have my old nail apron as well.  I don't use it much anymore, but it hangs right next to Dad's on the wall of my shop.

102

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: Show invitation

« on: November 15, 2011, 01:40:21 pm »

Congratulations Torsten!   

Good luck with the show!

103

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: White spots

« on: November 15, 2011, 01:38:00 pm »

Bon,

How were you spraying the lacquer?  Were you using a rattle can or a spray gun/compressor?  If using the spray gun and compressor, do you have a line drier and filter on it?  It could be possible that there is moisture in your compressed air that is contaminating your finish.  Just a thought.

104

Brag Forum / Re: Some New Ornaments I designed

« on: November 15, 2011, 01:31:59 pm »

I'm kind of new here, Sheila, so speaking strictly for myself, I'm glad you do post your stuff here.  Otherwise I may never have heard of your site.  Folks like me, who are more suited to the execution, as opposed to the design, depend on creative people like you to provide us with great patterns.  Even better that you have the skill and talent to cut your own designs and show us what the finished piece looks like.

Kudos to you and thanks for doing what you do to support this hobby!

105

General Scroll Saw Talk / Re: I NEED HELP!!!

« on: November 15, 2011, 01:15:28 pm »

Couple things regarding the clamps,  First, take some sandpaper and rough up the ends of the blades.  Blades have a coating on them that can make them harder for the clamps to get a good grip on them.  Couple swipes with sandpaper and that should help.

What kind of clamping system does your saw have?  Some saws have 2 little blocks that are pressed together with a screw and others use 2 screws, the ends of which sandwhich the blade.  Depending on what kind you have, there may be a couple tricks to help minimize the breakage/slippage problems.