Napkin Holder

[Artie]

Ok, after 24 hours away, I have the Cross pattern getting ready to be glued up for another try. This time I am gonna use the next size down Forster bit, and give myself a little bit more meat to work with. After reading some more of Patrick Spielmans handbook, I am gonna try with a faster speed on the saw, but the same or slower feed rate. I’m getting some idea of blade changing, and tensioning, but blade info is still nonsense to me. I think I’m gonna stick with a #3 or a #5 Flying Dutchman, ultra reverse, because I have them, and they’re what Patch, and Steve Good use for most of their cutting. Which an, you have hit the nail on the head of why I got so %$#@@$#%. I finally got a Saturday that was all mine, and I did not have fun. My son came over, we worked on his project for his fiancée, all fun. Then he left, I started on the Crosses, no fun. My main issue is the corners, and I’m thinking it’s the left to right movement of my blade that is causing me to do worse than just being a green amateur. I have read a lot online, and I think from Ricks Scrollsaw, his cornering tips were what I could understand. When you are cutting, you load up the front of the blade, with contact with the wood, to corner you load the back of the blade, which does no cutting (because I have listened, and do not use spiral blades), and then turn the wood to where the blade is now facing where you want to cut next. This uses the back of the blade as a pivot point, and if the front of the blade is not in contact with the wood, you are not cutting where you don’t want to. Now this is paraphrasing, and how I understood what I read, watched on the video. My issue is when I load up the back of their blade, the left to right movement isn’t being stopped because of the blade actually being into the wood, and it’s a guess of where it will bite into the wood. I hope this is understandable (in my mind it works, but so far no one else has understood that dark process  )   I have been reading up on the Shopsmith scroll saw manual, and it is very specific on how to set it up, making something with it? Not so much. But it appears to have much less blade run out, and so does the old Craftsman model. This should help me to see if it is the machine, or to look on the mirror and say it’s the MAN I mean me.

                     Schnewj I am tone deaf, but I think Steve Good put it this way “ When you get a PLEASANT high pitched tone, you’re probably good “  This has seemed to be working for me since I adapted it.

                       GrandpaDave,   I don’t expect to turn out work as good as what is shown here on the forum, but I DO expect to have fun, and learn, Saturday afternoon was like a nightmare. It’s hard to put into words, I don’t mind feeling green/new/rookie/starting out, but I hate to feel incompetent. I have moved past it, and am gonna try another Cross again (I am from very stubborn Irish genes), In fact I have the pattern stickying up  and am gonna stick it on the wood after I finish this post. When I will get to put it on the saw is another guess. 

                         Wichman, Patch, I have seen your work, I ain’t got the words to describe how good it looks. I feel like I’m doing a poor paint by numbers picture while looking at The Last Supper by Da Vinci. I can appreciate the motivation of seeing what can be done, and how high the bar can be raised. There will be another report on the next episode of “Artie tries to follow the lines again”  If it goes badly then maybe I try to make a metal sculpture out of what’s left of my scrollsaw, find me another hobby LOL. Ah well, snow and work tomorrow, only 10 more days till our mini vacation up in Maine. 

[Smallpatch]

Artie did you also watch the video that Rick made of the Eclipse scroll saw as it was running... That was a machine that had too much technology included in to the machine to stay in business. I sure wish I had bought one before they went out of business. It had a 2" stroke and the blade was the only true up and down blade ever built.

 Take a look at his site again if you missed it.

[Artie]

Patch, I am aware that truthfully almost all my scrollsaw knowledge is web based, and therefore theoretical, not practical. The Eclipse seems to be the pinnacle of scroll saws, at least in the hobbyist/small shop category. I know nothing of the 3 phase, heavy metal saws, gotta think there’s some pretty hot numbers there, also. I think I’m gonna have an interesting week. Got the Cross pattern, glued up, gonna try the Shopsmith scroll saw. I think I’m gonna like the saw, but not the process of controlling it. If I can follow a line with it, after my experiences yesterday, I can over look the tedious controls. Hopefully one night after work this week, I try to cut the Cross. If my friends don’t get the basement doorway roughed in on their addition, I won’t be going there to work, Saturday, giving me another Saturday to ME! I need to make a dragonfly for me Missus, this has a lot of inside cuts, and is kinda fragile, see what happens. Then I gotta spend some time learning me how to finish LOL.  Your cardinal project you posted looks like it should be in a museum, not sure I even aspire to ever get that good.  I VERY much appreciate all the advice, and support from everyone. There is more than enough knowledge here, question is, am I capable of learning it? To butcher an old adage, “The proof is in the sawdust” 

[Smallpatch]

Artie I would suggest till you get more learning under your belt go with patterns with lots of curves and no straight lines...Mistakes show up on straight stuff...Besides the person doing the sawing can see the goof ups where the on looker sees the entire project at once.

[Artie]

OK, much better tonight. I used the Shopsmith scrollsaw, much better saw. Blade travels straight up and down as far as left to right is concerned, MUCH less vibration. No dust collection, but not a problem that can’t fixed with some shop adaptation. The little blower that’s supposed to blow the sawdust away from the line, is also ineffective. Plus when I remove the hold down arm, it will disappear with it. Another easily solved issue, I’ll get a clamp on fan, and blow the sawdust away from me, and into the large mouth dust collector attachment I will make/buy. I’m not saying that I can now magically follow the lines, be it straight or curved, but I understand what the saw is doing and why, where with the Porter-Cable with that blade run-out, it just kinda went it’s own way. I think the PC saw will be a good next winter project to tear apart (with lots of help from my very mechanical friends) and try to make it lose it’s left to right travel. If we can fix that, a 50 pound bag of sand will probably do wonders for vibration removal. Another issue with the Shopsmith that is also fixable is it has variable speed, but you have to look at a chart to convert SS rpm’s to SPM, and then set what you want. I was using Flying Dutchman # 3 ultra reverse blades. I can’t tell which end is up LOL, I actually put thre last blade in upside down. The wood kept trying to come up off the table, and on the straight lines it started  tracking left instead of right. I then looked at the package the blades came in, and it says 2 blades down, 1 blade up. With the super magnifiers on I can hopefully see the blades well enough to know which way is up LOL.  Tonight I am encouraged, not discouraged! With a lot of help and support from here  . This Saturday the Woodcraft Scrollahs club is meeting, I’m thinking that if I can put aside my shyness, I might wander on down, and say Hi. 

[Grandpadave52]

12 minutes ago, Artie said:

This Saturday the Woodcraft Scrollahs club is meeting, I’m thinking that if I can put aside my shyness, I might wander on down, and say Hi. 

I'm guessing they'll be just as happy to have you attend as we are to have you here.

Your sense of humor is a lifetime admission pass!

[Artie]

27 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

I'm guessing they'll be just as happy to have you attend as we are to have you here.

Your sense of humor is a lifetime admission pass!

I gotta be honest here, number 1 thing my wife says to me the most. “ You aren’t as funny as you think you are “

[Dadio]

Artie, my advice to you is to take the PC saw back,and get your money back while you still can. It is not like you won't have a scroll saw in the meantime you have the ShopSmith to practice with,and rethink the brand you want then go shopping again.

Herb

Edited April 3, 2018 by Dadio

[Grandpadave52]

10 minutes ago, Dadio said:

Artie, my advice to you is to take the PC saw back,and get your money back while you still can.

Wise advice...

[Smallpatch]

The only way I can tell if I am placing the blade in the right way  is run my finger lightly over the teeth. If its up right like is should be it will be smooth till I get to the bottom teeth then it will want to grab the skin... I also have this magnifying glass I look through while cutting and sometimes I can see which way the teeth are facing. I am getting so blind I think most of my sawing is done by sound not sight.

  I use to show guys this Dewalt 788 is very smooth running by standing a coin on its table while it is running..... Another reason I chose  the Dewalt .

[Al B]

I think you're getting some wise advice about returning the SS while you still can Artie. If you don't like it now, you likely won't like it a year from now, and it will loose half its value.If you think you are serious about scroll sawing, maybe now is the time to upgrade.

2 hours ago, Artie said:

I gotta be honest here, number 1 thing my wife says to me the most. “ You aren’t as funny as you think you are “

Maybe you're funnier than she thinks you are. 

[Dadio]

3 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

The only way I can tell if I am placing the blade in the right way  is run my finger lightly over the teeth. If its up right like is should be it will be smooth till I get to the bottom teeth then it will want to grab the skin... I also have this magnifying glass I look through while cutting and sometimes I can see which way the teeth are facing. I am getting so blind I think most of my sawing is done by sound not sight.

  I use to show guys this Dewalt 788 is very smooth running by standing a coin on its table while it is running..... Another reason I chose  the Dewalt .

You must have extra ordinary hearing Patch, If you can do the beautiful work  you do by sound.  I think you are right about the DeWalt being a quiet vibration free saw. I sure like mine,it is really quiet. Don't use it much.

Herb

[Artie]

6 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

The only way I can tell if I am placing the blade in the right way  is run my finger lightly over the teeth. If its up right like is should be it will be smooth till I get to the bottom teeth then it will want to grab the skin... I also have this magnifying glass I look through while cutting and sometimes I can see which way the teeth are facing. I am getting so blind I think most of my sawing is done by sound not sight.

  I use to show guys this Dewalt 788 is very smooth running by standing a coin on its table while it is running..... Another reason I chose  the Dewalt .

I think the Flying Dutchman ultra reverse is 2 teeth down, one up, the lengthy of the blade. Ay least it appears that way through my reader glasses LOL.

[Artie]

6 hours ago, It Was Al B said:

I think you're getting some wise advice about returning the SS while you still can Artie. If you don't like it now, you likely won't like it a year from now, and it will loose half its value.If you think you are serious about scroll sawing, maybe now is the time to upgrade.

Maybe you're funnier than she thinks you are. 

Well, she DID marry me LOL.

[Artie]

I don’t have the box the Porter-Cable came in  , and not sure how much of a hassle returning it will be, It was shipped to the house, so I don’t know if I can just show up at the closest store with it in the back of the car, and return it. I DO have the receipt  If I can fix the blade run out it might be a good back up saw, but it seems the Shopsmith would also fill that role (Like when my son and myself want to cut at the same time). I am thinking of moving up in saw, I’m hearing good things about the DeWalt  and the Excalibur (including all the derivatives, King, Seyco). Ray from Seyco seems to have an impeccable reputation, and the DeWalt can be delivered from Grizzly for about $525, including foot pedal and stand. Gotta see were the next month’s OT goes   (It’s always good to have motivation). I think I’m gonna stick with the Pegas 1, 3, 5 reverse blades. They are easy to tell which way is up, and I have a good supply of them. If this Saturday turns out to be mine, I’m gonna try to make a dragonfly for the missus, lots of inside cuts, and somewhat fragile (sorry, don’t know how to make one of the Oh My Goodness faces). Well I gotta go fix the handicapped entrance system into the Women’s bathroom at the library, before it opens. Have a good day everyone.

[Artie]

The Missus likes dragonfly’s, so I got a pattern, and set it up for cutting, and started tonight. I got 28 of the inside cuts done, I should have pictures (Cause we LIKE pictures    ) some time this weekend. I have to work tomorrow, (the carpenters showed up and roughed in the doorway, strapped the basement, and ran me a couple of running boards,) so I gotta go be an electrician for our friends, then I gotta go to my favorite mother-in-laws, and install a new mail box, and then go home. Tomorrow is also our 15’th anniversary so I might not get any cutting in after I get home, LOL. My Wife does like it when I work in the basement, I usually do laundry while I’m down there. I’ve done most of the laundry since Christmas. It paid off tonight, I found 2 -5$, and 3 -1$, so I got to keep 13$ of my money LOL.  

[Artie]

OK, as promised here is the dragonfly. I’m really happy with how the Shopsmith is working out. My only issue now is blowing the sawdust away from the line so I have constant view of the line. Once I get that dealt with, I’m out of excuses LOL. For the scrollers that have rigged up an aquarium air pump, is there a minimum amount of air flow the pump needs to be rated at to do the job? I’ve seen some small ones for $5-$7, and some bigger ones $19-$39.  We are going up to Maine, Thursday, for 5 days, so no projects next weekend. (I will yell out hi to Al B as we pass thru Salisbury, LOL) I need to stop scrolling, and start finishing now, anyways. The beauty of the dragonfly is it is a very busy design, so it’s hard to see where I failed to follow the lines  Plus it always looks better in a smaller photo than when it’s in your hand.

[Grandpadave52]

You're really getting this down Artie. Cool design and great job...worth far more than a quarter though

[schnewj]

1 hour ago, Artie said:

OK, as promised here is the dragonfly. I’m really happy with how the Shopsmith is working out. My only issue now is blowing the sawdust away from the line so I have constant view of the line. Once I get that dealt with, I’m out of excuses LOL. For the scrollers that have rigged up an aquarium air pump, is there a minimum amount of air flow the pump needs to be rated at to do the job? I’ve seen some small ones for $5-$7, and some bigger ones $19-$39.  We are going up to Maine, Thursday, for 5 days, so no projects next weekend. (I will yell out hi to Al B as we pass thru Salisbury, LOL) I need to stop scrolling, and start finishing now, anyways. The beauty of the dragonfly is it is a very busy design, so it’s hard to see where I failed to follow the lines  Plus it always looks better in a smaller photo than when it’s in your hand.

 

Really not, I would shop around and get the cheapest one you can find. Most SS work with a bellows system. This means it pumps puffs of air as the arm reciprocates and works the bellows. An aquarium air pump will have a constant flow. Air is compressible, however, Bernoulli's Principle for fluids applies. If you choke down the orifice the speed will increase and blow a little harder. If I recall, aquarium tubing is generally 1/8" ID max. You may need to experiment and choke it a little. However, I use Line-Loc on my Delta 20" and it is 1/8" at the nozzle. Tygon tubing is pretty flexible. You can slip a length of stiff wire up the inside of the tube, tie it down to something and you will be able to bend/direct the Tygon to point at the blade.

 

I would suggest that you check with some of the pet stores that sell fish. They may have used ones for sale, (or may just be greedy and want to sell you a new one). Either way for what you are doing a cheap on should suffice.

[Grandpadave52]

10 minutes ago, schnewj said:

I would suggest that you check with some of the pet stores that sell fish. They may have used ones for sale,

Artie, might check at area Goodwill, Salvation Army and other thrift marts or even some flea markets...I have seen them in all those locations from time-to-time...couple bucks at most...