This pattern I used was real small out of a book. I enlarged it and it came out fuzzy since I wanted to make a cross 10" tall. After I printed it out I drew a line to make it wider than it was to start with. I wanted more than an 1/8" wide wood in this cross.

     

When I stack cut I use wax paper in-between the wood to lube the blade and hopefully make it last longer. Whether it does or not I don't have a clue but it makes me feel better!!

  Anyway I got about what I wanted out of that little picture. One on the left is 3/8"maple and the other is 1/2" Baltic Birch and this is another of the same pattern for I always print more than I need and file them away for later use if need be...# 5 Flying Dutchman blade was used. The pattern came out of the printer in 4 sheets. Trimming on the dotted line then taping them al together is sometimes a chore getting those lines lined up.

 

 

The printer does not have to be expensive. No laser no nothing. This Canon 2522 was on sale at Walmart for 19.22 or close to that price and this is the picture I started with for these crosses. If I start with a 4 inch picture to enlarge I get much better results..  

Very nice

Cool!

Looks good now, looking forward to seeing how you finish it out.  

Those are flawless! I have a hard time just cutting a word on a Cross, a very simple Cross.

Those are very nice Jess.  I like the extra width you gave to the design.

 Considering the size of the pattern you started with those came out great. Never tried the wax paper but I could see were it would help lubricant the blade, good tip.

I just recently tried using FD blades, always bought Olson, quite happy with the FD results. Having the crimp in the blade for orientation is worth it alone.

 Awesome job and all the above too!

That's the FDU blades...I got hooked on the FD blades lots of years ago and just lately started using the zig sag top end models.... This is something I always wanted them to add only I could just see a simple sign saying this side up would help a lot...Sometimes I wear my fingers raw just running them up and down a blade and still not sure what went where...

  Bob if you compare the Olson precision ground blades with the FD's I like the Olson's for straight sawing....and the FD's for sharp curves. The Olson's are real aggressive and can make you over shoot your lines sometimes.... Its also important to stack cut a few and not try and saw one 1/8" piece of wood. I am sawing 6 at a time for these snowflakes and this slows down the cutting so a person can keep things under control...better.

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  If I am drawing up a pattern or printing one I want the thinnest line possible......for I can stay in the middle of the line better than trying to stay exactly the same distance out from the line.  Like doing this cross for never knowing if this is the same distance as on the other side cause I want each side to look the same so your eyes are going all over the piece to make sure things are looking good or what.. But when you are on top of the line your eyes stay where they should be... I know the thin wood is pretty but very easy to bust it all to pieces..

  When a person finally decides the wood needs to be fed in to the blade that's when he can get better straighter lines. Much like learning to drive a car for that steering wheel gets jerked back and forth constantly not knowing how much to  turn it. I leave all my flaws alone and never sand the edges for the blade makes the wood smoother than any sand paper can do.

  You have good flowing lines and it is good for a person while he is sawing to choose a straight line just to stop sawing and relax your grip on the wood while the saw is still running and see if the wood stays still....this way a person can judge if he is pushing sideways on the blade.....a practice the person learns if they use spiral blades which is a no no with regular blades.

On 11/10/2019 at 11:27 AM, Smallpatch said:

Sometimes I wear my fingers raw just running them up and down a blade and still not sure what went where...

 Same here. I will unwrap a bundle of blades and remove one and figure out the bottom, then give the whole bundle a quick blast of paint on the bottom. I remove the bottom jaws at least once a year, sooner if need be, then wire brush any paint build up.

 

On 11/10/2019 at 11:27 AM, Smallpatch said:

I like the Olson's for straight sawing..

  They cut large arc & circles well also. The #5rt (reverse tooth) is my go to blade w/ Olson, although I'm starting to like the FD's.

 It is rare for me to cut thin ply stock without stack cutting. As soon as someone sees the finished product they are going to want one as well. When I cut solids I will still layer top & bottom with thin ply, it helps eliminate any tear out.

 I've tried spiral blades and have not found the feel for them yet. Using those is an art to itself.

Artie I was cutting this stuff this morning and want to show you something...you might already know but since I don't follow the line in certain places it might help you sometimes.

 

This area where I stopped the blade it shows where I went on past where the line curves around and loops around to the next turn. Okay when I start the saw up again I will back out and turn the blade around and go into the bottom of the cut and complete the curve to the next bottom of the curve. I don't swing the blade around like it shows because a person can't always swing that sharp and will make all those same looking curve all look different....Also you can see how I made the circle on top of the very sharp bend... going on out past the line then swing the blade around anywhere in wood that won't be used then I have my blade going into that sharp point like it is supposed to look. I have a distance to get the blade going the direction I want before I get to where it counts and will show. Anywhere I have a sharp I go past the end of the line maybe eve 1/8" , back out and swing the blade around then back all the way into that deep V and then start going out the other side of the v. 

 These pieces are part of these things in the next picture and might not show but they will for folks inspecting your ability ... 

The people that drew these plans up recommended using a #9 blade.. I doubt if they are wood workers and only know how to draw up plans!!!

You might already do this. But if you don't?  When cutting really small pieces that might get broke and fall through the hole and get lost.

I haven’t really cut any small pieces yet, good idea on the sharp cuts, Another suggestion I got, thought it was from you, but you told me it wasn’t from you, was to use red color when printing patterns. I find the red color easier for my eyes to follow. You could (maybe should?) write a book on this. I’d buy a copy (of course I’d want a nice inscription  )

I'm a kinda like black lines for my blades to make disappear...

All the years I been scroll sawing I don't ever remember keeping time on how long it took to cut out things... well today I got the clear tape on the board and sprayed the stickup and when I finished it was 2 hours for this much sawing.

 

And when all this is put together and finished it will only be 2 compound tree ornaments. And if I hadn't have stack cut them it would have taken 4 hours...Lets see now, woodworkers hourly pay is around 2 dollars an hour so...…….

Great tips Jess.    Be sure to share a pic of the final ornaments...

Jess said - "This area where I stopped the blade it shows where I went on past where the line curves around and loops around to the next turn"

 

Excellent tutorial.

 

I have used this technique for quite some time and it really works.  saves a lot of time and I get a lot more accurate cuts that way.

Artie if you do need to saw real small items do use the inserted board but also use some real small toothed metal cutting blades . They have no reverse teeth and those teeth pointed up are the ones that grab the wood and send it flying up at you.

A person can cut the man out of the old style dimes and use the outsides for necklaces using the metal blades. The key here is to glue the dime on to Baltic Birch plywood first.