Plywood Edging

[Ninuninu]

Hi to all.

 

I have recently seen some items that were either scrolled or laser cut and these had a beautiful black edging around them both on internal and external cuts. Seeing that use a hand fret saw and not a machine I mainly use 3 - 4 mm plywood for the portraits I do  but the edging does sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

 

Does anyone know how they manage to get this edging on the wood / plywood or what the process is because it would set things off beautifully if I could manage this.

 

I have attached a small pic to give an idea of what I mean.

 

Thanks a lot and would really appreciate any comments or help on this.

 

Tony

 

 

[Rob Roy]

Hi to all.

 

I have recently seen some items that were either scrolled or laser cut and these had a beautiful black edging around them both on internal and external cuts. Seeing that use a hand fret saw and not a machine I mainly use 3 - 4 mm plywood for the portraits I do  but the edging does sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

 

Does anyone know how they manage to get this edging on the wood / plywood or what the process is because it would set things off beautifully if I could manage this.

 

I have attached a small pic to give an idea of what I mean.

 

Thanks a lot and would really appreciate any comments or help on this.

 

Tony

Tony, I think you'll find the pieces with black or brown edges have been cut by LASER.(or your blade is burning in the cut if you're using your saw).

Rob Roy.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Rob Roy

[Ninuninu]

Tony, I think you'll find the pieces with black or brown edges have been cut by LASER.(or your blade is burning in the cut if you're using your saw).

Rob Roy.

 

Thanks for your thoughts Rob Roy. I don't get burn marks on my work because my speed (I use a hand fret saw) is very slow compared to that of a scroll saw. I have no experience with laser cut items but the edging could be because of that.

 

Thanks again.

 

Tony

[Dave Monk]

Tony, haven't seen you in a while. Welcome back. Could they be painted and then sanded off? 

[Rob]

Tony,

 

As Rob Roy said, those will have been laser cut.  You could try using a soldering iron or pyrography pen to burn the edge but it might be hard to get an even result.

 

Rob

[dgman]

Yes, that's a sure sign of laser cutting. Unfortunately, if your intentionally burn you edges, people will assume it was laser cut.

Edited September 23, 2016 by dgman

[Lucky2]

Once again as always dyman (Dan) is right, they are laser cut. And to try to get the edges on your projects to look the same, would be a mistake as it would cause you to lower your prices. The people who cut them with lasers, would really like to be able to do so without burning the edges. If they could, they could sell their items for more than they do.

Len

Edited September 24, 2016 by Lucky2

[amazingkevin]

Hi to all.

 

I have recently seen some items that were either scrolled or laser cut and these had a beautiful black edging around them both on internal and external cuts. Seeing that use a hand fret saw and not a machine I mainly use 3 - 4 mm plywood for the portraits I do  but the edging does sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

 

Does anyone know how they manage to get this edging on the wood / plywood or what the process is because it would set things off beautifully if I could manage this.

 

I have attached a small pic to give an idea of what I mean.

 

Thanks a lot and would really appreciate any comments or help on this.

 

Tony

Nice work

[Ninuninu]

Tony, haven't seen you in a while. Welcome back. Could they be painted and then sanded off? 

 

Thanks Dave good to be back. I have been out of commission for such a long time now but have worked on some patterns and hopefully will start posting a few pics shortly.

 

The idea of painting is pretty good but I think it would bleed into the grain so better not - plus as all the other guys said, those with the edges are invariably laser cut so I think I will be happy and proud that I don't have the edging as at least that shows they are not done on laser!

 

Thanks again and good day.

 

Tony

[Ninuninu]

Tony,

 

As Rob Roy said, those will have been laser cut.  You could try using a soldering iron or pyrography pen to burn the edge but it might be hard to get an even result.

 

Rob

 

Thanks for the thought Rob but apart from not wanting people to think they are laser cut it would be too time consuming to go over all the edges with a pyrography pen. It already takes me long enough to do something by hand without doubling the time!

 

Thanks and good day!

 

Tony

[Ninuninu]

Yes, that's a sure sign of laser cutting. Unfortunately, if your intentionally burn you edges, people will assume it was laser cut.

 

Thanks dgman. All I need is people to think that they are done by laser. I have a hard enough job getting people to believe that I use a fret saw and nothing else to do the portraits!

 

Tony

[Ninuninu]

Once again as always dyman (Dan) is right, they are laser cut. And to try to get the edges on your projects to look the same, would be a mistake as it would cause you to lower your prices. The people who cut them with lasers, would really like to be able to do so without burning the edges. If they could, they could sell their items for more than they do.

Len

 

Thanks Len but lowering my prices is one thing that I really don't need.  I see what you mean though - cheers!

 

Thanks and good day

 

Tony

[Scrappile]

Still, a good question.  There are times I have thought something would look good if I could paint the edges, but I have never figured out how to accomplish it.  I do not have a steady enough hand to do it by hand.  May I could accomplish the outside edges, but not the interior cuts. 

[WayneMahler]

Still, a good question.  There are times I have thought something would look good if I could paint the edges, but I have never figured out how to accomplish it.  I do not have a steady enough hand to do it by hand.  May I could accomplish the outside edges, but not the interior cuts. 

Paul

You could paint the edges before lifting the pattern. This should protect the top surface but not the bottom. I use blue painters tape under my patterns and make sure is it attached really good. Hope this helps.

[Ninuninu]

Paul

You could paint the edges before lifting the pattern. This should protect the top surface but not the bottom. I use blue painters tape under my patterns and make sure is it attached really good. Hope this helps.

 

To be honest Wayne I had thought of this idea myself but the paint does have a tendency to bleed into the pores of the wood. It's nothing drastic but it still shows up.

 

Tony

[heppnerguy]

I do things a little differently and I I would have no problem with doing what Tony is after and in a very short time. I used to spray paint my backer boards and then I usually found that the edges would not always get covered very well and I really did not like that.. Now, I never use rattle can paint on my backer boards but rather, Now I buy the blue mechanic's paper towel and cut each sheet in quarters. then i fold one of the quartered sheets again in half, twice, in effect I quarter it again. Now I dip a corner of it lightly into a pint size can of black paint and rub the edge of my backer board with the dipped rag. once the edges are done, I lay the backer  baord on a rag and continue to cover it with my rag dipping it as needed. I rub the paint into the surface as if i was polishing it so that the paint is quite thin and even. This entire process takes about 2 minutes and dries quite quickly. it also is covered very evenly every where,including the edges. So it is cheeper, faster and i do not miss any places nor do i need to put on a second coat..Give it a try you may be pleasantly surprised. My last int lasted over a year and at the end it had little dried paint floating around that was not a problem even with that

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[stoney]

I have cut some fretwork in 1/2 and 3/4 inch solid wood and found I really didn't like the looks of the edges of the inside cuts.   I thought looking at the cutting from an angle that the edges were a distraction.   My solution was to spray paint the edges black before removing the pattern.   Any paint that bled onto the surface was quite easily removed by power sanding once the paint was good and dry.   For the projects I did that way I really liked the results.

 

This method wouldn't be a good idea for use on plywood as the sanding might remove some of the outer ply.

 

I see no need for this method with 1/8 or even 1/4 inch plywood anyway as I don't find the edges a distraction.  

Edited September 26, 2016 by stoney