Im getting senile but.......

[Kragax]

I saw a post awhile back where folks were talking about compound cutting and there was a tiny reindeer pattern in the post. I have been looking for that post and I can't find it. Any Idea what the title was?

 

[Scrappile]

I couldn't find the post, but here is a pattern http://woodgears.ca/reindeer/scrollsaw_plans.html

[Kragax]

Thank You Sir !  That was the deer I was looking for. Going to make it for Granddaughter.

[jerry1939]

Re;  A comment I made earlier on another posting.  Looking at the times & notice how long it took for a Nice, Helpful Gentleman to answer a question asked on this site.  Awesome.

[CharleyL]

That was likely my post. I make them every year and give them away during the Christmas Season. My pattern is a cleaned up version of the one on the woodgears.ca website and I make 4 sizes with the smallest about 1" tall, which become ear rings with added jewelry hardware. The middle sizes frequently have pins attached so they can be worn too.,  I've been doing this for 12 years now. Last year I made and gave away 426 of them.

 

Charley

[meflick]

Thanks for asking your question and thanks for Charley for providing the link back to that post and the details he provides there.  I've been wanting to give this a try and had forgotten about Charley sharing all this detail in that post as well as some of the other answers provided there that should prove helpful in my first few attempts at this.  One was on the blade to use, I need to see if I have any that do not have reverse teeth as that was indicated to be the best.  (I have printed off the detail information everyone provided there to give it a try soon.)

[CharleyL]

Melanie,

Since the end result of compound cutting is actually inside and in the middle of your block of wood that you are compound cutting, you have kind of a "zero clearance insert" in that there is wood all around your final project . Any tear-out from the blade teeth results as the blade exits the wood block and not as it exits your "keeper piece". What you are making when compound cutting is a kind of chicken in an egg, protected on all sides by a kind of shell. What you keep when you are finished is this inside piece, and everything else "the shell" is scrap. You do need to follow your pattern lines very accurately, but with experience you will learn where it isn't so necessary, along with where it must be very accurately cut. Long sweeping curves can be off a little, so long as sharp curves and turning points are kept very accurately cut.  In my reindeer pattern, his neck lines and his body sides can be off a little (about 1 blade thickness) as long as the curve is smooth. His antlers too, can be off a little, but his legs must be cut very accurately. When installing the pattern on the wood block, it must be placed so his feet touch the end of the block of wood or he won't stand correctly when he is completed. You must remember to keep the clamp tight and all pieces together in their original positions until the reindeer is completely cut out. The only time that the clamp should be loosened is when it is necessary to rotate the block of wood to cut the side view, but even here, you must keep all of the pieces together and aligned with each other while the clamp is re-tightened. Also, make certain that the clamp as well as the wood being cut is flat against the table as the clamp is tightened.

You can cut out a reindeer any way that seems best for you, but I always start at the tip of his right antler on his face view and work clockwise, When I reach the bottom of his foot and exit the wood block, I then tighten the clamp (because even the .009" saw cut is narrowing the block of wood and loosening the clamps). I then cut up, around, and then back down to cut away the wood from between his legs. I then start at his right foot and cut up his right side to the top of his antler and out of the top end of the wood. Again, I tighten the clamp. Then I start at one antler and cut down to his head and back to the tip of the other antler. For the side view I do the same thing and continue around clockwise the same way. I continue around his nose  but then around each antler until I reach the starting point at the tip of his right antler before exiting the block of wood, roughly following the original cut line. 

Once both the face and the side view have been completely cut, you can loosen the clamp and discard the shell pieces, keeping the reindeer in the middle. The pieces of scrap between his antlers are sometimes difficult to remove, so I have created a special tool to help with this. I sharpened the end of a 6" piece of 1/8" diameter dowel rod in my pencil sharpener and use this pointed stick to push these pieces of scrap out from between his antlers. Pushing from the back of his head usually works best. The pieces of scrap between his legs sometimes need a push with this stick too.

OK, now I want to see some compound cutting. The same process is followed for each compound cut pattern. Just substitute the name of your pattern for wherever I used the word "Reindeer" above. There are several books out with "compound cutting" or "3D" cutting in the titles. All that I have tried have been good except for one by Frank Pozgai. In his book, several patterns cut OK,  but some are woefully  incorrect, and I don't think he ever cut them before publishing them.  However, patterns that I've tried in any book by Diana Thompson have been great. Her rural mailbox on a stand with the flag up and the door part way open is quite a challenge. Stick to the easier ones before trying this one. It's fun to do, but just wait until you can do good compound cutting on simpler patterns before trying this one. I have made 14 mailboxes so far.

Charley

[meflick]

Thanks Charley.  I will try to do some soon but it may be the first of next week, unless I can try tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the end of my week and weekend is already booked up away from my saw.  I appreciate all the time you take to give detailed and through explanations as I am sure many others do as well.  I do have that reindeer pattern and a couple of other simple compound cut patterns to try.  I did look through my blades last night or this morning and found that I do have some that do not have reverse teeth on the bottom.  Time is what I need to find now.