I braved the dreaded spirals !!

[Foxfold]

This pattern has sat on my bench for over a month looking at me as I find spirals a little intimidating   But I had a good talk with myself and dived right in. !! ...... Although it's probably not the best cutting of this lovely pattern, I'm not unhappy with it.  An H. Botas pattern

Edited September 8, 2020 by Foxfold

[Bill WIlson]

That looks well done to me.  I don't think you have anything to fear from spirals.

Generally speaking, the good thing about patterns that lend themselves well to spiral blades, is that the lines are typically unstructured and almost abstract, in and of themselves.  If you wander off the pattern line a bit, you will never notice in the finished piece, unless you happen to over cut and lose a section.

[Foxfold]

3 minutes ago, Bill WIlson said:

That looks well done to me.  I don't think you have anything to fear from spirals.

Generally speaking, the good thing about patterns that lend themselves well to spiral blades, is that the lines are typically unstructured and almost abstract, in and of themselves.  If you wander off the pattern line a bit, you will never notice in the finished piece, unless you happen to over cut and lose a section.

Thank you, as you say this did lend itself to a spiral blade, however, I do love my straight lines and perfect points and corners so I find spirals  a little frustrating and daunting. 

[FrankEV]

23 minutes ago, Foxfold said:

...I do love my straight lines and perfect points ...

Funny this is exacly how i felt and still do in some instances.  

I happen to cut using a 5X lighted magifier and when I'm using even a 2/0 spiral, it always looks like my points and sharp corners are so "ROUND" , but when you take the magnification away the points and sharp corners are there when viewed from a normal viewing distance.   My bigest bugaboo is trying to do long straight or smooth curved cuts with the spiral ( unless the line is representeng feathers or fur).  Very difficult!

BTW, the work is great.  Just hoping the backer is just reflecting the light poorly in the pic...almost looks blue making him look a little sickly.     

[Foxfold]

1 minute ago, FrankEV said:

Just hoping the backer is just reflecting the light poorly in the pic...almost looks blue making him look a little sickly

It's just resting up against my diary in the photo   although the diary is actually black..  It must be the reflection of my kitchen light.

 It will have a black backer on it when completed.

[GrampaJim]

1 hour ago, Bill WIlson said:

That looks well done to me.  I don't think you have anything to fear from spirals.

Generally speaking, the good thing about patterns that lend themselves well to spiral blades, is that the lines are typically unstructured and almost abstract, in and of themselves.  If you wander off the pattern line a bit, you will never notice in the finished piece, unless you happen to over cut and lose a section.

Exactly right!

[GusGustin]

BEAUTIFUL job !!!

[Gordon 121]

Nice job it looks magic, I only use spiral blades now once I got use to going in any direction it's now hard to break the habit, going on this pic you deff nailed using spirals well done, love just needs a tiger coloured resin frame and it be perfect  

Gordon

[dgman]

Very nice work Brenda! One thing about portraits is if you go off the line it doesn’t matter, most of the cuts are just abstract shapes.

[spirithorse]

Absolutely astounding work, Brenda,
Is there nothing you cannot do? You are giving me an inferiority complex! LOL
Thanks for sharing yet another amazing project.

God Bless!  Spirithorse

[Rockytime]

A talented lady is what you are Brenda! That tiger looks wonderful. You seem to adapt to most everything equally well.

[John B]

Very nice Brenda.

This is the type of pattern that lends itself to spirals.

[Tomanydogs]

Very well done. 

[wombatie]

That is wonderful Brenda.  What size is it.  I cut A3's (11.7" x 16.5") with flat blades, I hate spirals.

Marg

[Foxfold]

2 hours ago, wombatie said:

That is wonderful Brenda.  What size is it.  I cut A3's (11.7" x 16.5") with flat blades, I hate spirals.

Marg

It's 13" x 10" Marg.  Only because I found this piece of laminated board and that's the size it was  

[don watson]

Another well cut piece Brenda.

Don W

 

[Bill WIlson]

16 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Thank you, as you say this did lend itself to a spiral blade, however, I do love my straight lines and perfect points and corners so I find spirals  a little frustrating and daunting. 

It's all a matter of context and perception.  Straight lines, clean corners and sharp points are definitely critical in many types of fretwork.  Also, the thicker the material being cut, the more noticeable the cut is, so proper blade selection for the application is important.  Portrait patterns are typically cut from thin material, so those details don't catch the eye nearly as much.

 I've often said that spirals are the perfect blade for certain types of projects, but by no means are they suitable for everything, IMHO.  Knowing their strengths and weaknesses and where to apply them simply makes them another tool in the toolbox.

[daveww1]

terrific job

[Woodrush]

18 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Thank you, as you say this did lend itself to a spiral blade, however, I do love my straight lines and perfect points and corners so I find spirals  a little frustrating and daunting. 

Me too

[Danj84]

That looks great, I hated spiral blades for a long time and have just in the past few months switched to using them for almost everything,they are great once you get used to them

[amazingkevin]

Astonishing looking project!!! Got to be the best cat I,ve seen to date!!!. You could be a spiral sales person showing off this beauty!!! Your way past expert with the infamous spirals!!!

[Foxfold]

1 hour ago, amazingkevin said:

Astonishing looking project!!! Got to be the best cat I,ve seen to date!!!. You could be a spiral sales person showing off this beauty!!! Your way past expert with the infamous spirals!!!

Flattery will get you all you desire my friend. I thankyou for your kind words. 

[JustSomeOldDude]

WOW

[meflick]

Brenda, you always do such great work no matter the tool be it flat blades, spiral blades, or your router or other tools. This one is no exception.