wooden ribbon

[preprius]

Im thinking of trying to make woodon ribbon.

The stack might be...

1/4"purple heart

1/4" red oak

1/8" black walnut

1/8" cocobola

1/4" purple heart.  

Total 1 inch wide ribbon...

Am i stacking more than saw can chew? 

Should the stack be odd number for warping issues?

titebond 2 ok?

 

[scrollerpete]

Purple Heart is very hard to cut, you will have to slow the saw and wrap everything with packing tape or your wood will burn.

Titebond glue is fine, don’t worry about warping with this type of glue

Edited December 20, 2020 by scrollerpete

[preprius]

so you are kinda suggesting to drop 1 layer of purple heart. 

if so i would put it in middle.  have dark wood on outside. 

[Wichman]

I have cut 1 1/2 thick purple heart on the scrollsaw,so it can be done.

Some sugestions:

tape between each layer

Use the FD polar blades

go slow and allow the middle of the blade to "catch up" with the top and bottom of the blade, sometime you have to allow the blade to back off a bit and then start cutting again.

take your time, purple heart is tough.

 

 

[preprius]

nice advice. Thanks.

I will order the blades in the morning.  i have some Olson PGT #7.  But will wait for FD polar blades.

Sounds like a big task I have.  Since I have real work might take a month or so. 

Is making a wooden ribbon worth it?

 

Might have to take vacation just to play with scroll saw. 

 

 

[Roberta Moreton]

I am looking forward to seeing and hearing about the results!

[preprius]

Here is a picture of the stackup.  It is not glued yet.

I just think purple on ends look better.

[Jim Finn]

I have made ribbons also and have used Polar #5 blades but also the Olsen PG #7.  I prefer the Olsen blades for this.  Making flat ribbon I just cut on the table saw.  For the loops I drill out the center with a Forsner bit and scroll saw the outside.

[preprius]

progress and observations, and questions...

Progress: see 1st pic below...

Ribbon thickness varies alot.  blade seems to jump sometimes. Thus making quicker cuts.  

Observations.. 

Newbie frustrations changing blades takes 10 mins.  bottom thumbscrew keeps turning the blade toward the front and pops out of clamp.

I did glue sandpaper to top saw arm so I can sand off the tips of blades. 

angles for cutting straight lines change based on wood thickness.  

olsons pgt on 1/8 inch thick needs about +10 to 14 deg to make straight cut.. on 1 inch thickness it needs about -3deg. 

Questions:

Blade jump ahead sometimes.  Is this due to hitting different thicknesses of glue?  There is 2 layers of purple heart. So I dont think it is less dense wood. 

I cant make cutting progress unless the back of the blade presses against plastic table cap. pic2 . The plastic cap slot is getting bigger and wider. 

If I make blades tighter they break. I went through 4 in a row without making any cuts. So i backed on tension. Sometimes they slip out of bottom clamp.

So what techniques am I missing?

What technique do I need for clamping bottom of blade?

What do the pros say?

 

Mark.

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxfold]

13 hours ago, preprius said:

I cant make cutting progress unless the back of the blade presses against plastic table cap. pic2 . The plastic cap slot is getting bigger and wider. 

Not sure about some of the questions as I've never made a bow, but I do know that if your blade presses against the insert then you are pushing too hard. I've had my insert for almost a year and it's pretty much the same size as it was when I got it.  Let the blade cut the wood, don't force it to cut the wood is what I was taught.

[preprius]

i guess the scroll saw is the wrong tool for this.   I dont have a band saw or table saw.   I do have cutoff saw but that does not do well with small parts.

Oh well. these cuts will take 8 hours per inch.

Another lesson learned. Dont choose thick projects.

 

[preprius]

2 hours ago, preprius said:

i guess the scroll saw is the wrong tool for this.   I dont have a band saw or table saw.   I do have cutoff saw but that does not do well with small parts.

Oh well. these cuts will take 8 hours per inch.

Another lesson learned. Dont choose thick projects.

 

so i had to verify 8 hour per inch.  here is pictures before & after with maximum pressure before the blade hits plastic inser for 1 hour.

[preprius]

Update.. pic with big loop. Every thing needs finer sanding and finishing.  Straight pieces are still in work.  

Still thinking about final application. Probably no box.  

There are 4 pieces. one piece has small loops.  (2)side loops.  (1) center loop. Okay that was confusing so I added a second pic.