Intarsia fitting question

[Hawk]

As I get ready to give Intarsia another try now that I have upgraded my scrollsaw,  I would've thought my Delta P-20 was a Cadillac but now that I've had the King for some time now I can see that I was wrong. 

Anyhow,  cutting on the King I have so much more control that I want to give Intarsia another go. One question I have for you Intarsia folks is, do you cut close to the line for critical cuts ( where 2 pieces meet), then sand to the mating line, or cut right on the mating line?

Chris

[Dave Monk]

My goal is to cut half the line on both pieces. 

[Sycamore67]

Dave Monk is correct to cut half the line.

To improve the fit, you can take two pieces you have cut, hold them together and then recut between them.

[Hawk]

Actually that was what I was thinking,  splitting the line. Onmy P-20 it was a challenge,  on my King16" it's a great deal easier.  Still need more practice though. 

Chris

[meflick]

+1 on the splitting the line, that is what Judy Gale Roberts teaches her students when beginning. Judy has a lot of good help and information in the help subsection of her website. 

https://intarsia.com/blogs/news

In particular, you might checkout this article on cutting out pieces:

https://intarsia.com/blogs/news/scroll-sawing-tips

and her FAQ: https://intarsia.com/pages/faq

but look around she has other information shared that you might find helpful, including offering several free patterns:

https://intarsia.com/pages/download-free-intarsia-patterns
 

[Gonzo]

7 hours ago, Dave Monk said:

My goal is to cut half the line on both pieces. 

I wholeheartedly agree. However, goal is the key word. Splitting the line is easier said than done. 
For me, I try to cut the line in half whether it’s intarsia,fret work, compound work, or just fooling around on the saw. 
Doesn’t  always happen, but it has put me in the habit of cutting the line in half.

[Hawk]

4 hours ago, Gonzo said:

I wholeheartedly agree. However, goal is the key word. Splitting the line is easier said than done. 
For me, I try to cut the line in half whether it’s intarsia,fret work, compound work, or just fooling around on the saw. 
Doesn’t  always happen, but it has put me in the habit of cutting the line in half.

I tried to split the line when I started out, failed miserably. Tried again when I upgraded to the P-20, while I was better at it, I was still way to inconsistent to get a good fit. Now with the King I seen to have more control and on the projects I've done this far on it, splitting the line is much easier, which is why I'm going to give intarsia another try. 

[don watson]

Good luck with giving it another try. Practice definitely makes perfect and cutting on the line is the way to do it. Sycanore67 has a good tip there to fit pieces that may be a little mismatched.

[Hawk]

Been working on splitting the line. While I am improving I still have a ways to go. I really should have started this at 42, not 62 lol!!!

Chris

[Zoot Fenster]

As said, the goal is to split the line. But the blade wanders (not user error ).  Lightly sand to knock off the high spots using the back side as the reference edge.  Then glue it together.  It is art.  No one will notice minor gaps.  Have fun.