Nice work, Kevin!
I just cut a pattern that was too large to turn on my saw but, instead of
resorting to spirals (which I knew would end up being a disaster) I just
drilled entry holes on the top of the letters and at the bottom of the letters
so that I could cut part way around in a clockwise direction and then
half way around in a counter clockwise direction to complete the cut,
That worked out well for me with this particular project.
Also, a member of Scrollsaw Woodworking and Crafts magazine mentioned
years ago that on occasion, he put the blade in his saw backwards so that he
could pull the wood toward him to cut rather than pushing to wood back toward the throat.
I have used that on occasion also but, must really go slow and carefully because it is
uncomfortable. You know what I mean, just not the way we have trained our minds to do things.
God Bless! Spirithorse