JTTHECLOCKMAN

To answer a few questions and alot is repeating what others have said. I use old Tee shirts which I have plenty of. Cut them up in small pieces. No need to waste them on one piece. I have used old handkerchiefs too. Hanging rags is as others have said place over something that you can spread out. I have a bunch of patio blocks that I have stacked in behind my shed. A day and they are dry. Here is how I do my dipping and I believe I laid this out before. Depending on the size of the project, I have various size plastic storage containers. You can get these on sale anywhere and at times yard sales. Not much money there. being I use lots of Danish oil I always buy it by the gallons and I bought a huge quantity when Home Depot was selling out and I still have some so they were 1/4 of the price they are today at least. Now depending on the size of the project I use as much as i think necessary. If I am doing large projects I have 3 partial gallons that I pour in the container and either dip and splash around or sometimes I have to use a cheap brush to apply because I can not spin the project in the container. I buy the cheap brushes in Home Depot for $1 or whatever they are. Throw aways. The nice thing about Danish oil you do not have to be fussy at all. Just get it on in a good amount and let it soak in. Now I will leave said project in container for about 5 to 10 minutes flipping or brushing every once in awhile. After that I take the project out letting it drip some in the container before I place it on top of the lid of the container to drip most of the oil off. Do not wipe at this time. I then place another project or group of projects in the container for same amount of time. Now when they are ready to come out I take the piece that is dripping on the lid and wipe it down and place it on a piece of old plywood I have designated for this stuff. I use long strips of scraps of woods placed on the plywood and place the project on edge of these strips to further drip. I now take other project out of dipping container and do the same thing. Rinse and repeat. After about half hour goes by I once again set up a dry piece of plywood with the same type of strips and again wipe project down and this time place there to dry. I go back and do these same things over and over until I have all things dipped and drying on clean plywood. remember I always do this outdoors . The smell is too overwhelming indoors. I leave them for a few hours. I go back and now using a funnel I pour the remains of the Danish oil back in the cans to be used again and again and again. Never goes bad if cans are sealed. I have Danish oil over 15 years old and still good. By the way I meant to say that I pour the oil that is in the lid back into the container before it goes in the can. I wipe the container out and lid out with acetone. Let sit outside and ready for next time. Again if the project is a small one and one of a kind I use a way smaller container and smaller amount of oil but process is the same. I never double dip. I have found that the first dipping seals the wood and second coat does nothing. Now I take things indoors and place in basement to completely dry which is about 3 to 4 days. I wipe one more time to make sure no drips and the heat of your hands will activate the oils again so be aware of this. Projects that I can stand I stand on boards I have set up. The ones I need to hang I have a line setup to hang with some wire. Have been doing this for over 35 years and has worked well for me. Can not explain it any more than that. When all said and done I apply a coat of Watco Satin wax on top and gives a nice sheen to the project. Just a tip on those triangle things I do not waste my money on them. I take a block of wood and run a few sheet rock screws through the back. The points on those screws are very sharp. I use those things when I do spray painting of things.

Those came out great. Some fine cutting there. Thanks for showing.

I too use Danish oil all the time and as mentioned yes there is a smell to it but I have grown to like it over the years and the many many projects I finished with it. I am a dipper so that is how I apply. Pour in a container and dip project. Let drip and then wipe dry. Pour back in can the rest. I have small funnels to help with this or else it is all over the place. If the project is too big to dip then just brush liberally and again let drip and wipe dry. need to keep n eye on it because the Danish oil will seep back out over time and form puddles in fret work but again a quick wipe and good to go. Just remember after wiping dry, do not bundle the rags up and forget them. They can self combust. Need to treat with care. I hang outside till dry and then throw away. You can dump them in a bucket of water too if you prefer. But that is a hazard that needs to be careful with when using oil finishes of any kind.

Good tip thanks for passing on.

Well cut another today just the letters and the circle parts. Took 2 hours to cut. Probably another hour to cut the rest. Then I sand the back and glue it to the walnut (1/2") and then cut the entire outline at once and that is the hardest and main part of this clock. I like to use 2" brass inserts in the lightning bolts but ran into a problem last year. I bought a bunch from Wildwood Designs (aka Cherry Tree) Do not know who the maker is but assume they are China made. Well I tested many of the ones I was using for my clocks and they worked and if not I use another one and sent back 5 for replacement. Went to test and all worked for a week which is about how long I test. Go to use more and they do not work and now I can not return. All the batteries were dead when I got them but that was not a big deal because I get those for pennies. It made me looking for a new supplier and I think I may have found them. The Wooden Teddy Bear They are alot cheaper and look like a better insert. Again no name and I am running tests on them now. So far the batteries died 2 days in. Changed the batteries and will test. Now with these they are advertised with batteries so if the batteries are the problem I will call them on it. But this time I am going to put a longer test on these. I never had a return on an insert as long as I have been doing this so do not need to start now. I guarantee my inserts for the life of the clock. I did have a lady return a 2-3/4" insert to me saying it did not work and she bought a clock from me. Looking at it right away I saw it was not one I use an I told her so but I did replace it free of charge and made a point saying I am doing this one time only. Hoped she would buy something else but never saw her again. Win some lose some.

Working with CA needs to be carefully done. Woodworkers heed this warning because they have seen the results when it comes in contact with skin and with certain materials and cloths. Acetone and many people use nail polish remover (which has acetone in it) is what will dissolve it. The problem in your case is you opened a wound and that acetone would have burned you even worse. Vegetable oil is used at times in those cases. People start equating this stuff to medical CA used to close wounds. That is a different formula but similar. Glasses, hand protection and even the smell can be harmful and cause eyes to water especially when comes in contact with materials that burn. Good ventilation is needed. They do sell odorless CA for those that are sensitive to the odor. Be careful wiping excess off with cloth rags because they can thermally burn or smolder. Just like working with oils and lacquers in shops you need to be careful of spontaneous combustion from rags used to wipe and clean up. Safety first.

Oh I have made hundreds of those over the years. Always used Danish oil and never had a problem One trick was to make sure the basket was opened so the rungs do not get fused to each other as the oil dries. Never had a problem with oil building in frets. I layed the project down so it drains out and then after a few hours wipe down and stand up to finish drying. Oh the memories of cutting them. That was where my Hegner got a workout. That was the perfect saw for them. I found out people do not actually put hot stuff on those and in fact do not even use as a trivot. I still have a few left in boxes of old projects that I stopped carrying to shows. What happens to all that stuff will be up to those that are left after I leave the planet.

Yea many projects you can get away with it because the area you are cutting is larger even when you have to turn and things. But with small confined spaces that is a no no. I will be honest with you I did those last year and sold out so it wasn't till this past week I started making a few more for this year. But I forgot exactly what I did to cut this out and tried a new blade and bam cut some ugly letters so I put it aside and actually threw it out. That night I started thinking of why I could not cut these and it dawned on me about the dulling of the blade. I now write this tidbit on the master pattern so I remember to do this and not waste time again. Use that as tip #6 Make notes of any little things you do when making a pattern that you do often. Never know when it comes in handy. When I first started scrolling I had a pad that I described the process especially when I made those trivets. The angle of the table, the size of the blade and the direction of cutting (this matters when doing them) Somewhere that pad still exists. I do not cut as often as I once did so I do forget things.

Kevin I hear what you are saying and maybe saying the same thing but my hole on the "R" is top left corner. Two reasons and one I think you covered. I start cutting the outside of the R and work my way around with still lots of material to hold that center and then up that outside leg to meet in the corner. I try to make my holes especially these because the bit is about as wide as the cut, nearest the most intersection that has the most material. Top center of the T, center of the H, Top left corner of the E and F basically all other does not matter because the bit is the same as the pattern as I mentioned. I prefer to start in corners because they are sharp and no need to spin in that corner. In this pattern the toughest letter to cut is the "O"s because of the tab between both halves is so small and you need to make the curves to make it look like the rest of the other letters to match the font. Those I drill in the center of each side. As I mentioned above if i need to plane a little I can easily do this without fear of taking out that curve.

I am in the process of making a few of my IBEW desk clocks shown here. I have to say these are probably one of the hardest designs I have cut over my years. The logo with the lettering and hand and lightning bolts is challenging to say the least. The older I get the more unsteady my hands are but sold these out last year so thought I would make a few more this year for the shows. But as I was doing these I was thinking it maybe a good idea to post a few tidbits that I have found over the years to help me with projects like this. Now for the season scrollers this is probably old hat so you can skip reading now. First off this top part of the logo is red oak and is 1/4" thick. No I can not stack cut because over the years I found I have better control when cutting one piece at a time and actually goes faster because with the lettering it is so delicate and thin that you need complete control. I also have tried smaller blades such as #2 and #3 but always go back to my trusty #5 double tooth penguin silver reverse FD blades. The reason is because they are stiffer and do not wander like some thinner smaller blades will. Can not afford this. I know how they react and can control them and this is the first tip. Use a blade that you are comfortable with not one that you think needs to be used because the piece is delicate and the cuts are thin. I am living prove that a #5 blade is a great blade size for just about all cuts. #2 tip and as I said seasoned scrollers know this trick. When making tight turns you need to have the blade cut smoothly around a turn and to do this I file the back side of the blade and knock the sharp corners off the blade using a diamond hone card. This gives me better control as I make and need sharp turns. #3 tip when making sharp turns it is not necessary to do so if the corners are square. I say this because again back to my example, when you spin the blade in a corner you exert much more pressure on the inside piece or making outside turn the outside piece. To help here you nibbl You enter the corner straight on and then make another pass next to it on the waste side so now you have room for the blade to spin easily without the extra pressure and helps with burning in corners. because if you spin in a corner inside or out the blade needs to keep cutting at the same speed as straight aways because it will heat and burn faster in corners and woods that are prone to burn show it well. #4 tip No matter where you start your cutting weather it is on a corner or in the middle of a straight line, do not go right to the line and try to follow the line because you will make a hump or divot. Gradually start the cut and when the fret piece is cut out you can always go back and plane with the side of the blade to eliminate the hump or divot. You notice most stamped blades have the teeth pointing to one side usually the right looking at the blade and that is due to the way they are stamped out on a machine. There are many blades that are milled differently and do not have this feature. Those are called precision blades. #5 this tip is probably one of the most important when it comes to doing delicate work such as the cutting I am showing. We always like it and feel the difference when we insert that brand new blade and start cutting and notice how easily it cuts the wood. Well in this case that can be a huge pain in the butt. Those teeth are so sharp and any touch of wood it is cutting and when you are working in small confines as these letters you do not want that because you spin the wood and next thing you know that blade catches a piece that it was not suppose to cut and the project is ruined. So what I like to do is follow all above tips and add this one where I actually dull the blade by running it through some hard wood to take the sting out of those teeth. Now this is a fine line in that you do not want to dull too much or else you have to push too hard and that causes more problems. But being I have been doing this for so many years I get the feeling right away. I make a cut and if still to sharp I do some more dulling. Anyway hope some of this helps newbies out there. and by the way here is the project I was talking about.

$10 is a very fair price for that. That is probably what I would start with too. Today's $10 is like yesterday's $5 There is more time in them than you think.

I think I mentioned this the first go round but to reiterate the sock was what caused the burn. The CA reacted to the sock material and that is what smoldered. If it would have just landed on your foot you would not have the burn. See this all the time in pen turning because we use CA too coat the pens as a finish. It makes a great top coating. But with some towels when applied it will react and smolder like that.

There you go. Just a mishap in production.

The smell should tell you what it is when cutting.

Could be Poplar. Yes it got past quality control 1" in the rough is about 1-1/8" thick. S4S or S2S dressed lumber or dimensional lumber is 3/4"

Maple.

If you check out the Business forum here you may find useful info if starting a business. I think Kevin and I have given some useful thoughts and he more-so he because he does the online thing. Here is a topic I started some time ago about shipping. Will tell you this, if you are going to do it do not go at it half-hearted. Go all the way or you will lose interest real fast because sales will not be there. Put the effort into it and reap the rewards. https://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/34397-shipping/

Kevin that was my point if you are having people demonstrate a product you are selling they better know the said product. I saw that and if i was at the show I would have mentioned it right there. When I bought my RBI the guy demonstrated made it look so easy it sold me there.

That is why I do not make toys or anything for kids. Today is a sue happy society. I will raise that age number when listing mine but they are not for kids anyway. Good idea to include something because the pieces are small.

And I can not understand why the price always has been high on this tool. Maybe they are not mass produced to help bring the cost down or what. There really is no proprietary parts used in them. As shown they have been copied and home made.

Do you have a photo of the choking hazard thing. I may include that in my puzzles too.

Some of them were accomplished scrollers. If you have to get off your chair and bend down to look under a saw to insert a blade, I do not care who you are that is not a sw I want to scroll on. I use the Dewalt and it too is not as convenient as the RBI and I consider myself an accomplished scroller. I was just making a point because if they were the ones pushing the sales of those saws that would not be my choice of. Bob Duncan is a well known scroller and has tested many saws for the magazine when he was there. Rick Hutcheson another well known scroller fumbled with that saw. They did not look comfortable using it. If I offended any one I do not care Just found it weird because that was the big saw being promoted at that show along with that scrollbandsaw.

Agree with what Kevin said.

I watched in Facebook various videos of top brand name scrollers using the Pegas scrollsaw and from what I saw you can keep that saw Everyone of them and I mean everyone of them had a hard time inserting the blade in the lower clamp. They would have to actually look under the saw to see what they were doing and still had problems. Give me my RBI saw any time I know many times it takes many hours to get a feel for the saw and process but these are scrollers that have used the Dewalt saw before and others with that parallel link system. Not impressed with the Pegas saw at all.

Probably right. I have not really looked that hard at the pattern. Still excellent work you have done there.