hotshot

Anywhere there is an sharp inside corner, the 6/0 is the blade I use for that in order to get the sharp corner. So, #6/0 is used for special cases, which occur in a few place on many coin designs. Anywhere I can get away with it, I use #2/0 or #3/0.

I keep them, for what, I'm not sure yet. Was think about getting a crucible and trying to melt them together for possible re-use.

This is definitely not a strict question/answer forum, and I'm pretty glad it isn't otherwise things would get boring around here in a hurry. Conversations go where conversations go. I've found that if someone has something new to add to the original topic of the thread, they will add that comment, regardless of where the overall conversation has shifted. Some of the best conversations have been in threads that have veered. Only kind of veering I don't like is when someone get's offended, and things start to get nasty/personal. Otherwise, I'm happy following a thread wherever it goes, until it doesn't interest me any longer.

A lot of companies just slap their brand on a these common saws. Same exact saw as this http://www.grizzly.com/products/16-Scroll-Saw-with-Flexible-Shaft-Grinder/G0735. Rikon and others have this exact model with different paint and labels. Many more are built on this same platform without the flexible shaft attachment. I suppose some project types might be ok with this kind of saw, and I'm sure these saws have their devout fans, but for me personally, the agony dished out by this basic design is only exceeded by Proxxon who has no equal in my opinion.

Hey Kevin, I only glue very small coins to wood to help hold them, but I rarely cut coins that small. Polishing the coins before cutting is always a temptation, but the glue doesn't seem to adhere as well to polished surfaces. My worst enemy is pattern lifting, because when I get lift on very very small pieces, that little bit of pattern just tears off, then I have to cut blind, and I pretty well suck at that.

Here is the Pattern: Mobile_Elizabeth_Olsen.pdf

Well, the Eisenhower is thick so that helps, but the side to side is pretty weak. I debated if I could polish it without breaking it, and ended up taking a chance to get it polished. It survived. I haven't decided if I will sell coins based on this design or not. I owe the artist one more copy of this design, so I have to brave it at least one more time.

This is coin was based on the first scroll saw pattern designed by Julia Harmon, a student at Pensacola Christian College. Pattern is free to the Scroll Saw community. Here is the Pattern: Buck_Julia_Harmon.pdf

I'm pulling in a few Artist to begin designing patterns for the Scroll Saw Community (focusing on Coins). These pieces can potentially be blown up and cut in wood as well. My designers don't know my limits yet, so they are pushing the boundaries. The image below is blown up considerably, so those "strings" are even thinner than they look. If anyone wants to try this, or blow it up and cut it in wood, let me know as any pattern I'm commissioning will be free to the scrolling community. This pattern designer is Elizabeth Olsen. I like the way she thinks, so I'm excited to see what else she comes up with. ------Randy

I'm pretty decent in photoshop, but my efforts there are derivative, meaning I can take bits and pieces of some other existing art, and convert to a pattern. I would like to have non-derivative designs, so since there are practically zero coin cutting patterns available, I have enlisted the help of four college students with Art majors/minors. I pay $15 for each pattern plus I cut two coins with their design which I send to them. At this point, I'm letting these students choose their own material, but in the end, the patterns will belong to the scroll saw/coin cutting community. I'll post a few of their designs today. There will be a little breaking in for these new artist as they do understand the "floating" issues, but don't quite understand scaling yet. You will see what I mean when you see the "mobile" piece I'm posting.

My perception is that the featured items are just the last few items folks have added to their gallery. Try adding something new to your personal gallery, and see if it don't show up there.

On the Ex, I'm probably running at about 3/4. I can't run slow or the blade will catch on turns.

I've been getting pinged by various folks looking at trying their hands at coin cutting. I thought I would take a minute and give a quick "Secrets" type post. In this case, I want to show a technique that makes it look like your piece has floaters, while in truth, the supports are hidden. Let me show you: I want to draw attention to the section circled below: In the unobstructed image below, it look like that piece is "Floating" with no supports. This technique is common amongst the better coin cutters. So what is going on? The surface material over the supports has been cut away, hiding the supports further below the surface. If you look carefully, you can see the supports buried down underneath. So, how is the surface cut away? Believe it or not, it is possible to cut while holding one edge of the coin up at an angle. If you cut from both sides, you will be left with a wedge as your support, but no surface material. This does weaken the support, so I have to be careful not to remove too much. Does this look a little awkward? It is a little, but the hard part is seeing what I am cutting with the coin angled up away from me. I have to lean way forward. In the past, I have also turned the blade around backwards so I can cut with the face of the coin facing me. Well, I wanted to show you something different, I hope I did :-) -----Randy

Which blades are you buying from there? I noticed they have the Forms d'Art blades that I started with many years ago. Not great blades overall, but I still recommend them for beginners because they are very very cheap, and they have a more metal on the backbone (shorter teeth). They are not as aggressive and do not turn as easily, so I moved on to the Pike brand which is very good (Same company that makes Pegas). There are several other brands on the site that are new and intriguing to me. I've been curious about the more expensive German blades, but they are over twice as expensive as the Pike I've been using, and I break a ton of blades, so I've been scared to try those. I might like them, then I would up a creek. :-)

Well, for the "challenge" of it, decided to try the non-authentic version on the smaller Kennedy to see if it could be done. I really can't go a lot smaller because those long straight inside cuts are exactly the Kerf of my blade. I'm done playing with this design so I'm on my way back to google to find the next big thing (or small thing).

Though I like the complexity challenge of modified Yamaha logo, the owner requested the Authentic version, so here is what he will actually get. This one was cut on a Kennedy. Here is the size comparison between the two versions:

Like anything else, don't judge your potential in the medium based on the first coin you cut. My first attempts were pretty bad, but it get's better quickly.

Man, you are the first person that I've talked to that had one of these. Very very cool, and that saw will "Rock" as far as coin cutting goes. If you jump in, I'll help you however I can. You can run your saw full out without breaking a Jewelers blade (oh, you will break blades, but hopefully after you start cutting). If you already have an magnifier, get some powerful reading glasses to use in addition, and you will be ready to go. Or if you have good eyes, you might be able to get by with less magnification. If you see anything I've done that you want the pattern for, let me know. You can see most of my projects at facebook.com/coincutting. Full tutorials on my process/techniques are at http://www.coincutting.com as well as some patterns to get started with. Any idea what the support model is for that saw should there be issues? I'm super excited about these saws, but I've don't understand the support model yet. That said, I have many many miles on my saw and so far I've only had to replace the bottom clamp mechanism which stripped. That piece is the same as the current Seyco model, so I don't have a lot of support worries yet. If I ever wear out the EX, I might get a King/Excelsior 16" to replace it.

Wayne, I have used Flying Dutchman, 3/0, and they are decent, but not the best blade nor the best value. Look for Pike Jewelers blades on Amazon. For starting out, the #2/0 is your best bet and along with the 3/0 is what I use for the bulk of my work. If you want to try this, you will break a lot of blades, but you can get a gross for about $19 What kind of saw do you have? My most recommended saws for this are the EX or Clones/Seyco/Dewalt/Modern Delta and possibly the new Jet. Though possible, the Hawk and Hegner are less suited. If you have a Hegner, you will need the special small clamps to hold the blades. Anything else will be very very frustrating.

I have a floor standing magnifier but along with that, I have some 4+ reading glasses. The patterns look really intimidating when I first print them, but I try not to get too psyched out until I look at it through the magnification. Everything looks more manageable when you magnify the heck out of it. Ironically, I have pretty bad eyes, so much of my stuff is too small for me to see without my glasses. I wish I would have started this back when I had young eyes.

I think different things motivate different people, so nothing wrong with wanting to get a lot of product out the door. If I was "production cutting", 20 minutes a day would have me going the EX/King 16" route. I understand some folks don't like the EX, but it is a great saw and might last a little longer. As far as getting used to something different, the EX would be a lot closer to the usability of the 788 than the Hawk. Even the cost of a new 788 every 9 months might pay for itself, I'm not sure. I'm hoping as Iggy gets comfortable with the Hawk, that 20 minutes difference disappears. ------Randy

Down to the last Christmas request. This time, I'm experimenting with a design requested by a friend. This design is similar to the Yamaha logo, except I modified to try to make it 3d. This was cut on the Eisenhower with Pike 2/0. The straight cut's within the tuning forks are just a bit wider than the kerf of a #2. After polishing, had some gunk in the cuts, and could not fit a pin in to clean it out, so I used a piece of broken blade.

If we have any Firefly (SciFi) fans here, this one is for you. I about chickened out on this cut because when I printed it out, several of cuts were not much wider than the Kerf on a 6/0 blade. Took a chance and it wasn't as bad as I had feared. My source coin was not near big enough for this pattern, so I had to smash the heck out of it to get it to a cuttable size. I really needed a bigger coin, but, you do with what you got. Below is the original so you could see what I was going for. If I had the talent for painting, I might try to paint that outer ring . . . but I'm not.

Len, these are Pike blades and this specific size is used only when I need very small kerfs. I use 3/0 much more often. I did use this 6/0 size for the entire "Serenity Cut" that I'm getting ready to post. I usually shop Amazon for these blades. Shop around, and be careful because some vendors aren't clear on quantity. I aways look for 144 (gross) pricing.

I've told people that the blades I used are as small as a regular sewing pin, but both are so small, it's kind of hard to know for sure without really really zooming in. So out of curiosity, I scanned the smallest blade I commonly use. I assumed I would get a profile view, but was thrilled to see the front which give an idea of the actual kerf. I can't really see the teeth with the naked eye, so it was nice to get a zoomed image. Anyway, I though this was really neat, hopefully you will also. Click the picture below so see full size, so you can see the teeth.