Bill WIlson

Well done, but I my first thought when I saw the thread title was...

I use one of these. It works great. I only spray shellac so I don't know how it works for other finishes, but shellac is soooooo easy to clean up that it's my go-to finish, most of the time.

When routing on a table, you feed the stock from right to left, against the rotation of the bit. A climb cut is when you feed the stock, in the opposite direction, with the rotation of the bit. The problem with it is that there is a great risk of the bit grabbing the wood and yanking it right out of your hands. The "advantage" is that it cuts less aggressively and that is why burning is minimized. It can be done safely, but you really have to understand the physics involved and guard against losing control of the stock. That is the purpose of the starting pin. It's a pin that is attached to the router table top and it gives you a pivot point to brace the wood against. It isn't necessarily designed for the purpose of climb cutting, but it can help you control the stock. Just to reiterate, I'm not recommending that anyone try this. It's kind of like operating your table saw without the guard. Sometimes it may be necessary and it It can be done without physical harm coming to the operator, but it's not recommended.

I often stack cut 4-5 layers of 1/8" thick ply. The larger the blanks, the better chance of there being some gaps between the layers, in the middle. Starting with good, flat stock is the first step. If there is any warping in the pieces, then do as NC Scroller does and arrange the layers to minimize gaps. You can arrange the outer layers, to form a concave bow such that when you clamp/tape/glue the outer edges, the center is forced together by flattening the bow. I use hot melt glue around the edges. I stack the pieces, holding them together with spring clamps, then run a bead of hot glue across the outer edges. I don't put anything between the layers. Driving a few brads (or pin nails) in the center waste areas will help. Make sure you file them flat on the bottom, to prevent scratching your table. I've stack cut my share of plywood and I've never had to do this, but it will work.

Burning is more prevalent when routing end grain. As has been recommended, a good quality, sharp bit and several light passes will achieve the best results. If your router table has a starting pin, I might suggest trying a climb cut for the final pass, but if you aren't experienced and comfortable with the router, then please don't try it.

I see they are selling the EX-21 for $599 on Amazon right now. That is a considerable drop from the price I paid for my Taiwanese version, from SEYCO a few years ago. I'm not complaining, just wondering which corners they cut to get such a comparatively low price.

I like the Klingspor discs. I've also used the Diablo discs when I wanted to just pick up something locally. From Klingspor, I get the PS33 Stearate Aluminum Oxide H&L discs. I have no problems with them loading up. I don't typically sand a lot of resinous woods, but the zinc stearate in these discs is supposed to help prevent the discs from clogging.

I think location plays a big part in the pricing. I sold mine for $200 a few years ago. It was 10-12 years old, but in very good condition. It wasn't used as a production saw and never exhibited any of the problems that seemed to be common in Dewalts. I don't know if I could have gotten $350. I sold it to a member of my wife's extended family, so I wasn't trying to get top dollar for it. Both parties were satisfied with the transaction.

I know nothing about real estate or taxes or HOA's in Tennesee, but we spent a vacation in Gatlinburg a few years ago. That is some beautiful country down there.

Therein lies the beauty of hide glue. Furniture restorers like it for that reason, plus the fact that it is period correct. Stinks to high heaven though. Even the Titebond pre-mixed version has a distinct odor.

I believe that, much like with scroll saw blades, there really is no such thing as "the best" when it comes to finishes. Sure, we can each have our favorite. Nothing wrong with that. There is an amazing array of different products out there. I thing that it benefits all woodworkers to at least have a basic understanding of some of the different options available to us. We may never use them all, but different finishes bring different things to the table. All have their pros and cons. Those pros and cons can vary from one project and one user to another. Each of us has to find the best finish for us and the project we are working on. It may not be the same for the next project, because that project may have different requirements. I love sprayed shellac for fretwork. It is my go-to, serving as sealer, colorant and topcoat in one. But I wouldn't use it for a cutting board.

I have some thoughts on this subject and I'll try not to blather on longer than anyone has the patience to read. I tend to consider a finish in its broader sense. To me a finish is anything you apply to the wood after all the saw dust is made, which alters or enhances the appearance of the natural wood. Finishes serve a couple main purposes. They protect the wood from a variety of elements and they change the appearance in terms of color, grain contrast and/or sheen. I like to sometimes refer to it as a finishing schedule. It's a process that could encompass multiple operations and products that work together to create a final result that meets the requirements of the project. So in this context, a finish could refer to a stain, glaze, dye, grain filler, oil, wax, topcoat, or any combination thereof. I admit I have often interchanged the usage of the term "finish" between the process and a given top coat. As the name implies, a finish is the last thing you do to a project before calling it done, so I think either application is accurate.

For portrait style fretwork, I recommend spiral blades. The size depends on the detail of the pattern. I typically use Flying Dutchman New Spirals in either a 2/0 or 3/0 size. Just beware the 3/0 spiral blades are pretty fragile and more prone to breaking than larger blades, but they are great for really fine detail. If you aren't accustomed to using spiral blades, I recommend that you get some practice in on something simple to get the hang of them. When planning the cuts on a portrait, I study the pattern and look for areas with the greatest risk of breakage during the cut. You want to cut these areas while there is still as much supporting wood surrounding it as possible. If you wait and cut those areas later, after much of the supporting wood has been removed, you risk breaking it off during the cut. After cutting those areas, I generally work outward from the center, but the direction is less important than ensuring you maintain as much supporting wood around most fragile parts of the cut as possible.

I agree Rolf I find the additional control provided by the footswitch to be invaluable when cutting delicate fretwork. I scrolled for the first few years without one, never realizing what I was missing. I was initially skeptical and it took a little while to get used to using one. Now you would have to fight me to get me to give it up.

When using a pre-stain conditioner, washcoat or sealer, one must be aware that less pigment will be absorbed into the grain, so the color will not be as dark as you might expect. It will be more uniform, but not as dark. This may affect the color choice of stain that you choose. As always, test on scrap before committing to the finished project.

Blondewood is a trade name, not a species. I think that it represents a material that could be made from any number of light colored woods, which are low cost and often imported. It's a utility grade product.

Yep, Fred Rogers was a genuine as the day is long. Being from Western PA, he's a beloved legend around here.

Fred Rogers was probably one of the best things to happen to children's TV in the history of TV. His gentle and caring approach to using the forum to educate and enlighten children was truly a wonderful thing. He was truly one of a kind, but we could use more folks like Fred Rogers these days. Charlie, that's a very nice tribute to a great man. Well done!

My concern with using mineral oil at this point, is that you've already sealed the pores of the wood, to some degree, with the Watco. Mineral oil never dries. It simply soaks into the wood. I'm not sure what will happen if you apply it over the Watco. If you have beeswax, I would simply melt a little down and rub it on, over the Watco and skip the mineral oil. Or for the benefit of science and the rest of us on the forum, you could do a test on some left over scraps. Finish it with the Watco, same as the original piece, then try the mineral oil/beeswax mix. See what happens. It may be fine, but I wouldn't try it on the final piece without testing first.

It didn't go bad. That is what the green version of odorless MS looks like.

Just to be clear, the hot melt glue just goes on the edges of the stack, not in between the layers. I clamp the stack with spring clamps, then run a few beads across the edges of the stack. Important that all the blanks are the same size and the edges are flush. I have no gaps in between the layers. If necessary, the remnants of the glue scrape right off with a chisel, razor blade or even a sharp putty knife.

I use cheap HVLP guns with my air compressor to spray shellac. I've not tried spraying anything else with them. One of the many reason's I like spraying shellac is that clean up is so easy. Since these guns are used exclusively for shellac, I don't always take them apart and thoroughly clean them after spraying. I always spray a little denatured alcohol through them after finishing and then a little more before using them the next time. I take them apart maybe every 3rd or 4th time I use them. I also use ammonia water to clean external surfaces and/or any parts easily removed. Be careful with anything aluminum though, as ammonia will etch it. DAMHIKT.

Nicely done! Sheila and Keith have a lot of beautifully designed word art patterns. As we all know, letters are some of the more difficult cuts to do well. That makes some of their patterns pretty challenging. Yours came out really well.

I had the Jim Dandy on my Dewalt for several years. It was still on it when I sold it a few years ago. I presume it's still on the saw. Some time ago, a member of my scroll saw club came up with a home made design he offered to club members. I bought one at the time, thinking mine would eventually wear out. I sent it along with the Dewalt when I sold it. Once I had the lift installed and got used to it, it was like a footswitch, I would never want to be without it. I have an EX-21 now. The ability to have the upper arm stay raised is an absolute must for me.