Bill WIlson

Thanks all. I must say, it is one of the more challenging projects I've done lately. Kudos to Sheila Landry and Keith Fenton for the pattern and excellent customer service.

I rarely post pics of stuff I've done, but I was kinda happy with this one, so I figured I'd share.

This is a recently completed project that is an example of one that I would recommend staying as close to the lines as possible. Very little room for individual interpretation.

Could melt speed have anything to do with the type of glue stick used? I just buy the basic ones, but I know Michael's carries several different types of glue sticks. I don't know if any have a lower melting temp or not.

By and large, I make every attempt to follow the pattern. That said, on portraits, where many of the holes are sort of abstract, I don't get too shook up if I wander off the line. I will even make slight "modifications" to add bridges, where I think the pattern is unnecessarily fragile, or perhaps blend 2 small holes into one. None of these changes affect the appearance of the finished piece and I don't even think of them as mistakes. In general, I think it's good practice to strive to follow the lines, as much as practical and possible. It teaches us good habits. However, after a little experience, I think most scrollers know when & where to apply a little individual discretion.

I have a small glue gun and a larger one. The small one I've had for 20 years. I bought the bigger one 4-5 years ago. I use them both, depending on how much glue I need for the application. I probably got them at Walmart or Michaels, or someplace like that. Nothing special about either one. As for gluing stacks, this is how I do it. I stack the pieces, then hold them together with several spring clamps. I run beads of hot glue down the edges of the stack, as many beads as I feel I need to hold it together. Once the glue sets, off come the clamps and I'm ready to go. This works great on small to medium size stacks of any thickness. For projects, like large portraits, you may need to supplement by doing something in the interior, like brads, pins, etc. I've never done that. Holding the stacks on the edges has been sufficient for anything I've done.

Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts Magazine https://forum.scrollsawer.com/

Don't know how I missed this thread! That is some top notch inlay work there Dave. Very nicely done.

Ditto to all of the above. I would only add that you should examine the grain carefully and try to match the panels up, being especially conscious of how the grain of both pieces flow at the joint. Red oak has wildly different appearances, based on how the boards are cut from the tree. Try to get 2 boards with as similar a grain pattern as possible to help hide the glue joint.

That's the beauty of shellac, in that it is meant to be applied in very thin coats. And since it dries very fast, I can hit the piece from many different angles, focusing on the inside edges and hard to reach areas, without building too much of a film on the surface. I could never get away with that using poly/varnish. I like lacquer, but can't stand the smell. I occasionally spray my shellac in the basement. I could never do that with lacquer. I spray my shellac with a cheap HVLP gun. That way I can regulate the amount of liquid in the spray. I can also minimize the overspray, so I don't get a fog when I spray indoors. I don't have as much luck using the rattle cans. I don't think it atomizes the liquid nearly as well as the spray gun and I have to be very careful not to over coat.

Cold temperatures have little affect on shellac. It may slow drying time down a little, but I've sprayed shellac, outside in 32 degree temps, with no ill effects. Humidity is more of a concern and will adversely affect shellac's drying time. Shellac normally dries to the touch in about 15-20 minutes. It can then be recoated. It does take a day or two to fully cure and will soften some, if exposed to high heat conditions (think inside a closed up car on a hot summer day). DO not use harsh household cleaners on it. Ammonia and alcohol will dissolve shellac. For most scrolled projects, that aren't handled much and don't require the most durable finish, shellac is ideal. It does create more of a shiny look, but not the high gloss, plastic looking appearance that polyurethane can have. Shellac can be rubbed out to soften the gloss, once it has fully cured, but generally speaking, this isn't all that practical for most scrolled projects. Shellac is my go-to finish for most of my scroll saw work. It is just so easy and fast to apply and clean up and I like the appearance. I've never tried it, but some folks apply it by dipping. I'll have to give that a go, one of these days.

My belief is that mineral oil has little purpose in woodworking, beyond using for cutting boards and other wooden utensils that are used in food preparation. It has already been stated, mineral oil is not a wood finish. Some folks use it as such, but for woodworking applications, other than those I mentioned above, there are other products that are specifically designed to be used with wood and are better suited for that purpose. I've never understood the fascination with products like lemon oil and mineral oil for scrolled projects. Hey, if you use it and are happy with the results, then who am I to argue, but I just don't see much of a reason to use these kinds of products.

I'd say you nailed it. Nice job. Portraits don't always need to be complex. Sometimes they can be too busy and it detracts from the image, IMHO. Yours captures his likeness very well.

I think it's the Excelsior brand that is the Excalibur/King equivalent in Canada. I think, originally there was an agreement that only the 16" and 21" version (King) would be available in the US and that the 31" saw would be sold in Canada under the Excelsior name. I'm not sure that's entirely the case anymore. Both brands may offer all sizes now, but as far as I know, King is still what is available in the USA brand and Excelsior is the same saw, sold in Canada.

Sometimes it isn't the dimension of the throat on the saw that is the constraining factor. For me, the distance between me and the blade can be an issue. If I get too far away, it makes it hard to see what I'm doing.

Warping and cupping can be caused by several factors. It can be anything from how the tree grew, to how it was sawn, dried and stored, to environmental changes prior to use. At your point, about the only thing you have any control over is the environment the wood is in. Sometimes wood cups because of unequal release of moisture between the top & bottom surfaces. This can sometimes be corrected by applying heat, moisture etc to try and equalize the moisture again. This doesn't always work, but it's your best bet. Sometimes wood is just bowed or warped and even if you are able to straighten or flatten it temporarily, it may not stay that way. I once cut a small plaque out of a nice flat piece of 1/2" red oak. I dyed it with a water based dye and let it set on the bench to dry. I checked on it a couple days later and it looked like a potato chip. I had never seen a piece of wood curl up like that. I flipped it over and let it set an other couple days and it flattened back out perfectly. I was lucky. I caused my own cupping problem by not letting the piece release the moisture from the dye equally, from both sides. Once it had a chance to dry equally, it returned to it's "natural" state. Sometimes that natural state is warped/cupped and there is little to be done about it, short of milling it flat, which only works if the piece is thick enough to begin with.

I use Loctite 100. It seems to work fine for me. I get it at Lowes for a little less than $6 a can.

Yes, they can be used for stack cutting, but like Kevin and Scott said, the smaller blade sizes work best, so you may be more limited in the thickness of your stack. Many spirals are twisted all the way to the ends, so I typically take a minute to untwist or flatten out the ends and get them in the same plane, so they go in to the clamps easier. You can get flat end spirals, as well, but they don't make them in the sizes I typically use (#2/0 and #3/0).

The simple explanation as to why it's harder, is that because the thin wood offers far less resistance to the cutting action of the blade. By stack cutting several layers, or attaching to a thicker piece of wood, as you have done, will increase the resistance and thus your ability to control the blade. The other alternatives have been mentioned. Slow your blade speed and feed rate. Also use a smaller, less aggressive blade. Scrolling is a constant exercise in matching your cutting speed and blade selection to the pattern and material being cut.

I've always believed that a background in woodworking gives one a pretty good head start in learning how to scroll. Your work would seem to bear that theory out. Nicely done. Those Jack-O-Lanterns are pretty clever. Don't recall ever seeing that design before. Are those made from commercially available patterns?

You can try RIT fabric dyes. I've used them and they work pretty well.

I think templates are a viable alternative to re-printed paper patterns....in come limited circumstances. For example, simple silhouettes & shapes can be re-produced faster by tracing around a template, but beyond that, for more detailed work, I think using a paper pattern will give you better, more accurate and consistent results.

Under the resources tab, at the top of the page, there are listings for pattern shops and suppliers. Worth a look. When I started scrolling about 25 years ago, I had no idea what resources were available. At first, I was limited to a couple pattern books I found in the local book store. Then I discovered the scrolling magazines, with their free patterns included in each issue. From there, I joined a scroll saw club and found out where the other members were getting their patterns. Places like Wildwood Designs. Then it was on to the internet, with websites such as those noted above. Then I stumbled into a couple of the forums. The list keeps growing. The quantity, quality and variety of patterns available would have blown my mind 25 years ago.

Don't overlook the free pattern library on this site.

Wow, hardly seems like could have been that long ago.