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Bill WIlson

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Everything posted by Bill WIlson

  1. Bill WIlson
    The smallest straight blade I've ever used is a 2/0. I'm not sure I've ever even seen a 3/0 or 4/0, unless those are actually jeweler's blades. Just keep in mind that smaller blades will make a smaller kerf and tighter turns, but will be far more fragile. For stand up puzzles you want a blade that will make a large enough kerf that the pieces slide together/apart easily but not so large that the fit is sloppy and the puzzle easily falls apart. I typically will use something like a #3 FDUR blade, but everyone will have their own preferences. You need a blade small enough to make the tight turns, but, again, large enough to make a kerf that allows for an easy fit.
  2. Bill WIlson
    Well I know what I'm making for this year's ornament. Just downloaded my copy. These are awesome!
  3. Bill WIlson
    I think a couple issues that new scrollers have, especially if they have some familiarity with other wood cutting saws, is how slowly scroll saw blades cut and how quickly they wear out. Size & type will determine how fast and how long a scroll saw blade will cut but they will never cut like a bandsaw, table saw or even a jig saw blade. Setting realistic expectations seems to be one of the first things a new scroller needs to understand.
  4. Bill WIlson
    My EX-21 has the tilting head and I like it much better than tilting the table to cut on an angle. Mine uses a rack & pinion system to pivot, so it stays put very well. Better, I think than my old Dewalt's tilting table. The tilting table relies on friction from the tightening the table adjusting knob to hold it in place. The rack & pinion style just feels more solid I stable to me.
  5. Bill WIlson
    Dewalts are known for flaky switches. Fine sawdust gets in and fouls the contacts. Take the switch cover off and blow the sawdust out as thoroughly as possible. See if that solves your problem. If it does, I suggest getting a footswitch, which will help keep the problem from recurring.
  6. Bill WIlson
    I actually dyed the whole thing by dipping it in the solution. My mistake was not allowing for airflow across both sides while it finished drying. It was amazing how quickly and thoroughly it flattened back out by simply turning it over. I didn't allow for airflow the 2nd time either, but it came out flat.
  7. Bill WIlson
    Wood will do some crazy and unpredictable things. I cut a small plaque out of some 1/2" red oak once. The wood was very dry and stable. It was a cutoff from a larger piece, from another project and had been in my shop for a long time. I colored it with some water based dye. It was pretty much dry to the touch by the time I was ready to leave the shop for the day. Without thinking, I set it down flat, on old t-shirt, good side up, and left. I came back the next morning and the piece had curled up like a potato chip. I had never seen this type of extreme warping in such a small piece before. It was actually kind of shocking. My first instinct was to toss the piece into the scrap bin, but decided to turn it over and see what happened. So I laid it face down and left alone for another day. When I next checked it, it was flat as it was originally. It has been hanging in my shop for several years and hasn't move a bit since.
  8. Bill WIlson
    Very cool. I've dipped my toe into using epoxy resin to add to my woodworking, but haven't tackled anything beyond a simple 1 color pour. A few questions; How do you prevent spill over from one section to another? What did you use as a backer during the pour? Did you paint the form prior to pouring the epoxy?
  9. Bill WIlson
    Do what makes you happy, even if you don't achieve some desired level of mastery. It's a hobby. Life is too short to chase perfection, never to be satisfied.
  10. Bill WIlson
    JT, you've piqued my interest with the water based lacquer. I've always liked solvent lacquer as a finish, but hated applying it in my basement shop because of the fumes. Always used Deft brushing lacquer and never tried to spray it. What is the drying time for the WB lacquer?
  11. Bill WIlson
    I'll put in a plug for shellac as an alternative finish for your ornaments. Ornaments don't need a lot of durability, so shellac is very suitable. I spray the shellac, run a little DNA through the gun when I'm finished and call it good. As long as I use that gun for nothing else, I don't worry about doing a breakdown and deep clean. Next time I use it, I run a little more DNA through it before I start, then it's off to the races. The only downside of the shellac is that it is very heat sensitive. If someone stores their Christmas decorations in the attic, it's likely that during the heat of the Summer the shellac will soften and when they are gotten out later, they might be stuck to whatever they were packed in or with.
  12. Bill WIlson
    My Dad had a basement shop. Mom used to fuss at him about tracking "dirt" upstairs. He always replied with, "Sawdust isn't dirt." I've tried that line a few times on my wife, for the same offense. Doesn't work on her either.
  13. Bill WIlson
    I'm no pro and I've never spray painted a car, so my perspective may be skewed, but I have a couple cheap HVLP sprayers and use them for shellac. I get decent results with them. Not car finish quality, but certainly beats the spray can. Probably cheaper too. A cup of shellac, thinned with a little DNA will go a lot further than a spray can will.
  14. Bill WIlson
    I have a basement shop, so weather isn't an issue. Now, noise and dust can be annoyances, at least to my wife. It's just the 2 of us, so no little ones to worry about waking up.
  15. Bill WIlson
    I don't make stuff to sell and I'm not the world's most prolific scroller, so I do not have uncompleted projects sitting around. Most things I make are for a specific purpose (generally a gift) and once I start, I take it through to completion. I usually do not have more than one project in process at any given time either. That helps keeping the focus on the one at hand and getting it done.
  16. Bill WIlson
    It can be difficult to get puzzles cut from one piece of wood to fit properly. I can't imagine trying to do it with pieces cut from different boards. One technique that can be used when trying to create more than one version from separate species is to stack cut them in layers. In other words, if your scroll saw had the capacity, you could cut that puzzle from 4 or 5 different species, then mix the parts up in each of the resulting puzzles. Theoretically all would fit, since they were cut at the same time, from the same pattern. The problem is, there is no practical way to do that with a scroll saw, with stock that thick. If your puzzles were 1/4" thick, it could work, but then they wouldn't stand up.
  17. Bill WIlson
    Pretty much the same here. I don't use my tablesaw though. It's usually buried under a bunch of other stuff. I have a table extension on my radial arm saw that I use. Any flat surface will do. It's a good way to use up old newspapers, if anyone remembers what those are.
  18. Bill WIlson
    That is really cool. Probably every scroller's dream to have their work displayed in such a way.
  19. Bill WIlson
    Agree with JT, donate stuff. I'd rather put 100 hours into a project and donate it to a good cause than spend 100 hours making inventory to sell at a craft show and end up bringing most of it home.
  20. Bill WIlson
    The primary complaint I have is with how the fence mounts to the table. Every time I tighten up the knobs, I expect the carriage bolts to strip and just spin in the groove. I wish the bolts were bigger so that there was more meat to lock them in the groove. I intend to rout channels and install T-track in the top and re-position the locking knobs accordingly. Otherwise I think the fence is really good, almost worth what I paid for the whole shebang, just by itself. I've fussed with leveling the mounting plate to the table several times and still will end up with a spot that is not flush and will catch on the wood as I move it across. That's not a huge deal and I'm sure that I can get it dialed in....again. I just have to take the time to futz around with it some more. I've had this table for a few years and this problem seems to crop up spontaneously, every so often. I get it leveled up and it's fine, then after a while it's out of flush again. Not sure why this is happening.
  21. Bill WIlson
    If it works for you, that's all that matters. For years I contemplated building my own custom router table, while struggling with the old Craftsman table I've had since about 1979. A few years ago I was in Lowes looking for something else, when I stumbled on a Bosch router table that they had marked down. It has a couple quirks that I've adapted to and a weakness with the fence mounting that I intend to rework, one of these days. But it is a huge improvement over my old Craftsman. Who knows? Maybe I'll still build that dream router table someday, but this one does everything I need it to do.
  22. Bill WIlson
    Here is a link to a blade chart. Learning the basics of blade configuration, sizes, TPI count will help you decide when/where to apply that understanding. This is for Olson brand blades, I believe other manufacturers have similar charts that could readily be Googled. While the specifics will differ, the same general concepts will apply. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf
  23. Bill WIlson
    That's harder to do than it seems. Usually it comes off looking contrived. Also you don't have a lot of extra length to work with. I would leave it as is. Would hate to risk spoiling what is very nice work.
  24. Bill WIlson
    Nicely done. I've said many times that text is one of the hardest things to scroll well, especially fonts such as what are in that pattern. You did an excellent job!
  25. Bill WIlson
    If you are happy with the price and the product, that is all that matters. I'm just glad I don't have to buy hardwood that way. I realize many parts of the country do not have access to a local hardwood distributer, so the options are limited. That just seems like an awful lot to pay for the amount of sapwood that was included. Otherwise, the boards look pretty nice. Sapwood isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a little goes a long way, especially if you are really looking for the dark walnut color.
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