Blaughn

I am sure this is well probably known to the old hands but I have not run across it in my reading. When I did the walnut inlay on this project, I used a #63 drill for the blade entry. I located the hole in the walnut. The oak and the walnut were each 3/8" thick with the walnut below the oak and I used a No. 3 FDSR set at less than 1 degree angle. (determined by cutting scrap test piece until a press fit was achieved.) Here's the trick I tried: After completing the letters I kept the blade set at the same angle and cut a tight circle about 1/8" diameter out of a 3/4" scrap piece of walnut. With the angle of the blade - I ended up with a "walnut tooth pick" This sharp piece was placed in the drill hole of the work piece and then lightly tapped into the hole. You can see the fill but only if you look closely. In this case, I could have chosen a lighter shade of walnut for the peg and it would be even less apparent. I found this to be much faster and less messy than trying to till the hole with sawdust and glue. For what it is worth...... Bruce

My only thought is the sequence might get a bit tricky. With the Jet you would need to feed the blade through the work, fasten it to the lower blade holder, then release the upper tension and retension it. If I understand the Jet blade tensioning system, it seems to me that the blade would work itself higher and higher in the upper blade holder every time you prepared for the next cut.

Thank all of you for the kind words of encouragement. My son opened the gift last night. He looked at it and whispered "Oh....Wow" Then he opened it and laughed - delightedly so. His reaction was perfect.

Very nice!!

Very nice!! A local wood dealer had a pallet full of clear alder cutoffs. I bought a few to experiment with and love it. I went back to stock up and someone had bought the entire pallet. !

Very nice. Top feed or bottom feed?

Nice Job!!!

Those are the Pentel Quicker Clicker pencils with .5mm lead. https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Quicker-Automatic-Assorted-PD345BP2-K6/dp/B0017DBEIG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482603329&sr=8-1&keywords=pentel+quicker+clicker They are available in .5mm and .7mm.

Very nice!!

My son used the Pentel Quicker Clicker pencils all through college and is never without one. They are not expensive nor even elegant. So when I heard his .5mm pencil gave out I came up with a gift idea: Give him some inelegant .5mm pencils in fairly elegant a gift box. I used the scroll saw for the initials and for the relief cuts containing the pencils, lead and erasers.

G'day Bill from snowy Minnesota. Welcome to the village!

I always wear vinyl glove when finishing. After a light wet sanded using wipe on poly and 600 grit wet or dry, I wiped off the excess lightly with a cloth and let it dry overnight. Then, the next morning, I applied a very light coat of wipe-on poly with a cloth which rubbed in with my vinyl glove covered fingers with long strokes with the grain. As I did, it began to take on the desired sheen so I set it aside to dry completely. When dry, I buffed it with a clean dry cloth.

The words inscribed in that piece of cherry were spoken years before the tree was planted and will outlast the plaque by millenia. I am glad to hear that the power of those words surpassed the workmanship. I pray you will find strength and peace. Bruce

I, too, struggled with the FD SR 2/0. It made me feel like I was starting all over again. Based on some "sage" advice, I switched to the Olson 2/0 and found it to be much easier to control. The Pegis 2/0 Skip Tooth cuts faster than the Olson and is a bit nimbler but still controllable. I think the FD 2/0 may be the nimblest of the 2/0 blades available but it is not for the "still learning" scroller.

Absolutely love them. Nice work!!

Very nice. I love that bowl especially!

I am in awe of your cutting speed and precision! Beautiful work and you have set the bar for improving my own proficiency on the machine. My cutting pace is probably 1/4 of yours and I don't think the parasol handle being held by the woman in your piece would have survived my ham-fisted approach. Nice work!!

It is roughly 13 1/2 by 7 1/2.

Thank all of you for your kind comments. This forum contributed. I initially tried this piece using the Flying Dutchman SR 2/0 and quickly blew it. Many of you made the suggestion to switch to the Olson 2/0 blade - which I did. It was a night and day difference. I discovered the Olson is a slower cutting blade which also increased its controllability. So, thanks for the encouragement and the advice. Bruce

Thanks, DW.

I have been fooling around with the Ex21 and finally decided it was time to see if I could produce something of value. The attached is a Sheila Landry pattern rendered in 3/8" cherry - a Christmas present for my daughter. This is finished in 2 coats of Watco Danish oil followed by Watco Wipe on Poly - gloss. First coat of poly as directed, Second coat applied with 320 grade wet-or-dry sandpaper. The third coat a light coat applied and then wiped off and rubbed to a soft sheen. I am very impressed with the variety of finishes you can get with this finish.

I have Flying Dutchman SR from size 12 down to 2/0. I have been so impressed with them (primarily the #5), it was a no brainer to use the FD SR 2/0 when the project called for it. I found that blade to be extremely difficult to control. They seemed to lag behind in responding to the slight adjustments and then over respond to the next correction. I tried the Olson 2/0 and the problem went away. For my machine, the material I am working with currently and my touch, the Olson 2/0 have found a home but the FC SR #5 is still my go-to blade for most work. Offered not as a rebuttal nor an argument to your post - simply my impressions as a new scroller.

Given the cost per blade vs the cost of the wood and my time, I am inclined to agree with you. Thanks for your input.

I did no sanding after resawing. I simply ran it through the planer which does nothing to flatten, unfortunately. My choice of 1/2" ply is based upon the fear that 1/4" would be overpowered by the cherry. If the scrolling helps to flatten the board, I may choose 1/4 for the recessed backer. My other choice, though, would be to use the other piece of 3/8" cherry produced when I re-sawed the original board. I could glue it up after re-aligning the original grain then cut the decorative edge to finish the plaque. That would make the scrolling appear to be routed into a piece of solid cherry.......hmmm....

The material in this picture is 10" x 2" x 3/8" cherry cut with the Olson 2/0 blade. Two questions: 1. I re-sawed a piece of 4-quarter cherry to get the 3/8 material for the plaque. The board is a bit cupped and a bit bowed as internal pressures were relieved. I intend to glue the completed piece to 1/2" plywood as a backer board when done. I am hoping expect that will flatten the piece. Before I do all the scroll work, do you think 1/2 inch ply will flatten the cherry? 2. As I was cutting the sample piece shown above, I noticed the cut was requiring more pressure about half-way through the scrolling. Would you expect to have to change a Olson 2/0 blade half way through the above sample? Bruce