Crosstimbers

I have been chasing that elusive dream of a neatly organized shop since I started woodworking…but I've come to realize that some dreams never come true. Besides, I'd hate to throw away my son's inheritance!

Two thumbs up! Excellent!

I agree with Bill. I use Danish Oil as a finish frequently. As it states on the can “hardens in the wood, not on it.” I dip all my fretwork with Danish Oil. I tried spraying with lacquer but didn't have good success. By the time I got the interior edges coated, the top surface had an undesirable thick coating. Several years ago I built 4 large bookcases for a math professor. He didn't want a plastic feel, he said ”I want to feel the wood.” So I finished them with several coats of Dainish Oil and he loved the way it looked and felt. I wasn't sure at the time how well that type finish would hold up because he writes reference books and would be sliding books in and out on those shelves on a daily basis. So when I delivered them I told him to call me if the finish ever needs to be touched up. He has yet to call me so the Danish Oil must be holding up okay. Last week I made two wall mounted shelves for a customer's office. The office had knotty alder wainscoting. I took them to his office before putting the topcoat on because I needed to see how well I was able to match the stain on the wainscoting. He liked the way they looked and wanted me to go ahead and put them on the wall. I said I haven't put the topcoat on yet. He said he didn't want a topcoat. They're his shelves, so my job (and the shelves) were finished.

Beautiful work, you're an inspiration to me!

It's good to hear that the little cyclone is working so well. I'm looking forward to getting mine set up. Ordered the Metro Vac on Ebay and the cyclone on Amazon. The vacuum is here but still waiting for the cyclone. I'm planning on using a paint can for the canister, if it'll be tall enough.

I also ordered from Artcrafters. My blades arrived very quickly and Denny was super to deal with. I don't go through blades as fast as others here on the fourm but when I need more I'll be ordering from him again. Thanks Denny for the great service!

Great job! I'd like to try something like that. How about doing a tutorial on the process?

Looks awesome! I really like the choice of wood.

I've been where you were many times. Sometimes I feel like God's telling me that He doesn't want me doing this. I hope that's not the case. And like you, I usually come out of it fine. But it's painful while you're going through it. I've been busy with other work lately so I haven't scrolled in a long time. Then last week, I get an order for several items I didn't have in stock. I was so excited. Then I set down at the scroll saw and I couldn't do anything right. Had to start one pattern over 3 times. I didn't think I would ever get it done. But now the order has shipped and I'm looking forward to the next project. I'll hang in there if you will!

Beautiful work!

Both styles have their place. Just curious, what do you do for mounting the one with pegs? Keyhole slots?

Really nice! Great job on your first try!

So much good advice! It really helps.

I agree. I believe that the #1 MGT blade was the problem. I've always had good luck #3 MGT stack cutting three 1/4" pieces. I just thought I needed the #1 size because of the tight turns on that particular pattern. I may give the skip blade a try. I need to order blades anyway but I've been busy on non-scroll saw projects. So I'll be placing an order in the next day or two.

Denny, I just finished cutting some ornaments that have some really fragile areas so I used a #1 MGT. I was stack cutting 1/4" stock 3 at a time and had a really hard time with the blade deflecting and ruining the bottom ornament. Normally, I use a #3 MGT. What was frustrating to me is the fact that I was cutting really slow and being very careful not to put sideways pressure on the blade, but obviously I did anyway. The tension on the blade is good but maybe I need to increase it some more? Or, should I have just used a #3 blade since I was stack cutting?

That is very nice! It's always fun to try new things. Take good care of yourself. Maybe this lockdown will be over soon.

I did that not too long ago. Couldn't understand why I had so much trouble holding the workpiece down. Sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself.

Hope I can find it at my dollar store. I've been using something similar that costs much more. Thanks for the money saving tip!

Those are some really good tips, thanks everyone! I do want to improve my skill so that I can feel comfortable cutting 1/4" and thinner stock without a backer, but now that I know it's a common practice to use one, I'm okay with it. I'm going to practice with thin scrap to build my confidence. But for now, I'll stick with the backer for the pieces I'm going to sell or give away. I never considered that the blade size might be part of my problem. I've used Flying Dutchman UR blades in the past and like them, so I'll order the #1 size to see if it helps.

I appreciate that, Kevin. As for saw speed, I just found the saw's sweet spot and I leave it there. It' about halfway between 1/2 and 3/4 speed. I've been trying to teach myself feed control. I've gotten better at not putting sideways pressure on the blade. But when it comes to the thin stuff, I guess I'd rather take a few extra minutes and spend a small amount for a backer than take a chance on having to cut the piece twice. I tell myself that throwing away construction grade plywood is a lot cheaper than throwing away curly maple and walnut.

That sure helps, thanks Dan!

Do you use a sacrificial backer for thin stock when you can't stack cut? I do whenever I have a request for something personalized, where thin stock is needed. It seems I just can't cut well without one. Normally, I use the cheapest 1/2" plywood I can find. It seems like I just can't control my cuts in thin stock, it gets away from me too fast. My usual blade of choice is MGT #3. I admire anyone who can cut think stock without fouling the piece. Any tips or suggestions to help me avoid using one will be appreciated.

You've really stocked up that's for sure. Do you mind me asking what you're using to wrap your products? Is it heat shrink?

When I bought my DeWalt, I stripped it down and greased it well. But it also had a lot of slop in the rocker arms. I made shims for it from an aluminum can. It worked much better after that. Later on, it developed an electrical problem so I gave it to my son. He's good at fixing electrical stuff. It would have been nice to find an older type 1 saw.

I use Aileen's tacky glue. Just a small dot in the waste areas. Dries really fast. I'm going to remember the hot glue on the edges for portraits. Good tip!