PANEL OF EXPERTS By Donna Zibley
What do you get when you put together Swede Bengtson, Jeff Dadd, John Engler, Jim Ryan and Bill Sauer? You get a team of woodworking expertise and experience. These guys made up a great team to run our January panel discussion on woodworking problems, hints, suggestions and questions on a variety of topics as follows:
90 DEGREE SHARP CORNERS: · Make a direct, sharp turn with the smallest blade possible. · If you need a sharper corner, back out and then trim. · The KEY is to use the smallest blade possible (ex: #02). · Flying Dutchman blades may be easier because they have fewer teeth. That allows you to cut thicker material with a thinner blade. · FAST cuts turn out truer than a slow cut. · Use a Diamond HONE to round off the back, squared edges of the blade. With the blade moving, touch the hone to those squared edges to round them off … it makes cornering much easier
IF YOU ARE BREAKING BLADES: · Either loosen or tighten your blade tension. · Change your blade, you may have run it too long.
SAWING HARDWOOD MAKES FOR SMOKE AND BURNED EDGES: · Wrap your project with clear packing tape and it will lubricate the blade as you saw thru it. · Use the correct blade … one with FEWER teeth. · The harder the wood … the less teeth per inch you should have on your blade.
CHATTERING SCROLL SAW: · Put a PAD under your scroll saw before you bolt it to your stand. · Wildwood Designs has a great pad that is ½” thick. · ADD WEIGHT to your stand. Have a SOLID, heavy stand. A 3-LEGGED stand works best. · Every saw has a “sweet spot” at which it runs smoothest. Experiment with speed, push & wood.
SAW SPEED INDICATORS: · Saw only at a comfortable speed for you. · Adjust your speed until your flexible blower tube stops vibrating. · Look at your END CUT. If you are running too slowly – it will be choppy. If you are running too fast – it will be glazed.
PROBLEMS CUTTING A SMOOTH LARGE ARC/RADIUS: · You are possibly pushing too hard on one side. · Check and correct your blade tension if necessary. · Make sure your blade is NOT DULL. Put in a new one. · Stamped blades cut better going clockwise. · PGT blades are NOT stamped and so they don’t favor one side. · Double Tooth PGT blades cut even straighter.
NEW SCROLL SAW CHOICE: · Excalibur’s advantage is that the HEAD tilts rather than the table. That makes it much easier when you are cutting at an angle. · Delta’s and DeWalts are also great saws for the price.
HOW TO CUT SQUARE: · Check the squareness of your blade to the table prior to each Start-up. · Use a 2” square block of wood. Cut a NOTCH into the wood. Turn it around and if the blade slides in easily, it is square. · Use a 3” machinists tri-square
DIFFICULTY FOLLOWING THE BLACK PATTERN LINE (IT LOOKS LIKE THE BLADE): · Use a pattern with RED ink whenever possible. · Great lighting & magnification makes all the difference in the world. · Your light source should come from both sides if possible. · Sit at the proper level to see the line best. Sit straight and at a flatter angle. · Buy one of Swede’s hydraulic Barber chairs to get to the right height. J · Bright, correctly colored light makes it much easier to see. For example, try a 5,000 – 6,500 Kelvin bulb. · Use a Colored Highlighter to run over your black pattern line. That makes it show up better.
GLUE: · Intarsia Glue – SOBO seems to work the best. You can buy it from Michael’s Crafts or JoAnn Fabrics. It dries clear, is flexible, non-toxic, and gives you time to work with it before it dries · Bowls – WELDBOND seems to work the best.
PATTERN GLUING METHOD: · Everyone on the panel is trying to avoid using spray adhesives. · Some woodworkers use Rubber Cement. · Some use double faced carpet tape. · Some use Drop Cloth Tape by Painters Green. Get it online from Hardware City. It holds well, comes off easily, and doesn’t peel up. · Judy Gale Roberts uses a Xyron XRN900 9-Inch Creative Station Multi-Function Crafting System available from Amazon.com. · Swede sometimes uses Stick Glue .
FINISHES: · The panel tries to AVOID using finishing sprays. Like the spray adhesives, NOT good for you! · Use a spreadable Gel, Tung Oil, or Boiled Linseed Oil. · A Recipe: 1/3 Poly 1/3 Mineral Spirits 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil · To clean glue off of wood: Use paint thinner or mineral spirits.
STAIN ONLY WHEN NECESSARY: · Use Artist’s Acrylic Water Bases Paint (tube from Art stores) and water it down enough to make it into the exact shade of stain you want.
SOURCES FOR WOOD: (other than the typical) · Youngblood Lumber 1335 Central Ave NE Minneapolis, MN, 612-789-3521. · Forest Wood Products 2650 Hwy 61 Maplewood, MN, 651-770-2834. · Courtland Hardware & Sawmill 321 Main St Courtland, MN, 507-359-7811 · Jim Mielke (Scroller member) 651-583-2813 jlacm@frontier.com . · Leonard Eischens Sawmill 23900 Aberdeen Ave, Belle Plaine, MN, 952-492-2568 – Call first. · Dumpster diving for scraps behind Cabinet shops. Again, thanks a million Swede, Jeff, John, Jim and Bill! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and years of hard earned wisdom so generously and so kindly to the rest of us. |