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.