Slivers Revisited and Something Uber Cool
Posted 04-23-2010 at 01:00 AM by hotshot
Updated 04-23-2010 at 01:45 AM by hotshot (The normal, spelling, clarity, etc and etc)
Updated 04-23-2010 at 01:45 AM by hotshot (The normal, spelling, clarity, etc and etc)
As I love the unusual and extreme projects, I visited an old favorite dealing with making
spiral candlesticks with the scrollsaw (http://www.scrollsawer.com/videos/cu...dlesticks.html). This is an absolute favorite.
But, from that article, someone added a link that took the original concept and took it up another level or so. The project features a scroller that experimented and found a way to create predictable helix forms. The site with details and video is http://www.stevengarrison.com/id6.html
On to my search to find the limits of the scroll saw. I have been thinking about the "Slivers and Quivers" blog entry a while back and was not really satisfied with the "quality" of the slivers created. Of course my goal is to cut very very small, determining where the realistic limit is. In the prior attempt, some parts of the slivers were very small, however, they tended to really warp when cut and the actual cutting was crooked as I eased in and out, "trying to get close". I promise, I was was not drunk or heavily medicated.
So, for this attempt, I changed a few things. First, I'm cutting a less brittle and softer 3.4" wood. Along with that, I wanted to cut straighter so I used a board to brace the piece I was cutting, and third, I wanted to cut with the grain so the slivers would be stronger.
Here are the results:
Exploded like this, it's hard to appreciate how small the slivers are. Check out the I or 1 on a penny in your pocket for comparison. Also, the penny is sitting on top of the wood, so it is a bit closer to the camera. At these sizes the thickness of a penny matters as is evident from the focus differential between the two layers.
And my conclusions? For very small cutting, attention to the grain and wood selection seem to be critical. I have some other tests where I have yet smaller slivers, but cutting the ultra small slivers were very very unreliable and luck played way too much a role. I think this is the limit to the size I can cut reliably, and even then, probably not on a curve.
-------Randy
spiral candlesticks with the scrollsaw (http://www.scrollsawer.com/videos/cu...dlesticks.html). This is an absolute favorite.
But, from that article, someone added a link that took the original concept and took it up another level or so. The project features a scroller that experimented and found a way to create predictable helix forms. The site with details and video is http://www.stevengarrison.com/id6.html
On to my search to find the limits of the scroll saw. I have been thinking about the "Slivers and Quivers" blog entry a while back and was not really satisfied with the "quality" of the slivers created. Of course my goal is to cut very very small, determining where the realistic limit is. In the prior attempt, some parts of the slivers were very small, however, they tended to really warp when cut and the actual cutting was crooked as I eased in and out, "trying to get close". I promise, I was was not drunk or heavily medicated.
So, for this attempt, I changed a few things. First, I'm cutting a less brittle and softer 3.4" wood. Along with that, I wanted to cut straighter so I used a board to brace the piece I was cutting, and third, I wanted to cut with the grain so the slivers would be stronger.
Here are the results:
Exploded like this, it's hard to appreciate how small the slivers are. Check out the I or 1 on a penny in your pocket for comparison. Also, the penny is sitting on top of the wood, so it is a bit closer to the camera. At these sizes the thickness of a penny matters as is evident from the focus differential between the two layers.
And my conclusions? For very small cutting, attention to the grain and wood selection seem to be critical. I have some other tests where I have yet smaller slivers, but cutting the ultra small slivers were very very unreliable and luck played way too much a role. I think this is the limit to the size I can cut reliably, and even then, probably not on a curve.
-------Randy
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