Cutting Help Needed

[Guy]

Hi Guys,

I finally got around to roughing out the Guy Fawkes bust (9"x5"x15") this weekend, it's a back burner project that I'll work on between other projects but will try to finish it before November.

I did a few ornament's to try out my new Delta ShopMaster, the Santa's are from the Mark Gargac style large relief ornaments, I think the duck reference picture came from this forum but I'm not sure, the waterman is something special I'm trying to come up with for the Center's annual fundraiser but it needs to be smaller and some major improvement on the face.

The Bust of Diana was a back burner project and it's almost finished, it has a thin coat of primer to protect the wood and just needs one more pass over the entire bust with my micro tools and it will be ready for paint. I'm going to paint the hair, skin and tiara with Jo Sonja's water based Pearl White and the fabric with Burnt Sienna to match the natural finish Plum base.

Scroll Saw Questions:
1. My Saw came with just one blade so I went to Home Depot and got a pack of cheap blades with most of the teeth pointed down and at the bottom of the blade they point up. They worked OK on the ornaments but to stay on my line I would have to turn the wood and apply a little side pressure, I could not feed it straight in and stay on the line. What can I do to correct this?
2. The feathers on the arrow's were cut from 1-1/2" blocks of Cocobolo, Bocote, Rosewood and mahogany. The saw would cut the very thin slices OK but it was a very very slow process. What blade should I use to cut the very hard 1-1/2" thick woods?
3. The feathers again, when I cut the thin slices into the feather shape the bade would snag the wood on the up stroke and break the wood, I wasted the whole slice of Purple Heart trying to get a feather out of it. Is it me or the type of blade I used.
4. Now that you can see how I will use my saw mostly can anyone help me with blade selection and maybe a source?

HappY Trails
Bill
^v^

[Fremmed]

Hi Bill,

Your work looks wonderful, I'm very impressed.

I did the same thing, buying blades from Home Depot and had the same problems. Frankly, they are not very good blades. Try contacting Mike-- mikesworkshp.com --he sells Flying Dutchman blades. He'll send you a sample if you request, or he has a starter kit that gives you a nice variety of blades. I think you will be surprised with the results. Keep in mind, because of the way they are made, scroll saw blades tend to push right.

Hope this helps
Kevin

[Neal Moore]

Although. most scroll saws will handle 1 1/2" thick wood it's generally used for compound cut projects etc. where a larger blade can be used. Small blades dull quickly and tend to burn the wood. Reverse tooth blades are good for thicker wood but aren't the best choice for thin woods because they are designed to clear the kerf of sawdust on the up-stroke and will chip and tear out on very thin hardwoods. You can create very realistic looking feather barbs using a woodburning tool like those used by bird and duck carvers to texture and detail their carvings. That is a beautiful bust and the quiver and arrows look great!!! I've been carving for about 28 years and can't even come close to creating anything that exquisite!! Wonderful work!! Be sure to show us the completed piece when finished!! We'll be happy to to see an "in the round" project on the scrolling board!!

[tomsteve]

gotta second the flying dutchman blade choice. reverse tooth blades seem to lift the work off the table for me, too. i started using two-way cut blades from f.d. i like them. instead of pushing the work into the blade, try letting the blade do the work and turn the work piece so the blade tracks along the line.

[Guy]

Hi Kevin;
I've taken your advice and ordered the assortment from Mike's Workshop, Inc, thank you for the recommendation and the compliment on the Diana Bust.

Thank you Neal for the very nice and encouraging words on the Bust, it's my first attempt at the neo-classical style, the inspiration for the carving was from the Ideal Works of Hiram Powers in 1852. I've been working on it off and on since last September and plan to finish it as soon as I send something to the IRS...man I'm running out of time to "get-er-done"

Thanks for the tip tomsteve, I thought something was wrong but turning the work piece a little is normal.

HappY Trails
Bill
^v^