SSWC 36 Cutting Elegant Spirals article discussion thread - Page 6 - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

Jim McDonald · 07-24-2009, 07:38 PM

I tried cutting the small pattern (7/16") dowel and shattered two #1 spirals before I got more than 1" cut in the pattern. The blades were as tight as any other time I've used that blade and I was holding fast to the fence and rotating slowly, so I have no idea what I was doing wrong.

I'd hate to think of using a bigger blade on such a little dowel. It seemd like that even a #1 was removing a fair amount of wood.

Bruce-P · 07-24-2009, 08:01 PM

Jim,

Hmmm - not sure what happened. Can you post a picture of the dowel? - that might help in solving the riddle. Also, what kind of saw to you use, and does it have an agressive forward bite or angle to the blade?

Just for getting the hang of the technique, you can take a larger dowel, 1" or larger, and wrap some skinny blue tape in a smooth spiral around the dowel at an angle such that the tape does not overlap itself. If you set the fence to 1/2 the diameter to the dowel and use one edge of the tape as a cutting line, you can generate the same kind of spiral form as in the small pattern, only on a dowel of larger diameter.
---------

Bruce

kldavis57 · 09-19-2009, 04:09 PM

I'm fairly new to scrollsawing and I'm intrigued by the thought of cutting the spiral candlesticks and giving them away as Christmas presents this year. I do have some questions regarding the video and magazine pictures. The auxilliary fence clamped to the scroll saw table appears to be at an angle. How is that angle determined? Do you line it up according to the pattern on the workpiece then clamp it in place? Also,
how critical is it to use the #3 spiral blades (which a lot of online vendors don't stock)? Would #2 or #4 spiral blades be acceptable substitutes?
Thanks for your time and attention.
K. L. D.

Bruce-P · 09-22-2009, 02:35 AM

K.L.D.,

Re: Fence angle - As long as you have the saw table at 0 degrees, the fence can actually be set at any angle; the key dimension is the distance from the blade to the fence. I usually have the fence parallel to the front of the table, but you can experiment to see if some other angle works better for you.

Re: Fence distance - take a look at figure 4 in the article. The fence-blade distance is set so when the dowel is placed firmly against the fence, the blade is lined up exactly on the vertical line in the circular end of the pattern. The fence can be held in place with C-clamps.

Re: Spiral blade size - doesn't really matter; the smaller the kerf, the more accurate you need to cut to separate the spirals; use what ever tpi suits you best, it just has to be a spiral blade.

Hope this helps.
---------------

Bruce P.

ntvinh986 · 10-12-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobD

Here is the place to discuss Bruce Pratt's article, Cutting Elegant Spirals.

Making a Simple Cutting Board - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts

That's pretty good. Have a blessed and great day guys!!!!

07-24-2009, 07:38 PM	#51
Jim McDonald Workin' for the Weekend Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: On the Other Side of the Monitor Posts: 940 Blog Entries: 6	I tried cutting the small pattern (7/16") dowel and shattered two #1 spirals before I got more than 1" cut in the pattern. The blades were as tight as any other time I've used that blade and I was holding fast to the fence and rotating slowly, so I have no idea what I was doing wrong. I'd hate to think of using a bigger blade on such a little dowel. It seemd like that even a #1 was removing a fair amount of wood. __________________ Jim Exuberance can be corrected; dullness is incurable. --E. Deters "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

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07-24-2009, 08:01 PM	#52
Bruce-P Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 108	Jim, Hmmm - not sure what happened. Can you post a picture of the dowel? - that might help in solving the riddle. Also, what kind of saw to you use, and does it have an agressive forward bite or angle to the blade? Just for getting the hang of the technique, you can take a larger dowel, 1" or larger, and wrap some skinny blue tape in a smooth spiral around the dowel at an angle such that the tape does not overlap itself. If you set the fence to 1/2 the diameter to the dowel and use one edge of the tape as a cutting line, you can generate the same kind of spiral form as in the small pattern, only on a dowel of larger diameter. --------- Bruce

09-19-2009, 04:09 PM	#53
kldavis57 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1	I'm fairly new to scrollsawing and I'm intrigued by the thought of cutting the spiral candlesticks and giving them away as Christmas presents this year. I do have some questions regarding the video and magazine pictures. The auxilliary fence clamped to the scroll saw table appears to be at an angle. How is that angle determined? Do you line it up according to the pattern on the workpiece then clamp it in place? Also, how critical is it to use the #3 spiral blades (which a lot of online vendors don't stock)? Would #2 or #4 spiral blades be acceptable substitutes? Thanks for your time and attention. K. L. D.

09-22-2009, 02:35 AM	#54
Bruce-P Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 108	K.L.D., Re: Fence angle - As long as you have the saw table at 0 degrees, the fence can actually be set at any angle; the key dimension is the distance from the blade to the fence. I usually have the fence parallel to the front of the table, but you can experiment to see if some other angle works better for you. Re: Fence distance - take a look at figure 4 in the article. The fence-blade distance is set so when the dowel is placed firmly against the fence, the blade is lined up exactly on the vertical line in the circular end of the pattern. The fence can be held in place with C-clamps. Re: Spiral blade size - doesn't really matter; the smaller the kerf, the more accurate you need to cut to separate the spirals; use what ever tpi suits you best, it just has to be a spiral blade. Hope this helps. --------------- Bruce P.