This question is for Neil Moore

[drm3395]

I am new to scroll sawing. I just received my first book and in it has the projects that you did of the racoon and fox. "Ultimate Scrolling Patterns Collection"

My question is, there are no instructions and by the pictures it is hard to see how you cute the different pieces. Can you help me out here? I have a child that went nuts over the racoon and I am a fox lover.

Thank yo so much.

Debbie Letford

[lucky788scroller]

Welcome aboard. Well, i am not Neal Moore (farrr from it actually), but I will try the best I can to help you out until he can. Choose a nice, light grained board, 3/4inch thick is perfect. Think of the project, and which way the hair lays on the real animal, and orient your grain direction to best give it a lifelike appearance once done. apply a layer of clear packing tape on the surface of your board, and apply spray adhesive on the pattern and stick that on top of the tape. Choose a blade, a small blade, like a #3 or #1 , because you want a small saw kerf because the pieces will fit back together nicely.Start pretty much anywhere you wish, and cut one piece off at a time, follow the lines as best you can, and dont get discouraged if you cant stay perfectly on the lines, only you will know that later.It doesnt really matter where you choose to start, jut cut one piece free at a time, and piece the thing back together again on the table. workbench or whatever (an old cakepan works nice it your afraid of pieces sliding onto the floor).One piece at a time, until your whole project is cut apart. On parts such as eyes, where a seperate blade entry hole are needed, drill as small as possible hole to insert your blade, or another option in a segmentation project is just to cut into that section from the other one, keeping in mind where that extra cut line will not be a distraction once finished.
After you have it al cut and pieced back together, take it back apart, one piece at a time (if you feel needed, mark the back of each piece to remember front/back) and remove the pattern.As you do this, place each piece in seperate piles, based on the color you plan to make each, light, med, dark, ect. Once all the pieces are sperated and patterns removed, your ready to color them.
This should hopefully get you on your way Debbie, and If you want will continue into coloring the pieces, and reassembling them after staining. Dont be intimidated, segmentation is really fun and looks so much harder then it really is, and once the project is complete they are awesome! I will attach a photo of the racoon I did,altered Neals plan a little but I liked the outcome. Feel free to ask questions, we are here to help, and at a great price too (FREE!!) Dale

[Rivari]

Dale that is a great variation of Neal's "Ratcoon".

Debbie, Dale has posted some good advice here and I am sure Neal will quickly chime in...he's that sort of guy. For what it is worth I have cut Neal's patterns and they are addicted as all get out, definately worth the minor expense of buying his book and getting all of his advice in writing.

[Neal Moore]

Debbie....Dale gave you just about all the basics you need; however, if you have specific questions or problems as you work on the projects just Email me and we'll work through them as you go. I'm happy you like the patterns and am more than pleased to help. BTW, welcome to the board and I hope you will visit with us often.

[SawTooth]

Neal,
I bought "Animal Portraits in Wood" and I look forward to completing some projects from there. I have a question about the assembly method shown. You demonstrate using a lot of hot glue. How do you get the completed projects to lay flat?

Spence

[BobD (Archive)]

Hi Spence,
Neal isn't on the board as often during the summer (he spends a lot of time at his camp). I'll see if I can get ahold of him and ask him to respond.

Bob Duncan
Technical Editor

[Neal Moore]

My completed projects don't really lie flat on the backers in the frame. I use a fairly heavy application of silicon clear caulk between the portrait and the backer to glue it down. I once used 5/8 inch brads in a brad nailer and shot them through the back of the backer into the back of the portrait but the silicon works better in making the portrait lie flatter.

[SawTooth]

I'm a little surprised at your answer... but thanks for the reply. I am used to the back of a project being basically flat (of course, except for parts raised away from the back). Maybe when I've completed some projects from your book I'll be able to see how it differs from other projects I've done.

Spence

[workin for wood]

That answer surprises me too. I'd be curious to see one of those in person.

[BobD (Archive)]

I've got Neal's tiger (the first one he did for the magazine) in my office. Looking at it (framed) it has almost a shadow-box look...It really looks a lot like a relief carving that was deeply undercut.

Bob

[f250]

So Bob, being the all powerful editor you are, you could post a couple pictures here for all of us to see?

Tom

[BobD (Archive)]

The camera is on location today...I'll try to snap some tomorrow (in all my spare time...<GRIN>)

Bob

[minowevie]

well I should stay out of this, but just can't. laying flat after cutting is not what segmentation is . the pieces are all cut from one piece of wood. or maybe not. unlike intasia. where each piece is cut from differant woods. and thickness's. segmentation is cut from one piece, and one thickness. so you have to raise and lower the pieces to get the dimition. I think that is what Neal is talking about . when he explains the nails and fillers. to hold the pieces up. its kindof like cutting the piece out. then raising some of the pieces up. to creat the dimention. then holding them all together, in that way. filling the back to fill in the holes they will leave between the backer to the pieces. to hold them up. the cool thing about segmentation. is you can do this in any wood. pine for a exsampale. you don't wont to use a wide blade so not to make a wide kerf. but can be done on any saw. then you can color the pieces to anything you wish the piece to portray. unlike intasia. where the wood is the color, and grain. just lifting the pieces is the gole. that is something you can figure out yourself. some how hot glueing them together to keep them up till the filler is made behind them, gosh Hope this makes sence. its like cutting something out, then putting your fingure behind the cuttings, and push up. making it dimentional. and filling in the space. hope this helped some. I love semetation. and Neal has made some great patterns. your friend Evie

[lucky788scroller]

Again, Im not Neal Moore, but hopefully this will help you out.Attached is a picture of the front of the ratcoon I did, as well as a photo of the back of that same piece.I started with one piece of maple, and a pretty fine blade (#1 FD-TC I think) .Saw was set at square to the table for everything except the frame, where the table was tilted so as to create a frame with a tight fit around the oval.After cutting, and staining to the desired colors, the pieces were carefully glued together at the desired heights. After the whole thing was glued up, and because I too wanted it flat on the back, I wrapped around that oval frame with a couple rounds of masking tape to make it fit tightly within the oval waste piece from the original board. This also held the whole thing a little bit up higher than the waste piece. Because the nose area stuck so far down,I double face taped a couple strips of wood on the front side so the nose was up and not resting on the table.Then, with my Performax drum sander, I passed it through until the back was flat enough for my tastes. The dark areas on the photo of the backside are the areas that protrude out the front the most, and I didnt feel the need to keep sanding until that was gone, but I certainly could have without any ill effects.It hangs flat against the wall this way, and because the ratcoons head is fitted back into its surrounding wood, it almost appears as if hes real, and poking his head out right at you.
I dont know if that made total sense to you, or if you have access to a sander like Ive used, but the technique was rather simple actually. If you need any more help (even though Im not Neal), I will try the best I can. Good luck with it!

[workin for wood]

I totally understand it all, jacking up and everything else involoved, I was only surprise by the use of silicone as an adhesive. Silicone will hold, no doubt, and has flexibility which can be a bonus, but you get any on the finish surface and it ruins the finish. That was my only thought. Laying flat to me, simply means the back of the picture is flat where it would adhere to a backer, plaque or whatever else. So, I don't recommend Silicone or even let it in my shop, but that's just me, and I don't tell everyone else what to do, as there is always more than one way to skin a cat!