First Fretwork piece, Man this is tuff.

[Troy]

Ok,

Hi everyone first time poster here. I'm a new scroller and have taken much of the advice from reading this board and others and am currently working my way through the scroll saw workbook by John Nelson.

I've done well through the first few excercises and have now made it to the first fretwork piece the butterfly. Exercise #4. Man that thing is the tuffest thing I've ever tried to do.

Needless to say my first attempt at it was a complete butcher job. Hopefully some of you can shed some light. A few things I discovered along the way.

1. I drilled out my for my fret pieces, and the first thing I've discovered is that the drill frays the paper and packing tape a bit and can result in masking exactly where some of my lines are...how do I correct this?

2. There's alot of tight corners in this what are some of the ways people have tackled tight v type turns?

3. I'm learning to go slow and so far I can tell that it's almost best to keep moving the whole time as opposed to stop and back up to where I wandered off the line, as that almost always means I'm gonna have a bump or something like it as opposed to a nice smooth cut surface, I'm sure it's just more practice as if i seem to cut inside the line and try to make way back to the line, sometimes the blade corrects itself nicely and other time too quickly it's a tricky feel...

Any help and tips?

Thanks,
Troy

[Silver_Sliver]

Troy:

As to your first question, how big of a drill are you using? Use the smallest bit that will accept your blade.

The second question: I usually cut into the point of the "V", then back up and come into the "V" along the other line. Then when the little piece of waste falls out I can turn my work and I have a nice sharp point. I hope this helps.

Third item: If you haven't wandered too far off the line, it may not be noticeable in the final product. Just don't make the correction too fast, make it look like that was the way it should be. All of theis come with practice, practice and more practice. Don't give up. You will eventually like what you have accomplished.

[jttheclockman]

TROY


Silver Sliver nailed it right on the head and gave you good advise and the one thing that is real important in his words is the word "PRACTICE" Good things come to people who work at them and in no time you will be picking up your own style and be turning out professional looking pieces too. You want to use the bit that will not splay out into the pattern but you do not have to use the exact bit for the blade because it gets hard to find the hole at times. (I am going to get letters I know it.) John Nelson gives alot of good advise in the book. Maybe read through it again now that you have some taste of what to look for. Happy Scrolling and don't give up it will come.

[CanadianScroller]

All good advice here so far Troy
Welcome to your first post.

I tend to drill holes closer to the middle of the cutout.
There is a little more cutting to do when you do that but cutting is fun
Also if the hole is drilled too close to the line it is hard to get rid of the drill mark.
I read on this forum where someone marks the back of the piece with a sharpie pen to highlight the holes for ease of threading the blade. Sounds good to me.
Remember getting enjoyment out of the act of scrolling is just as important as getting the satisfaction of the finished piece.
Have fun.

[Troy]

Thanks the tips helped alot It took me three tries but here's how it looks after my third attempt.

What I landed up doing for all my tight corners was simply cut to the corner...back away a bit and trim out a small piece about the width of my blade...stop...turn the piece and back in the blade and then head off on the new line. Not sure if it's the best way but it worked for me.

[Rivari]

Looks pretty dog gone good Troy, I think your doing the right thing by using some tutorial guidance and reinforcing it through dialog here on the forum. Happy scrolling!

[jttheclockman]

Ha Ha you are hooked. Good job and now just keep practicing your method and it will gt easier and you will learn to read the grain of the wood and how it is easier to cut acroos grain than with grain, in fact some woods heavely grained will have a tendency to pull the blade to make it follow it. You will learn this. Good luck and Happy Scrolling.

[Sparhawk]

Looks great, Troy. Keep it up!

[Woodbutcher68]

Looks good Troy!
I use Silver Sliver's method when I need a sharp, narrow "V". As you progress, you'll learn a few ways to thread the scrolling needle! I know I'll never stop learning!

[CanadianScroller]

Sweet work

That is awesome Troy. You do Canada proud. I wont even ask you what kind of saw you have
I already know. Keep up the great work.
You know the difference between a beginner and a scroller with more experience?
Well don't ask me I thought the job you did was a real pro!

[sheltiecarver]

Way cool, Troy!
Will you use it for a trivet, or will it hang on the wall?
Now, what are you going to tackle next?
I'll bet it will come easier after all that practice you got on this one!
Sandy

[Troy]

Thanks a ton for all the nice replies...

really helps to motivate a beginner..I'm actually tackling for my next project the keychain names from the latest issue of the scroll saw magazine. I've completed a couple so far and learned a few new things..

Troy

[robertlmaukjr]

You did a nice job on that "flutterby" Troy. Keep up the good work.

What kind of saw do you, and the other guys, have?

Troy, have you tried the round, omni-cut blades to "rough out" your openings and then change to a straight cut for your "V" cuts? Keeps from a lot of backing up and also breakage.

Bob

[Greenfield_Bob]

Troy, don't try to do any cutting that is to hard for you. Years ago when I first started scrolling I made a try at something that was to hard for me at the time and I almost stopped cutting because of it, just take your time and have fun.

Bob