Entry holes larger than blade

[BrianA]

I have not done much fret work. I drilled a #55 hole and am using a #5 blade, But when I look at the back i see every entry hole. How do I aviod that.
Brian

[mtwoodguy]

Are you placing the entry holes in the waste wood?

[BrianA]

Here is the front of the pic and I am trying to do the hair. Here is the back of the piece and you can see the entry holes. Sorry about shadow in pic

[NC Scroller]

Tough one to recover from. I take it your saw only allows you to bottom feed. I would have only drilled entry holes for the parts you were going to have to cut and then after cutting I would have drilled the other holes.

[BrianA]

Not looking to recover from it. But how do you do this in the middle of the pic without drill holes showing?

[markdavd]

This can be a problem when you are cutting a line - also known as veining. You need the hole size to be as close to the blade size as possible. I picked up a set of micro 150 drill bits from Amazon for around $10.00 a few years ago. These bits go much smaller than #55.

The other option would to try to put the hole somewhere less obvious - in the middle of the line rather than at end of the cut.

You can search on "Scroll Saw Veining" using your favorite search engine to get a lot of articles on the topic.

If I may suggest, after drilling the holes sand the back to removed the splinters left from the drill bit. It makes it easier to feed the blade.

[BrianA]

Thanks all

[Sandy Oaks]

I see you are using a #5 blade. A #56 Micro drill bit is recommended. Maybe a smaller blade and drill bit.

[Rolf]

A few ?s
How thick is your wood
What brand is the #5 blade.
for something like this especially the hair I would use a a small spiral blade and a drill just big enough to fit the blade through.
Or if you want to use a straight blade a 2R (Olson or similar) and a #68 drill and as Markdavd said put the drill hole in a less obvious place such as in the middle of the line so that you can blend the hole in.

I also highly recommend sanding the bottom after drilling and before cutting. You want the wood to lay as flat as possible on the table.

[BrianA]

Thanks all. I think I will go back over with spiral blade to hide the holes

[NC Scroller]

Brian there is one more trick that works in some situations. Drill and entry hole of each end of the line. It gives the line balance and it makes it look like a part of design.

[BrianA]

I used a spiral blade to try and hide the entry holes. Used 2 sizes as I thought the wide lines were too big. Lots of mistakes but recovered somewhat. Cherry and maple frame.

[NC Scroller]

Only you see mistakes. Nice job.👍

[Rolf]

That looks just Fine! We are our own worst critics. Beautiful frame.

[Tango]

I try to put the drill hole right where two lines intersect. That hides the drill hole. If I can't do that then the cut on the top side of the hole and back up the blade and then recut the bottom of the hole. Each time I tapper back to the original line. This makes it look like part of the pattern and hides the actual drill hole. It can be time consuming and tricky to learn, but I like how it will hide the drill hole.