cutting and shaping are so difficult :/

[peterfawzy]

hello,
i tried my first intarsia project but i found that cutting and shaping are soooo hard ...and also sooo slow .. will i get better or what ?
thanks

[dedijerry]

No doubt Peter! What type of wood are you cutting? What type of Intarsia project are you doing? Attach some pics maybe we can help!

[Oges]

Are you doing the shaping by hand or power tools?

[Rolf]

It will all get faster, I ask the same ? as Brett Jerry.
Type of wood , tools used and level of detail all play into this.

[w.2014.h]

Stick with it! I spend more time shaping then I do cutting and that takes a lot of time in big projects. I also ask the same things and how much are you trying to shape/take off the pieces?

[peterfawzy]

i use pine softwood 1 inch thickness and yes i use a drill with a sander to sand the pieces to the line but that is tooo slow and difficult ... also i can not stick to the line while i am cutting .. and after cutting i don not know which areas i should sand :P .... forgive me guys but this is my first attempt in intarsia ... i thought it would be much easier than that

[peterfawzy]

o and im trying to make a pear ( carton one)

[Forester21]

If you go to the top of the posts in Intarsia, Segmentation, and Inlay section of the forum, there are a number of "sticky" threads - including a few on Challenges. Here's the link to the latest: http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/int...tion/33869.htm

Read through those for a lot of hints and tips. And if you post pictures here of your project and ask for suggestions people will answer.

You said that you cut and then sand to the line?? That is doing it the hardest way possible in my opinion. And pine is actually a tough wood to cut - not that it is hard, but that it has rings (grain) in it that throws off the blade when you cut.
Try cutting a wood like Poplar, keep your blade tension correct, let the blade do the work for you (don't push the wood, just guide it along). Cut on the line and take it slow - you will save the time by not having to sand to fit.

I found it easier to start with a segmentation project. Once I got used to the shaping on those, I worked my way up to intarsia.
T

[Jan]

Janette Square did a series of articles in the "other magazine" (Creative Woodworking & Crafts) about the intarsia process. The first involves wood choices and pattern placement and the series works its way through to finishing. I think you will find it very helpful. I'm sure the back issues are available on their site.

I have found that looking at the pictures of the finished projects has helped me a lot with shaping. If the project is in one of the magazines with instructions, be sure to study the pictures with the article. You can learn a lot from them.

Theresa is absolutely right about blade tension. It is nearly impossible to follow a line if the blade is not tight enough. There should be less than 1/8" flexion when you push the blade gently sideways. Most of us feel that a blade that is too tight is much better than a blade that is loose. You will find that woods like poplar, aspen, butternut, walnut and mahogany are much easier to cut and shape than pine.

Mostly, remember that this is FUN!

Jan

[peterfawzy]

o i got what you said all ... but i guess the finished project after sanding and shaping will hide some of the mistakes i have done ... right?
and thanks for your support guys

[jim_mex]

Hi Peter - thanks for posting. By telling about your problems on the board you'll receive plenty of help in return.

Just a few pointers.

Don't feel disillusioned that you can't come up with the goods first time around. You're definitely not on your own. Many newcomers have raised the same frustrations as yours and after some help from folks on the forum have gone on to produce really good quality work.

My input is as follows and its no coincidence that I'm repeating some of the points already raised since many of them were given to me when I joined this forum and first started scrolling.

When you are beginning start simple and if possible use a good book or tutorial such as those in the Stickies to point you in the right direction. For a really simple start have a look at my toucan tutorial in the Challenges which is accompanied by a slide show guide.

I agree 100% with Theresa on the choice of pine. Unless you are using very clean white pine it can be a pig to cut because of the hard grain rings. You are much better using poplar or maybe western red cedar. I suggest you also use 3/4" stock rather than 1"

Good quality blades and correct tension are absolute musts. If possible us a reverse tooth blade - a #3 or a #5 size should be fine for this type of wood thickness. Blade tesion should be suffcient to give about 1/8" maximum deflection side to side when pushing a 1/2" thick piece of wood against the blade.

When cutting do not excessively feed the wood into the blade. Use a slow to medium speed, hold your wood firmly down to the table with your finger tips and concentrate on gentle and fluid feeding movements. As your skill increases you can up the saw speed if you wish.

Newer try to cut with a dull blade! If in doubt change it for a new one.

One question here - did you try cutting segmentation before intarsia?
If not I suggest you do as this will give you practice in cutting and sticking to a pattern line without having to worry too much about fitting pieces together afterwards. With segmentation its usually easy to cut a pattern and then put most of your concentration into the shaping. With intarsia you have to deal with both cutting and shaping issues which as a newcomer might prove to be too daunting at first.

For shaping, look at all of the challenges in the sticky threads. They contain tutorials which guide newcomers on shaping issues and include many excellent photos of pieces in the threads where shaping techniques can be seen. They also contain a load of questions from scrollers asking how to shape a piece and show the answers and tips given. My take is that shaping is something you work your way into and experiment with and develop as you take on each new project. Sooner or later you will develop a style which gives a result you feel comfortable with so don't be too worried if your first pieces are not coming out exactly as you want.

The most important tip I can give is to post pictures of your work or your problems and ask for advice. You'll get plenty of help and advice that way.

Cheers!

[woodwizard]

peter, you need to work on your patience more than your cutting. it will get better,i promise.

[Fran1942]

I still have some trouble shaping and visualizing how it should look. The cutting just takes practice. Don't give up, each try will be better than the last.
Fran