There were 45 members and 6 guest present at the May meeting. We added five new members this week. President Peasley asked the visitors to introduce themselves. We had 6 enthusiastic guests several whom signed up to join the club.
Announcements
John Slezak was presented with a gorgeous hand-crafted wood and plexiglass plaque to thank him for the many years of dedication and service to the club and her members. As luck would have it on John’s Birthday so the members spontaneously sang their woeful rendition of Happy Birthday to John.
As stated last month the club in a desire to share the wealth with members a drawing was held among the 7 applicants for an educational grant of up to $1,000. V.P Tom lined up the contestants Miss America style so all could watch one lucky club member’s face when he won. As luck would have it the winner, Mario Fajardo, was not present for the big reveal, he ruptured his achilles and was home with his leg up. We expect that he will tell us all about his intended school plans for the learnings demo at our next meeting.
More Rosewood blanks are available for the bowl project. They will be passed out after the meeting. This is a very powerful and valuable community effort where 97% of what is raised goes to the cause.
Presentation:
Terry Bair: FWWC resident scroll saw wizard presented on tools and techniques for high quality and efficient scroll sawing.
Terry recommends using an Olsen reverse tooth blade where the top portion cuts down and the very bottom cuts up to eliminate tear out. See pic at the end of this article.
Terry showed us his technique by cutting out a Christmas tree.
He does no drill out circles, he cuts them put to eliminate bit tear out.
It is very important to plan the sequence of your cuts starting in the middle and working out, to maintain stability of the piece
Get to know your equipment, what way does your blade lean, it will inform everything that you do
There is no need to sand inside cuts and very little need to sand outside cuts if you do it right. For very tight corners you can back of and circle back from the other side or nibble away at the corner.
Before starting the perimeter cut double check that all interior cuts are complete. The slower you go the smother the cut. Keep your tabletop clean, a little bit of saw dust can throw you off, and keep the blade tight, you will need to tighten it up during the cut.
Starting with a puzzle is a good way to learn technique and there are no mistakes on a puzzle!
Terry shared some of his favorite projects, the Olsen Blade guides, his recommended blades and some of his favorite pieces that he has worked on.
Blade needs to be square to the table, lifting and moving the saw will take it out of square
Terry will stone round the back of the blade for very tight cuts
Equipment from $100 – $3,000 for $5-600 you can get a very high quality saw and 3 legged table, for stability. He like Dewalt, best value for the money.
Considerations:
- When you start out go for the $100 saw, when you get serious go to $600
- Flexible dust blower, for control and direction
- Variable speed control is important
- Ryobi drill press can hold very small bits
- Saw Table should be tilt able
Blade Mfg process determines which way the cuts will drift, PGT = Precision Ground Teeth (heat treated before grinding) dont drift, but cost about $45/144 blades.
Terry recommends Scroll Saw magazine for ideas and learning. There are many resources and books available on the internet.
Pre-sand before starting
Use spray glue to apply the pattern over blue painters tape to minimize tearout and make it easy to remove the pattern.
When making Christmas ornaments he cuts through a stack of thin stock. Plywood is very hard on blades.
Terry gave us all the information required to work up the courage to attempt intricate scroll sawing, now if we can just remember half of it! It was a very entertaining and informative presentation.
Here are some of his favorite projects:
We are signed up for the Hartville Tools discount. Instructions were sent out you will need to go to their website to opt in. Discount will be applied at check out on full price merchandise purchased direct. Going through Amazon will not get the discount.
Al Brown’s hands-on turning workshop was a big success with the students showing significant continued interest. Follow up session have been scheduled. Thanks Al for sharing this is a fabulous opportunity for club members!
Show & Tell
Show & Tell, had a very large turn out this month, with 15 “objects and presentations”.
John Peasley: Intarsia white horse (Thank you gift to Joe Mannke)
and his first Band Saw box and Apple with a worm. Nice!
Tim Sullivan: Edge Banding Iron. A quilters tool is also the perfect edge banding iron
Randy Cooper: End Grain cutting boards: Very interesting patterns
Terry Bair: Multiple Christmas Tree Scroll Saw decorations
Bob Parrish: Intricate “Dizzy Bowl” made from 61 stripes of thin glued up wood
Fred Damianos: Lidded Sapele and Cuban Mahogany Bowl, along with a kick back warning
Marv Stoltzfus: Mini Baseball bat stand with Baseball, using Carter’s perfect sphere tool
Neil McCullough: BB Gun targets with remote control re-sets
Dennis Daudelin: A big red editors Pencil, but we didn’t see any errors
Thelma Proctor: Small box with nice chip carved design
Jim Basset: Duck Table presentation, let’s face it Jim and Carole are artists as much as wood workers
Susan Darovec: Carved Rosewood bowls, from a tree felled by Irma
John Pugh: (Love/Hate Nova chuck) But still a nice party bowl
Mike Dummett: Foot Stool Tiger wood to accommodate a Garden Bench Glider
Greg Casagrande: HDPE table saw sled crosscut
Closing Announcement;
Bowl project see Marvin for more wood blanks. Don’t forget 97% of profits go to the cause!