Creative Woodworks & crafts 2004-09, страница 19

then you may be ovcrcorrecting (see Fig. 5). If you go off the pattern line a little, just relax and slowly bring the blade back to the pattern line again. Don't hurry it so much that you end up bouncing back and forth across the pattern line. I've also found that trying to cut very, very slowly and carefully doesn't seem to work well. I think this is the result of taking too much lime and making loo many corrections, which produces a bumpy circle.

Keep in mind that you will most likely end up with some imperfections, and as long as they aren't too major you can (Isanti them out when you're done (see Fig. 6). If you're like me, . though, the less sanding required the better. 1 always try to do limy best with the cutting, but on those days when nothing is working right and I'm constantly fighting with the blade, the || wood, and the pattern line... I think it's a good idea lo just take i a break! Go for a walk, have a cup of coffee, or whatever. When T come back to the saw, things usually do go better.

There are a few other scroll sawing basics that will help with culling circles, such as: always be sure to square up your table to your blade (see Fig. 7); and set your tension tight enough so

your blade doesn't have much side-to-side movement. Both of these steps help ensure that the blade goes straight up and down through the. wood. When you are choosing wood for a project, try to find a good flat piece, because warped wood makes circle culling much harder. Beginners may find it easier to use woods thai don't have a heavy grain pattern. In woods like oak and pine, you need to be aware that the grain can affect the feed rate as you cut across the harder and softer areas. Also, your blade can tend to follow the grain lines as you are cutting in the same direction as the grain (see Fig. 8).

Cutting circles is a challenge. It can be frustrating and it does take some practice. The good news is: the more circles you cut, the better you will get at it. So, even if you want to hurry up and burn your first attempts before anyone else sees them (like I did)... just keep practicing. After all, how hard can it be? All you have to do is follow the line)

For questions concerning this article, send an SASE to: Karen Boelman, PO Box 701, Platteville WI 53818. Email: dirk-draws@CenturyTel.net ^

Fig. 3. Cutting wide of the curve may mean that your saw is cutting faster than you are actually turning the material. In this case, you need to either slow down your feed rate or turn faster.

the wood and act as a pivot point, while the other hand (not shown here) steers the wood.

Fig. 2. Try changing the position of your steering hand (here the right hand) as little as possible as you cut around the circle.

Fig. 4. If you are cutting inside the pattern line, you are probably turning faster than your saw is cutting. Increasing your feed rate or turning slower should help.

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