Creative Woodworks & crafts-111-2005-Holiday, страница 31

window, and I fully intended to try and capture that feeling in the cutting. About eight hours into the design process, however, I realized there was no way it was going to work out the way I had envisioned. If you think about it, stained glass is comprised of a number of little pieces making up a picture, while a cutting is one solid piece. The lines from the glass simply made the pattern too busy. I was able to retain the facial features that are clearly derived from stained glass works of art, but the similarities end there. If you would like to try this cutting as a segmentation or marquetry piece, please contact me at the address provided at the end of this article and I will send you the pattern with all the original lines.

Example of veneer on a typical oak ply board coming loose during a

tutting; the use of a high quality oak plywood, such as the one included with the supplies list, should help minimize this problem,

For those of you who have read my previous articles, you know I have been experimenting with using oak ply for my cuttings, so I decided I should cut this piece in oak and show you how the experiment is going. I have learned a lot since the first piece of oak ply found its way onto rny saw. Some of these lessons can save you from making the same mistakes I made.

When comparing oak with Baltic birch, there are several advantages and drawbacks. The advantages to oak include: a prettier wood grain; it doesn't fuzz as much: it doesn't scorch as easily; and the wood is more recognizable to customers. The drawbacks to oak include: if is MUCH more brittle; loose veneer pieces don't show up until you begin cutting; it doesn't drill as cleanly on the back side; and it is thicker. Also, quality oak plywood can be difficult to locate (see supplies list for a suggested resource). It really is a matter of personal preference whether you choose the oak ply or the Baltic birch.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1.1 selected a piece of I /8"-thick oak plywood for this cutting and stacked it with a piece of l/8"-thick Baltic birch so it would be easier to find the holes on the back side and feed the blade through them. At the time of cutting, a high quality oak plywood was not available to me. The cabinet grade of oak ply I used has a back thai is very similar to luan. It doesn't drill cleanly and if splinters, making the holes very difficult to feed through regardless of the number of times you run the drill bit through it. I have found that a piece of Baltic birch stacked on the back of the oak will make it MUCH easier to find and use your holes.

Once you have selected your piece of wood and sized it appropriately, I strongly recommend sanding the wood before applying the pattern. This pattern contains many pieces with minimal support, and they won't stand up to

sanding after the cutting has been completed. After sanding, apply a fairly heavy coat of sproy adhesive to the back of the pattern and attach it to the wood. I know the idea of applying a heavy ccat of spray adhesive will raise a few eyebrows, but we'll deal with removing the pattern later. Let's make sure we have enough glue on the pattern to keep it properly attached and cross the removal bridge when we get to if!

Step 2. Take a minute to plan your order of cuts. I like to snake long cuts through my designs to add a iittle challenge for bcth myself and you. the reader. Occasionally these long snaking cuts can cause problems if you haven't taken the time to thoroughly examine the pattern. Once you have a game plan, you are ready to head for the drill press and to drill your entry holes for each cut.

Because I cut this piece using No. 2/0 Flying Dutchman spiral blades, I drilled the entry holes using a No. 68 bit. Most of the cuts in this piece could have been cut using a larger blade but because my wood stack was only 1/4" thick and I don't like having to change the drill bit for different size blades, I chose to use a smaller blade to help with the aggressiveness of the spiral.

When scrolling there are often several ways to accomplish the same task. Select the blade and bit you prefer. If there is an area of the design you don't like or are not comfortable with, feel free to change it to suit your taste. Like all patterns, this pattern is a guidebook, not a rule book. If you feel there are too many cuts in a certain area, remove some by not drilling them. Want a iittle more support for a piece? Grab a white-ouf pen and thicken the line. Want a little less wood showing? Pencil in a different lire. Make it your cutting. Now, drill your holes, and I'll meet you at the saw!

Step 3. Generally speaking, I like to start my cuttings as close to the center of the design as possible. I usually locate an area close to the center that I think has a chance of breaking and start in that area. That way, if the cutting does break, it does so before I've invested too much time in it. With that in mind, I chose to start with what is probably a water trough serving as a cradle for the infant Jesus. Initially, a few little cuts must be made, but once those are completed, you can make the large cut and be well on your way. Trace out each cut, either in your mind or with your finger, and make sure you have found all the little cuts through which those large cuts weave before you start cutting the big ones. You will find scrolling this piece to be challenging but quite doable.

The most difficult cuts tc make are the long straight ones emerging from the star. Believe it or not, speeding up the rate at which you feed the wood into the blade can actually make the process easier. Try to make those cuts as fast as you can comfortably feed the wood into the blade. (My feed rate almost doubles when cutting those long straight lines.) It may sound crazy, but you will find it will be easier to cut a line that is at least fairly straight if you speed up your feed rate. If necessary, use the spiral to "sand out" some of the little wiggles to straighten the lines. It took me about 9-1/2 hours to make the 196 cuts this pattern contains (on my second attempt). The first time I tried tc cut this pattern. I found a minor design flaw that turned into a major cutting catastrophe! Fortunately, i corrected that part of the design. You should be able to cu1 this piece in approximately 9 to 10 hours. Step 4. Congratulations! You have completed the hard purt, and you'll soon have a beautiful work of art. At fhis point, remove some of the dust using your preferred method. 1 like

continued on page 32