Just cut my first 'thing'

[Mreco99]

Hi Guys

At long last just cut my first proper 'thing' on my new scroll saw. It was only a number 3 on a 1 inch piece of ash, but i love it lol.

So many questions, but how do i clean the cut wood? it's a bit dusty and i don't think running it under the tap is a good idea.

Also I need to learn what to finish it with, what will make the grain really pronounced. Any tips on finishes?

 

[whatknot]

Why not post a picture of your "thing" ;-)

1" ash is not the easiest thing to start off with , I assume you mean a No3 blade size?

As to cleaning the wood, assuming you sanded before cutting, the better the blade the less the cleaning you will find

I use a fairly soft brush to brush the piece over, and canned air if needed, or a vacuum cleaner with the soft brush attachment

There are oodles of ways to finish a piece, most will bring out the grain

I will often use thinned sanding sealer first which seals and gives you a nice surface for a last fine sanding

I tend to use spray lacquer the most for a finish, its easy to apply and a few thin coats does the job nicely without giving that very high gloss you get from varnishes

But my suggestion would be to experiment with different finishes, boiled linseed oil, danish oil, stains, lacquer, varnish etc will all give a different finish

I don't think anyone will be able to tell you what suits you, as we are all different with different tastes

And of course whether its to be used, displayed or whatever

You will get a fair idea of how the grain will look by a wipe with a damp cloth

 

[Mreco99]

Thanks Whatknot for all the tips

1 inch ash, i realise its not as easy as thin bit of pine, i did a little practising on a bit of ply before jumping in at the deep end lol. It was nothing special, just a shape with some curved in it. When i said "Completed my first piece", i may have over played it lol

I think the blade is a No7, I say think because i have a mixed pack of Pegas blades, and whilst they are nicely numbered on the packet, when they are out the packet i can't see how you can tell which blade it was. If i drop them all on the floor ive had it.

Was a No.7 (90.408) regular tooth, not the best choice? The wood i cut was pretty smooth, i was impressed. But i know almost nothing.

 

[whatknot]

You will find that the best blade is often the one you have fitted ;-)

Personally I think there is a lot of overhype on blades

I tend to use mostly 3 & 5 reverse skip tooth , the reverse cleans the cut from the bottom

I do have a variety of other blades but mostly use the aforementioned but then I do not cut a great deal of 1" and when I do its pine as a rule, my wallet doesn't stretch to buying timber unless I have to

There are several blade selection charts out there, the attached is as good as the others

There are a couple of you tube videos which are worth checking out if you have not done so already

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Kf9h2CXJ0

And part two of same

 

[Mreco99]

Thanks for that.
I haven't got a 10,11 or 12 so will have to think about that.
So my No.7 i tried might be a little small

I want to make stuff for outside use, so needs to be UV and water repellant. Ive seen some videos and i think oils are not so good for outside use. More varnishes and poly' something' layers might be better?

 

[Mreco99]

Any other feedback on that appreciated.