Noob Questions

[nimu]

Hi,

Please forgive the basic questions. I have just bought a scroll saw (Ryobi, eBay, £20) and would like to get some wood to go with it!

I would like to make my son some nice chunky jigsaw puzzles and suchlike - building blocks, small houses, maybe a castle etc. Where do I buy wood? I have searched for a woodyard locally and can't find anything. I have been to Yandles which was wonderful but far too far away to go again!

I suppose the bigger question would be what sort of wood do I need? A lot of the puzzles I see are made of Lime, is this easily available? Anything else you would recommend? I have hand made a few small trees from random offcuts from the Yandles bargain bin but I've no idea what they actually are :laugh:

Any suggestions on what saw blades / other accessories I may need? Sandpaper, obviously. I'm going to paint them with watercolours and I make my own beeswax / olive oil polish as it's child friendly.

I am currently in Cambridgeshire but go back and forward to Kent a lot, so anywhere local to either would be good.

Any recommendations for a good beginners book probably wouldn't go amiss either.

Thanks in advance,
Clare.

 

[Roy Clarke]

Cambridgshire is a big place, so there are a few places that may be within reach.

I am new to this scroll saw business though many years ago before secondary school even, I used to play with a Hobbies tredal machine, so perhaps not so new. I think the best starting material is birch plywood. You should be able to get offcuts from timber merchants. I avoid the far eastern ply as splinters are something I don't want to have added to the problems at the moment. Many users seem to stick clear packing tape over their wood as it helps lubricate the cutting. I must try it sometime.

Post some photos of your work and we can help identify the wood.

Glad to see you make your own wax, I use beeswax and either tung oil or linseed oil. Both of these are ok as long as they are the raw types and not boiled. Boiled is a misnomer, and it has toxic drying agents added. If you look for linseed oil go to a high quality supplier, the cheaper stuff is sometimes cut with other oils. Tung and linseed is they are drying oils, but I don't know about olive.

You could try staining the wood with vegetable dyes as another possibility.

No 5 blades seem to cope with most work, though that may not be the case with puzzles, I like reverse toothed blades as there is no hairy underside to the cuts.

Keep us posted .

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Clare. You have posted some big questions. I endorse everything Roy has said. At the end of the day it is what you want to achieve, what you want to have a go at first. I use hardwoods for most of the things I make but also use birch plywood for making puzzles. Have a look at my facebook page, Wooden crafts from Wales, this will give you an idea of the things you can make. I would get some decent blades from Mikes workshop, Flying Dutchman ultra reverse will cope with most things and numbers 3, 5 and 7 and you will be well away to tackle most things. Before you make a start on expensive wood I would practice on scraps. Draw some lines on the scrap and just follow the lines, then try some angles lines where you have to back the blade up. If you want to send me a Pm I can let you know where to get planed wood at very good prices.

 

[Chippygeoff]

Roy. Glad to hear you are enjoying your new hobby, I think you will find it is very addictive. You gave an excellent reply to Clare's post, Just one thing, you will have Scrollerman screaming at you for using the word lubricate with regard to using clear packing tape to cover the wood. I used the same word and he tore me off a strip, he prefers to use the term, causing less friction between the blade and the wood. I use packing tape on all my hardwood patterns for as you stated Roy, It helps lubricate the blade and stops the wood burning, it also helps the blade go that bit faster.

 

[Roy Clarke]

:mrgreen: This should be fun then, I like discussing semantics, I can (hammer) for ages :wink:

The tape causes less friction, not surprising as most plastics are slippery things, like nylon (self lubricating bearings), and ptfe, another well known one. Packing tape is usually polyester or polypropylene, both of which have lubricating properties, so I am quite happy with the term lubricant.

Perhaps we should buy loads of the stuff and label it "Scroll saw lubricating tape" 8)

Would you say the tape reduces dust generation?

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Roy. I just stopped for a break from cutting another 1000 hearts for a customer. I loved your reply. The tape is a blessing in disguise. When I first started I had terrible problems with the wood burning and as a result the blades got very hot and then broke. A little research on one of the American forums solved the problem. I have found that kiln dried hardwoods can be very hard, especially ash and oak, both of which I use a lot. The clear packing tape on top of the pattern is so efficient in more ways than one. When the pattern is covered I push it all down very firmly otherwise sawdust can creep in under the tape making the line difficult to see. I feel the tape does help to reduce the amount of dust flying up from the cut, I would say almost all of it is confined to under the saw table, whereas when I am cutting birch ply, obviously without the lubricating tape, I find a lot more dust on top. It was only yesterday that I bought a huge amount of 2 inch rolls from Wilkinson's. I also find their 2 inch wide masking tape very good for covering the wood before I fix the pattern to it.

 

[nimu]

Thanks all for the useful pointers. Geoff - I sent you an email as I can't PM as yet. I love your tree & bird puzzles!

 

[Scrollerman]

It was only yesterday that I bought a huge amount of 2 inch rolls from Wilkinson's. I also find their 2 inch wide masking tape very good for covering the wood before I fix the pattern to it.

Let's hope they work or you'll be 'stuck' with them ! #-o

Maybe admin could make this a 'Sticky' ! :?:

 

[boysie39]

It was only yesterday that I bought a huge amount of 2 inch rolls from Wilkinson's. I also find their 2 inch wide masking tape very good for covering the wood before I fix the pattern to it.

Let's hope they work or you'll be 'stuck' with them ! #-o

Maybe admin could make this a 'Sticky' ! :?:

A sence of humor does help , =D> =D> It brightens up the day a little ,