wood please =) and hello all!!

[JAYJAY]

hi everyone,

my names jay and i started scroll sawing about a year ago now but with my day job i've never really been able to do a great deal of it and would consider myself nothing more than absolute begginer, just recently though i've had a little more time to myself and thrown myself into it ...and lovin it too!! at the min i keep it very simple and have been making tree and window hangers for x-mas :ho2
i really like doing this type of thing and was wondering what sort of woods i should be using and where can i get them from? i have found somewhere that does a birch faced ply (6mm) and thats what i've been using, its great i've had some really good feedback, but cant help but wonder would they look even nicer in a solid wood like i'm seeing in the couple of books i have and the pics i see online. i get a little jealous and annoyed with all my online search's, when i think i'm onto a winner.......... only to find i'm looking at a US website (which is a real shame as some of them are fab) but pleeeaaaaase tell me there is a more local and conveniant place to buy and what are good woods to go for.
i'm sorry if the answer is staring me right in the face or if you've all answered this Q? a thousand times but like i say i am a total newbee to this so any help and advice would be greatly appreciated
mant thanks
Jay[/b]

 

[Gill]

Hi Jay

Welcome to the forum .

We love photographs on this forum - can you show us what you have been making? Don't be shy; if we can see what you like to make it will help us to to know how we can best support you.

There is nothing quite like cutting from solid wood and I hope you will experience this one day too. For a newcomer, it can be a bit of a challenge. You will have to find a timber merchant who can supply you with wood. Chas (CHJ) has compiled a directory of timber merchants which should help you to find someone local. Discuss your requirements with the timber merchant; Some may only sell rough-sawn timber, but some may be able to dimension and plane it for you (at a price). If the woodworking bug really bites you, you'll soon be investigating the price of bandsaws and thicknessers so you can buy rough-sawn timber and prepare it yourself. Ultimately, that is the most economic way.

Can I suggest you start with fairly soft hardwoods such as sycamore and lime to get used to working with proper timber? Some of the harder woods are more demanding because you might have to fight against the grain and your blades will undoubtedly wear out more quickly. Right now I'm compound cutting a set of Christmas ornaments from oak that is about 18mm thick and I'm cursing the rate at which I'm getting through blades.

I agree with what you say about the US websites. Most American scrollers don't seem to appreciate how lucky they are to have such an abundance of resources.

Gill

 

[JAYJAY]

No worries Gill dont worry not shy of what ive done so far, i really like it to be honest! i know i'm not gonna wow anyone to much as i'm sure u've probably seen this sort of thing 1000's of times before and on a much better level but i enjoyed doing them.......even if there was a bit of f-ing and jeffin going on with some of it!
in fact i'm prob more shy of this computer to be honest...but here goes ..hopefully this should be a link to some photo's on a site photobucket or something???

:? let me know if it works please :?
i've taken a sort of group photo of a few designs which should give you an idea what i've been playing at but hopefully shouldn't break any copyright laws, the images are about the same size as the ones on the book covers like you can see clearly on the likes of amazon and so on

 

[JAYJAY]

oh dear what have i done??? am i in trouble??? says report to moderater??

 

[Gill]

Your picture got caught in our spam trap. Don't worry - once you've got a few more posts under your belt you'll be able to post pictures like the rest of us.

Those are lovely pieces and they just go to show what can be achieved with a scroll saw if you are an enthusiast. I bet your services will be in demand from your family and friends this Christmas . The plywood you've used looks to be very good quality. Did you encounter any voids on the inner veneers?

These sorts of projects can be quite time consuming if you cut each piece individually. Have you ever tried stack cutting, ie cutting three or four pieces simultaneously?

Gill

Edit PS - You've now made the requisite number of posts, so your picture has been revealed. I'll delete the duplication in my post .

 

[JAYJAY]

thanks Gill,
whilst you were sorting it out for me i was off trying to resize and mess about with it trying to make it look a little less easier to copy :?
as for the ply having voids i didn't really come across anything to bad however it did have a couple of fairly loose almost flakey pieces in the middle but only occasionally and i wasn't to sure if that was from me and the way i was cutting it the only other thing i found was (and again only in a couple of places) was what looked like some sort of repair to the external layer...a sort of jigsaw puzzle size piece looks to have been cut out and then replaced again. i wasn't to bothered by them but they did make a couple of my pieces a bit shabby and i've since not used these little areas and cut around them.
i'll give the stacking a try! i've had a couple of requests for some pieces already (yes one of those is me mum though) but requests all the same :lol: the other was for a swan which i've just designed and i'm excited about....i'll let you know how that goes and i'll post a pic when done :wink:

 

[Gill]

Hi Jay

Good luck with the stack cutting. You'll need something to hold the wood steady in the stack. Some people just use sticky tape but I've always worried that tape can stretch and allow movement. Whenever I'm stack cutting (not often) I prefer to dab the edges of the stack with hot glue. Another method is to hammer veneer pins into waste wood, so long as the pins are hammered over an iron plate. Protruding pin points can make an awful mess of a saw table.

I'm pleased I had a chance to see your work before you shrank the photograph. It revealed a lot of accurate detailed cutting which other scrollers would appreciate. You were quite right to shrink it, though - thank you .

Gill

 

[Blacklabradorman]

Nice work Jay! Sort of things I hope to be able to produce one day...

I agree with you about suppliers and american forums - It is frustrating isn't it? They are so lucky

Well keep up the good work and some close ups of your pieces would be very useful (for me anyway)

Cheers
Sean

 

[maltrout512]

Nice work Jay, beginner !!!! dark horse more like it. Seriously, some nice work there that some of us haven't reached that standard yet. Looking forward to see some real wood bits.

 

[nicewood]

You have some very nice work there, very detailed, are all the pieces cut from birch ply?

 

[big soft moose]

jay - you dont say where in the country you are - but i have found the offcut bins at yandles (somerset) to be a fruitful source of 1/4 ins and 1/2 ins oak (about A4 sized) - about 30p a shot, less in quantity

you can also buy small sheet hard wood here http://www.alwayshobbies.com/Store/Craf ... and-Panels

 

[JAYJAY]

cheers mate,
i live in scunthorpe nth lincolnshire, i've actually just taken delivery of some mahogany sheets from believe it or not....... hobbies they look really good and cant wait to have a go at cutting them, still gonna keep lookin more local though but at least i know where to go if i'm stuck :lol:

note for 'nicewood': thanks bud and yes mate all birch ply

 

[stevebuk]

hi jayjay
what thickness x depth x width are the mahogany sheets, i might just have a use for such sheets if they are the right size.

 

[big soft moose]

hi jayjay
what thickness x depth x width are the mahogany sheets, i might just have a use for such sheets if they are the right size.

from the hobbies website

"All 100mm (4")wide.

Lengths are 457mm (18") and 915mm (36").

Available in 5 thicknesses:- 0.8mm : 1.5mm : 3.0mm : 5.0mm : 6.0mm "