Tag: pyrography | Page 11

Aug 18 2016

Cutting a Wooden Spoon

Pyrography, Scroll Saw, Woodcarving, Woodworking / By irish

For this section of our summer, free, online cross-crafting seminar we will be cutting out a wooden spoon blank on the scroll saw. Please refer to Cross-Crafting Seminar Free Patterns for a copy of the spoon patterns that we will be using.

Cross-Crafting Seminar Introduction
Cross-Crafting Seminar Supply List
Cross-Crafting Seminar Free Patterns
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Scroll Saw Basics
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Setting Up Your Scroll Saw
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Scroll Sawing the Wood Spirit Face
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Wood Burning the Wood Spirit Face
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Colored Pencils for the Wood Spirit Face
Cross-Crafting Seminar, Cutting a Wooden Spoon

Supplies:

Scroll Saw with a 15 tooth, regular cutting blade
1 – 3″ x 12″ x 3/8″ piece of basswood for each spoon
220-grit sandpaper, tack cloth
graphite tracing paper
safety glasses

Step 1: Choosing how to rough-cut your spoon blank

There are many ways to remove the waste wood from any wood carving blank. For our seminar I am using my Ryobi Scroll Saw and a 15 tooth per inch, regular cutting blade.

The most simple option is to use your bench knife in either a push or paring stroke to slowly cut away long slivers of wood from the blank. A coping saw or hand-held, u-shaped framed saw and a vise or clamps can also be used. If you plan to make a series of wooden spoons you might want to purchase a small 5″ curved-blade draw knife or 3″ straight-blade draw knife will make the rough-put work quick and easy, especially on thicker blanks.

Step 2: Preparations

Lightly sand your basswood board, both front and back side, using 220-grit sandpaper, remove any sanding dust with a dry, clean cloth. A smooth surface on the wood allows your blank to move easily through the scroll saw cuts. Trace your pattern to the basswood using graphite paper.

Note: If you will be making more than one spoon, trace the pattern to the inside surface of an empty cereal box. Cut the spoon pattern out with scissor and use the cardboard cut-out as a template, tracing along the edges of the cardboard. Save the cardboard template, it can be used over and over again.

Release the Drop Foot and slide your basswood blank under the foot. Reset the Drop Foot knob.

Step 3: Cutting the basic outline

Begin by cutting along the basic outline of your spoon pattern.

Work one side of the spoon at a time, fully releasing and freeing that side of waste wood.

Step 4: Cut the second side of your spoon

Continue your scroll saw cutting to completely remove the waste wood on the second side of your spoon blank.

Step 5: Cutting the fork tines

The fork tines are cut in two strokes, each worked from the end of the fork into the opening between the tines. Stop the first cut when you reach the center point of the opening.

Back the saw blade out of the wood and cut the second side of the opening. This two-cut step will free the waste wood between the tines.

Step 6: The completed scroll saw cut spoon blank

This wooden fork blank took about 15 minutes to cut out on the scroll saw – quick, easy, and super fast!

Step 7: Drilling the holes for a slotted spoon

Using a 1/4″ or 3/8″ drill bit drill the holes into your slotted spoon before you do the scroll saw steps. I prefer to drill from the back of the spoon towards the spoon’s front face. Because I will be carving the front face of the spoon into a bowl shape, if I chip-out any of the holes during the drilling process, those chip-outs will be carved away later in the work.

Basswood chips easily because it is a soft wood. To avoid excessive chip-outs use a new, sharp drill bit and an even medium speed with your drill. Clamp your spoon blank to a piece of scrap wood. This clamps and secures the back grain fibers and reduces chipping. You can also use masking tape on the bottom of your spoon to help hold the grain fibers in place.

Step 8: Sand the drilled holes before you do the scroll saw cutting

Remove any loose or chipped-out wood from your drilled holes, on both sides of the wood blank, before you move onto the scroll saw with sand paper. Those chip-outs can cause your blank to drag, or hang-up on the scroll saw cutting table.

Step 9: Cutting a slotted spoon blank

The slotted spoon is now ready for scroll sawing.

Step 10: Finished wooden spoon blanks

Now that the three wooden spoon blanks have cut out we are ready to move into the wood carving steps of our project. See ya’ there!

Cutting a Wooden Spoon Read More »

Aug 9 2016

Setting Up Your Scroll Saw

Pyrography, Scroll Saw, Woodcarving, Woodworking / By irish

Where and how you set up your scroll saw is extremely important to the quality of cutting your can do in your new craft. We will take a qick look at several options to placing your saw into the most comfortable, accurate cutting position as possible.

I am lucky enough to have both a full-dedicated woodworking shop and a craft studio. My shop holds my table saw, drill press, band saw, as well as an extra-large work table where I can clamp, glue, and sand. The craft shop is where I work on my smaller projects as my wood carving and wood burning.

But, for right now, I am setting up my scroll saw on my back porch! Since the Ryobi 16″ Variable Speed Scroll Saw is quite portable I can store the tool in its shipping box in the studio when I am not using it, and then move it to the porch for those quick cuts or full-length projects.

The reason I am working off the back porch is because I have an old, hard-used dry sink that measures 38″ from the floor to the table top – a perfect height for me for scroll saw cutting. The base of the dry sink holds two shelves where I store several furniture clamps, my vise, and some of the woodworking tools that I need around the studio.

For me, a standing position is the most comfortable for accurate cutting. The height of this dry sink lets me look into the saw blade area of the scroll saw at a 45 degree angle – perfect to see exactly where the blade is in the wood and to clearly see the cutting line on the pattern. Note position #2 in the photo.

A standard table is only 30″ tall at the top of the table. If you are in a standing position this puts your focus point directly on the wood. While you can see the pattern line clearly, this high angle obscures your view of the saw blades working edge. Note position #3 in the photo.

If you chose a sitting position using a kitchen chair, at a standard table your visual view is at a very low angle to the saw. You now see the full length of the saw blade but can barely see your wood or pattern line. Note position #1 in the photo.

There are several easy, inexpensive options for your new scroll saw table.

You can purchase scroll saw stands that are heavy-weight metal made specifically to hold smaller-sized power tools. These are great if you have a full-dedicated workshop. The stands often are made to have a plywood table top which bolts to the stand. You can then bolt your scroll saw to the table top to reduce vibration.
Check you have a local Habitat for Humanity ReStores your tall kitchen cabinets or bathroom cabinets at extremely reasonable prices. Again, you will need to create a table top, out of 5/8″ plywood which you bolt to the cabinet. If your kitchen cabinets are a bit short you can create a plywood box for the table top that brings your saw up to the perfect height for you.
If you are using a regular table, studio table or kitchen table, which are only 30″ high, you may want to purchase a tall bar stool for just a few dollars at your local GoodWill. Since you can’t safely raise the height of your saw you can easily raise yourself to get that 45 degree view of the saw.

A few more considerations.

I find that I do need a wide foot print around my scroll saw as I work. I tend to move my body, re-position my stance left or right, as I move through the curves. So I work in an area where I have about 2′ to 3′ feet of clear space on either side of the scroll saw table.

Because of the amount of dust created by the saw I find that a good, heavily-textured floor mat gives me a firm stance on the floor. Saw dust can be quite slippery! A 4′ x 5′ bound-edged rug works well, but you can also purchase heavy rubber floor mats meant for shop use.

Be sure that your working table is firmly set on the floor. Shim the table legs or base if necessary to insecure you have a secure working space.

If your scroll saw is light-weight, does not have a heavy iron base, you will want to secure the saw directly to the table top. You can either bolt the scroll to the table as most scroll saws have holes pre-drilled in the base to permanently set the saw to its stand or table. You can also use furniture clamps to secure the saw base to the table.

Never set your scroll saw on an unclamped or unsecure surface to raise the level of the blade to a better visual view … don’t set it on a stack of scrap plywood, stack of books, or a cardboard box. Any of these ‘solutions’ can slide out from under the saw or simply colapse while the saw is running. Instead, if you need to raise the level of the saw, do so by raising the entire table or cabinet using a 2″ x 4″ frame bolted directly to the bottom of the table.

To reduce any excess vibration try setting your scroll saw on a non-skip kitchen matt before you clamp it to the table. These matts are very inexpensive security!

Setting Up Your Scroll Saw Read More »

Aug 8 2016

Scroll Sawing the Wood Spirit Face

Pyrography, Scroll Saw, Woodcarving, Woodworking / By irish

Scroll Sawing the Wood Spirit Face

Our next step in our Cross-Crafting Seminar, which takes a look at using scroll sawing, wood carving, pyrography, and colored pencil work in one project, is to do a test cut. Let’s use a classic Wood Spirit face for this practice session. This face comes from my book, Wood Spirits and Greenmen, and the pattern is linked below.

Click on the pattern image to open a new window with the full-sized pattern. Save a copy of the pattern to your desktop, where it will be easy to find later.

Supplies

Ryobi 16″ Variable Speed Scroll Saw
Ryobi 15 TPI Regular Tooth Saw Blade for general scroll saw work
Temporary Adhesive Spray
2 – 12″ x 12″ x 1/8″ sheets of birch plywood
220-grit sandpaper
Sheet of heavy brown paper bag
Green painter’s tape
2 printed copies of the Wood Spirit pattern

Note: I buy my birch plywood and basswood off of Ebay.com because I can see the actual pieces of wood that I am purchasing. Birch plywood is often available at your local hardware store or large box craft store.

Preparing for Cutting

Step 1 For this step-by-step I am going to cut two plywood wood spirit faces at the same time. This is called gang cutting.

Lightly sand both sheets of birch plywood on both sides using 220-grit sandpaper. Work the paper in the direction of the grain lines of the birch wood to avoid creating small, cross-grain scratches. Wipe the plywood with a clean, dry tact cloth. Crumble a large sheet of heavy brown paper bag into a loose ball. Use the crumbled paper to sand over the surface of both sheets of plywood. Brown paper bags are wonderful, extremely fine sanding papers.

Step 2 Print two copies of the pattern. One will be used to cut the Wood Spirit face shape from the wood. The second will be used to trace the Wood Spirit detail lines to the cut-out, scroll sawed shape.

Step 3 Stack the two sheets of plywood with the best sides facing each other, these will be on the inside of the stack with the rougher sides facing outward. Use several strips of green painter’s tape along the edge of the stack to secure the two pieces together.

Step 4 Read the directions on the side of your temporary adhesive spray, and follow those directions to spray the back – reverse – on your cutting pattern. Place the pattern, face up with the spray adhesive against the wood. Lightly rub the paper pattern from the center out towards the corners to flatten the paper and insure that it is completely adhered to the wood. Let the paper dry for a few minutes before you beginning your scroll saw work.

Step 5 If this is your first scroll saw session, please read all of the instructions and safety procedures that came with your model of scroll saw. Insert a 15 TPI regular/general cutting blade in the saw. Remember, the teeth of the saw blade point down.

Note: When I am cutting out a general shape, as with the Wood Spirit, I am not as concerned about exactly following the pattern line as cutting a smooth line! You will see that in some areas I may have cut inside or outside the pattern line. Since no one but me and you will ever see the original pattern whatever I cut will become the final items. So relax, have fun, and know that it is so OK to wander off the line. This is meant as a practice piece, a piece on which you can learn, experiment, and make mistakes.

Step 6 Loosen the Drop Foot Knob on the left of the scroll saw arm. Allow the Drop Foot to lower onto the plywood. Tighten the Drop Foot knob. This foot keeps the wood held tightly against the work table, stopping the wood from vibrating as the blade moves through the cuts.

Do not add any pressure to the Drop Foot. By just setting it on the board you are cutting it will have the correct pressure when you tighten the knob.

Step 7 Begin your first cut at the top of the board, cutting towards the head, following one of the hair strands. Start the saw before your blade touches the wood, then glide the wood into the working saw blade. Move slowly, allow the blade to do the work for you. Stop the cut when saw blade’s motion when you reach the inside angle or v-shape point of the hair strand.

Step 8 Turn off the saw, lift the Drop Foot by releasing the Drop Foot knob, and back the blade out of the cut and out of the board.

Step 9 Make the second cut, starting at the top of the board, cutting towards the head, on the second side of the same hair strand. Stop the cut when you meet the end of the first cut.

Scroll Sawing the Wood Spirit Face Read More »

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scroll saws for wood carving and pyrography

Aug 6 2016

Cross-Crafting Scroll Saw Basics

Pyrography, Scroll Saw, Woodcarving / By irish

Basics to Scroll Saws

During this session we will take a quick look at the features of a basic scroll saw, and walk through the steps to changing your scroll saw blade. The scroll saw shown is a Ryobi 16″ variable speed.

Click on any image for a full-sized picture of that step.

Read Your Manual

Begin by reading the information and instruction manual that came with your particular scroll saw, especially the safety steps.

Wear safety glasses.
Use the correct blades made for your specific scroll saw.
Check the condition of your saw blade before you begin any working session.
Always know where your fingers are in relationship to the saw blade.
Unplug the saw and remove the Child’s Safety Plug when not in use.
Watch for physical and visual fatigue – take frequent breaks.

Scroll Saw Features

The Ryobi features a Tension Knob for quick and easy blade tension adjustments on the top back of the machine. The Sawdust Blower keeps the wood clean of sawdust in front of the saw blade. The Drop Foot holds the wood securely to the work table to reduce vibration and the Throat Plate gives you access to the bottom of the saw blade.

The On/Off Switch is on the lower front of the motor and also contains a Child’s Safety Plug that can be removed to prevent the machine from turning on.

The three pronged knob on the left front controls the tilt angle of the table, called the Bevel Scale. On the right side of the front is your variable speed control. For the Ryobi the speed range is from 550 r/min. to 1,650 r/min.

Scroll Saw Blades

Scroll saws use two styles of blades – pinned and unpinned. Pinned blades have a small metal cross bar at the top and bottom of the blade that slides and locks into the blade holders. This gives a strong, secure anchor for the blades.

Unpinned blades do not have the cross blades, and are simply straight at the top and bottom.

The unpinned blades are used in fretwork where you will be cutting holes into the design. Begin by drilling a small hole, just slightly larger than the width of your saw blade, inside of the shape that you will be cutting. Release the Tension Knob on the top of the machine. Release the top Blade Holder Knob. Remove the top of the blade from the scroll saw. Slide the wood over the top of the blade, threading it through the drilled hole. Secure the top of the blade by tightening the Blade Knob and Tension Knob.

Saw blades are sorted by the number of teeth per inch, TPI. The Ryobi Specialty Scroll Saw Blade Set gives you three sizes – 7 TPI Hook Tooth for thick widths of wood, 15 TPI Regular Tooth for general cutting, and 18.5 TPI Skip Tooth for fine and tight turned cutting. For our projects in this seminar I used the 15 TPI regular tooth, pinned blades.

Cross-Crafting Scroll Saw Basics Read More »

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Aug 5 2016

Cross-Crafting Seminar Supply List

Uncategorized, Woodcarving / By irish

Supply List for our cross-crafting seminar includes tools for scroll sawing, wood carving, pyrography, and colored pencil art.

The tools I am listing are tools that I own and use on a consistent bases. But, of course, you can substitute with the tools you already own. As a teacher I always suggest that you start a new hobby with an entry-level tool set, not a dirt-cheap tool set. Begin with the best set you can easily afford, then if you love the craft as I do you can add new, higher quality tools as you discover what style of carving or pyrography you will be doing.

As example, as a pyrographer I suggest that you start with a basic Walnut Hallow Versa-Tool which will cost you between $25 to $30. This lets you experience wood burning before you decide if you want to invest in higher units as the Colwood or Optima, which can cost around $175 with burning unit and two or three pens.

For an in-depth look at a wood carver’s tool kit please visit Basic Tool Kit for the Wood Carver.

Basswood carving wood

3/8″ to 1/2″ thick x 3″ wide x 12″ long basswood blanks for shallow, stirring spoons or hair combs
3/4″ to 1″ thick x 3″ wide x 12″ long basswood blanks for deep, dipping spoons

I purchase my basswood off of EBay.com because I can see the actual wood that I am purchasing. Most basswood offerings on EBay are available in multiple packs of boards, all cut to the same dimension. Search under ‘basswood carving wood’. For larger boards search under ‘basswood lumber’.

Scroll sawing

Ryobi 16″ variable speed scroll saw

Assorted Ryobi scroll saw blades

Safety glasses

Please stop by our opening post for this cross-crafting seminar for a quick look at the Ryobi 16″ Variable Speed Scroll Saw.

Wood carving beginner’s tool set

Set of wood carving tools – straight chisel, skew chisel, v-gouge, large round gouge, small round gouge. Below is a listing of four suggested sets that will not only get you started in wood carving, but will last you for years.

Available on Amazon.com – 8 pc Woodpecker big wood carving tool set
This is an excellent beginner’s carving kit with large tools that can be used by hand or with a mallet. For our project it contains a deeply bend round gouge, perfect for deep bowled spoons. Also included is two wide sweep gouges and two tight round gouge.

Available on Aliexpress.com – 8 pc Woodpecker big wood carving tool set
This is the same set as described above but through Aliexpress, a selling site based in China. The price is quite different, but you will have to wait up to three weeks for the tools to arrive in the mail.

Available on Aliexpress.com – 8 pc Woodpecker small wood carving tool set
Woodpecker also makes a small carving tool set which is perfect for a beginner carving that will be working multiple styles of wood carving.

Available on Amazon.com – Flexcut 11pc interchangeable blade tool set
The Flexcut set has one handle and 11 interchangeable blades. The blades are easy to change-out and hold securely in the handle. This is a great set that will last you for many, many years if you have a little extra to invest.

Available on Amazon.com – Ramelson 6 pc palm carving set 117
I have used Ramelson tools for nearly thirty years. They are thin bladed tools that hold a crisp, perfect edge and priced reasonably for the beginning carver. The palm handles are wonderful for those of us that have arthritis as the push of the cutting stroke comes from the center of the palm of the hand instead of from the fingers.

Bench knife

Available from ChippingAway – ChippingAway.com large chip carving knife

Available on Amazon.com – Flexcut 1pc Carving Knife

Available on Amazon.com – Flexcut 3pc Carving Knife Set

Pyrography

Below each pyrography tool listed is a link to an in-depth seminar that will not only give you a free, step-by-step project you can start today, but also allow you to see each of the three pyrography tools in use to help you decide which unit is the best for you.

These three in-depth tutorials are hosted on a wood carving forum. Unfortunately I am banned/blocked from posting to this forum now because of technical difficulties on this forum. So, if you have questions or comments about these three projects please email me here, through my blog. Do not post to these threads as I can not read, see, or answer your questions there!

Walnut Hallow Versa-Tool

Walnut Hollow Versa-Tool Toucan Project – Looking for that first wood burning tool, then take a few moments and read through this tutorial for an in-depth review of the Walnut Hollow Versa-Tool used to wood burn a Toucan Family.

Colwood

Colwood Winter Birdhouse Wood Burning Tutorial – This in-depth, step-by-step project focuses on a winter bird house wood burning scene. The project takes you from the initial tracing of the design to the final coloring steps.

Optima

Irish Optima Pyrography Seminar – This in-depth pyrography project shows over 250 detailed, close-up photos, step-by-step instructions, and in-depth explanations of texturing, shadings, and fine line work used to create the Advertising Barn landscape.

Suggested pyrography tool pens

For more information of pyrography pen tips and what style of burned stroke each creates please download our free PDF on Pyrography Pen Tips, posted on our Wood Carving and Pyrography Pattern website, ArtDesignsStudio.com. Scroll down to the lower portion of the page. Please chose pens that are manufactured by the company that made your wood burning unit.

general writing or fine line tip – ball tip or loop tip pen
general shading tip – spear tip or pointed shader tip

General supplies

Sharpening stones, leather strop, and honing compound
For more information please read our blog posting on Sharpening Your Carving Tools

Sandpaper – 100-grit to 220-grit sandpaper, sanding blocks in assorted grit sizes, foam-core finger nail files

Carving gloves – Please check what size glove you need before ordering!

Available on Amazon.com – NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves

Available on Amazon.com – Boss Knit Kevlar Gloves

Brown paper bags

Graphite paper

#4 – #6 soft graphite pencil for tracing

Masking tape or painters tape

Set of colored pencils

Available on Amazon.com – PrismaColor set of 12 soft-core pencils

Available on Amazon.com – PrismaColor set of 72 pencils

Cross-Crafting Seminar Supply List Read More »

Cutting a Wooden Spoon

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Setting Up Your Scroll Saw

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Scroll Sawing the Wood Spirit Face

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Cross-Crafting Scroll Saw Basics

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