Fuming Wood
Tip from Jacky Funk
When staining fretwork made of oak, I do not stain but I fume the
wood. After project is cut out, I make a tent from a garbage bag,
I put a piece of scrap board on the bottom. I place my project in the
bag on the board, I then put a glass pie dish inside the bag away from
the scrap board, I carefully pore 1 cup of industrial strength ammonia
into the pie pan. I then secure the bag tightly making sure my project
does not touch ammonia or sides of bags. I add strips of wood as needed
to prevent this (before I pore the ammonia. I wait 3 days and my wood
darkens. every nook and cranny is evenly darkened. It works wonderfully.
This is an old way of staining oak. Make sure you wear goggles and a
mask because the ammonia fumes are very strong.
Tip from Wayne Apon
I took a 3/4" piece of wood
about 5" square and marked off 1/2" grid
horizontal and vertical. I then took my pneumatic
brad nailer and shot a nail at the intersection of
each square. This is excellent for painting those
real small pieces.
Place this pad on an old lazy
susan table and you can rotate the table as you work
at finishing. This will make it easier to get all
sides without having to walk around the project.
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Stack Cutting
Tip from John Ludwig
To hold together a stack of
1/8" plywood I use Scotch 3-M Brand Blue low
tack masking tape. No sticky mess to cleanup after
I'm done cutting.
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Use Hacksaw
Blade
Tip from Mark Tovar written by
Tom Sevy
A DeWalt, and other scrollsaws
with similar clamps will allow you to
mount a mini-hacksaw blade in your saw. Just as a
2" blade in a band saw
helps with cutting straight lines, a 1/2" blade
in a scroll saw will also
help with cutting straight lines. With the hacksaw
blade you could also cut
several metals, but I'd cover the table first to
avoid scratching it.
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Filing Tool
Tip from Mark Tovar written by
Tom Sevy
To make an excellent tool for filing, removing
nibs after scrolling, and for many other uses, mount a jig saw (saber saw)
blade in a wood handle.
Using a blade with fine teeth will give a great
tool. One way to mount in a
wood handle is to drill a hole in the end of a
3/4" or larger dowel about
four inches long. Fill the hole with epoxy and then
insert the blade and let
the epoxy set overnight.
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Hangers for
Christmas ornaments
Tips written by Tom Sevy
-
Fish hooks make great
hangars for Christmas Tree Ornaments. Using wire
cutters, cut off the barb, but leave a little of the
curve on the shank.
Using a 1/16" drill bit, drill a hole in the
edge of the ornament, then slip
the "fish hook" into the hole. By leaving
part of the curve on the hook you
will get a good strong friction fit. A hook from a
hook.
-
Cut enough pieces of heavy thread
about three inches long. Squeeze
some white or yellow glue on a piece of cardboard.
Fold a piece of thread
in half, dip your finger tip in the glue, roll the
thread ends in the glue
on your fingers, and set aside to dry for a few
minutes. The whole purpose
of the glue is to make the thread stiff and somewhat
pointed. Then use a
1/16" drill bit to make a hole in the edge of
the ornament. Put a drop of
glue over the 1/16" hole and insert the stiff
point of the thread. Let dry
and you have a hangar. For larger ornaments use
strong string and a 1/8"
drill bit.
-
The general idea in #2 will also
work for using fish line which gives an
almost invisible hangar. But, fish line is so smooth
that you'll have to
tie an overhand knot in the ends. Then, put a spot
of glue over the drill
hole, and push in the fishing line knot. The glue
won't stick to the fish
line, but it will keep the knot from slipping out of
the hole. Very small
fishing line (4 pound test) will provide a VERY
strong hangar. The trouble
is in tying the overhand knot. Here's a secret to
making it easier to tie
the knot. Cut the fish line into 6 or 8 inch long
pieces, fold over, and
tie the knot about half way up and snip off all but
about 1/4" beyond the
knot. Most people find it very difficult to tie a
knot near the end of
slippery fish line. It is much easier to tie a knot
in about the middle.
Some people will find it easier to pull the knot
tight with small pliers
because the fish line is so smooth.
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Crafting Patterns
from a Photo
Tips written by Dustycanuck (Dave)
1. Scan photo--once scanned, save it as JPEG format.
2. Duplicate--this gives you a back-up in case of mis-haps
( I never get it right on the first try)
3.
Crop scanned photo to achieve desired preliminary
results--you don't really want all that sky and trees,
etc. in the back-ground.
4.
Erase all remaining back-ground--I generally enlarge
scanned photo to 300%--400% to speed up the process.
(Use the Eraser in the tool bar)--this can be a tricky
thing, especially when you get close to the subject you
want to end up with--steady hand required! Using
the pencil to do the fine touch-ups is also sometimes
required.
5.
This is where you start to change the actual subject of
the picture. Up to this point, you have been
working with a colour photo. On the menu bar at
the top of the screen, find
"Image"--click--"mode"--"gray
scale"--click. You will get a message asking if you
want to delete or eliminate colour--Yes.
6.
You now have a normal black and white photo of your
subject. Go back to "Image"
--click--"adjust"--"brightness and
contrast"--click. You will get a small screen come
up with two slide bars on them marked accordingly. Play
with these until you get as close to the desired effect
that you want to obtain. You are not likely to get a
scrollable pattern at this stage, but you are getting
closer.
7.
Enlarge once again as before. This is where imagination
comes in real handy, because you have to decide what
shadows you want to keep, and which you want to
eliminate. Again, I use a combination of the available
tools to actually eliminate individual pixels from the
subject--thus the reason for enlarging again--you'd go
blind trying to do this step at normal size! going
back and forth from your enlarged size to your normal
size will give you an idea how you are doing. At any
particular stage in the operation, if
you are happy with what you've done, SAVE!!! That
way, if you should happen to slip with one of the tools,
you won't have to start all over again.
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Clever Clamping
Ideas
by
Tom Sevy
We
often need a way to clamp wood which is either too
fragile for clamps, or the situation doesn't lend itself
to regular clamps. Here is a great idea which I recently
read. Put a piece of masking tape (narrow or wide
depending on the situation), sticky side up, on a flat
surface. Perhaps hold down the two ends of the tape with
cans of paint or other items heavy enough to keep the
tape in place. Put one piece of the wood on the tape,
then put the second piece (with glue) snugly next to the
first on the tape. If you are gluing a vertical piece to
a horizontal piece, you could put the horizontal piece
down first, then place the vertical piece on the tape
with glue, and then place a block of wood on the tape
next to the vertical piece to 'push' it against the
first piece, and to help keep it vertical.
Other ways to do gentle clamping includes: rubber bands
and spring clothes pins. I have seen some people sharpen
the tips of the clothes pins so they provide full
pressure to a small area.
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Pattern
adhesion
Transferring patterns to the wood can be
done in many different ways. Gluing on a Xerox copy is
only one way. Two other ways of transferring pattern
images are with heat and with chemicals. I think these
methods came from Pat Spielman.
Heat: Starting with a fresh Xerox copy
you secure the pattern to the wood, face down. A strip
of tape across the bottom works great. Now take a hot
iron (one used to iron clothes) on silk setting and
slowly iron the pattern. The toner from the copy will be
transferred to the wood. It gives you a reverse image so
if left to right is important in the pattern, have the
copy people run you a reverse image to begin with, then
left to right will be correct. (This left to right
principle is VERY important when your pattern contains
any kind of lettering.) When you feel like you have
ironed the entire pattern, fold it back leaving the tape
secure at the bottom to see if you missed any areas. If
you did, you can fold the pattern back flat and redo
those areas without losing your registration.
Chemical: Again start with a fresh Xerox
copy. Secure it to the wood as beforeand then dampen a
cloth or sponge with lacquer thinner. Smooth the cloth
over the entire pattern until the paper is damp. This
takes a little practice but it saves a lot of time once
you learn how. Of course, after you have transferred the
pattern you remove the pattern and the tape. After you
complete your cutting you have nothing to remove.
Prior to using either of these methods
you should lightly sand your wood and then wipe with a
tack cloth prior to transferring the pattern.
by James Kafka
When spraying my pattern, I keep a box
(card board) about 24 X 24 X 24 or so around with one
end cut out. Put pattern in box and spray. Over-spray
stays in the box and not all over everything.
by John Nelson
Put lots of adhesive on the pattern to really adhere it
on the wood. This will insure it will not come loose
half way through your cutting. Clean out a used
pump-spray bottle and fill it with mineral spirits or
turpentine. After you complete all cuts on your project,
simply spray the top of the pattern with the mineral
spirits. Let sit for 20 to 30 seconds and the pattern
will slide right off.
by Ken Adams
When placing your pattern, first put down a layer of
"clear shelf paper", the kind that sticks.
Then put the pattern down with whatever glue or adhesive
you like. When the cutting is done, the tough shelf
paper will make it easy to remove the left over pattern.
It does not tear into small bits like the paper only
will do. The reason for using "clear" shelf
paper, is so you can see the wood grain.
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The Tape Trick
This tip has been going around the internet for some
time now. Originally we heard of it from David Sloan of
Sloan's Woodworking, but David said that it was not
original with him. So to whomever came up with this
GREAT tip....Thanks!
This idea is a tip for success in
working with little or no burning of the wood, no matter
what thickness or type of wood you are using. Mount your
pattern in your normal way and then cover the pattern
with a clear packaging tape or carton sealing tape. The
tape that has been used is Scotch Packaging Tape 2"
wide and 2" wide Carton Sealing Tape made by Manco.
The theory is that there is something in the tape that
lubricates the blade and prevents the burning.
This idea has been extensively tested by a variety of
scrollers and it does work. Some prefer to put the
packaging tape directly to the wood and then apply the
pattern on top. Others find it easier to apply the
pattern first and then the packaging tape. Whichever way
you prefer, your wood should NOT burn. The tape trick
eliminates the problem of burning saw dust that remains
in the kerf that would normally leave burn marks on your
project. When used on Plastic material, there is little
or no melting behind the blade.
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Small drill holes
by Tom Sevy
Here's an idea for when you need a very small drill bit
but don't happen to have one. Snip the head off a long
brad and use the pointed end of the brad as a drill bit.
It actually works very well. In fact, for those who
sharpen the end of a blade so it can go through a small
hole, by using a brad, you can very carefully drill
until just the point sticks through, then push through
your sharpened blade so you don't have those ugly holes
in a vein.
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Using CD disks as material
How many of you throw away all of those
CD disks that you get through the mail from AOL,
Gateway, Earthlink, etc. Try using them as material for
scrolling. One side is mirrored which should look great.
The other side can be painted enough to cover the paper
or cover with a solid paper prior to cutting. These CD's
lend themselves to stack cutting very easily. Many of
the same techniques for cutting plastic should be used.
by Jolene Murphy
I have been saving the CD's that I receive in the mail.
I plan on painting them with Christmas designs and maybe
glue floral or wood decorations to them, add a hanger,
and use to decorate my Christmas tree.
by Pat Lupori
How about little mirror wreaths to decorate your tree.
That should eliminate the problem of the hole in the
middle of the CD.
by Hal Shearer
Any pattern where the central part of the pattern is
removed would work with a CD. Such as a bell with ivy or
text around it. Just pretend the center hole is a
"Huge" entry hole. Shouldn't have much trouble
threading a blade through that! Cut out the center of
the bell and the hole magically disappears.
by Mike Moorlach
I use them as clock faces or glue cork to the shiny side
for computer desk coasters.
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Clogged Spray Nozzle
by Donna
Sometimes the nozzle on the can of spray adhesive gets
clogged. I found that if you soak the nozzle in
something such as nail polish remover, it unclogs very
easily.
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Tightening Wing Nuts
by
Tom Sevy
A
comment for those with arthritis who have trouble
tightening wing nuts on a blade. From a piece of
1/2" oak about 1 X 2 inches, or another hardwood,
cut a hole to match the wing nut. Then from another
piece of hardwood, about 2 to 3 inches square, 1/2"
thick, cut a handle that would be easy for you to use.
Perhaps a large version of a wing nut, or a square with
the corners rounded off. Then attach the handle to the
cut out with epoxy. Drill a small hole in your auxiliary
handle and attach it to your saw with a length of strong
string so it is always handy, or put it somewhere on the
base so it won't fall off. The additional size magnifies
the strength in your fingers and makes it much easier to
tighten and loosen. You may have to be careful not to
over-tighten your wing nut.
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Compound
Cutting
by Jim Handrich
After you cut the first side of a 3D
pattern out, put the piece back in and use a brad nail 1
3/8" for 1 1/2" stock to hold the all ready
cut piece in place. This works better than trying to
tape it in place. Put a couple of nails in the waste
material.
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by Rick Hutcheson
When sand shading marquetry and
intarsia, it is sometimes difficult to get the hot sand
just where you want it to be on the piece. This tool
will make it easier to place the sand exactly where you
want it. Take a regular teaspoon and drill about a dozen
holes into one side of the spoon with a 1/16" drill
bit. This will allow you to scoop up the sand from
one side and pour it out exactly where you want it from
the other side of the spoon. The picture shows the first
one Rick made and he says he would cut back on the
number of holes because the sand pours out very
fast.
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