Charlie James

If the profile allows you can hog off a bit with a power tool and finish it up with a molding plane. You can custom cut a blade in a few minutes then finish it with sandpaper if you need to. Of course if you can do it with a router it’s probably faster.

Roger, I went through the same thoughts when I made a curved front dresser years ago. Creating a flat with a forstner bit is a good idea but it would have to be perfect to work and it’ll look like you’re trying to fix a screw up. There is also the problem of the depth of the knob being different so I opted for curving the bottoms of the pulls to match. No matter that it may look a little different since that what hand made pieces are about. It becomes part of the story of the piece. I don’t remember how I did it. I might have used my molding plane or cut a block to match and wrapped sandpaper around it. I believe I cut a long piece and matched the curve along the base. I then cut it and mounted it on my lathe and turned it. Saves time and aggravation! Of course you’d have to take the thickness into account when sizing up the knobs. If that technique keeps splitting off at the tip when you turn it you could also cut and match a piece and glue it to the base of the knob. You’d never even see the glue line. Have fun, Charlie

There we go, it worked! Thanks for the info Rolf but the wood is out in Wading River and I am worried about going that far into Suffolk County. I’ve heard stories of people going that far and never being heard from again!

I tried to post a few times over the last few days but no luck. I asked Lisa to email me pictures and the wood is very weathered so I’m not sure what kind it is. It’s post and beam with tenons and mortises so it’s quite old. The wood has quite a few splits in it as well. It may be worth it to someone but not myself. Charlie

Matt, I have both but use the coping saw more often. I use the coping saw for molding than anything else but that’s because of the work I’m doing at the moment. More times than not I jump to the scroll saw.There are slight differences between the coping and fret saws but the aim of both is to balance the weight of the saws with the type of work and how long it’s being done. They both came into use years ago before power tools and there were/are people that work with either of the saws all day long, hence the work/weight factor. The biggest difference is the bow of the fret saw since it is made to reach deeper into a panel. You can buy one or the other and juice it up by making a bigger handle but you’re still limited to the relatively short length of the blade. The tightness of the blade can be adjusted but you run the chance of breaking the blade if it’s to tight and you (anyone) try to compensate by pulling back or twisting. It’s just human nature and it takes a while to get used to it. Scroll saws break less often because of the speed which it runs, it kinda powers it’s way through the wood. Longer blades will deflect more and I suspect that is the reason for the short length of the blade. Making inlays with a long blade is sure to make someone lose their patience. Try making a handle that is comfortable for you and get a decent saw from a garage sale, they’re all sort of the same animal. Charlie

Roger, You got me on that one, I rarely use lacquer. Charlie

Joe, I won’t make July, too much to do. Set me up for a meeting and it’ll force me to go. Yeah, using an iron works well, makes for a quick repair. I do like hot hide glue better for repairs though, no chance of glue squeeze to ruin the finish and really drawing your eye to the mistake… Of course not a mistake on my or your part, mistakes by other people…

Straight lines draw the eye to them since there aren’t too many straight lies in grain. Any curve will do, even a small straight line in a diamond pattern as long as it is in line with the grain. A sharp razor is needed. I’ll do a demo of it at a meeting if you’d like.

Rodger, Joe is on the money with all the suggestions. I don’t use filler. If there are any larger voids you should cut them out and fill in with veneer. It’s not as hard as it sounds, pretty easy actually. I’ve can’t count how many I have done and in most cases you can’t pick them up. Once you patch a few times you will find yourself doing it for even the smallest imperfection. Make the patches in an irregular shape so the eye doesn’t catch it. Use pieces of wood from the same board if you can. It can be very thin wood as long as it covers the void. As always I use hot hide glue to make the repair. Charlie

Joe, thanks for that and I’d also like to congratulate everyone on winning a ribbon. You are incorrect in stating that you had nothing to do with it though. Board members should be congratulated. Every member of the club that asks a question, answers a question or becomes involved with the club deserves congratulations as well. Just having a club where you can experience woodworking of all types, at any level, adds to all of our techniques. There is something to be learned from every member that demonstrates or just shows up, no matter how long they’ve been working with wood. Charlie