Scroll saw box part 5

Hi All,
This project is getting more exciting now because it's time to make the box lid. I use a piece of 6mm walnut that is readily available from always hobbies.com. I just lay the box on to of the walnut and draw around it to get the size, then lay the lid on the top of the box so that I can mark out where the hinges need to go.

With that done, I can now drill the holes in the top of the hinge posts that will take the wire that supports the lid. To do this, I slide the lid into position and then clamp it firmly in place so that it can't move during the drilling process.

 A steady hand is required during this drilling operation, so  I take my time and ensure the drill bit is in the right place before I make the holes. I drill straight through the hinge posts and carry on drilling until I've gone about 10mm into the lid. The size of bit I'm using is 1.5mm. When the drilling is complete, I leave the clamp in place while I cut the pieces of wire that the lid will rotate on. I use some wire than I pinched from my wife's crafting stuff; she makes clay flowers and uses various sizes of wire to support he blooms. However, a bit of wire from a straightened out paper clip would work just as well.

I poke the wire through the hinge post hole and as far as it will go into the lid and then cut it off with 5mm sticking out of the hole. Cutting it flush is a mistake because it will be difficult to get out and we have to do other things to the lid before we finally stick it in place. Now that the wire is removed from the hinge post, I cut 6mm off it so that when it goes back in it will be recessed into the hole and out of view. I do the same with the other side and put both wires somewhere safe for later.

Right, its' time to sort out the inlay. 
Because the walnut wood is dark, I am going to use a lighter wood for the rose inlay, not only to give a contrast to the walnut, but because the pyrography will stand out better on light coloured wood.

It's possible to get several light coloured woods that are 6mm thick from always hobbies.com including obeche and bass wood, but I prefer to use Baltic birch plywood which they also stock. I like using plywood for pyrography because it holds a fine line and over burn isn't so much of a problem.
A word of warning, don't go down to your local DIY store and buy a big sheet of plywood because the quality isn't good enough for scroll sawing or pyrography projects. It's okay for building dog kennels and lining the walls of an outside cludgie, but not for craft work.

Here is a picture of the rose I'm going to be using for the pyrography.

I cut a piece of 6mm Baltic birch plywood to roughly match the size of the lid, then I cover the top surface with a layer of masking tape. When that is in place, I smear some glue onto the back of the rose picture with a Pritt stick and then position it onto the plywood. Next, I place the ply wood on top of the walnut lid and wrap Cellotape around the whole thing. The Cellotape serves two purposes, firstly, it holds the walnut lid and plywood firmly together whilst the sawing takes place. Secondly, Cellotape or any other clear parcel tape helps to lubricate the scroll saw blade so that it cuts more easily.

Now the entry hole for the blade can be drilled. If you look at the photo above you will see a red spot; that is where the blade entry hole will be drilled. I have picked that spot because it is the sharpest corner and therefore would be difficult to cut. Drilling the hole there means I can cut away from sharpest part of the the design and work my way back around to the hole without having to actually negotiate the corner. By drilling it on a joint between two petals, the hole will also be easier to disguise with the pyrography.

Okay, before cutting out the rose inlay something else needs to be done and it is very important. For an inlay to look good, it obviously needs to be a tight fit. To get a tight fit it is of no use to just cut around the rose and expecting it to drop nicely into the piece of walnut underneath because it won't. In fact, you will find that the ply wood just drops straight through without even touching the sides.

The reason for this is that when a saw cuts, it removes material which is called a kerf. The thicker the blade on the saw, the thicker the kerf. So that is why the plywood would just drop through the walnut if we didn't do something to negate it.

So how do we get a tight fit, you might ask.

Well it's all a matter of angles and I'll explain more about it in my next post. In the meanwhile, I'd just like to remind you I am giving away a free download of one of my books on my website. Why not go over there and grab a copy now.