Cutting Round Stock; Making Duplicate Cuts; Compound Cutting - Shopsmith 11” Manual

SHOPSMITH 11" BANDSAW
you're making this cut freehand, be careful
not to let the work slip downhill. This will put
side pressure on the blade, making it hard for
you to follow the pattern line and possibly
bogging down the Bandsaw.
Fig. B-12

Cutting Round Stock

Cutting round stock requires extra caution
because its shape makes the workpiece diffi-
cult to hold. If you're crosscutting round
stock, use the miter gauge or a V-block to
push the stock into the blade. Hold the stock
firmly while you're working. By clamping a
stop block to the left side of the table, you can
cut duplicate lengths of dowel. Make sure the
back edge of the stop block does not extend
beyond the front edge of the blade.
WARNING
Round stock should always be supported and
guided with the fence, as shown in Fig. B-13.
The teeth of the blade can easily catch the stock,
spinning it out of your hands, or worse, drag-
ging your hands into the blade.
Fig. B-13
Making Duplicate Parts
Often you'll need two or more identical parts
for a project. Although it's possible to cut
them out individually and sand them to the
same size and shape, there are two simple
tricks that can make your work a lot easier.
Pad sawing
To duplicate intricate patterns, stack two or
more boards on top of each other. Tape or nail
them together into a "pad" and saw them all
at once, as illustrated in Fig. B-14. By placing
nails in the waste stock, you'll never see the
holes in the finished project.
Fig. B-14
Sawing and Resawing
Sawing and resawing can also be used to
duplicate intricate patterns. First cut the pat-
tern in a thick block of wood, then resaw
thinner pieces off as needed, as shown in Fig.
B-15. Leave enough extra stock so that you
can sand the resawn pieces smooth. This
technique is especially useful when you need
several thin, identical components.

Compound Cutting

By cutting a pattern in more than one side of
a workpiece-compound cutting-you can make
the stock appear to curve through three di-
mensions, as if you had carved it. This is an
intriguing Bandsaw technique that's useful
on a wide variety of projects. You can use it
to remove stock and simplify your lathe work,
make cabriole legs for tables and chairs, or do
"bandsaw sculpture" - animal shapes, pat-
terned posts and rails, fascinating lamp bases.
Begin by tracing a pattern on one side of the
stock. Cut the pattern-seen in Fig. B-16, but
save the waste. Tape the waste back to the
workpiece in its original position. This will
provide a solid base as you make other cuts.
Turn the stock 90 degrees so that another side
faces up, and trace a pattern on it-it can either
be the same pattern or a different one. Make
555943
Fig. B-15
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