I’ve mostly recovered from the flu which means my energy has returned so my attention has turned back to “Doing.” I decided I wanted to do some mosaic work in April and had posted some lovely little birds on my Pinterest board that I wanted to make. When I tackle a new project I like to do multiples and give them all away to family and friends. For this project, I have set out to produce 36 little birds (8X4) which I will mosaic with glass and grout. This project requires the individual birds be cut out of particle board which means learning to use a saw. For all you industrious Midwesterners, this is no big deal but no such tools or expertise exist in our house. In addition, working with my hands is still fairly new to me after a lifetime sitting at a desk.
After some online research, I learned I needed a scroll saw built mostly for craft projects. First I had to get Paul past the “no, h*** no” of me using a saw. With my fast and loose style all he could see was bloody digits flying across my work table. He finally got behind it and set out to find and purchase the saw I selected. It helped that he likes to shop and purchase new gadgets. Part of the reason he acquiesced was that I agreed to work with him on learning how to use it. So, after a trip to Home Depot, he ordered the saw online and it was delivered this past week. It took a while to arrive so I had all my supplies set out and was anxious to start my new project. For whatever reason, he hates to start new projects after 3pm so I had to get him past that. He patiently took the saw out of the box, read the instruction manual, set up the saw and gave it a trial run before letting me give it a go. Paul is no tool guy or handy man so he wanted nothing to do with helping cut out the birds; says he isn’t coordinated enough for it.
So, after a few false starts, off I went and cut out my first 10 birds in a couple hours. The sawing seems a bit like operating a sewing machine in that the blade (needle) doesn’t move so you have to guide the wood (fabric) to get your desired cut (line). I set the speed slow enough to use my brain and control my movement as I went along. When I veered off the saw line I found it difficult to fine tune the shape later but I might get better at doing it right the first time as I cut my next 26 birds. So far, no beaks or digits have been lost but I am a little nervous about learning how to change the blade! By the time I finished the second batch of birds my fingers were a little cut up, not from the saw but from the glass cutting/snapping. I’ve tried all manner of Band-Aids, thumb guards and gloves to prevent this and have finally found a solution by wrapping my working fingers with thick packing tape. Even so, I think I will give my poor thumbs and index fingers a chance to heal up while I try making face masks this week.