How to Cut Wood Designs
Home decorating in your own style is what makes your house a home.Everyone has their own unique decorating style and places decorative items around their house to fit that style. Rarely will these be one of a kind since most are bought in stores which carry mass produced items. Would you like to be more original? You can be. You can make your own home decor for the inside and outside from wood. You can design, paint, and embellish homemade home decor anyway you like. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Wood
- Pattern
- Safety goggles
- Jigsaw
- Wood clamps
- Tape measure or ruler
- Carpenters pencil
- Gouge chisel
- Hammer
Instructions
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How to Cut Wood Designs
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1
Decide what kind of project you want to make for your home. Some popular items made from wood are magazine racks, wall plaques, letter holders, hat trees and remote control holders. There are also whimsical yard decorations you can make such as wishing wells and garden or flowerbed fencing.
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Decide what kind of wood you want to use. A popular choice for home decor projects is pine, but there is also cherry, oak and balsam wood, among others. Be sure to measure your wood pieces to get the correct size for cutting the pattern.
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Draw a pattern or obtain a pattern for your project. Craft stores or free patterns on the internet are sources where you can find a pattern.
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Transfer the pattern to the wood. Use a Carpenter's pencil to apply the pattern lines to the wood.
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5
Prepare the cutting area workspace and yourself. Be sure there is nothing in the way that can bump the saw. Wear safety goggles to avoid splinters or chips hitting your eyes. Roll up long sleeves or better yet wear short sleeved clothing. Remove any jewelry that could catch on the saw; for example any dangling necklaces.
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Measure the pattern lines and the distance once more before beginning to cut.
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Choose a blade for the jigsaw. A jigsaw is a small hand held power saw that can cut curves and intricate designs in your project. It has different blades for different kinds of cutting you may need to do. Refer to the manufacturers instructions and the pattern/project instructions to see what kind of blade to use.
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Start cutting according to project instructions. Take your time to avoid injury or ruining your wood. If your wood pieces are bulky you can use wood clamps to hold it in place.
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Chisel smaller areas with your gouge chisel. Once you have used your jigsaw there may be small tight areas that need more work or you may want to do more intricate cutting then a jigsaw allows. A Gouge chisel is a special chisel used in wood working for this purpose. Place the tip of the chisel where you want to cut or gouge out the small chips of wood. Tap the other end of the chisel at the handle with a hammer. Adjust the force of the taps according to what you are trying to accomplish in the design. Continue until all cutting is finished.Now that your project is cut out, sand ,paint and add any finishing touches. Now you have a unique home decor item that you created and cut yourself from wood.
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Tips & Warnings
Jigsaws have optional features. One is called orbital action. This means you can cut side to side, not just up and down.
When purchasing a jigsaw for wood design this is a excellent feature to look for.
Keep blades sharpened for optimum cutting success.
Observe all safety regulations when working with wood designing tools.
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.morguefile.com/
