|
|
|
Cutting brass sheet into a shape on the scroll saw can be very difficult. The brass is difficult to grasp and to handle, it also tends to lift up with the blade and bend at the cutting point. The thinner the brass the harder the job and doing real small pieces is almost impossible since they are hard to hold and saw without risking your fingers. The solution is to take the brass sheet and laminate it between two sheets of wood. I used 1/16” thick wood for this job. Make sure the wood is wide/length enough to give you a good grip even after some parts are cut out. The brass sheet was about 1/32 thick. I laminated the three pieces together with ply bond but almost any adhesive that you have a solvent for will work. Once laminated and the glue is dry, layout your shape on the wood. I always lay out a few extra, “Just in Case”. Drill any holes into the wood and through the brass. Take the laminated wood-brass-wood to the saw and have at it. When finished file edges if necessary to get the shape you need. Place laminate in the solvent. Separate the pieces and clean up the brass. The pictures show a laminate made to cut out the fish plates for the Warrior. One Trapezoidal and two horseshoe fish plates are left on the wood in the picture. On the piece on edge you can see the lamination. The finished pieces are in the photos. Thanks to John Rose for the idea. I tried it and it works very well. Terry Photos follow:
|
