# She sells seashells by the seashore..



## igster (Oct 31, 2013)

Saw some pics of some really awesome - looking scrollsaw shells, and thought, "I gotta try that!":












Had a piece of what turned out to be pine, from an old waterbed side rail that I kept(more than 15 yrs old before we decided to switch back to a regular mattress because we couldn't patch a leak)...btw that wood still had sap ( or resin?) in it, because it gave off a strong pine smell when I was cutting the pieces on my bandsaw, and it kinda gummed up the blade(suggestions for cleaning welcomed!) I must say, it's an ingenious design, to make curved spiral that coils around itself! Am going to stain the base a dark coffee brown, to contrast with the shell. Can't spray on poly yet as it's below freezing here in Hotlanta for the next few days... I think I can change the shape by varying the width of the side arcs, and also even make a "right" or "left" - handed shell by widening one side more than the other as I cut each arch wedge...


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

That is very cool, and very clever...well done.


















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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I like it.. :thumbsup:

Blade cleaning suggestion... remove blade and soak in mineral spirits while washing all the wheels and guides with same. After a two hour soak in the mineral spirits, remove blade and wipe down with a shop rag (those course red ones).

Repeat as needed until all pitch has been removed from everything.

Pine often makes a real mess out of blades and anything that the blades run against.


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## igster (Oct 31, 2013)

Search "Steve Garrison" or scroll saw shells on YouTube and he's got a video of how he makes them...they are stunning. I don't know how he gets the glass finish on 'em - he mentions in the video he spray-coats...must be a ton of coats LOL


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Very cool idea and well executed. Got any pics during the cutting process? Do you cut the wedge angle AND the shape on the bandsaw?


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

captainawesome said:


> Very cool idea and well executed. Got any pics during the cutting process? Do you cut the wedge angle AND the shape on the bandsaw?


These are scrollsaw projects, not bandsaw. I wouldn't want to try this technique that close to a moving bandsaw blade. The bandsaw is only used to rough out the wedges you start the shell with. i've also done the wdges on a table saw.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Gary Beasley said:


> These are scrollsaw projects, not bandsaw. I wouldn't want to try this technique that close to a moving bandsaw blade. The bandsaw is only used to rough out the wedges you start the shell with. i've also done the wdges on a table saw.


I just figured the bandsaw would leave too rough of a face to glue up the pieces without gaps.


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## igster (Oct 31, 2013)

I used an 1/8"blade on my bandsaw to do all the cutting, except for a 1/2" blade when making the diagonal rip along the board edge at the beginning. Basically you start out with a 2x6 on its short edge and angle the blade until you get a diagonal cut that goes from the top outside corner down to the bottom inside corner, leaving about 1/8" between the actual corner and the cut. This cut makes the wedges. Angle the blade back to vertical and then rip the long board into 5 equal pieces, resulting in 5 6"x6" squared wedges. Next, number them 1 thru 5, and sand down each face until they are smooth and leave no gaps betwen when you put them face to face, small edge on bottom. On wedge #1 draw a small half circle on the bottom edge center line (you can trace a dime). With the blade set back at the angle used to make the diagonal rip cut, cut out that circle, going clockwise. Then place board#1 on top of board , trace the outline of the cut, cut that piece, place board 2 on top of board 3, trace, cut...repeat this going from board to board tracing each cut onto the next as you go. You will end up with a series of increasing-diameter and thickness wedge arches, as a result of the blade being at an angle. Keep them all in order - they are worse than the bandsaw snake pieces to figure out if they get mixed up  I then sanded the faces of each wedge on a disc sander to smooth out the cuts (very light pressure!), and started glueing them together in pairs. Then those pairs get glued together, until you end up with 4 - 6 wedge assemblies. Here you do the prepatory surface sanding before the thing becomes too curled up on itself. Once you are down to the last wedge assemblies the hard part becomes clamping them together...I used rubber bands but it's stll a bear because of the angles.

In the YouTube video the guy does a pretty abridged version of how he does it, but its enough to grasp the concept. He sells an e-book on EBay, BTW, on how to do it...I guess it probably has all the little details on specific angles and the finishing.

In reality, doing it on the bandsaw was not really that hard - my fingers were never near enough to the blade to be in danger.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I have the magazine that these were featured in and I've wanted to try them for a while but just haven't for some reason. Now that I've seen yours, it is definitely on my list of things to do. Great work. I really love it.


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## Duncancruiser (Dec 6, 2011)

I just watched a YouTube video on how to make those. Yours look awesome. I need to get me a scroll saw soon.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

simple green will clean yoru blades and is far less caustic than mineral spirits. Less hazardous to your lungs and eyes as well... Same cleaning process though.


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## BobCol (Jan 23, 2009)

Nice looking shell. I figured it out by watching the ytube but he doesn't give much away. Here is a picture of a shell I did
from Marine Ply wood. Tried to add pic but didn't happen sorry.


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