Okay, what am I doing wrong?

[Ray-CA]

This is my first attempt at scallops/fish scales. Three turned out acceptable and the fourth is short. I used a jig with a stop block and rotated the blank 180 degrees for each cut. Any advice?

Thanks
Ray

 

[KenB259]

Stop block should be opposite end your cutting, probably how you had it and the end that is touching the stop block has to be square, so it's always in the same distance when subsequent cuts are made. Alternatively, you can create a stop with a protruding point that will always be in the center of the blank. Also it helps that your blank is square to start with on the width and height.

 

[Ray-CA]

Yep, squared both ends of the blank and the stop I use is a squared chunk of oak.

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[KenB259]

Such a small cut, I don't think blade deflection would come into play. The only other thing I can think of is on the short cut, maybe there was a small wood chip holding it from being all the way to the stop block. Doesn't take much on an angled cut to be noticeable on a pattern.

 

[hewunch]

Looks like it could be a drill deflection where the hole didn't make it to the center?

 

[sorcerertd]

The only other thing I can think of is on the short cut, maybe there was a small wood chip holding it from being all the way to the stop block.

Been there. It's such a simple thing that throws everything off, just like a drop of CA on the head spindle or a speck in the morse taper. Grrr.

While this is not specifically what you are asking about, I noticed that the scallops pattern/overlay is not consistent around the barrel. I'm very much a novice at this stuff myself, having only done a few scallops, but I have learned that the order you cut/glue in does make a big difference depending on the look you are going for. I think opposite sides first gives a more balanced look.

 

[jttheclockman]

The big thing with doing scallops as mentioned is square at all times. When you go to trim off the excess you need to be careful not to sand too much off or it will take the blank out of square and that causes these type problems.

 

[Ray-CA]

Well, it looks like I need to find some of my lower grade blanks etc. and get back into the shop. Thanks for all the comments. I do appreciate all the help.

Ray