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Blue Print For a Scrolling Jig?


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Sorry no photographs...
Take a 24inch length of 1 inch by 3/8 thick bar and draw one one down (not correcting for growth in width until it is about 2 inches wide by whatever thick at the end. Extend this taper back about 6 inches.

Place the stock on edge and knock the spread material off to one side of the bar. That is one side will be straight and one side will flare for the last 6 inches or so.

If you are right handed, you will probably want to work off the right hand side of the jig. That being the case, place the flared side to your LEFT as you scroll the bar over the rounded edge of the anvil to start.

Proceed as per making a scroll, checking your jig against your chalk drawing on a bit of rusty tin plate (or paper drawing soaking wet on a metal top)

Once you have the first few inches scroll, stop and clean up the outer surface. By that I mean get rid of the lipping and cupping as it will effect all your other scrolls.

Scroll some more and do a little more clean up.

Take your time - this is the mother of all scrolls - it had better be right.

Weld a short section of angle iron across the bottom when you have finished and it will hold in the vice.

You can use thinner stock, but it will kink a lot easier as you scroll causing sharp intakes of breath and much gnashing of the teeth.

Edited by Mark Aspery
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I use a lot of scroll forms so I'll add just a bit to Mark's always detailed description.

The scroll form has to fit the inside of the material so what may be a gorgeous form will not necessarily produce a "golden mean" scroll. You can test this by making a form, then making a scroll on the form, then use that scroll as a form for another scroll, etc. You will notice visual differences at every iteration.

As Mark also noted, the other thing I do is weld a piece of angle iron to the bottom of the form then the angle iron is clamped in a vise. This prevents springing the form when bending material that is not hot enough to easily move. I make almost every form from 1/4"x1" flat iron but can bend 5/8 hot on this size stock because it's braced by the angle iron across each radius. The worst problem I ever have is that the scroll pliers occasionally slip and allow the scroll to move slightly as I'm pulling it around.

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One more bit to think about: If you're making ribbon scrolls or any kind that simply taper to the end, you have no worries.

However if you're doing solid stub end, halfpenny or any kind of scroll that doesn't, you'll need to plan for that in the jig making and leave room for it.
A good example is the solid stub end scroll. If you try to start it on the scroll jig, two things are likely to happen. The first is you will almost never get a good curve started and the second is, you're likely to start a crack right at the point of the snub. So with a scroll like this, it's best to start it by hand and eye. After you have the good start, on to the jig. The jig for scroll like this, will need to leave room for first inch or two.


Gerald is quite right in pointing out this addition to the scrolling jig. Mind you, he should be...it is his area of expertise.

Many a good scroll end has been ruined by forcing it onto an improper jig.
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You guys rock!. It's funny as a draftsman I can draw a scroll with a compass. It is a simple matter of what size of line you are trying to generate the spiral from. But when I am away from the drafting table, it seems that my brain is still at the table. In other words, "I haz teh dumb, I can not brain" Again thank you to all of the respondents for your help and suggestions. This is exactly why I chose to join IFI, because I saw quality and expedient dissemination of knowledge.

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