Author Topic: Blades  (Read 4526 times)

Offline dchishol

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Blades
« on: June 02, 2017, 11:15:21 am »
Hi everyone. I just cut a small batmobile out of 1.5 inch thick pine. The car is about 4 inches long and two inches high. It is by far the most accurate cut I have ever made, ( I am a rookie to the scrollsaw) but it took forever to make the cut. I used a #7 skip tooth pinless blade and I would think that the skip tooth is at least part of my speed problem. I seem to get speed with pinned, large blades but lose the accuracy. Can anyone help? Thanks

Offline sawdust703

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Re: Blades
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2017, 04:28:56 pm »
there shouldn't have been any reason why a #7 plain end blade took any difference in cutting time than a pin end. Especially in pine. A #5  would have been more than enough blade to handle that.

What type of saw are you using? Did you have enough tension on the blade? Was your blade in your blade holders correctly? Were you using a new blade? Some more info on your saw will help answer your questions. These questions are the first that come to mind.
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Offline julief

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Re: Blades
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2017, 08:06:48 am »
A #7 should have been overkill on pine.  It is my experience that there are no good pinned blades.  All the ones I have ever bought have been from various hardware stores and cut like crap.  I think you will find if you go to a better blade like Flying Dutchman or Olson, you will find them less expensive and far better to use.  They keep their edge longer and just do an overall better job.  Many people here have expressed the amazing difference once they have gone from hardware store blades to a better blade, regardless of the quality of the saw.  I have seen the most amazing pieces cut on the most basic of saws.  If your machine has the capability of using pinless blades or can be converted to use pinless blades, I highly recommend you try a different brand of blades.  Mikes workshop used to offer a variety pack of flying Dutchman blades.  Try as many as you can and you will find the blade that you are most comfortable with.  The vast majority of my cutting is with a #3 or #5 reverse tooth blade.

Offline dchishol

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Re: Blades
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2017, 10:31:53 am »
Thanks for the input. I haven't been using pinless blades much as my "Maximum" saw (Canadian Tire housebrand) only has small M4 set screws to hold the blades. I am working on a system to make that an easier process. I'm thinking an M4 screw with a hex head or something like that. I will look at blade tension as the blade I used for this toy was an Olson #7 skip tooth and as you say should handle 1.5 inch pine.  again thanks for your help.

Offline dchishol

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Re: Blades
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2017, 07:46:31 pm »
Got some proper hex bolts to hold my blades instead of the little set screws supplied. All is well now with tension and cutting speed. Thanks all for the input especially sawdust703.

Offline sawdust703

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Re: Blades
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2017, 08:14:20 pm »
you're very welcome, Sir. Anything I can do to help you, pm me anytime. keep makin' sawdust, brother!
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Offline Jim Finn

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Re: Blades
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2017, 07:49:27 pm »
I cut thick pine to make toys.  I use an Olsen #7 precision ground blade with good results.  What concerns me, with your original post, is that you are concerned with cutting speed.  A scroll saw is the slowest cutting saw in any workshop.  If you push too much to cut faster you will get a crooked cut and will dull and break blades easily.  Slow down  your cut, and remember a scroll saw cuts  faster across the grain and slower with the grain.
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Offline sawdust703

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Re: Blades
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2017, 11:14:06 pm »
thats a fact, Mr. Jim. Not only that, but, the blade has a tendency to trail the wood grain, & makes it even more difficult to cut straight lines. Usually the end result is crooked lines, broken blades, frustration, & new words added to the vocabulary.
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Offline dchishol

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Re: Blades
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2017, 08:44:15 am »
Thanks to Jim and Sawdust. I have increased my patience level and concentrate on the operation, not the result... it's more fun that way.

Offline Toneman

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Re: Blades
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2017, 07:39:38 pm »
I find myself many times getting in too big a rush instead of just letting the blade and saw do their thing! I tend to tense up when the blade is cutting slow and have found that the simple act of just dropping my shoulders releases that tension and now the blade can do it's thing without me rushing it!

Offline sawdust703

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Re: Blades
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2017, 08:30:25 am »
that's the right thing to do, toneman. Let the blade do the work.
Quote

When I was a newbie, 25+ years ago, patience was NOT in my vocabulary. I had my Father to contend w/as a dispatcher & he owned the trucks, we had 10 trucks on the road, 3 of us knew how to count above 10.(the # of gears in the other trucks) drivers who were english, but couldn't follow written instructions in english, couldn't read a map, be on time, had mad farmers barkin' at us constantly! Stress was HIGH, home time was short, & my attitude sucked! i came in off the truck one saturday evening, & my loving bride proceeded to tell me how i looked like hell after just walkin' in the door. Yea, I missed her, too. She loaded me in the pick up & hauled me to the ER. The Sawbones looked me over, he told me if I didn't quit eatin', sleepin', thinkin', & drinkin' trucks, they were goin' to drop me in a deep hole, & damn soon! About that time, my bride jumps up & says "you need a hobby!" The look on my face must've been to die for because they all looked at me and laughed!

The next weekend I was home, my bride had things lined out to go look at wood working tools. And, a single speed scroll saw, ras, & a few other things is what I started with. I cannot begin to tell ya how many books i read on the scroll saw, ras, & router. I was determined to show my bride I could bring light to her act of brilliance. I made who knows how many semi loads of customized firewood before I actually attempted my first project. But the point of all this is that the saw taught me to slow down, relax, & focus, which I'd never done before!!! Slow done in our business was goin' against the grain of things, which created huge waves!

By the time I wore out that single speed Craftsman, I was learning different blades, different woods, & doin' projects. PATIENCE is the key to scrollin', toneman. I still have that ol' saw in the basement, plus five more I've added to the shop since. It is in pieces on account of I'm not able to locate parts for it. But in the last 25+ years, I've perfected the scroll saw, sell my products all over the country. But it taught me a hard lesson not only with the saw, but with life, too. The more you try to push & rush thru a project, you'll just break blades, screw up the project, & say words what ain't proper around womenfolk. It also taught me to slow down enough to think things thru before I start any project. Look it over & study it. Think about the different size blades you're goin' to need in various places in the project, & have them at ready when you get to that point. Just slow down & let the blade & saw do it's job, brother! You'll feel better.

my apologies for the lengthy "rant," but sometimes it takes me awhile to get at what I'm tryin' to say. keep makin' sawdust, & enjoy the time you've got with your saw. Brad.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2017, 08:39:09 am by sawdust703 »
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Offline sawdust703

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Re: Blades
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2017, 05:42:38 am »
its kinda odd in a way maybe, but, I was sittin' at the saw yesterday, & this thread came to mind. I was cuttin' out some places that had a fair amount of detail, & was using a #5 skip tooth. the project is in 1/2" oak. I don't normally use that aggressive of a  blade, but the places I was cuttin' had room to turn & I could get thru the project a little quicker. Then I got into some spots where the skip tooth wouldn't dance the dance, so I went to a #5 polar blade. And it does exactly what I need it to do, makes the curves ok. So far the project looks great!

I got to thinkin' a little bit about this thread some more as I kept cuttin'. I think, or feel like this is where alot of scrollers get in a bind. Maybe I'm wrong, but especially the newbies tryin' to learn this hobby. You can use say a #5 skip tooth blade on your project, but you're just not gettin' the results you want. Or you're not able to make the turns w/the skip tooth. The reason I found is the the kerf is to wide on the skip tooth blade, & if you don't have the ability to make adjustments to the saw so it will cut a sharper turn, what next?

You can still make those sharp turns, but use a smaller kerf blade, & slow your blade speed down a little. If you take a look at the #5 skip tooth & the #5 polar blade, you'll notice a difference in the width of the blade. That's the size of kerf it will cut. With a polar blade of any size, you can turn sharper & cleaner, & make a more thorough cut in your project.

Every blade has it's place, don't misunderstand, but if you're dealin' with alot of detail, & you're not havin' much luck w/a skip tooth, try a polar blade of the same size on the detail. A polar blade is a good choice for that situation. Just somethin' I was thinkin' about. Most experienced scrollers know this, but newbies don't, & sometimes a little clarification, for what it's worth, helps out. Just a thought. brad.
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Offline dchishol

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Re: Blades
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2017, 08:43:42 pm »
Hi: I haven't been here for a while and am pleasantly surprised that you are still interested in this question. Thanks for the input. I'm still learningand trying to improve my work. here is a sample.

 

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