Dumb Scottish questions

[rob roy]

Hi, to all you good folks out there. Here come the stupid questions I spoke about in my introduction. I am able to buy OLSON blades here in Scotland. They have Crown tooth,Double tooth, which is self explanatory, Skip tooth which I assume is similar to band saw teeth. It has also been suggested I don't use spiral blades. Could some of you kind folks put me in the right direction as to what would be a good selection of blades for every day use. All these numbers are a bit confusing. Mind you at 65 years of age it's very easy to get confused. I feel a bit dumb asking questions like this after 50 years working with wood, but a scroll saw is something I have never used until now.Hopefully with your help I will master it. thank you in advance.
 Roy.

[julief]

I rarely use crown tooth or double tooth blades.  I use both Olson and Flying Dutchman.  I use a ton of reverse tooth blades.  Olson's platinum line and Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse are my favorite.  The blade you use depends upon what you are cutting and how thick.   The skip tooth blades remove more sawdust while you are cutting and a lot of people like them - mostly for fretwork.  Don't eliminate spirals from your selection based on what others have told you.  You either love them or hate them but they are a necessity on larger projects and portraits.  Get yourself a decent selection of blades and try them all.  What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.  There are charts available to give you an idea where to start with the blade sizes.  I believe Mike's workshop has one and I am sure other folks here will direct you to some different ones.  It's just a jump off point - adjust it to fit your needs and what is comfortable to you.

[rob roy]

Hi Julie. Thank you very much for your advice. I shall pore over the catalogues and get a load of blades as you suggest. Scrolling is not the most popular hobby here in Scotland, in fact in the whole of the UK. Some people think it is old fashioned but there is no need for it to be that way, just look at some of Steve's patterns and many others who display their beautiful creations on this site. Old fashioned my backside!! Thanks again Julie.
Roy
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[dgman]

Hey Roy, Julie has given you good advice. I too use Olsen and Flying Dutchman blades. If you are just starting out on the scroll saw, I would use the Olsen skip tooth blade, In sizes depending on thickness and type of wood. They are a good general blade. After you get the hang of it, you can experiment with the other types of blades. The spiral blades are great for portrait type patterns and for when your projects are bigger than the saw can handle, but the are very difficult to control. I would stay away from them until you have a little experience on the saw.
What do you want to cut? Let us know and we will recommend what sizes to choose. Start with an assortment of sizes. Get some #2,3 and #5 and #7 in skip tooth. this will give a good assortment to start with.

[rob roy]

Thank you Dan for your advice. I probably won't be cutting anything thicker than 6mm, sorry Dan, I forgot you still use inches, so it is quarter inch. Those numbers you listed. Are they the same for each manufacturer or do they all use different numbers?. I.E. is the olson number the same as the flying dutchman. A lot of technical stuff there for a small saw. The only way to sort this out is the same way as we did when our woodshop got a new CNC router. A quick glance through the manual, then get the sleeves rolled up and get on with it. I think i'm going to enjoy this scrolling hobby. Thanks again Dan.
Roy.

[dgman]

Yeah, We are still a bit barbaric over here across the pond! for 1/4" material, I would go with a #3 or #5 to start with. Once you get going, you may want to adjust.
The numbering system is a general way of sizing between the different brands. They will be approximately the same size, but not necessarily the exact size.

[rob roy]

Hi Dan thank you for that advice.  I will order up some blades in those sizes and start making some sawdust. I suppose that is better than making nothing?? I wouldn't say you are barbaric using feet and inches I still jump back and forth between them depending what I'm doing, which is OK as long as you remember what system you're working with. My old boss used to say "I've cut this board three times and it still don't fit". That always amused the trainees. Thanks again Dan and I will let you know how it goes.
Roy.

[DaveP]

Hi Rob

I stay in Dumfries and one of the best things I have ever done was to take some good advise
and order blades from Mike.

So... my advice is to order some Flying Dutchman - New Ultra Reverse

Not only do they seem to last longer and cut straighter.. but its also almost like they know which way the pattern is going to go (but that may be just me using the Jedi force)

But the greatest thing about them is that the top of the blade is marked ..  

http://www.mikesworkshop.com/

P.S there's no such thing as a 'Dum Scottish Question'.. unless of course its the old "Whats worn under the kilt" question, and the answer for all the viewers of this thread is..

[rob roy]

Hi Dave, nice to meet you and thank you for your advice. You're reasonably close to kilmarnock. Been Doon Hame a few times. I will look up Mikes Workshop and see what I can get. Thanks again Dave.
Roy

[Gabby]

Roy,
Mike has an assortment sampler with a nice plastic partitioned envelope that comes in handy.
I still have some of those on hand and will eventually use them up.
I personally stay in the #1 through #5 range for the things I cut. Bill P. sent me a big bunch of #1's and I really like them for tight fragile cuts. Mike's FD spirals work good, though I haven't had much call to use them yet. They cut a wider kurf than the straight blades, and have a tendency to want to follow the grain. Most of the portrait cutters use them.
Try any blades you can get your hands on and stick with what works for you. Most of the blades I've broken were due to pilot error, in my case too much side force against the side of the blade which heats it up and weakens and dulls it prematurely. If you have a dead man switch operated by your foot, (push to run, let off to stop), you can stop the saw then just let go of the wood and see what happens. If you are pushing against the side of the blade it will spring back and you'll see what's happening and correct for it. If you feel like you're having to use quite a bit of pressure to make the blade cut it's probably dull, change it and see if there is a difference.
A lot of this is trial and error, getting a feel for what works best. Don't be afraid of tightening that blade up TIGHT I usually use Steve's PING test for getting close to tight enough, then once I'm cutting I tighten it again until side pressure only moves about 1/16" 2mm each side of vertical with a moderate amount of pressure (finger tips only) play with it until you have it working for you. BTW the dead man switch is a great aid to cutting and peace of mind. When (not if) a blade breaks it becomes automatic to lift your foot to stop the saw, it also comes in handy to stop while making a cut and you don't have to hold the wood one handed, and fumble for the switch.
Well I've gabbed enough for now, still living up to my moniker. 
I hope this helps,
Gabby

[rob roy]

Hi Gabby. Well, what can I say! An encyclopaedia of scrolling in a couple of paragraphs.lol. When I picked up your post at 12-30 this afternoon I wondered what it was, then i realised you had answered quite a few questions I was going to ask. You must be psychic,( or some would say Psychotic. lol). I can assure you the information you gave me was very welcome indeed. You description of the Spiral blades is spot on. When I was cleaning up the old REXON machine I found some spiral blades in a little black box fixed to the side of the machine so I thought I would give them a try. First mistake!!!!. They go all over the place unless you take good control over them, in fact THEY take over, so I'll give them a miss and stick to ordinary blades for now,if I ever get them. I ordered some OLSON blades here in Scotland a couple of weeks ago and I'm still waiting for them, talk about Snail Mail. I would have been quicker booking a flight to the US and picking them up personally from Mikes Workshop.
I am really looking forward to getting all the practicing over with and get my teeth into some challenging scrolling. Just think,50 years in the woodworking trade and never operated a scroll saw!!. Any work of that type was always contracted out to other companies. This happened quite often as we did a lot of Church work. Most of this was Baptismal Fonts,organ fronts( they were fun!) altars, pews and just about anything else found in Churches and Synagogues. All in all very interesting work.Anyway that's enough of my history, it gets boring after a while. I must thank you again Gabby for your tutorial,a mine of information, well a small pit at least.Ha Ha.
All the very best from Scotland.
Roy.
 

[woodworker]

this site is great for help and quick too,hi,DaveP,i came from near thornhill,Dumfriesshire,been in australia since 1969,

[rob roy]

Hi wood worker,Iv'e already had a lot of help from the guys and gals on the site some of it from Davep. I'm just a bit up the road from Dave in Kilmarnock. I'll bet its a bit warmer in Aussieland. Best wishes from the OLD Country.
Roy.

[Gabby]

Roy,
I love your sense of humor, we may be splinters off the same board! You know how splinters are, you can't ignore them and they get under your skin. LOL 
I have a photographic memory, problem is it's out of film. 

I'm happy to have been of some help.
I have a feeling Mike could probably get blades to you sooner, and you would be much happier with his Flying Dutchman blades. He joins us here from time to time so give him a shout and I'll bet he will get back to you. Just start a new topic here saying Hey Mike I need blades, or such in the subject line. Maybe if he can't get them to you personally he can tell you who can.

A final thought in parting, without humor this would be a dull dreary life!
Your side kick,
Gabby

[rob roy]

Hi Gabby, just caught your post there. I couldn't agree with you more RE the splinters, can't ignore them and they get under your skin. I MARRIED a splinter!!!. Can't complain really she keeps the stove going.
My father's favourite  saying was " life's too short to take it seriously" and i agree with that.
Best wishes from Scotland .
Roy.