kkrunde Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Ok it is 4:30 in the morning and I'm so going to regret being up when morning comes, but I'm just so excited I can't sleep hehe. I have been reading about different blades and I have seen the name "Flying Dutchman" come up a lot. Is this a good blade to use? My saw takes 5" pinned and plain blades, is a flying dutchman available for me to use? I watched a you tube video and the man was using that type of blade and it looked pretty cool. Thanks! Kelly Rob Roy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullyscroller Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Kelly, in my opinion Flying dutchman ultra reverse are the best blades out there. All i use are #3 fdur ordered from Mike. Trash the blades you get from the big box stores and order from Mike and you will not regret it. sully Rob Roy and Scrolling Steve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtP Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I have to agree with Sully. Just in case you don't know who Mike is here is his website www.mikesworkshop.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I like Olson blades They are a good blade I use #3 reverse blades' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimper Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Sorry to be a killjoy but a lot of people in the UK scroll-saw forum have reported problems with FD blades breaking with recent FD blade purchases (inc myself) For at least the last 20 years I have used Niqua blades but reading how good FD blades were I ordered some, however I found they kept breaking near the top or bottom after very little use whereas the Niqua blades only need replacing when blunt and only very rarely break. Quite a few people in the forum (UK) have reported the same problem and some have switched to different brands one being Olson. I can only assume that our experience is because of a faulty batch as previous reports on FD were positive. Hope I don't offend anyone with the above but felt it fair to give my experience with the blades. Rob Roy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Hi Kelly ,Good morning!I use the flying dutchmans blades and like them .I like the big box store blades too.I don't like to sand too much so i order the scroll reverse blades .The have teeth on the bottom that cut on the up stroke and leave minimul sanding on the bottom.Seeings as your new ,the blades go in the scroll saw with the teeth faceing down.When they are reversed it leaves fuzzys on your pattern paper and you can't see the line to cut very good .Plus it leaves your good side chipped.Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendita Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I like Mikes blades also but he won't ship to Mexico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryEA Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Sloan's Woodshop - " The Scroll Saw Store " www.sloanswoodshop.com/ - Similar to Sloan's Woodshop - " The Scroll Saw Store " Welcome to Sloan's Woodshop - The Scroll Saw Store. Mike's Workshop English featuring: my life story, a cancer ...https://www. mikesworkshop.com/ I order from both Sloan's and Mikes. Good prices & good blades IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSliver Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 "Sorry to be a killjoy but a lot of people in the UK scroll-saw forum have reported problems with FD blades breaking with recent FD blade purchases (inc myself) For at least the last 20 years I have used Niqua blades but reading how good FD blades were I ordered some, however I found they kept breaking near the top or bottom after very little use whereas the Niqua blades only need replacing when blunt and only very rarely break. Quite a few people in the forum (UK) have reported the same problem and some have switched to different brands one being Olson. I can only assume that our experience is because of a faulty batch as previous reports on FD were positive. Hope I don't offend anyone with the above but felt it fair to give my experience with the blades." Are you aware that Niqua and Flying Dutchman are the same? Niqua is the the manufacturer in Germany and Mikes's Workshop orders blades from Niqua and names them Flying Dutchman. bobscroll 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonR Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I use FD spiral blades from Mike exclusively. Don R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I'm a big FD fan, the only blades I use now. I really think the spirals are worth giving a try to also. A FD New Spiral 3/0 is my main blade now. You can email Mike and he will probably send you a couple to try for free. Or give him a call. Tell him about your saw, what type of cutting you want to do and he will recommend what to try. He also has a nice assorted pack you can purchase and try out several types of blades. Do I sound like a Mike fan, well I am, he sell a great produce, gives great service and from the dealings I have had with him and the phone conversations I think he is a great person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I use Olsan or FD. Both are good. FD is probably better. Any I have used still go dull pretty quick when used to cut BB. Some if you said that was because of the adhesive used in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdub4ever Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I use FD blades exclusively. I like the FD-UR #1 and the #3. I also use the #2 and #3/0 spirals for portraits. Mike at Mikes Workshop is the best place to get them. He is awesome to deal with. Usually get my order of blades in 3 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multifasited Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) Well you have heard just about all the reviews ,I'm old and hate all the ,political correctness,IMHO saws, all saws do certain things over and over blades the same thing ,pick your best blade for the job ,the most problematic part of scrolling is the adjustable Nut feeding and steering the wood to them ,moods & temperment are the adjustable part ! Most problems and failures of blades and saws are if not caused by are excellerated by the Nut operating the saw .Control of speed of saw ,speed and pressure both straight and side are controlled by the adjustable nut ! YOU AND ME ! Practise and awareness of what your actually doing, saves more issues than you can count .When issues occur and they will ,you know where to look first !Too much force & speed has dulled ,and broke more blades and wore out more good machines then anything else ! TRUE there are better machines and better blades ,BUT all are subject the same limiting factor Mainly the OPERATOR ! Edited November 17, 2014 by Multifasited Bendita and Rob Roy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browders Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I think if you stand 100 scrollers in a row, 80 of them will be faithful followers of FD blades. There is no doubt that they are a well-constructed blade. That said, I have never had good luck with them. It probably says more about me than the blades, but I just have trouble controlling them, especially when cutting thinner stock. I do use them for thicker stock with pretty good results. My personal favorite is the Olson reverse blade. I don't know that it lasts as long, but I find I feed fewer projects to the wood stove. Probably the best advice as stated above is to try several different brands and styles and see which works best for you. Happy Scrolling!! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Scroller Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 I buy mine from here. http://www.scrollsawbladespatterns.com/intro_packs_only.htmand also buy these by the gross http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XNiqua+blades&_nkw=Niqua+blades&_sacat=0 and as Scrimper said they wear out before they break. Roly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimper Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 "Sorry to be a killjoy but a lot of people in the UK scroll-saw forum have reported problems with FD blades breaking with recent FD blade purchases (inc myself) For at least the last 20 years I have used Niqua blades but reading how good FD blades were I ordered some, however I found they kept breaking near the top or bottom after very little use whereas the Niqua blades only need replacing when blunt and only very rarely break. Quite a few people in the forum (UK) have reported the same problem and some have switched to different brands one being Olson. I can only assume that our experience is because of a faulty batch as previous reports on FD were positive. Hope I don't offend anyone with the above but felt it fair to give my experience with the blades." Are you aware that Niqua and Flying Dutchman are the same? Niqua is the the manufacturer in Germany and Mikes's Workshop orders blades from Niqua and names them Flying Dutchman. I am not convinced TBH can you show evidence that FD blades are the same as Niqua? Because they certainly look different, for starters the FD blades I bought have a tiny kink to indicate the correct way to fit the blade, all of the Niqua blades that I have used in the past 25+ years have not had such a kink! Also if what you say is true then there is not much point paying extra for FD blades if the cheaper Niqua are identical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimper Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Well you have heard just about all the reviews ,I'm old and hate all the ,political correctness,IMHO saws, all saws do certain things over and over blades the same thing ,pick your best blade for the job ,the most problematic part of scrolling is the adjustable Nut feeding and steering the wood to them ,moods & temperment are the adjustable part ! Most problems and failures of blades and saws are if not caused by are excellerated by the Nut operating the saw .Control of speed of saw ,speed and pressure both straight and side are controlled by the adjustable nut ! YOU AND ME ! Practise and awareness of what your actually doing, saves more issues than you can count .When issues occur and they will ,you know where to look first !Too much force & speed has dulled ,and broke more blades and wore out more good machines then anything else ! TRUE there are better machines and better blades ,BUT all are subject the same limiting factor Mainly the OPERATOR ! Well I may be a 'Nut' but I do know how to operate a Fretsaw and how to make best use of the blades, I have been doing fretwork for over 50 years using a hand-frame, a treadle machine and for the past 20+ years a power fretsaw. I realise that people here are very pro FD blades and I was dubious of mentioning my experiences with them fearing that I would be branded a 'Nutcase' However as I mentioned earlier I am not the only person who has had problems recently with FD blades as quite a few other UK scrollers have reported problems with recent deliveries of these blades. The fact is that I have had a lot more breakages with FD blades after very short use than with any other make of blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 Hi Kelly. Best advice I have is to buy some FD blades and give them a try. It's mostly personal preference. If you don't like them try another brand. I am happy with FD blades but mostly I get great service from Mike. I also like Olsen and Pegasus. Generally speaking, I think blades are inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkrunde Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thank you all for your thoughts, I really appreciate them I asked Mike for the 2 sample blades to give them a try. I'm not happy with the blade I am currently using, but it is very possible it is just me It seems big and I struggle with turns, but that probably comes with a lot of practice too. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustLarry Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Couple of old posts on Niqua and FD Blades. Interesting reading and could answer some questions on this post. Looks like, at least back then, they be the same. http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/tools-and-blades/34573.htm http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/tools-and-blades/6156.htm Larry Travis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multifasited Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Scrimper ,As I mentioned on a similar question .weeks ago IMHO ,that heat treat process ,can make especially fine blades ,if not annealed exactly leave blades very hard and brittle ,this is normally a batch error that QC did not catch .even pro's would be hard pressed to not have breakage issues ,my experience with FD's over the long haul (yrs.) have served me very well ,I can't speak to The UK shipment ,not connected to Mike or FD but ,the issue I mentioned is real and especially true with newer scrollers .Did not intend to offend any one in my comments mearly stating facts most common ,but seldom admitted . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkey Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 In my short experience I like FD blades the best. The Pegasus blades I tried kept breaking. The FD blades break but only after I have used them past where they got dull and should have been changed. I cut mostly with the new FD 3/0 spiral. I order all of my blades from Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton717 Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I used to use olsen blades, now I only use flying Dutchman blades. To me they cut more aggresive which I like. Get a couple different brands to try and see which one you like the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hi Kelly, As a scroll saw instructor I start my students off with Olson skip tooth blades. They are an over all good blade and readily available. Personally I use Olson reverse tooth blades is sizes 2/0 to 9. I also use Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse blades in sizes 1 to 9. The FD UR 2/0 do not work for me so I use Olson 2/0r instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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