Kris Martinson Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Does anyone know of a way to make a fence for a scroll saw, to allow cutting of straight cuts, perfect right angles, and measured angles? oneleggimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have heard of it but I just don't see it as practical. As you know, most scroll saw blades have a "lead" to them causing them to cut at an angle, and every blade will be different. In my opinion, you need to bite the bullet and invest in a small table saw. Check out Craig's list and see what's available in your area. There are job site saws that fold up so you can tuck it into a corner. Look into it! Scrolling Steve, SCROLLSAW703 and Kris Martinson 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Kris, I agree with Dan (dgman), I don't see a fence being very useful due to the amount of drift that the blades have. I use flat blades, I don't use spiral blades, so, I don't know if a fence would work with them. Len Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) I used my finger as a fence to do a "John 3:16"-3'long and it worked like a charm with a spiral it's in my old gallery amazingkevin Edited August 11, 2015 by amazingkevin oneleggimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson56 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have often thought about that,I have to agree with whats been said,I don't think it would be practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puzzleguy Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 What sufices is putting your left hand or a finger or two on the table of the saw and pushing with the other hand against the finger in a straight motion - you will get a stright cut -take your time and if it zig zags at all try a more agressive blade like a 459 olsen ( # 9 blade -skip precision ground ) depnds on the wood or your saw as to how fast it will cut -experimentation is the key ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Scroller Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 What sufices is putting your left hand or a finger or two on the table of the saw and pushing with the other hand against the finger in a straight motion - you will get a stright cut -take your time and if it zig zags at all try a more agressive blade like a 459 olsen ( # 9 blade -skip precision ground ) depnds on the wood or your saw as to how fast it will cut -experimentation is the key ! Could you not use a ruler? It would take a few practice runs but seems it might work better than your hand. Granted this is not based on experience, just an idea. I've thought about a fence myself. oneleggimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I have found that for me I am able to cut straight lines quite well. At first it was a difficult task but now it seems that it is just another cut. I think that using a double tooth blade may help to achieve a straight line cut because they are really non aggressive blades and are quite controllable. Give those a try and see if that helps you as it has me Dick heppnerguy SCROLLSAW703 and oneleggimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneleggimp Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I used my finger as a fence to do a "John 3:16"-3'long and it worked like a charm with a spiral it's in my old gallery amazingkevin That is a beautiful sign, danny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayH Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 The comments about how the manufacturing of blades causes drift with fences is valid with conventional blades but the use of spiral blades causes equal drift in all directions which means no drift at all. The added advantage is that spiral blades are non directional so I have been able to cut straight lines over a metre long by moving the wood to the side rather than away from me. I have a Hegner Multicut 1 and improvised a fence with a straight piece of wood and 2 clamps. The only negative is that spiral blades cut a wider kerf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 57 minutes ago, RayH said: The comments about how the manufacturing of blades causes drift with fences is valid with conventional blades but the use of spiral blades causes equal drift in all directions which means no drift at all. The added advantage is that spiral blades are non directional so I have been able to cut straight lines over a metre long by moving the wood to the side rather than away from me. I have a Hegner Multicut 1 and improvised a fence with a straight piece of wood and 2 clamps. The only negative is that spiral blades cut a wider kerf. While this may be true, a spiral blade will not give as smooth a cut as a flat blade or a table saw blade. SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 Over the many many years that a scroll saw has been on the market and all the different style saws there are there has never been to my knowledge a fence of any kind that was specific to a saw. The reason is a scroll saw is not meant to be a precision saw as much as a table saw or band saw is. Not to say that precision work can not be done but all cuts will have flaws in them no matter how good you are free hand cutting. Can a fence be made sure it can. Take a straight piece of aluminum and double side tape to it and stick it to your table to match the drift of your blade and there is your fence. Good luck with that though. SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOE_M Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 Lowes sells a 4-pack of Bosch blades that they claim are for a scroll saw. They are bigger and fatter than some of my bandsaw blades and make a #9 blade look skinny. You can cut perfectly straight lines with them and nothing else - they're so fat you'd have an easier time cutting curves on a tablesaw than with these blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 For straight cuts I use a folding table saw but when too lazy to open the table saw I have a 9" HF band saw and use JTTHCLOCKMAN's suggestion and use a 1" aluminum angle held with small C clamps. I hear lots of negatives about the 9" but mine gets a lot of use. It's cheap and works well. Don't cut 2X4's but does very well on thinner woods and pen blanks. SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCROLLSAW703 Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 the scroll saw was designed for fretwork, inside cuts, tight turn cuts in curves in designs & such. Not a dimensional saw. The blades aren't designed to for that. A table saw or band saw would be of better service for that, & has a fence already on the saw. jmo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldhudson Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I don't see the point of a fence either, but you take a piece of straight smooth stock (for example a 1 x 2, 10" long) and drill and epoxy in 2 rare earth magnets. You couldn't use a lot of pressure on it but it would give you a working fence that's cheap, easy to build, can be added or removed in a few seconds. Of course you can clamp a wood fence too. SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackM Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I mostly use FD Polar blades, which have burrs on their side due to their stamping process. To correct this, I pull the edges of the blades across anything made of metal/iron and this removes the burrs as well as most of the blades' wandering. Also, to cut a straight line, do not look where you are cutting, but slightly ahead of the blade JackM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 On 8/10/2015 at 4:46 PM, Kris Martinson said: Does anyone know of a way to make a fence for a scroll saw, to allow cutting of straight cuts, perfect right angles, and measured angles? I cut 3' long straight cuts with my finger as a fence using a spiral in knotty pine and came out great.The project was John 3:16 in my old gallery SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barb.j.enders Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 A couple of years' ago, when I had just started out, I had the same thought. I was getting very frustrated at trying to cut a straight line for the manger on the nativity pattern. Went out and bought a magnetic fence and had even more issues. Now I realize that it is just practice, practice, practice. I am getting better at cutting straight lines. When all else fails - sand, sand, sand Kragax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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