allpurpose Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 I used to have several of these round wood tops to fit over the aluminum top of my saw. I had them nice and polished so things were smooth and so on, but the moisture and general carelessness did them in so they ended up in the trash heap. http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/20170111_063915_1.jpg Now one had a small rip fence I fashioned to it and it worked for a while, but that was before I figured out how to get the saw to cut straight without wandering. So now I'm wondering if anyone else has figured out how to use a rip fence for the sroll saw. Yeah, I know..learn how to cut straight to begin with and so on, but there are times when the table saw is just too big and I want a small piece cut as close to straight as I can get with the scroll saw.. so anyways..has anyone else found a need for any sort of ripping fence? I might just play around with this idea again and make some new tops with better material than cheapo luan and/or thin plywood. I have some nice, thin maple and walnut I might fiddle around with to see if I can get this to work the way I sort of had it working once upon a time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Never had a need for a rip fence. Did you find that moving your projects around on your auxiliary tops difficult? If you want to use one put some Formica on it for a slick surface. SCROLLSAW703 and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost_in_endicott Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 I've never found the need. With your aux top, you could just clamp a straight edge to it, but getting it parallel to the blade will be kind of tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBrewer Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 I don't use fence either and I don't think it will work well enough to bother with. I find that the blade tends to wonder to the left all by its self and I have to constantly adjust it as I saw. I could be wrong but I thought that this natural "drift" is caused by the way scroll saw blades are made, I believe that they are stamped rather than ground, so the teeth all tend to be on one side of the blade. I also find that the blades natural tendency to wonder left also varies with the blade size and type. For that reason, if I need to cut a price absolutely straight and if possible, I just use a different saw. If that isn't possible I just go very slow when cutting the straight line and hope for the best. I hope this helps. Lucky2 and danny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allpurpose Posted January 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Ehh.. I'll toy around with when I find the time. I had it fairly close awhile back. As I mentioned before in another post I mostly use the scroll saw for making small parts for larger projects. I get artistic once in awhile, but I'm not real good at it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finn Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 I have used some ground sawblades from Olsen and they do cut streighter than the stamped blades do. I recommend them. They cost a bit more but outlast the others by a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill WIlson Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 There are a number of variables that affect ones ability to cut a straight line with a scrollsaw. Most blades have some amount of drift that needs to be compensated for. Unfortunately the amount of drift is inconsistent and can vary by brand, type, size, batch and even the amount of wear on the blade. These are probably reasons why most scrollers don't bother with fences on their scrollsaw. We just develop a sense for how the blade is cutting and adjust accordingly. That said, I understand what you are trying to do. Perhaps a small bandsaw would give you better results. Drift can also be an issue with the bandsaw, but typically the causes are within the saw, as opposed to the blade and there are ways to tune the saw to minimize the amount of drift. Just a thought. SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 If you have a band saw that would be the better way to go about that. With that said most people above told you the reasons it is probably tough to do. If you want to play around and try it get yourself some larger blades like a #9 or larger so they o not flex as much as thinner blades. Use some scrap wood and draw a line down the top and start cutting freehand as best as possible. When you think you have the saw cutting along the line as straight as you see fit, stop the saw but do not move the wood being cut. You will now see the amount of drift for that particular blade as the wood will be a somewhat of an angle. Take a pencil and trace the edge of the wood onto the table. That is now your reference point. Whatever size that you want to cut will be measured off that line. Now take a straight piece of wood or metal (I would use a piece of aluminum from Home Depot) and use some double sided tape. You now reference the edge of the aluminum off your marks. It is the only way you will have a shot at this. You can use this method for cutting on a bandsaw also to compensate for drift of the blade. Good luck and hope you understand what I just wrote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 Because of the 'drift' issue, I've never used a fence on the scroll saw. It may be possible to do so, but I've never had an issue cutting a straight line. I think it would be a pain to try to set the fence up, so that you can cut a straight line. You would still have to take blade drift into consideration, and how many times would you need to set it up for one pattern? Len SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordster Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 I find when cutting a straight line your best helper is concentration...I find if my mind wanders,so does the blade. I constantly say to myself as I am cutting "stay on the line" SCROLLSAW703 and Sam777 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allpurpose Posted January 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 Yup..a bandsaw would be pretty spiffy and I really should get one one of these days or build one from scratch. I've got a pretty good selection of blades for various reasons. Some drift a lot and some not much at all. Selecting them isn't easy with my old eyeballs and organization was never my strong suit, but I'm slowly getting better at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 I used to have several of these round wood tops to fit over the aluminum top of my saw. I had them nice and polished so things were smooth and so on, but the moisture and general carelessness did them in so they ended up in the trash heap. http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/20170111_063915_1.jpg Now one had a small rip fence I fashioned to it and it worked for a while, but that was before I figured out how to get the saw to cut straight without wandering. So now I'm wondering if anyone else has figured out how to use a rip fence for the sroll saw. Yeah, I know..learn how to cut straight to begin with and so on, but there are times when the table saw is just too big and I want a small piece cut as close to straight as I can get with the scroll saw.. so anyways..has anyone else found a need for any sort of ripping fence? I might just play around with this idea again and make some new tops with better material than cheapo luan and/or thin plywood. I have some nice, thin maple and walnut I might fiddle around with to see if I can get this to work the way I sort of had it working once upon a time.. Here you go! I used my finger to imitate a fence and could scroll a straight line with a spiral 3' long.My John 3:16 in pine was the one I'm talking about .Many passes 3' long on this one in white pine. 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 milling 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...
kmmcrafts Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 Just draw a straight line on your wood and stay on the line when cutting it.. No seriously that is what I did before I had a table saw or bandsaw.. it can be done but you need to take your time.. don't push the wood through just let the blade do the cutting. If you have access to a belt sander or even just a long sanding board you could always get it close then sand it to be the size you need.. But in all honesty.. you're better off with a table saw SCROLLSAW703 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 allpurpose, your photobucket has expired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sliver Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 Sometimes the grain of the wood, especially the soft woods, will cause the blade to wander. Then you have to feed much slower to allow the blade to cut through without drifting. A high tension is also necessary. Sam777 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blights69 Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 On 12/01/2017 at 0:09 PM, Gordster said: I find when cutting a straight line your best helper is concentration...I find if my mind wanders,so does the blade. I constantly say to myself as I am cutting "stay on the line" I do the same but I sing a bit of Cash I walk the line :0 Gordster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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