Best cutting speed?

[1213brett]

Hi I'm a brand new scroller and I am cutting 1/4" and 3/4" poplar.  Using Olson precision ground skip revers tooth plan end 5" blade. about what is the best speed to start with. Also how do you know if the saw is set to high or low a speed?

[NC Scroller]

To answer your second question you have to tell us what kind of saw you have.  As far as what speed there is no magic answer.  My practice is to set the speed at the fastest you are comfortable with.  I scroll a lot and have been scrolling close to 20 years.  95% of the time I am cutting at between 3/4 and full speed.  

[ike]

I cut with the speed at a level that I feel at eas withon My Dewalt 788 it is useally above 5. when cutting puzzles I cut at #6 or 7. with plywood 1/4 thick staacked 3pcs do;ing fretwork @ about 5, but just try different speeds and see what suites you

Edited July 2, 2017 by ike

[savethebeer]

And I would be the opposite regarding speed. I use fairly low speeds with my cutting. You'll just have to experiment, and what might work today on some wood wont work tomorrow on a different type or thickness. I always found my blades get noticeably hot when using higher speeds.

Bob

[ike]

When sawong at the higher speeds I can tell bly the cuttingif the blade is getting dull. I place my finger on the back of the blaede and if it is getting warm I change blades. I use olsons match blades I likke them better than the precision ground blades.

IKE

Edited July 2, 2017 by ike

[hawkeye10]

2 hours ago, 1213brett said:

Hi I'm a brand new scroller and I am cutting 1/4" and 3/4" poplar.  Using Olson precision ground skip revers tooth plan end 5" blade. about what is the best speed to start with. Also how do you know if the saw is set to high or low a speed?

Brett you will have to figure what is comfortable with you. Just about all the cutting I do is at 75% but I haven't cut anything thing yet that is under 1/4" thick. Also there is a speed that is just above 50% that my saw vibrates so I don't cut at that speed. If I had to give you a ball park on speed I would say 75%.

[Dan]

Definitely whatever speed you feel comfortable with. As you can tell by the posts there are many variables in the speed you choose, but ultimately it's your choice. 

[1213brett]

Thank you for your help!

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

As above it is your comfort zone that will tell you what a good speed is. But with that said I will say a few things that will also be factors in determining speed. The thickness of the material, the density of the material, the type of material (plastics, metals, wood) the blade being used, and so forth. Just because you use a higher speed only means the saw is moving faster, but it is you doing the pushing and guiding that will determine how fast you are cutting. My point is you can use a med speed on the saw and cut resonably fast or use a higher speed on the saw but have to slow your feed rate down in order to control your cuts better. So this is why people are telling only you can answer your question. Good luck and happy sawing.

[dgman]

Bret, I am a scroll saw instructor at the local Woodcraft store. I teach my students to start at a medium speed. On the DeWalt saw, that is 4. If you feel your cutting is going to slow, speed it up until you are comfortable. If you are having trouble staying on the line, slow the speed down. It is a comfort thing.

One thought though. When using reverse tooth blades, at very slow speeds, if you are not careful, the reverse teeth tend to lift the wood off the table. So you have to work harder to prevent that.

[CharleyL]

I run the saw as fast as I can with the blade that I'm using and the type and thickness of wood that I am cutting, but if the wood shows burning either the blade is getting dull or the speed is too fast for the wood being cut. When the wood cuts show burning, you are overheating the blade and this will take the temper out of the blade, making it dull faster and break quicker. It's also hard to steer the work when cutting at high speeds. Find the speed that does not burn the cut and your blade will last longer, your work will look better, and you won't need to sand the burn marks off. Scroll sawing is more of a journey, not so much a destination. Even your pattern following will be more accurate if you slow down, but do try to cut as fast as you are comfortable with as long as you aren't burning the wood and overheating the blade. Some blades let you cut faster without burning, some will not. Waxing the blade with a candle or paraffin will help cut faster, but you have to do it often. 

Charley

 

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[Bill WIlson]

There is no hard & fast answer to your question.  Comfort and control will be the primary factors in how fast you run the saw.  These 2 factors will vary, depending on material, pattern, blade and phase of the moon.  Run the saw as fast or as slow as you are comfortable and can follow the line.  Naturally, your comfort level and ability to control, will improve with practice, but those other variables will still remain.  I've been scrolling for over 20 years.  I cut a variety of materials and types of projects.  I rarely, as in almost never, run the saw wide open.  I know several guys who don't use any other speed other than wide open, so it's very much a matter of personal preference.

[SCROLLSAW703]

there's another factor that comes into play with blade speed. Accuracy. How do YOU want your project to look in the end? Do you want a project with raggy cuts & out of round curves, etc.? OR, do you want a project that's presentable? Evenly cut lines, nice rounded curves, etc.? 

I've been scrolling over 25 years, & have never had a reason to get above 5 on speed. Take into consideration the type & thickness of wood you're cutting. The softer & thinner the wood, the less aggressive blade you need. The thicker & harder the wood, the more aggressive the blade needs to be. Caution needs to taken w/wood like pine. The blade will have a tendency to follow the grain of the wood.

My advice would be to get yourself a sample pack of blades from wooden teddy bear, try the different blades @different speeds in your poplar, see what works best for you. That's the only way to really find out what works & what doesn't.

Remember, as has been mentioned, the speed of the saw is just the blade speed. The rest of the speed comes from you. You can only push so fast, & still be accurate. 

[amazingkevin]

On 7/2/2017 at 4:40 AM, 1213brett said:

Hi I'm a brand new scroller and I am cutting 1/4" and 3/4" poplar.  Using Olson precision ground skip revers tooth plan end 5" blade. about what is the best speed to start with. Also how do you know if the saw is set to high or low a speed?

If you can't control what your doing slow down the speed.your going to have the time of your life once you get things sorted out and will really impress friends with your work!

[Roberta Moreton]

Start slow, you can always speed up. The more practice you get, the faster you can  go. I have been scrolling for around 15-20 years. I stay midrange. You have to find your comfort zone.

[Johnweld]

I have an old craftsman cast-iron saw I'm restoring. It's done except for a motor pully. The motor is a 1725 rpm and the saw came with a 4" pully. I'm trying to find out what size pully I should put on the motor.i do have a speed control on the motor. I'm thinking a 6" on the motor?

[OCtoolguy]

On 7/4/2017 at 9:58 PM, SCROLLSAW703 said:
there's another factor that comes into play with blade speed. Accuracy. How do YOU want your project to look in the end? Do you want a project with raggy cuts & out of round curves, etc.? OR, do you want a project that's presentable? Evenly cut lines, nice rounded curves, etc.? 
I've been scrolling over 25 years, & have never had a reason to get above 5 on speed. Take into consideration the type & thickness of wood you're cutting. The softer & thinner the wood, the less aggressive blade you need. The thicker & harder the wood, the more aggressive the blade needs to be. Caution needs to taken w/wood like pine. The blade will have a tendency to follow the grain of the wood.
My advice would be to get yourself a sample pack of blades from wooden teddy bear, try the different blades @different speeds in your poplar, see what works best for you. That's the only way to really find out what works & what doesn't.
Remember, as has been mentioned, the speed of the saw is just the blade speed. The rest of the speed comes from you. You can only push so fast, & still be accurate. 

 

I miss you, Brad. You were a great friend and inspired me. Gone too soon. 

[jimmyG]

Only been scrolling a year now and made a couple of hundred items on my DW788 Dewalt and barely moved the speed knob from it's slowest speed and that works for me and my accuracy.   I've bent a few blades but never broke any working with Baltic birch 1/8 - 1/2 inch and occasionally some 3/4 pine. 

[Blaughn]

When I was scrolling daily, I moved the speed upward.  I just returned to scrolling after 2+ years of no scrolling.  I had to crank the speed back.  My answer to your question - whatever speed you can dial in and still stay RELIABLY on the line.  Start slow and crank it up slowly as you get your sea-legs.

[jimmyG]

9 hours ago, Blaughn said:

When I was scrolling daily, I moved the speed upward.  I just returned to scrolling after 2+ years of no scrolling.  I had to crank the speed back.  My answer to your question - whatever speed you can dial in and still stay RELIABLY on the line.  Start slow and crank it up slowly as you get your sea-legs.

Maybe I'm not a seasoned enough scroller to understand the need for speed?  My lowest setton my Dewalt seems to get the job done on anything I've cut my first year. I tried increasing the speed and couldn't imagine cutting anything half or three quarters high and having the whole cast iron plate vibrating. But hey, that's just me!

[BadBob]

My first saws were single-speed; that was all I knew for years. When I got my first variable-speed saw, I ran it at full speed because that was what I was used to. I only slowed the saw when I started cutting projects from thin wood. That was an eye-opener. I had much better control when cutting at low speed. Now, I start cutting with the speed adjusted for the lowest vibration and tweak it up or down if needed.

On my saws, vibration is not much of an issue. At the high end, the blower tube starts bouncing. I find this annoying and distracting, so I tend to cut at a lower speed if I can.

Edited August 25 by BadBob