Cutting a large pattern

[malc]

I am Cutting a large pattern which is too large to turn all the way round to be able to make the internal cuts. Has anyone tried reversing the blade to cut away from yourself? If so how easy was it.

Malc

[Vector01]

I've never heard of reversing the blade. I have seen where the ends of the blade were twisted so that the teeth were facing sideways. I suppose reversing the blade should work. There is always the spiral blades if nothing else works.

[Huntter2022]

the only problem with reverseing the blade . You will notice that it is harder to stay on line take it slow and you will be ok or use a sprial blade if you have not used one before I would pratice some before I would start on a big piece with them.

[Travis]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. A lot of times, a scroll saw blade will rock forward a tiny bit while sawing, so going backwards might be a bit slower. But if you take your time, I think it would work just fine. I'd suggest a spiral blade personally. Some people love them, others don't. I like spiral blades for portrait style cuttings with a lot of organic/wavy lines. If it's tight symmetry or with a lot of straight lines and corners, spiral might not work as well.

[greasemonkeyredneck]

I have tried this, actually just out of curiosity. I try sometimes just to see if I can push the limits of what my 16" scroll saw will do. It is possible, but awkward. Everything, including blade drift, is the exact opposite of what you're used to. I found that anything that can be accomplished by turning the blade around can also be done using a spiral blade.

Now if you've seen some of the rocking toys I built you have probably heard me talk about the Craftsman scroll saw I use with the sideways blade holders. Being 3/4" material, I don't use spirals on that. There have been times I turned the blade forwards, backwards, left facing, and right. I have even gotton in a bind and had to take pliers to bend the blade at a 45 degree to the table. I have to take it slow, but the blade still cuts no matter what position I place it in.

[amazingkevin]

My experience is it's like trying to play a video game with the control upside down,and left handed.It can be done but i think all you learn doing it that way is ,not to do it again.it's rough for me.

[FD Mike]

That was the reason they made spiral blades.

 

FD Mike

[cjswoodcrafts]

my 2 cents worth here, i just did a piece of the beatles on abbey road, it was 18 inches long 6 inches wide, and i have a 16 in craftsman, when i was cutting the ends if i went one way the back of the scroll would stop it, so i turned it the other way shimmering a bit, thought i was gonna have to tturn the blade backwards, but i made it work, one of my next projects is gonnabe approx 18 x 18, thinking spiral blade for it, we will see

[greasemonkeyredneck]

My favorite portraits are the ones with a lot of cuts. There's one portrait I done that had over a thousand inside cuts. With that many cuts, even if the size is barely within what my saw will cut, it is still easier to use spirals than worrying if I'll clear the back of the saw while makeing a fast swing for a tight curve. I now have got in the habit that I use nothing but spirals for portraits. As a matter of fact, overall in my shop, I use about twenty spirals for every one flat blade.