No straight lines! - Ugh!!!

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Many people ask why the hell I run my saw full speed. I personally have better control when the saw runs full or almost full speed.. better control in corners and straight lines.. I would suggest doing what Spirithourse said.. try different speeds and feed rates and see what one works better for you.. many times we tend to feed the wood too fast on straight lines and that many times will get you off track..

Not sure if you seen my video.. but this saw is running almost full speed.. I did slow it down some here and cut slower than normal.. because I  laid the phone down on top of my magnifier light so the phone was covering my view and I was sawing looking through my phone screen which was just weird and odd to cut that way.. LOL.. At any rate.. I run my saw to where I am not pushing the wood hardly at all.. if anything I feel like I'm pulling back on the wood to keep it from going too fast and messing me up, LOL

 

Kevin, I see that you and most others seem to cut counter clockwise. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm left handed but do many things right handed. I haven't developed any particular direction yet. I know when doing inlay or marquetry that direction of cut is important but what about just cutting in general? Is it just what each individual figures out for themselves?

R

[Iguanadon]

19 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Kevin, I see that you and most others seem to cut counter clockwise. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm left handed but do many things right handed. I haven't developed any particular direction yet. I know when doing inlay or marquetry that direction of cut is important but what about just cutting in general? Is it just what each individual figures out for themselves?

R

I'm right handed, but am left hand oriented in a lot of things and I cut the opposite direction Kevin does (clockwise I guess).  Always.

[kmmcrafts]

35 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Kevin, I see that you and most others seem to cut counter clockwise. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm left handed but do many things right handed. I haven't developed any particular direction yet. I know when doing inlay or marquetry that direction of cut is important but what about just cutting in general? Is it just what each individual figures out for themselves?

R

WAY back in the day before I found some of the higher end blades.. I found that those cheap blades were sharper on one side and thus made it easier to do corners and tight turns etc... may still be true with most blades I don't know.. I just do it out of habit more than anything.. and I do cut both directions.. but primarily counter clockwise.. While on the subject.. the habit starts with where I drill the entry hole.. To keep a piece less fragile while cutting I plan my holes strategically so that I am cutting along or next to the previous already cut section first.. then finish up in a place where the piece is more solid..

This is just habit for me after cutting for 12 + years.. but anyway that bur on one side of the blade... that side of the blade is more aggressive which if you have the blade in right side up  should be the right side of the blade.. I did this years ago when cutting portraits and doing veining with a straight blade.. now I just use a spiral for veining but anyway.. that's why.. and for general cutting it probably makes no difference.. as well as those blades that cut straighter ( ie pegas MG or Olsen PGT ) there really isn't a bur so it wouldn't make any difference.. 

 

[Sam777]

On 2/19/2018 at 7:43 AM, new2woodwrk said:

I just can't seem to get a straight line cut no matter how hard I try.

I know about the burr on the right side of blades, but still I can't seem to follow a straight line to save my life!

Any help is greatly appreciated - it's really pissing me off now :(

Thanks in advance

Try the Pegas Modified Geometry and your issue will be resolved. Just trust me and stop suffering.

Good luck

Sam

[kmmcrafts]

7 hours ago, Sam777 said:

Try the Pegas Modified Geometry and your issue will be resolved. Just trust me and stop suffering.

Good luck

Sam

  Yeah they are awesome blades.. not sure that would fix the whole straight line issue still.. Might help tremendously though.. 

Just to get a feel for the straighter cutting blades you could also try Olsen PGT blades.. Many box stores carry Olsen blades and usually have these.. Though I do prefer the Pegas .. especially because the smallest Olsen PGT is a #5.. last I knew anyway..

I think more of this is.. just needing more experience behind a scroll saw.. It can get frustrating.. though especially when you are wanting perfection and not succeeding it.. as I said.. more time / practice.. take it slow.. play with saw speeds and feed rates etc.. 

[new2woodwrk]

On 2/20/2018 at 10:24 AM, TripleJScroller said:

Make sure you've got proper blade tension and also make sure you're using a new blade.  Improper blade tension is probably the biggest enemy to a straight line, and worn blades tend to drift a bit more than a good fresh blade.  

 

8 hours ago, Sam777 said:

Try the Pegas Modified Geometry and your issue will be resolved. Just trust me and stop suffering.

Good luck

Sam

Thanks I did get the Pegas blades and WOW what a difference.

I actually staying on/within the lines on a cut piece for the first time

I don't know if it was the blade or I'm getting better, but changing to the Pegas blade was the first time I managed a decent cut and a straight line

I'll post the result in a day or so once I get it oiled and finished

[TripleJScroller]

3 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

 

Thanks I did get the Pegas blades and WOW what a difference.

I actually staying on/within the lines on a cut piece for the first time

I don't know if it was the blade or I'm getting better, but changing to the Pegas blade was the first time I managed a decent cut and a straight line

I'll post the result in a day or so once I get it oiled and finished

I've really got to try these Pegas blades.  I've been a big fan of FD for years and I've had no problem with them, but reading all these good reviews of the Pegas really has me wanting to try them.  Glad you've found something that works for you and I'm looking forward to seeing the results!!

[Ron Johnson]

On 2/19/2018 at 11:40 AM, Iguanadon said:

Basically, don't try to get the blade/saw to cut in what YOU think is a straight line, let the blade/saw dictate what a straight line is.  As soon as you stop trying to go exactly 90 degrees to the blade, you'll be fine.  My DeWalt with Olson blades is probably about 15 degrees "crooked".  Once you learn what "straight" actually is, you'll get used to it.

I agree. Let the saw blade dictate what's straight. Like any tool, guide it along, relax and you'll be cutting straight lines in no time.

[SCROLLSAW703]

In reality, the scroll saw weren't  designed to cut straight lines. It's a saw designed to cut figures, designs, fancy cutting of all kinds in a pristine sort of way. There are variables involved to get the saw adjusted, as has been mentioned, to follow the lines in your project. Yes, there are some projects with straight cuts, some don't have enough to mention them. What I do with new sawyers is draw lines on scrap wood & ask them them to follow them to the best of their ability. 

I use a carpenters square & draw lines for them to follow. You could try that. Make sure you're blade tension is right. And attempt to follow the line. I'm sure you've been told different types of blades cut half way straight. Some will cut close. But the perfection is in the mind of the operator. Trust me. 

practice, practice, practice, practice, practice with a blade you feel comfortable with. You'll start to figure things out the longer you practice & the better you get to know your machine. good luck & God Bless.

[savethebeer]

This is something I did in 2015 for my daughters wedding. It was my first real 'display' piece and I hated how I could not get those corners straight and the only way out for me was to hide the joints.

That was 3 years ago and I'm not much better at straight lines. I have done other jobs with BB, MDF, ply, and pallet. All my straight lines leave something to be desired whether its with scroll or band saw. Reading here about different blades people use and the different results made me realise that I never took note of blade types that I used on each type of wood so that's no help to me.

The other point raised earlier about cutting clockwise or counter, I discovered I prefer Clock to Counter. When I realised this I deliberetly did a few pieces using Counterclock cuts as much as possible to test myself and found the end result was as good as clockwise.

 

Bob

 

 

[new2woodwrk]

3 hours ago, savethebeer said:

This is something I did in 2015 for my daughters wedding. It was my first real 'display' piece and I hated how I could not get those corners straight and the only way out for me was to hide the joints.

That was 3 years ago and I'm not much better at straight lines. I have done other jobs with BB, MDF, ply, and pallet. All my straight lines leave something to be desired whether its with scroll or band saw. Reading here about different blades people use and the different results made me realise that I never took note of blade types that I used on each type of wood so that's no help to me.

The other point raised earlier about cutting clockwise or counter, I discovered I prefer Clock to Counter. When I realised this I deliberetly did a few pieces using Counterclock cuts as much as possible to test myself and found the end result was as good as clockwise.

Bob

Looks straight to me

[Falcon]

Someone told me when I first started when cutting it is like driving a car the steering wheel is always moving and so is the wood when you push it through.

[savethebeer]

17 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Looks straight to me

Everything looks straight when you move fast ..........................

Speaking of how things look, all this talk about about Pegas blades made me go look at my Pegas blades because I have never gotten the impression of them being so much better than any other type of blade. Mine, bought in Ireland, are made by SCIES Minatures SA. They look identical to Pegas packaging as seen in scrolling magazines.

Are all yours made in South africa?

[new2woodwrk]

7 hours ago, savethebeer said:

Everything looks straight when you move fast ..........................

Speaking of how things look, all this talk about about Pegas blades made me go look at my Pegas blades because I have never gotten the impression of them being so much better than any other type of blade. Mine, bought in Ireland, are made by SCIES Minatures SA. They look identical to Pegas packaging as seen in scrolling magazines.

Are all yours made in South africa?

No, all  mine are labeled made in Switzerland!

I get them from DnDsawbladesonline

I also got my first set from Amazon