Newbie needs help with saw blades

[Tony khz]

Hi I'm a newb   I have been given a scroll saw and I don't know what size blades to buy.  Or what type of blades.  There is nothing writen on the machine.    It is a   NUTool SS13-4 SCROLL SAW 330mm         any advice or help much appriciated 

[meflick]

Hi Tony and welcome to the Village. I am not familiar with that machine. Does it have a blade already installed on it? If so, you may want to remove it and take a good look at it. There are basically two main “types” of Scroll Saw blades used with most saws. They are pin-end or pinless. you will want to figure out what kind your machine uses. (Some will accept both.) Pinless is better because it allows you to use smaller (thinner) blades because you can drill smaller holes. Blades with a “pin end” require a bigger hole to be drilled so that you can insert the larger pin-end through   After that there are spiral blades and straight blades. Some people swear by spiral blades while others hate them. Most people recommend that beginners use straight blades to start. Then later after you are comfortable cutting with your saw, you can give spiral blades a try. After that, the blades come in different sizes, and “styles”. The smaller the number, the smaller the blade. So a 1 is much smaller then a 9 or 12. How big or small of a blade to use is dictated by several things including the type of wood being used, how big the hole you need to insert it through, type of cutting you are doing, and more. For most general cutting, most probably reach for a 3 or 5 but it really depends on the end user’s personal preferences. Then after “size” you will find there are some additional features like “reverse” teeth - this is where the bottom few teeth are “reversed” the thought being that by doing that, it reduces the tear out on the bottom of the piece. There are others that I won’t go into full details on like a skip tooth and more. Once you understand the basics about the blades, then you find there are different brands/manufacturers of blades. Some people use different and.various brands, like Olsen, Flying Dutchman, Pegasus, and many more. Others stick to one brand. It’s all really personal preference, you just have to decide what you prefer.

you can do a quick google search and find lots of details and info about Scroll Saw blades. however, here is a Link to Steve Good’s blog where he has shared a lot of info. On blades over the years and you can find them here: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/search?q=Blades

Steve shares a lot of great information plus a free pattern almost daily on his site so it’s a great place for a newbie to the Saw to look back through.

Here is another article from Woodcraft’s site: https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/choosing-scroll-saw-blades

and an article from Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine: http://scrollsawer.com/2017/09/06/choosing-the-right-blade/

Edited July 16, 2019 by meflick

[OCtoolguy]

15 hours ago, meflick said:

Hi Tony and welcome to the Village. I am not familiar with that machine. Does it have a blade already installed on it? If so, you may want to remove it and take a good look at it. There are basically two main “types” of Scroll Saw blades used with most saws. They are pin-end or pinless. you will want to figure out what kind your machine uses. (Some will accept both.) Pinless is better because it allows you to use smaller (thinner) blades because you can drill smaller holes. Blades with a “pin end” require a bigger hole to be drilled so that you can insert the larger pin-end through   After that there are spiral blades and straight blades. Some people swear by spiral blades while others hate them. Most people recommend that beginners use straight blades to start. Then later after you are comfortable cutting with your saw, you can give spiral blades a try. After that, the blades come in different sizes, and “styles”. The smaller the number, the smaller the blade. So a 1 is much smaller then a 9 or 12. How big or small of a blade to use is dictated by several things including the type of wood being used, how big the hole you need to insert it through, type of cutting you are doing, and more. For most general cutting, most probably reach for a 3 or 5 but it really depends on the end user’s personal preferences. Then after “size” you will find there are some additional features like “reverse” teeth - this is where the bottom few teeth are “reversed” the thought being that by doing that, it reduces the tear out on the bottom of the piece. There are others that I won’t go into full details on like a skip tooth and more. Once you understand the basics about the blades, then you find there are different brands/manufacturers of blades. Some people use different and.various brands, like Olsen, Flying Dutchman, Pegasus, and many more. Others stick to one brand. It’s all really personal preference, you just have to decide what you prefer.

you can do a quick google search and find lots of details and info about Scroll Saw blades. however, here is a Link to Steve Good’s blog where he has shared a lot of info. On blades over the years and you can find them here: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/search?q=Blades

Steve shares a lot of great information plus a free pattern almost daily on his site so it’s a great place for a newbie to the Saw to look back through.

Here is another article from Woodcraft’s site: https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/choosing-scroll-saw-blades

and an article from Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine: http://scrollsawer.com/2017/09/06/choosing-the-right-blade/

That is one, if not the, best explanation that I have seen on the subject of blades. Very simple, concise and informative. It should be a "sticky" here on SSV for all the folks who will ask this question in the future. Thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

 

[Rockytime]

Agreed!

[Roberta Moreton]

I would love to make a copy of that to pass out when I am giving a class. 

[meflick]

23 hours ago, Roberta Moreton said:

I would love to make a copy of that to pass out when I am giving a class. 

Please feel free to share anything I ever share here.  We all learn from each other and I am just glad when I am able to give a little back here on the Village.  I am sure it could be put together a little better then how I put it down  - just as the thoughts about blades came out of my brain!