Spiral tests

[flarud]

Like several others on here,, I can not cut with a spiral blade!  I have only used Olson's #2 in the past.  So recently I ordered some Olson's #0 and FD New Spiral 2/0.  I test them both out today.  I drew up some straight lines and then made some curves.  This was done on 1/8" BB.  

I tried the Olson #0 first.  The first attempt on the straight line I was all over the place.  The second attempt a little better, the 3rd better yet.  All three of these attempts I was pushing the wood straight into the blade.  Going from the 12:00 position to the 6:00 position.  The next cut was the curvy line.  At first I turned the wood when I came up to the first curve like I would when using a flat blade.  Then I thought, "just slide the wood, don't turn it",  that's what spirals are for.  

Next I tried the FD New Spiral 2/0 blade.  My first attempt was better than my third attempt with the Olson.  Second attempt better, by the time I got to the third attempt it was a pretty straight line in my opinion.  On the curvy line I didn't turn the wood at all, just changed my direction of push.  It came out decent I thought.  

Both blades were very close in size.  I would have expected a bigger size difference with the Olson being a 0 and the FD being a 2/0.  The FD cut much cleaner also and it only had 35 TPI where the Olson had 46 TPI.  

 

In conclusion,  the FD cut much much better than the Olson.  I may have to try some of their other blades.  I have only used Olson's since returning to the scroll saw about 2 years ago.  My go to blade in the Olson is the #2R reverse tooth,, I use this blade for about everything and love it.  

Just my $.02

 

Barry

Edited September 20, 2019 by flarud

[Rockytime]

Having done the test do you now think you may try using them or do you come away thinking you'll give them up?

[JustLarry]

Stack cut two or three 1/8 pieces and see if you have better control. 

Larry

[Scrolling Steve]

I  use FD new spirals , 2/0,3/0 and love them...once i got to use them on a regular basis i will not use any other spirals......just my 2 cents !

[Scrappile]

I'm a FD New Spiral 3/0 fan for sure.  My other go to spiral for larger areas is the Pegas 2/0.  It is a wee bit smaller and a little more flexable than the FD New Spiral 2/0, at least it feels so to me.  I have never use any spiral bigger than a 2/0.  I rarely cut any thicker than 3/8.  Have done it but prefer the 3/8 thickness.  Either 3 - 1/8" pieces stacked or 1- 1/4" + 1- 1/8".

[Matt B]

Thanks for the info.  I am going to have to try some FD spiral 3/0 and 2/0.

[flarud]

4 hours ago, Rockytime said:

Having done the test do you now think you may try using them or do you come away thinking you'll give them up?

I think that I would give the FD a try if a need arises.  But I would rather use a flat blade if I could!  The Olson spiral may get thrown into the trash.  Maybe I will order some flat FD blades tomorrow and give them a try.  

[flarud]

I put less tension on the spirals than I do on the flats.  Is this true for everyone else?  I have a Dewalt, on the flat #2 blades I tension to setting #3.  On the spirals I only went to tension setting #2. 

[Scrappile]

Not true for me. I put more tension on spirals.  I do it by feel and sound of the blade when I "pluck" it.

Edited September 20, 2019 by Scrappile

[kmmcrafts]

I don't even know what tension I use on a blade because I just go by the feel.. When I had my deWalt I rarely ever plucked the blade for sound because I got to where I could just tell by the pressure I was pushing on the lever I guess.. Not really sure how I did it actually as it just came to me naturally.. .. I still to this day struggle with how much tension with the other saws I use when switching to a different blade.. the good thing about that is.. I don't switch blades very often and the saws stay at the same tension all the time unless I move the knob at the back of the saw. 

The FD new spiral is the way to go as far as the ease of use for newbies especially.. in my opinion.. I do like the Olsen and Pegas spirals too now that I have a little experience with spirals.. Even so.. I pretty much still use the FD ones.. I never use any larger than a #1 and almost always use the 2/0.. even cutting 3/4" hardwood.. Goes a little slower but easier to control a smaller blade for me..Also the smaller the blade the less rough the edges of your cuts are..

[Foxfold]

10 hours ago, flarud said:

I put less tension on the spirals than I do on the flats.  Is this true for everyone else? 

I'm no expert on spirals, I've only done two pieces with them, however, after getting tons of help and advise from the Village I actually have my spiral blade somewhat 'tighter' that my flat blades, this makes it so much easier to control. Not sure I could have done this with a loose blade. https://www.scrollsawvillage.com/forums/topic/35129-gorilla/

[Wilson142]

I use far more tension with spirals than flat blades. And looking at you comparison, had I some olson spirals, I would run, not walk to the trash bin to toss them. Is that tear out for real? I thought maybe you had the blade upside down. I prefer Pegas spirals in #2/0 up to #1's. Pegas doesn't make #3/0 blades as far as I know, so I use FD for that size. I know some think it's against the rules but I cut 1 1/2" red oak with #1 and #2/0 spirals. Yes, it's slower and yes, I burn through blades. I tried FD new spirals and wasn't impressed with the cut or the longevity of the blade. They were a bit easier to control.  Just an opinion from someone who has used spirals since the 90's 85% of the time.

[kmmcrafts]

10 minutes ago, Wilson142 said:

I use far more tension with spirals than flat blades. And looking at you comparison, had I some olson spirals, I would run, not walk to the trash bin to toss them. Is that tear out for real? I thought maybe you had the blade upside down. I prefer Pegas spirals in #2/0 up to #1's. Pegas doesn't make #3/0 blades as far as I know, so I use FD for that size. I know some think it's against the rules but I cut 1 1/2" red oak with #1 and #2/0 spirals. Yes, it's slower and yes, I burn through blades. I tried FD new spirals and wasn't impressed with the cut or the longevity of the blade. They were a bit easier to control.  Just an opinion from someone who has used spirals since the 90's 85% of the time.

Think if you look at the blade dimensions of FD vrs. Pegas.. you'll find that the Pegas run a bit smaller... A Pegas 2/0 blade is almost like a FD 3/0 blade in size..  A 0 size Pegas is almost the same size as a 2/0 FD blade.. Each blade brand has their own numbering system so a #1 blade can vary a lot between brands.. The actual blade dimensions and teeth per inch is listed on each blade brands chart..

For these reasons.. I tend to shy away from answering those post that ask what size blade to use.. because you could be giving false info.. too many variables to answer what blade to use questions.. I will give advise on blade styles.. for instance the FD NS is easier to control than the other spirals. Not just an opinion as that was why the new spiral was invented.. Back when Mike was alive and selling those blades he advertised them as "easier to control " that is why I tried them when they first came about.. as I was using spiral blade well before those blades even came out.. Back in those days spirals was what I used 90% of the time.. as I was doing a lot of portrait type work..until I found portrait work doesn't sell all that great.. LOL 

[flarud]

I will order some FD flat blades tomorrow.  Which one/ones would be a good place to start?  Their SR line? UR line?  My favorite from Olson is the reverse skip tooth, the bottom 1" or so has the teeth reversed.  This blade makes a smooth cut on top and bottom of the wood.  What is comparable in the FD? 

[kmmcrafts]

I don't use a skip tooth blade so I don't have much experience with those for comparison.. I think the FD Penguin Silver is a skip tooth design..  and there is a few folks that have talked about them being a good blade.. I myself use the Ultra Reverse and sometimes the scroll reverse in the Flying Dutchman brand.. Though my favorite blade these days are now Pegas Modified Geometry.. I do still use the FD brand UR and SR blades on certain occasions.. The most talked about blades from reading these message boards over the years is the FD UR and as of recently the past couple years the Pegas MG.. 

When Mike was selling blades he use to give out a couple of sample blades.. I don't think they do that anymore.. Be nice to be able to try out a couple blades of each style and size... I pretty much have done that over the years... Have several packs of blades laying around that I'll never use, LOL Somebody must use them because they still offer them, LOL   

[ScollSaw Slasher]

I guess I'm on my high horse here because I made comments on another post about tension. But I don't care what brand of blade, spiral or flat, it should be set at maximum tension. If it breaks on setting tension, change brands. I'm like Kevin. I don't do a ping test for high C, D or E. I can feel it when applying the tension lever. I can hear it just turning the saw on. I'm generally a bottom feeder and in doing fretwork, that upper blade clamp is changed a myriad of times. Do you think that in stretching that blade to the upper clamp, you are doing it  the same every time? Heck no! Every saw blade needs to be taunt to work at maximum efficiency. Do you think I would want my table saw, chop saw or sawzall blades to be flimsy, so why should a scroll saw blade be. OK, said enough.