Newbie Tips - Scroll Saw Challenge

[rod143]

Great advice. Another helpful tip is to take on new challenges, try 3d patterns if that is a new challenge for you or maybe fret work that can best be done with spiral blade. These are just some of the things you can try that will help learn new skills. 

 

[DJ2772]

To just walk away from the saw when things aren't going well. I was so stubborn during my first few projects and if I started drifting off the lines I'd just get angry and it'd get worse from there. I'd push my way through to the end and the project looked terrible. My old next door neighbor backed this up and told me that some days you should just work on a different tool if the scroll saw isn't working out.

[Sinister1957]

On 3/3/2020 at 10:11 PM, Scrappile said:

I really started enjoying and improving my scrolling after someone one here gave me this advice.... so simple.... "relax, drop your shoulders and breath normal."  It worked for me... Thank you, whomever wrote that several years ago.

Thats funny ..I catch myself holding my breath sometimes. I thought it was just me.

[TexasDIY]

On 3/10/2020 at 3:47 PM, IKSO_99 said:

I am new to this site but have been scrolling for almost two years now and loving every minute.  I think the first thing to learn and practice is patience, patience and patience.  Like any new endeavor it takes time to learn, and that is one of the best parts of the process.  Even after completing initial and basic projects the feelings of accomplishment and reward are fantastic and grow and continue with each successive project and difficulty level.  Like a lot of others, i was drawn to scrolling and went out and found an old craftsman at a garage sale for $40.00.  After a lot of practice and experimentation I knew that this was something i would enjoy.  So I invested in a DW788 and made a comfortable work space in my shop and haven't looked back.  I think that is very important too,  if your going to be spending a lot time at it, make yourself comfortable.  Get a good comfortable and supportive chair, get the lighting that you need, get the ventilation that you need & you HAVE to have your music.  One of the other big factors that I have learned is to not be afraid to experiment, the potential for this tool is only limited by your imagination and sense of adventure.  With sites like this and other avenues, there is a large resource out there.  And no matter what your level is or the level that you want to get to, get yourself some good equipment, make yourself comfortable, be safe and amaze yourself at what you can learn and are capable of.  Mike   

These are an example of some the patterns that are available online and with patience were not that difficult.

You have made some beautiful works of art!  What did you use for the blue backer?

[Drzgold6]

I definitely don’t qualify for this lol As I just started scrolling a couple months ago, but my buddy that got me started told me, you are your own worst critic! If it’s not perfect just keep trying.

[RabidAlien]

19 hours ago, Drzgold6 said:

I definitely don’t qualify for this lol As I just started scrolling a couple months ago, but my buddy that got me started told me, you are your own worst critic! If it’s not perfect just keep trying.

Read a post here when I first started scrolling.  Doesn't matter how complex the pattern is, they all boil down to:  "one hole, one cut, move the blade."  That's given me the confidence to try more and more intricate patterns, and pick up other skills along the way such as stack-cutting, corners, lettering, etc.

[Bill & Kathy]

Hi, y'all!

Something I've found helps is to keep a wooden skewer in my apron pocket.  If the piece is too small and my finger obstructs the view while I'm cutting, the pointy end can hold the down the piece and give me a clearer view -- and if it gets in the way of the blade it isn't as exciting as if it was a metal awl or ice pick!  They are also great for poking out little pieces of wood in small cuts.

This may be a bad thing (let me know if it hurts the saw), but when I'm cutting sharp corners or curves (like Scott and Harvey puzzle pieces), I slow down and pull the wood straight toward me as I round the curve.  I figure it gives the saw a little more time to make the cut and not curve the cut from top to bottom.

Thanks for all the great advice!

Kathy

[harpolemond]

I am not a new user  but I am new to this forum.  Today there is a mega wealth of information available, and many years ago  there was a wealth of information available online as well. Still upon making my first work to enter in a contest I clearly lost.

Upon looking closely at winners and losers in the case at the state fair,  I concluded it was two things in my work that was the weakest points.  The finish out process of sand and file, and actual finishing.  So clearly one can cut a beautiful piece of work and ruin it with failure to remove burrs and other irregular type cuts.  So for me, what I wish I had known, and it is without doubt,  I  wish I had known much more about finishing off the work.

I took a beautiful piece of work and ruined it by poorly finishing it out.  Now I take as much time in finishing out a project as I do cutting it.  I keep both my old work and my newest entry. A reminder of what I failed to do, and also of what I can do, with the help of knowledge from other users.

     I will post only one file.  My loosing piece not. My winner last year at the IL state fair, first place.  I show this to help others to know that your work is only as good as its weakest point. Sometimes it is equipment.  Sometimes it is the user.  I was the weakest point.

     I am a member on another forum as well, but I have found you can always learn.  I first will study Inkscape on this forum to begin making my own patterns.  So an advanced thanks to Scrollsawvillage for doing those tutorials.  

    Note:  You don't need a 1000 dollar Jet to do a 1000 dollar job. The sides of this box was done with a Delta.  When my wife saw that she let me by a Jet with which I did the lid [much more intricate].  I concluded that with patience I could have easily finished this out on a Delta or even a Porter cable.  So the saw is not always the key. It is patience.   I look forward to talking to others here.   And wish all happy scrolling.

[Vesper]

On 3/4/2020 at 11:38 AM, Bill WIlson said:

When I started scrolling, I had no idea where to buy blades.  I was buying them at the local hardware store and paying  about $6/dozen, which was even more expensive 25+ years ago, than it is now.  Subsequently, I tended to push blades well past their useful lifespan.  The blade either snapped, or generated so much smoke, I couldn't see the line.  It was a revelation to me, when I joined a scroll saw club and discovered mail order and internet sources for blades at half the price and 10 times the selection.

Can you share some of these mail order sites? 

[Bill WIlson]

23 hours ago, Vesper said:

Can you share some of these mail order sites? 

Well, it was some time ago and I only order via internet now.  I think Sloans may have been one site I ordered via phone/mail back in those days, but they have since closed.

I generally get all of my blades from Wooden Teddy Bear these days.  They carry both Flying Dutchman and Olson brands.   Their website is;  https://woodenteddybear.com/collections/flying-dutchman-scroll-saw-blades

If you are interested in Pegas blades, there is a member here who is a distributer for them.  His website is;  https://www.artcraftersonline.com/shop

[Scrollmate57]

Nota newbie.  This seemed like the best vehicle for the knowledge I seek.

I just purchased a new top blade holder for my RBI Hawk 216-3 Serial: 525-2975.  What is best technique to remove the pin to replace the holder?

Scrollmate57