wombatie Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I am doing a LARGE cutting at the moment and it looks as if I will have to use spiral blades on some of it. Now I must confess I have only tried them once and I hated them, so I have little to no experience with them. If you have any advice on using spirals please let me know, I need all the help I can get. Thanks Marg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesscrollsaw Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I'm the same way, I'm guessing practice practice practice. Straight blades always seemed easier for me to use. I've seen some pretty awesome stuff produced on this site with spirals though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodturner66 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi Marg, I just started using them myself. I use the FD new spirals 2/0 and 1. Seems to work better with a Slow feed rate and higher speed. I drew a bunch of lines on a scrap board, Curvy and Straight. Just kept practicing. I just finished a 11 X 14 project using just a spiral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 AAh! Now your talking my language!Spirals!Make them over tight ,and your rate of speed cutting in all directions would be about half or less than when useing a straight blade.The benefits of useing spirals are vast.Their getting used to cutting with them is like useing a toy called" etch a sketch"where your useing two knobs to draw a picture on a slate.I too could have never been convinced that spirals were the cadillac of blades till i heard about the proper use of them from a member.The blade must be extra tight .When it's loose it bends like a rubber band and breaks and you have no control following a line.Straight line cuts are even slower as the blade wants to follow any devient in grain of wood direction.Practice makes perfect.Practice with a thick spiral to get a good feel of it's caracteristics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dust Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yep! Slow feed is the tip with spirals. Also a good magnifier helps. Since you say that you have to cut a "big" piece here is an idea that I have used for that. For some of the needed cutting you cannot reach because of the limit of your table throat I have put the straight blade in backwards and finished that way. Once I had to make a big sign for a bar with their logo and name. It was 3ft X 2ft. and this is how I did it. John Old Dust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I use spirals alot. Since they cut in all directions, it is harder to follow a straight line. You really can't get in "a grove" with them, like a standard blade, since they respond to pressure in any direction. With practice, it is possible to cut almost as straight as standard, but its really a hand/mind/eye coordination type of thing. I usually have both corners of a piece, with my thumbs on the bottom and fingers on the side. Thumb pressure feeds the piece, and can also be used for very small course adjustments. Fingers are for over all direction, and larger course adjustments. This allows me to apply subtle pressure in any direction needed - If I sense I'm veering off to the right, i can apply pressure with the opposite hand to get it back on course. You have to keep an eagle eye on progress, and like with standard blades, anticipate turns ans curves before they come. When starting a new direction, its best to go very slow, and let the blade cut a little notch until you are sure you are feeding it the right way to stay on line. Though not always necessary, turning a piece from time to time can help with accuracy, as I find it easier to stay on line going top to bottom than left to right. I have found that spirals don't cut well in all directions if you are cutting thick wood, say 3/4 and up. They cut much better feeding the wood away from you than they do if you pull it towards you. Haven't figured out why this is so, but it is so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oges Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 All I can say is good luck Marg! .. I tried them once and found it too hard to retrain my brain not to turn the piece as I would using a flat blade .. found they made a lot more fuzzies and need to be real careful on the delicate cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messman Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Slower feed rate is correct, but as far as the speed of the blade it comes down to the material you are cutting. I would suggest that you get yourself some of the wood you are going to cut and practice before you start working on your actual work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scroller99 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I've never had much luck with spiral blades, but I have put the blade in the saw backwards and sawn on the outer reaches of the board where it would hit the neck if using the blade correctly. hard to explain but it does work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatie Posted April 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thanks guys for all the advice. Unfortunately I don't have time to practise too much. What I have been doing so far is going so far one way and then going back on itself and then going down the other cutting it off and then turning the whole thing around and starting from the opposite end, sounds complicated I know but so far it working. Fingers crossed. I will take photos when its finished. Marg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesscrollsaw Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thanks guys for all the advice. Unfortunately I don't have time to practise too much. What I have been doing so far is going so far one way and then going back on itself and then going down the other cutting it off and then turning the whole thing around and starting from the opposite end, sounds complicated I know but so far it working. Fingers crossed. I will take photos when its finished. Marg been there done that. kind of a pain in the butt however it does work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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