Newb here with questions

[81Shaun]

Hello all I am new to the scroll saw stuff and picked up my first saw which is a skil brand Jan 8th.   I have started out on thick wood and have scaled down to 1/4 pine to 1/8 " I  found around the house. I also went to Lowe's and picked up some blades made by Bosch.  Are those blades worth messing with? Anyone ever use?  I picked up two packs  the first being 20 tpi an .110 and the others is 28 tpi and 0.22 I learned very quickly that the .110 wasnt able to do curves without the blade twisting  so im assuming those are for straight line cuts maybe? The 28 tpi 0.22 seems like they do fairly decent in the 1/8" stuff but moving to the 1/4" stuff they seem to dull kind of fast so I'm wondering what blades would be less trouble cutting wood from 1/8" to 1/2" and even 3/4" and what wood would be best to learn with thats not super expensive?   Thank you

[Dan]

Hey, Shaun, I'm not familiar with those blades but you should ce able to cut very tight curves with any blade. Believe it or not, there is a top and bottom to most blades. If installed upside down you will have difficulty cutting and controlling the blade. If you rub your finger along the blade one direction will feel sharper. The sharper side should point down. 

Everyone will chime in on different blades, but it boils down to what works best for you. @Denny Knappensells Pegas blades and will be glad to help you make good choices. 

[OCtoolguy]

Howdy and welcome to SSV. The fun has begun. From what you wrote, I get the impression that tension might be part of your problem. You have to really put a lot of tension into your blades. The test is to pluck the blade and see if it gives a high pitch like a C tone. Now about blades. You won't be able to find very good blades in any of the hardware stores. You can still get some fairly good blades at Woodcraft Store if you have one around you. They sell mostly Olson. Most of us who have been where you are right now have asked the same questions that you are asking. Anyway, what you want to do is go online and find suppliers for Niqua (Flying Dutchman) and/or Pegas. Those are the go-to blades for most of us. One seller has already been given and the FD blades are available through Mike's Scrollsaw and also the company that bought Mike's out Wooden TeddyBear. They can supply you with sample packs that will contain mostly #5 blades. As for wood, depends on what your forte is as to what wood and where to buy it. There is a ton of info here and if you do some searching you will find most of the answers to your questions. When I first found SSV I went clear back to the beginning of the General Scroll Saw forum and read every post coming forward. I learned a ton just by doing that. The rest is going to be from your own experience. There are also a lot of great videos on youtube that give great examples of different types of work. Best of luck to you on your journey. It becomes quite addictive.

 

Edited January 26 by OCtoolguy

[Ctutor]

have you found Steve Goode yet.  If not look him up

[Sycamore67]

Maybe one of the recent newbies could provide information that was given to him. 

Somewhere, somehow, it would be good to have some saved posts that provide newbie information.  It seems that these are repeated questions from the past.  

What we need is classes for newbies that are an introduction to scrolling.

Please provide your location and some background information.

[81Shaun]

3 hours ago, Dan said:

Hey, Shaun, I'm not familiar with those blades but you should ce able to cut very tight curves with any blade. Believe it or not, there is a top and bottom to most blades. If installed upside down you will have difficulty cutting and controlling the blade. If you rub your finger along the blade one direction will feel sharper. The sharper side should point down. 

Everyone will chime in on different blades, but it boils down to what works best for you. @Denny Knappensells Pegas blades and will be glad to help you make good choices. 

Thank you Dan.  I am messing with the saw now and I tightened the tension up really good  and it seems like it's cutting better with the wide blade but I hope it wasn't tightened to tight? Heard a kinda pop sound so I'm not sure?  Yeah I believe I have the blade in the correct cutting direction.  Lots of learning with this stuff for sure hopefully I will figure this all out.  

[81Shaun]

2 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Howdy and welcome to SSV. The fun has begun. From what you wrote, I get the impression that tension might be part of your problem. You have to really put a lot of tension into your blades. The test is to pluck the blade and see if it gives a high pitch like a C tone. Now about blades. You won't be able to find very good blades in any of the hardware stores. You can still get some fairly good blades at Woodcraft Store if you have one around you. They sell mostly Olson. Most of us who have been where you are right now have asked the same questions that you are asking. Anyway, what you want to do is go online and find suppliers for Niqua (Flying Dutchman) and/or Pegas. Those are the go-to blades for most of us. One seller has already been given and the FD blades are available through Mike's Scrollsaw and also the company that bought Mike's out Wooden TeddyBear. They can supply you with sample packs that will contain mostly #5 blades. As for wood, depends on what your forte is as to what wood and where to buy it. There is a ton of info here and if you do some searching you will find most of the answers to your questions. When I first found SSV I went clear back to the beginning of the General Scroll Saw forum and read every post coming forward. I learned a ton just by doing that. The rest is going to be from your own experience. There are also a lot of great videos on youtube that give great examples of different types of work. Best of luck to you on your journey. It becomes quite addictive.

 

Thank you I just really cranked it down pretty good it seems like it's cutting much better with the wide blade .   Yeah I  kind of figured  those blades were probably not the best but it was the only thing here that I could get. I guess anxious to get started making things but I will definitely check out the blades you and Dan suggested.  I do know menards has Olson blades here in my area I was thinking about giving those a try probably buy a little bit of different brands and see.  Yes I will definitely be setting down and reading up lots on this forum. 

[81Shaun]

1 hour ago, Ctutor said:

have you found Steve Goode yet.  If not look him up

I have found his patterns and have been tinkering around trying to make something I have a couple I made using really thin 1/8" wood 

[81Shaun]

44 minutes ago, Sycamore67 said:

Maybe one of the recent newbies could provide information that was given to him. 

Somewhere, somehow, it would be good to have some saved posts that provide newbie information.  It seems that these are repeated questions from the past.  

What we need is classes for newbies that are an introduction to scrolling.

Please provide your location and some background information.

I am from Ohio and just now getting started out I apologize if all this stuff has been answered should have probably went back to see if I could find answers to my questions.

[preprius]

A note on blades get dull fast:

Don't push the wood. Let the tiny teeth do the work.

Really fast tight turns will dull blades fast. 

Thicknesses of blades:

#1 blades will need to be tight. But a thicker blade #7 won't need to critically tight.

You will find some #1 blades combinations of wood thickness act differently.  Ex.. #1 with 1/4" might fine following the lines without twisting.  But the same blade may act different with 1/8".  I found a #00 blade worked better at 1/4" than it did with 1/8".

Me. Mark Eason

[Hawk]

As far as blades go, I've found that either Pegas or Flying Dutchman seem to be the best out there. But blades are a personal thing, try those 2 for starters and get like #3 and #5 of each. I always set mine to cut on the down stroke, if you run your finger lightly over the teeth they will grab in one direction, that will tell you which way is the down side. The wood will be less likely to jump up while cutting if the teeth are cutting down.  There are many variations of those blades also, skip tooth, reverse tooth and so on. There is no right answer here, find what works for you, it'll take time, but you'll get there.

Another factor is cutting speed. If you have a single speed saw your kinda stuck with that speed which is way a variable speed saw is better. You'll find slower speeds may work better for you with thinner stock, again, it's a personal choice thing.

What has been posted so far is great information and this site is the place to be to get the information you need to be successful. 

Good luck...Chris

[Sycamore67]

I just searched YouTube for  "beginning scrollsaw" and got several good videos.  I suggest that you watch several of them and see if it helps.

[ChelCass]

Hi Shaun, Welcome to the Village.  As others have said go back and read as many newbie questions as you can.  Also Utube can be your best friend and Steve Good has several videos and he is very good at explaining things. You can also reach him thru his website for some advice .

  I use Primarily Flying dutchman blades which I buy thru Mikes Workshop and #5 ultra reverse is my go to.  This blade is my personal choice. FD are less expensive and free shipping.

I buy most of my wood from LL Johnson which is in Michigan, you can buy wood online from Ocooch lumber.  Sometimes you can find decent wood at Menard, Home Depot or Lowes and Amazon for the thinner Baltic birch.  

Even if a question has been asked before don't be afraid to ask again.  Everybody explains things differently so one explanation might not help but another's might. 

Have you ever heard of the Ping test for blade tension?  This is what a lot of scrollers use.  Each blade is different as far as tightness goes so give it a try.  

The more you scroll the more comfortable you will get (plus some frustrating moments) it's all part of scrolling.  Just enjoy the process.

[kmmcrafts]

Hello, welcome to the village! 

I guess I don't have a lot to add from what has already been said. Do feel free to ask any questions, if you are like most here you'll probably quickly find that the search function works just about as good as a flat tire on a car.. it's there and spins around somewhat but not great.  I've been on this site for years and still have trouble getting relevant info on whatever I searched for so sometimes it's hit or miss using the search.  

[barb.j.enders]

Lots of great info here so I am not going to add to it except.... if you are in Canada, order the Niqua or Pegas blades from Garnet Hall.  Small buisness, great service & reasonable shipping.   https://www.sawbird.com/tools.htm.  

 

[Bill WIlson]

Welcome to the forum.

More important than what brand you choose is learning how to determine the size & type of blade is best for a specific application.  There is a vast array of blade sizes, types and tooth configurations.  Throw in brand and the possible combinations become almost infinite.

Here is a blade chart that is a pretty decent source of info as to the blades and their best application.  It's for Olson brand, so some of the specifics will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.  I presume Flying Dutchman and Pegas blades have similar charts for their brands. 

Anyway, take a look.  Remember that the smaller the blade the smoother the cut, the finer detail it will cut, the more teeth per inch it will have and the thinner wood it is intended for. 

Hope this helps.

https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

Edited January 27 by Bill WIlson

[Sycamore67]

The Olsen Chart is a good reference.  If you do a Goggle search for scrollsaw blade chart, you will find a lot of help.

After you try different blades, you will find the blades you are most comfortable with.  I use Flying Dutchman Polar blades because they are skip tooth and do well in 3/4" wood which is what I use for Intarsia. 

[Denny Knappen]

Welcome to the Village from Tennessee.  The blades you mentioned are called Skip blades and you can find better prices online.  I sell Pegas blades which are Swiss made.  These are great blades to start.  Message me if you have further questions about blades.

[Roberta Moreton]

@81Shaun  Are you able to purchase The Scroll Saw Workbook?  I recommend new scrollers to buy this workbook and do the exercises. I feel it is money well spent. When I was learning, there was no internet (GASP) I borrowed an old version of this book from the library. It is how I began. 

[OCtoolguy]

21 minutes ago, Roberta Moreton said:

@81Shaun  Are you able to purchase The Scroll Saw Workbook?  I recommend new scrollers to buy this workbook and do the exercises. I feel it is money well spent. When I was learning, there was no internet (GASP) I borrowed an old version of this book from the library. It is how I began. 

I concur. I didn't do all of the lessons but what I did got me to where I am now.

[81Shaun]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:52 PM, Denny Knappen said:

Welcome to the Village from Tennessee.  The blades you mentioned are called Skip blades and you can find better prices online.  I sell Pegas blades which are Swiss made.  These are great blades to start.  Message me if you have further questions about blades.

I will be in touch with you thank you 

[81Shaun]

21 hours ago, Roberta Moreton said:

@81Shaun  Are you able to purchase The Scroll Saw Workbook?  I recommend new scrollers to buy this workbook and do the exercises. I feel it is money well spent. When I was learning, there was no internet (GASP) I borrowed an old version of this book from the library. It is how I began. 

Hello yes I could purchase it do you have a link to where it can be purchased? Thank you 

[Scrappile]

1 minute ago, 81Shaun said:

I will be in touch with you thank you 

I just ordered 3 gross from Denny a half hour ago.  Skip is my favorite Pegas blade.

[81Shaun]

Thank you all for all your help really appreciate it.  I have been messing around with the Steve Good patterns and using some of the paneling stuff and with the smaller junk blades i have it's cutting pretty decent the wood is probably 1/8" but the patterns says to use 1/4" so does anyone else ever use thinner wood with his patterns? Once I get the right blades I'll pick up to what he says but these fine blades are not lasting long with the 1/4" wood.

[preprius]

yes.  The art part of this hobby allows us to change thickness of wood at our choice. 

I have taken part of patterns and used them on other pieces. Using thinner wood. 

Me. Mark Eason