Newb here with questions

[AUTOMILE]

Hey welcome! From Ohio here too . I’m sure with time it will all come together for you ! There’s great people here to help and answer your questions , so have fun and again , welcome!

[kmmcrafts]

The glues etc in plywood tend to eat up the blades faster.. if that is what you're using. Even so, scroll saw blades don't last very long anyway so just keep that in mind. I change blades about every 20 - 30 minutes of cutting just to give a general idea.. It's not like a tablesaw blade where you can cut for quite a long time on one blades. 

 

[Joe W.]

Another option is to take a scroll saw class if one is available near you.  

We have a Woodcraft store in our area that offers various woodworking classes, scroll sawing being one of them.
Just a thought. 

[rash_powder]

I've seen those Bosch blades at Lowe's, but never tried them.  They are kinda big.  

If you can find some Olson blades I think you may have better luck.

[kmmcrafts]

I think those Bosch blades are made by Olsen.. or at least some of them are.. Many brands are just rebranded Olsen blades. There used to be a Vermont Castings brand and those things was the worst blade I've ever seen. Not sure if they are still around or not.. 

[81Shaun]

Thank you all I appreciate your help I picked up some Olson blades to see what I can come up with.   What's this book that was mentioned? Wouldn't mind picking it up and the Pegasus blades from the guy on here.   I have been trying to watch YouTube videos and stuff also unfortunately a scroll saw class is not available in my area or I would definitely attend one.  I had a uncle that made me a bass fish clock years back but he passed away unfortunately but I look at that clock and thank man I wish I could do something like that that's so beautiful but  that kinda got me interested so I decided to give it a try.

[Bill WIlson]

The book is "The Scroll Saw Workbook" by John Nelson.

https://www.amazon.com/Scroll-Saw-Workbook-3rd-Skill-Building/dp/1565238494

I would suggest that you not chase after the perfect blade, by trying a whole bunch of different ones just yet.  Pick a good brand, from the ones that have been mentioned in this thread and stick with that until you get the hang of scrolling.  Certain brands may be better in certain applications, but by & large, if you are able to make a cut, you can use just about any brand of blade.  More important is to understand the proper size and type of blade for the material and pattern you are cutting.  Try a few different sizes of a reverse tooth type blade from whichever manufacturer you choose.  Use them to practice in thin and thick wood to learn the basics.  Once you get to the point where you can reasonably and consistently follow a line, then you can diversify and try a few other brands to see if they make a difference for you.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I agree with all that is being said here. To add something to conversation about blades, yes we all find our go to blade and you will too. But your 2 top blade manufacturers are Pegas blades and FD (Flying Dutchman) blades. They do cut differently though so when you do get a feel for cutting you will notice. With that said for size the #5 blade is probably the best because it is the most universal for what we do. Unless you are cutting alot of hard woods 3/4" thick then go to a #7 I like the FD Penquin Silver double reverse tooth blades for just about all my cutting. The reverse teeth is something you will find handy because they cut on the upstroke of the saw's action and they take those fuzzies away for the most part that you will get when cutting. You will see and that is why you need to sand the work after cutting because those fuzzies make the project look unprofessional. Good luck. 

[OCtoolguy]

I found the biggest difference between Pegas and FD blades is how they are made. The FD blades are stamped rather than ground. That stamping gives the FDs a protrusion on one side and causes a drift. The Pegas cut straighter and seem to stay sharp longer. I agree that the #5 is my go-to size. I think every scroller ends up with a box full of blades that will never get used. I know I have a bunch.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

I found the biggest difference between Pegas and FD blades is how they are made. The FD blades are stamped rather than ground. That stamping gives the FDs a protrusion on one side and causes a drift. The Pegas cut straighter and seem to stay sharp longer. I agree that the #5 is my go-to size. I think every scroller ends up with a box full of blades that will never get used. I know I have a bunch.

FD precision ground blades are not stamped. These comments are opinions

[OCtoolguy]

32 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

FD precision ground blades are not stamped. These comments are opinions

Thanks JT. I was not aware of any "ground" blades. Now I stand corrected.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

52 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

Thanks JT. I was not aware of any "ground" blades. Now I stand corrected.

 

No problem. One thing I caution others when reading the statement about blades causing a drift and cutting straighter. These things are worded wrong. FD blades being stamped have the teeth facing more toward a side on some of their blades. This does not cause any drift. It is just that the wood when cutting is slanted more to adjust for the canting of the teeth. Same thing goes for cutting straighter. No blade on the market cuts straight. Pegas blades being a different modified geometry made blade means the wood is pushed into blade in a straighter line. Also the very first turn you make all directions are out the window. Unless you are cutting straight lines and comparing each blade you will never notice what that blade is doing. Your focus is not on the blade movement but on the cut line and you forget all about the blade. As far as staying sharper that again is subjective. I suggest you get some of each blade and you decide which blade suits you best. We as seasoned scrollers such as Ray and I can only suggest things. But these 2 blades on the market are the gold standard for great scrolling blades. Olson has been around the longest and always had huge advertising behind them and thus the name recognition. Good luck and happy scrolling. 

[OCtoolguy]

20 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

No problem. One thing I caution others when reading the statement about blades causing a drift and cutting straighter. These things are worded wrong. FD blades being stamped have the teeth facing more toward a side on some of their blades. This does not cause any drift. It is just that the wood when cutting is slanted more to adjust for the canting of the teeth. Same thing goes for cutting straighter. No blade on the market cuts straight. Pegas blades being a different modified geometry made blade means the wood is pushed into blade in a straighter line. Also the very first turn you make all directions are out the window. Unless you are cutting straight lines and comparing each blade you will never notice what that blade is doing. Your focus is not on the blade movement but on the cut line and you forget all about the blade. As far as staying sharper that again is subjective. I suggest you get some of each blade and you decide which blade suits you best. We as seasoned scrollers such as Ray and I can only suggest things. But these 2 blades on the market are the gold standard for great scrolling blades. Olson has been around the longest and always had huge advertising behind them and thus the name recognition. Good luck and happy scrolling. 

As I already did and found that the FD blades were much harder for me to control. From the very first attempt with the Pegas blades, I felt and saw the difference. Sorry but on this, I will have to disagree.

 

[rjweb]

I agree with Ray, I too can control a pegas blade easier than the FD blades, RJ

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

That is fine but my point is you can not say definetly FD blades drift because they absolutely do not no such thing. Can not say Pegas cut straighter because absolutely not no such thing. You personally find your ability to control them better than the other. if a person is starting out he or she needs to make that decision. I will cut a straight line with FD and you cut one with a pegas. How is that possible if one drifts. Should never be able to cut straight. This is my point. Remember it is newbie asking questions not vets. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

15 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

That is fine but my point is you can not say definetly FD blades drift because they absolutely do not no such thing. Can not say Pegas cut straighter because absolutely not no such thing. You personally find your ability to control them better than the other. if a person is starting out he or she needs to make that decision. I will cut a straight line with FD and you cut one with a pegas. How is that possible if one drifts. Should never be able to cut straight. This is my point. Remember it is newbie asking questions not vets. All you are witnessing is how the wood is presented to the blade. Control is a hand eye coordination thing.  Good example of this is using spiral blades. 

Do not know how this got double posted.

Edited January 31 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

7 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

FD precision ground blades are not stamped. These comments are opinions

Hmm, I thought all FD blades were stamped instead of ground. Now I went through some of what I thought were the more popular ones and none of them say anything about being ground or stamped.. how does one know which is which? What ones are ground? "Other Manufactures" state whether they are ground or stamped and that was a big selling point for those particular blades.. Never seen FD ever say anything either way.. so just assumed they was all stamped. 

I've used most all the styles of FD blades way back when and I don't recall using any that I didn't have to put a slight angle to my board as I feed into the blade.. I used to solely use FD blades until one day I found Olsen's PGT baldes.. I used those on and off for several years as I didn't care for having to feed the wood at a slight angle, doesn't bother me nearly as much these days as it did trying to learn and get good as scroll sawing. I used FD blades as that was the best I could find for certain types of projects.. Now I can stay on the line no matter what blade I use as I guess I've mastered the sawing portion.. I now pretty much only use Pegas MGT blades.. and now and then use FD-SR or FD-UR mainly because I have several that need used up and certain types of projects they work better for than the Pegas.. But still.. just curious what blades are PG? this is the first time I've read anything about the FD PG blade. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

You do know that FD blades are Niqua blades right. I use to have all of Mike Moorlochs notes because I use to test cut for him All FD blades are not stamped. I am not sure because it has been a long time since I bought blades but maybe Denny can step in here and give a list of what he is selling these days. I bet he is not selling all of Mike's blades. I could be wrong. 

[kmmcrafts]

Yes, I do know the Niqua blades is FD blades. I just did a little research and found that they use the term "Milled".. The ones they are talking about is the Ultra Reverse.. which was one of my go to blades however they are Milled / Ground differently as they still cut at a slight angle.. not quite as bad as the other blades but not as straight on as Pegas blades. 

Denny is a Pegas dealer and last I knew doesn't sell FD blades so I'm not sure he would have any info on FD blades. The MGT blades is the ones I buy from him and is my go to blade. The downside to the Olsen PGT blade that I mentioned before is the smallest size is a #5 and the blade ends are Thicker / Wider than the teeth are so you need a larger hole to get the ends to go through.. not great for finer detail stuff. Pegas are sort of that way too but not nearly as bad. That is the one thing I do use the FD blades for.. fine veining because they use the smallest hole possible as the blade ends are the same thickness from the front ( teeth side ) to the back of the blade.. The others are slightly larger ends. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

7 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yes, I do know the Niqua blades is FD blades. I just did a little research and found that they use the term "Milled".. The ones they are talking about is the Ultra Reverse.. which was one of my go to blades however they are Milled / Ground differently as they still cut at a slight angle.. not quite as bad as the other blades but not as straight on as Pegas blades. 

Denny is a Pegas dealer and last I knew doesn't sell FD blades so I'm not sure he would have any info on FD blades. The MGT blades is the ones I buy from him and is my go to blade. The downside to the Olsen PGT blade that I mentioned before is the smallest size is a #5 and the blade ends are Thicker / Wider than the teeth are so you need a larger hole to get the ends to go through.. not great for finer detail stuff. Pegas are sort of that way too but not nearly as bad. That is the one thing I do use the FD blades for.. fine veining because they use the smallest hole possible as the blade ends are the same thickness from the front ( teeth side ) to the back of the blade.. The others are slightly larger ends. 

Kevin look at the photos of the blades from FD and tell me they are not straight. You keep saying they are canted. Some of them are but the ones with a alternate tooth are straight.  They are called something different but I tell you for sure they are not stamped like you are thinking. . When you alternate the teeth they have to cut straight. what way would they cant? Maybe they use a different machine than pegas  yes I mixed up who sells FD blades. What is his name here. that took over for Mike. Remember I have not been here for quite some time. All my correspondence with Mike was on an older computer and I never carried it over to the last 2 computers. I use to talk to Mike almost every week. He liked to just talk and we both hated a guy if you remember William Young. Talk about  guy that thought he knew everything and he was a tester for Pegas blades when they first came out. Bill got himself banned from just about every site he went on. he started his own site and you had to register through him if he wanted you. Do not know if he is still alive or not.  I can tell you stories of how he tried to ruin Mike and his business because of the Pegas blade. Maybe that is the reason I hate that blade. Take it for what it is worth. I have tried back in the day probably every blade that hit the market. Steebar Corp use to sell a blade called tiger blades or something like that. They were a German blade and they were a great blade too.  I am sure I still have some of those. Those precision ground blades are super sharp and the teeth are thinner. Again made differently than a Penguin silver reverse blade. 

I know Wooden Teddy Bear took over Mike's site but someone is selling FD blades. Help me out here. 

Kevin this link may help you in your explanation of straighter cutting. The difference between milling and precision ground blades. Why one blade so call cuts straighter while one wanders.

When comparing blades you then need to compare apples to apples. PG or milled blades. 

https://northernnester.com/scroll-saw-blade-types/

Edited February 1 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

3 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Kevin look at the photos of the blades from FD and tell me they are not straight. You keep saying they are canted. Some of them are but the ones with a alternate tooth are straight.  They are called something different but I tell you for sure they are not stamped like you are thinking. . When you alternate the teeth they have to cut straight. what way would they cant? Maybe they use a different machine than pegas  yes I mixed up who sells FD blades. What is his name here. that took over for Mike. Remember I have not been here for quite some time. All my correspondence with Mike was on an older computer and I never carried it over to the last 2 computers. I use to talk to Mike almost every week. He liked to just talk and we both hated a guy if you remember William Young. Talk about  guy that thought he knew everything and he was a tester for Pegas blades when they first came out. Bill got himself banned from just about every site he went on. he started his own site and you had to register through him if he wanted you. Do not know if he is still alive or not.  I can tell you stories of how he tried to ruin Mike and his business because of the Pegas blade. Maybe that is the reason I hate that blade. Take it for what it is worth. I have tried back in the day probably every blade that hit the market. Steebar Corp use to sell a blade called tiger blades or something like that. They were a German blade and they were a great blade too.  I am sure I still have some of those. Those precision ground blades are super sharp and the teeth are thinner. Again made differently than a Penguin silver reverse blade. 

I know Wooden Teddy Bear took over Mike's site but someone is selling FD blades. Help me out here. 

Kevin this link may help you in your explanation of straighter cutting. The difference between milling and precision ground blades. Why one blade so call cuts straighter while one wanders.

When comparing blades you then need to compare apples to apples. PG or milled blades. 

https://northernnester.com/scroll-saw-blade-types/

I guess I never looked at all the terms of stamped, ground, and milled etc. I just buy a boatload of blades and try until I find what works best for what I make. Pegas MGT blades are my number 1 choice of blades. I've tried every blade brand that I came across and most of the style / configurations of those brands.  

Maybe William was back before I got on these forums boards. I don't recall the name.. 

I'm not sure who is selling the FD blades that you are referring too. I'm not aware of anyone selling FD blades here in scroll saw village. May have been but I don't recall that either. I do think someone helped Mike out by taking over until he finally ended up selling out to Wooden Teddy Bear.. but I can't think of who that was. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I guess I never looked at all the terms of stamped, ground, and milled etc. I just buy a boatload of blades and try until I find what works best for what I make. Pegas MGT blades are my number 1 choice of blades. I've tried every blade brand that I came across and most of the style / configurations of those brands.  

Maybe William was back before I got on these forums boards. I don't recall the name.. 

I'm not sure who is selling the FD blades that you are referring too. I'm not aware of anyone selling FD blades here in scroll saw village. May have been but I don't recall that either. I do think someone helped Mike out by taking over until he finally ended up selling out to Wooden Teddy Bear.. but I can't think of who that was. 

yea it has been so long ago that I needed to buy scrollsaw blades and have enough for 2 life times. I tried a few pegas blades but like other things I just grew into the FD blades and they are my blade. I do not use their jewelers blades. I buy true jewelers blades when I am scrolling brass and other metals. #5 Penguine silver reverse is my go to blade for just about all cuttings. Just the one I locked in on. 

Yes Bill Young was on all the scrollsawing sites along with a couple other Canadian scrollers.

As far as the other seller maybe I just confused them with Denny but I thought for sure I saw someone on FB. Memory is not what it use to be. 

As far as blades I know for fact FD blades are not all produced the same way and some are so called stamped but stamping is also a term used to thin the blade and cut to size,  and not cut the teeth. 

[81Shaun]

I am using these Olson Mach speed  univ no. 3R blades 13 tpi 7 skip for 1/4 pine plywood and so far it seems to be doing a good job but what the heck do I know?   Also why does some saws have like a fence that holds the wood down and some dont?  I have the newer  skil variable speed saw that has a  shield that holds the wood in place to keep things from jumping everywhere. 

[dgman]

Most folks remove the hold down because it gets in the way while feeding the board into the blade. If you are comfortable using it, then by all  means use it. Eventually, you will remove it.