Scroll saw noob. Go big or stay home, right?

[JonH]

I was just excited to get the replacement part (motor to arm connector rod) for my Hegner Multimax V-22 and ready for some work.  A niece had a birthday pending and I wanted to get something special done for her.  She loves the shore and ocean, so found this pattern from Steve Good's site.  I have a tendency to jump into things whole hog and this really did test and develop my skills in a hurry (first scroll saw project).  Was especially worried as I used a plank of Lowe's 1/4" birch ply and some practice cuts on a hummingbird pattern had me wondering if the top piece was going to explode on me.  Went through 2 dozen Advanced Machinery #3 reverse double tooth blades on the two top layers.  Used up a few #5's on the easy third layer.  Simple spray on coat of Watco lacquer.

Pretty sure I went through most of those blades because of the slow pace of my cutting.  Think I spent about 8 hours on the top piece.  I think spiral blades may have been more appropriate, but I ain't there yet.

[rjweb]

Excellent for your first project, RJ

[JonH]

I now know why it's called "fret work".  I was doing a lot of fretting.

[Fish]

Nice work.  Thanks for sharing. 

[FrankEV]

Great first project.  I did that pattern as one of my earliest pieces a long time ago.

When you say you "went through" many blades, why?  Did they break or get dull? 

If they broke, your tensioning is probably set too high, or, you may be pushing too hard, or, the saw speed is much too fast, or, actually possibly too slow.   

Or maybe, did you kink the blades when threading the drill holes?  Assuming you are bottom feeding the blades, to avoid kinking the blades, the blade needs to be grabed by your fingers or a pair of pliers and pulled up tightly so the cut panel will slide down onto the table smoothly and the blade not get kinked which will allow the blade to break soon thereafter.  Kinking occurs more frenquently when using small blades, but not usually with #3 or #5 blades unless the drill holes are too small.  And, as an aside, #3 or #5 blades were, IMHO, way to large for most of this pattern.  A #1 would have worked well for much of the cutting, only to change to a #3 or #5 for the long straight perimeter cuts that create the frame.

If you used that many because they  got dull...which I find hard to believe...i would suspect it is a combination of your tension being not set properly and you are pushing much too hard trying to move the blade sideways to stay on the line.  Moving the blade too slowly and with a sideways component will heat up the blade which will dull the blade quickly. 

Here are a few tips to remember:

• You can test proper tension with the 'Ping' method. Pick the blade like a banjo string to get a high picth 'Ping' to tell if tension is set correctly, 
• You must avoid the temptation to correct the blade path by pushing sidewards, 
• You must let the blade do the cutting and not push too fast OR too slow,
• Do not stop/start frequently as you progress along the line.  Only stop at a sharp corner if necessary to reposition your hands or the panel,
• Make sure you are sitting in line with the saw arm, looking at the blade straight on, in order to keep the blade cutting on line.
• Guide the wood panel with both hands gently with uniform pressure straight ahead and turning the work to follow the line,
• and, Relax and breathe, yes I said breathe.  When I started I would tense up and hold my breath while making a difficult cut.  Just made thing worse.

Hope some of this may help. 

 

  

 

 

Edited February 15 by FrankEV

[daveww1]

awesome job

[Ron Johnson]

You did an awesome job being your first project John. Well done. 

[Denny Knappen]

Mighty fine cutting

[heppnerguy]

Looks pretty darn good to me. I believe your niece will be more than thrilled with this project and also amazed that you personally cut this. For me on 1/4 in ply I usually use a #1 Pegas blade and it also does not create fuzzies on the back side of the wood.

Dick

heppnerguy

[wombatie]

You did an excellent job, well done.
The only way to test your skills and help you to improve, is to jump right in.
Your niece will love it.

Marg

[81Shaun]

Looks really good I like it 

[Peter N White]

Great job for your first take note of Frank EV advice which is top notch. 

[Gonzo]

Awesome job!  Franks advice is dead on. 

Edited February 16 by Gonzo

[Charlie E]

Great job. Certainly doesn't look like a beginner.  

[Joe W.]

On 2/14/2024 at 8:58 PM, JonH said:

I now know why it's called "fret work".  I was doing a lot of fretting.

Ain't it the truth!  Good Job!!!

[Scrolling Steve]

Jumped right in to the Deep end of the pool didn't you....Nice work!