Allen levine Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 Im getting straight cuts, all parts fit fine. but I cant seem to feed straight as I notice whenever I finish a cut, or most of the times, Im getting the blade popping? back into position. seems i push the piece a b it to the right each time, and as much as I over correct my technique, the blade seems to be moving to the side....hard to explain, the blade cuts perfectly on the line, but when I remove the wood from saw, seems I was bending the blade ever so slightly and the blade pings back to perfect sitting position. how to I compensate for my feeding the piece a bit off. very tough to explain. I know when I remove a piece there should be no sound, but I get that ping when the blade pops straight again, it doesnt seem to affect the cut at all, I checked, cuts are square, I put pieces against table saw blade with blade up and see its perfectly cut with no gap between piece and blade. I cant seem to feed it straight once I get going on a long cut. anything I can do? hope I explained it correctly, almost as if the blade is drifting but I know its not, its just the feed is off and the blade pings back after long cuts, so maybe Im drifting not the blade. Be_O_Be and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen levine Posted November 21 Author Report Share Posted November 21 btw, I tried tightening tension, loosening tension, either way didnt help me, and I try to pay alot more attention to my feeding rate but nothing seems to help me, if this is normal, Im ok with it, as all my cuts have been fine OCtoolguy and Be_O_Be 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 Practice, lots of practice. You are unintentionally pushing the work piece to one side or the other. Remember, the blades are 5 inches long and very thin so they are going to flex. It's up to you to keep them straight. Practice. Be_O_Be, Allen levine and danny 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill WIlson Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 Blade drift is pretty common with a lot of scroll saw blades. Something about the way they are manufactured that makes them that way. It isn't a universal thing. There are some brands/types that are better/worse than others. What I do if I find a blade is tracking off the line (typically it will pull to the right) is to shift my chair slightly over to the right of the saw, so that I'm actually facing the blade at an angle, but I trick my brain into thinking I'm pushing straight into the blade. It doesn't take very much. Maybe give it a try and see what it does for you. OCtoolguy, JTTHECLOCKMAN, danny and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 (edited) Move your chair. Many times your eye is seeing it differently than what it use to. We all have a dominate eye and that is the one we key on. if you are pushing mor to the right try moving the chair more to the right. Or it maybe just opposite and your other eye has become more dominate. Play around with moving you line of sight some. It is a matter of letting the blade do the cutting. You just do not realize it when cutting that you are pushing to one side Bill beat me by about half a minute but he said basically the same thing. Edited November 21 by JTTHECLOCKMAN MarieC, barb.j.enders, Allen levine and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wichman Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 One technique to try is, during a cut, pause and let the wood "float", if you find the wood and blade move sideways, then you are putting side pressure while cutting. One thing to check on the Hegner is if the lower blade clamp is properly seated, I use my thumbnail to check. Be_O_Be, OCtoolguy and barb.j.enders 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted November 21 Report Share Posted November 21 As Wichman said, to check if you are pushing to one side or the other, when cutting, stop and release the project. the wood should stay in place. If it moves, you are pushing to one side. This is one reason I use Pegas MGT blades as they are not stamped, so you follow the line more straight on. If you are in the USA, I maybe able to give you some sample. Send me a message. MarieC, Allen levine, OCtoolguy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen levine Posted November 21 Author Report Share Posted November 21 15 minutes ago, Wichman said: One technique to try is, during a cut, pause and let the wood "float", if you find the wood and blade move sideways, then you are putting side pressure while cutting. One thing to check on the Hegner is if the lower blade clamp is properly seated, I use my thumbnail to check. thats exactly what I did today, i decided to see how Im feeding, so I stopped guiding and let the wood move straight. ive had a bottom blade clamp not sit right already, bent the blade immediately, learned a lesson Be_O_Be and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen levine Posted November 21 Author Report Share Posted November 21 denny i have a bunch of pegas blades, and its no different, Ive tried changing out to 4 different blade companies, pegas, fly dutchman, and the pack that came with the saw, not sure which brand, and a friend from another site sent me all his blades as he doesnt scroll anymore. I find little difference between pegas and flying dutchman with blades that are similar number and tpi, the only difference I find on wood less then 1/2 inch thick is how aggressive the pegas blade is. I had some trouble with the cuts moving a bit too fast and went off lines, so its an adjustment of feed. as a matter of fact, Im pretty sure it was you I ordered them from? OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen levine Posted November 21 Author Report Share Posted November 21 i should mention, I have ocular myasthenia gravis....by now its most likely generalized myasthenia, but after 20 or so minutes, I have to take a few minute break and let my eyes rest and look elsewhere because focusing on that line, my eyes start to get out of focus as the muscles start to get tired. Id do much b etter if the blades were a different color than the lines on the pattern. I might start printing patterns with red or green ink. thanx for the answers so quick....Ill give some thought to moving my bench a bit when I see the piece is off center on the blade. never thought of that. I just thought I was right hand dominant and tend to push harder with right hand, and I even tried using the left hand sometimes to guide the pattern through the blade. OCtoolguy and Be_O_Be 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barb.j.enders Posted November 22 Report Share Posted November 22 There is lots of great info here.There had been a tip years ago - rest your wrists on the table. Can't push too hard then. All that being said, if it is working for you, and everything fits, why worry? OCtoolguy and Be_O_Be 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted November 22 Report Share Posted November 22 19 hours ago, Allen levine said: denny i have a bunch of pegas blades, and its no different, Ive tried changing out to 4 different blade companies, pegas, fly dutchman, and the pack that came with the saw, not sure which brand, and a friend from another site sent me all his blades as he doesnt scroll anymore. I find little difference between pegas and flying dutchman with blades that are similar number and tpi, the only difference I find on wood less then 1/2 inch thick is how aggressive the pegas blade is. I had some trouble with the cuts moving a bit too fast and went off lines, so its an adjustment of feed. as a matter of fact, Im pretty sure it was you I ordered them from? Yes, the MGT blades are more aggressive (fewer tpi). I don't mind the aggressive aspect, and I like the straight on path in cutting. Have you tried Pegas Reverse Skip blades (more tpi than MGT). OCtoolguy and Be_O_Be 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctutor Posted November 22 Report Share Posted November 22 you are tightening your wrist. In the middle of your cut just relax. You will probably see the piece snap back. RELAX periodically with power on or off bet your piece will move barb.j.enders, OCtoolguy and Be_O_Be 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rash_powder Posted November 22 Report Share Posted November 22 Try Olson PGT blades. They are manufactured differently then a lot of the rest of blades. Instead of being stamped that leaves a slight burr and causes drift, the are milled. They should cut more 'straight' with the direction of push. OCtoolguy, Allen levine and Be_O_Be 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted November 22 Report Share Posted November 22 Another good advice from @Scrappile Relax your shoulders. I have to remind myself this a lot. Be_O_Be, MarieC, Allen levine and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAIrving Posted November 23 Report Share Posted November 23 Band saw blades drift. Scroll saw blades drift. Some brands/sizes drift more than others but they all drift. It might depend on the tension, it might be affected by how you feed the wood into the blade, maybe something else. Don't worry about it, just understand and accept that it happens. When I first started scrolling and wanted to cut a straight line, I would line up the wood and straight pattern line with the centerline of the scroll saw table and try to cut in that orientation. That did not work (because the blade drifts) and resulted in frustration. Happiness came when I stopped trying to make it cut along the centerline of the table. Now I pay no attention to the orientation of the work vs the table. I pay attention to the line the blade is cutting and feed the patten line into the blade. The blade does cut a straight line, but you have to watch to see the line it is cutting. Watch where/how it is cutting and look at the pattern line about a 1/2" or so in front of the blade; feed the pattern line into the blade. No more frustration. Cheers and happy scrolling! MarieC, dgman, Be_O_Be and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen levine Posted November 24 Author Report Share Posted November 24 Wow maybe it isn't the blade drift at all maybe I discovered what the problem is need a little less caffeine Roberta Moreton, OCtoolguy, Wichman and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.