blade drift?

[Allen levine]

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.

[Allen levine]

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]

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.

 

[Bill WIlson]

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.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

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 10 hours ago by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Wichman]

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.

[Denny Knappen]

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.

[Allen levine]

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

[Allen levine]

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?

[Allen levine]

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.