I hummed an hawed

[Baldric]

Bought myself a new scroll saw,  and done my first project,a bit rough, but if you stand well back it looks pretty good  I managed to cut it out using the original blade, which is two downward pointing teeth then a gap then two more teeth,Question! are you constantly altering the hold down thingy? to stop the work vibrating. how do you hold small pieces when cutting?   do you constantly alter the cutting speed for long and short runs? does anyone lubricate the blade? can a blade be used upside down as long as the guide is pretty close, is a wisp of smoke from under the table normal? I made a kiwibear, my first project, regards Bob

[Clayton717]

Congrats on he new saw. The first thing I did when I bought a new saw was to get rid of the hold down foot. It just gets in the way. hold small pieces very carefully. I rarely adjust speed when I'm cutting, I set it where I'm comfortable with it, I will slow it down a little if cutting thin wood and delicate cuts. I don't normally lubricate the blade, I change them often when it seems to be getting dull. the blades are designed to cut one way, they will cut upside down but not like they should(don't ask how I know). The main body of teeth should point down.  smoke is not normal the blade is getting hot and burning the wood, unless your saw itself is smoking.

good job on your first cut.

[amazingkevin]

Great looking bear.  

[wombatie]

Ditto to what Clayton said.  Not a bad looking bear, well done.

 

Marg

[Lucky2]

Baldric, the bear looks good, except for that nose you've planted in the middle of it's face. Clayton has answered most of your questions, with the same reply you'd get from most of us. So you should be all set there, but, I want to reply to the portion of it where you talk about smoke. If your work is starting to smoke, then the blade is dull, it has done all of the cutting it can, CHANGE IT. If you don't stop and change your blade when this happens then you abusing your saw, and something will break eventually. And if something on your saw doesn't break, then you will end up with a cutting that requires a lot more work then is necessary. Blades aren't all that expensive, and if used properly they can and will give you a near perfect cut edge. Plus you won't have to do any amount of sanding, to remove the fuzzies or burn marks from the edge. If you change your blades when they should be, you'd get more enjoyment out of using your scroll saw. The only time I change speeds is if I start cutting a different thickness of wood, and yes, like Clayton I removed the hold-down from my saw. Most people that I know of, that own a scroll saw remove the hold-down.<br />Len

[WolfmoonCT]

Yepp, I tossed my hold down foot when I bought the saw.  I never used it.  Just be careful cutting smaller pieces. If your not real comfortable, cut the smaller pieces from a large piece that you have more wood to hold and keep your fingers away from the blade.  Cute bear.

[Clozy]

Ditto to the above advice, nice first project, you are going to have a lot of fun scrolling, enjoy!

[lineman]

Looks good for a first attempt. Try to keep the smoke down. 

[Nick@tinkers-cove]

The others have pretty much covered everything, but I would add;

1. Use spray adhesive and tape to secure your pattern to the wood - it lubricates the blade and stops the smoking.

2. Most of my cuts are quite intricate, so I rarely speed up at all - use what's comfortable for you.

3. As stated, small cuts are best done from larger pieces, but if you can't, use another block of wood to wedge one side against the blade, and that will keep your fingers out of the way (and give more control).

4. Everyone else is correct - I've never used the foot piece either - it gets in the way.

5. The reverse tooth blade (various pointing upwards near the bottom) is designed to reduce the amount of splintering on the back of the piece you are cutting.

I think that's everything. Keep at it, and good luck.

Regards,

Nick

[multitom]

My friends have said it all , well done! on your first project, looks absolutely great except for the nose

[Baldric]

Thanks guys, a lot of great information both here and on the board, I could have saved myself some time and just threw the "Foot" away, instead I modified it to the new standard by making and fitting a blade guide, now i have twice as much scrap jiggling in front of the blade, So, out it goes!. Looking again I don't think it was smoke, it may have been the sunlight reflecting on all the very fine particles of dust,  Hi Mahendra   ,just clarify a little point,

I am from New Zealand, our national bird here is a flightless bird called the (Kiwi) It has a long beak and eats roots, and leaves   we look upon it with great afection, just my sence of humour, regards Bob

[heppnerguy]

Bob, I like your sense of humor and creativity. I would wager that most of us here at The Village have never seen a real Kiwi Bird before. They seem like a made up bird to me. I think it is pretty much all in the blades. Buy your blades on line and don't try to make them last as long as you can. When they get dull they burn the wood and don't follow so successfully. I have read that the average life of a scroll saw blade is about a half hour of cutting, especially in thicker and harder woods. I have found that hardwood boards are easier to cut than the softer woods. By now you understand that the hold down pieces are there only because the manufactures are required by law to put them on their products an to protect themselves. Keep up your communications here and you will get to know the regulars and will quickly understand that you are among friends that we refer to as family. Any more questions, just fire away we all learn from one another.

[DEVON BOY]

Hi well done on your project looks cool i have never used the hold down thing just be careful and you will get used to holding the stock down helps to have the blade the right way round good luck.Ps i use the Flying Dutchman blades they last a long time and cut well.

 

Chris.