# Newbie scroll saw help PLEASE!



## g4briel007 (17 Feb 2011)

Hi. I recently purchased a scheppach deco 402 and have begun to produce various wooden jigsaws etc for my kids. My ultimate goal would be to start producing several designs of jigsaws and wooden decorations that I could produce in larger numbers enabling me to sell them. But herein lies my problem...

I watch videos of scroll sawers (a couple using dewalt 788) working on youtube etc and they seem to fly round their work but when I try to cut a piece, it seems so slow. I have to really push the wood onto the blade so hard it seems it's going to bust - on some occasions it does! The blades are from screwfix - 134mm 20tpi and have pin fittings at either end to fix in the saw. The wood I am using is a soft wood around 10-15mm in thickness.
The blades, although no more than a couple mm wide, seem too big for intricate/fast work that I have seen on the vids mentioned above. It’s as though I need a thinner blade. When I come to a corner or tight bend, the blade wants to go of course all the time. I realise I am just beginning and thing will probably get easier with experience, but at the moment, it’s nearly impossible to cut something out, relatively quickly.
Should I/can I use different blades? Should I get a different/better scroll saw. 
I would really appreciate some advice to help out with my problem.
Many thanks
Andy


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## Gill (17 Feb 2011)

Hi Andy

The Scheppach Decoflexes have a decent reputation as an introductory level saw, although if you eventually decide to cut jigsaws puzzles professionally you would be much better off with a workhorse such as an Excalibur or a Hegner. The DW788s are not retailed in this country.

Blade choice is largely a matter of personal preference although you will need very fine blades to cut quality jigsaw puzzles. Mike Moorlach in the USA has a range of blades including one specifically for cutting jigsaw puzzles and you might wish to consider purchasing some of those. He sells to quite a lot of UK-based scrollers and provides an excellent service. The blades you are using at present are not the highest quality available and they are certainly too thick for fine work which requires tight turns. Since the Scheppach will accept flat-headed blades (I believe) you would be wise to abandon the pin-headed variety. However, if you are a newcomer to scrolling it might be wise to learn your craft with some blades that are slightly thicker than the very fine Flying Dutchman Puzzle blades. You can always graduate to the finer blades as your skills develop.

All scroll saw blades have a tendency to drift to the right while cutting - it's due to the way they are manufactured. This might be why your current blades have a tendency to wander. Some blades are precision ground to reduce this tendency but most scrollers learn quite quickly to compensate for the drift automatically. It becomes instinctive after a while. 

By the way, most jigsaw puzzle makers would use wood that is thinner than you are cutting at present. I suggest you try some 6mm plywood. Thinner wood is easier to cut too  .

Gill


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## thearkman (18 Feb 2011)

Your problem is almost certainly the blades!!!  I use Olsen blades all the time. By picking the right size blade I can cut from the thinnest veneers to 32 mm hardwood. For 10-15mm
softwood I would suggest Olsen reverse tooth (eliminates splintering underneath) size 7 for slower less intricate shapes and No5 for more detail or tighter curves. You might also find that if by soft wood you mean pine, the resin tracts are much harder than the soft pale wood and therefore the blade will always try to follow the soft easy route, especially if you are forcing the cut !!! You can get Olsen blades from http://www.woodworkscraftsupplies.co.uk. Dont get frustrated just try some real blades and let me know how you get on. Good luck.
Barry =D>


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## theartfulbodger (18 Feb 2011)

g4briel007":v0ribh8y said:


> ...............It’s as though I need a thinner blade. When I come to a corner or tight bend, the blade wants to go of course all the time.........



I'm new to scrolling too, but the above made me think. Would a spiral blade help with this?


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## Gill (18 Feb 2011)

theartfulbodger":2t7zuhcq said:


> g4briel007":2t7zuhcq said:
> 
> 
> > ...............It’s as though I need a thinner blade. When I come to a corner or tight bend, the blade wants to go of course all the time.........
> ...



In a word, no  .

Although some people swear by spiral blades, by definition they're chunkier than plain blades so they create a much wider kerf than standard blades. They also present fewer cutting teeth to the face of the cut, so they're slower. Any slight sideways tension against the blade will create a cut where there shouldn't be one, and it will be particularly noticeable because of the slight 'back and forth' motion of the saw's parallel arms and the chunkiness of the blade. Spiral blades can be the very devil to clamp in place too.

It's far better for a newcomer to learn how to cut properly in the first instance with conventional flat blades and then consider spiral blades at a later stage. Unlike most other woodworking tools, a scroll saw requires experience and practice to master. It's not difficult and most people are soon flying, but nevertheless you do have to serve a short apprenticeship when you'll find blades break, wood burns and your cuts wander off the pattern lines. Persevere and you'll get there. There's nothing like a fretwork shadow portrait with a hundred or so cuts to make you master of your saw  .


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