# Newbie



## SteveW (14 Nov 2015)

Hi guys/gals

New to scrolling been one the outside looking in for a month or two thought i join 

Never used a scroll saw till two month back, on a whim while in screwfix bought a Titan TTB54SSW 457mm Scroll Saw hmmm now i think i should of looked on here first and bought a pinless machine as i think i may be hooked


----------



## bodgerbaz (15 Nov 2015)

Hi Steve and welcome.

I'm not familiar with that saw but if it only uses pinned blades your choice of pattern is restricted. The minimum sized hole you will be able to drill will have to be big enough to thread the blade (with pins) through.

Solution, 1. See if there is a toothless blade adapter available. 2. Sell it and get a machine that uses toothless blades. 3. Keep it to practice on and cut out patterns that don't need tiny holes to insert the blades.

You still have time to practice and cut something like this for your family - they'd love them







Good luck

Barry


----------



## ChrisR (15 Nov 2015)

Welcome to the forum, Steve.

Chris R.


----------



## AES (15 Nov 2015)

Welcome to the Forum Steve. You'll find lots of really friendly people here who'll help you along with all your Q's.

One idea if you can't find an pinless blade adaptor for your machine/don't want to change the machine just yet, is to grind a little off each end of the pin - only at one end of the blade is necessary. This will at least allow your entry holes to be a bit smaller than they would otherwise be when using unmodified pinless blades.

Bodgerbaz's idea QUOTE: get a machine that uses toothless blades UNQUOTE: won't work I think (!  ) but I'm sure that was just a typo! (He produces really excellent work, like so many others on this Forum).

Good luck

AES


----------



## gilljc (15 Nov 2015)

Lots of people start with a machine that takes pinned blades (my first machine was a titan) and only need to 'upgrade' if they want to cut things with tiny holes. There are thousands of lovely things you can cut, intarsia, segmentation, compound cuts and simple fretwork, and as previously mentioned there are blade adapters available that may fit your machine, definitely worth a look.
When I first started I was totally ignorant and on my own re scrolling, and if I had known about the different blades available even for pin only saws I might not have changed so soon, I would certainly have tried the blade adapters first.
Enjoy your experimenting  
Gill


----------



## NazNomad (15 Nov 2015)

bodgerbaz was right though. If you use toothless blades you can charge 50% more for your work as people will assume you've invested in an expensive laser-cutter due to the charred edges on everything. :-D :-D


----------



## bodgerbaz (15 Nov 2015)

Yikes . . . well it was very early in the morning.

I, of course, meant to say pinless blades


----------



## SteveW (15 Nov 2015)

Thanks for the welcome everyone 

think i'll try adapters first its tight turns i cant do the pinned blades i have require large turning circle, they are pegas skiptooth 0.25 X 2mm

also have a selection of pegas pinless #3 #5 #7 in comparison these are so thin.... because of the nature of pinned blades i can't find any thing close

have done some stuff will post pics when i can, i attempted steve goods 3 rabbits, not a chance with the blade i have, to cut around baby rabbits paws any errors will spoil it


----------



## AES (15 Nov 2015)

Steve, I'm glad so many people here have added some helpful tips - as I said, you'll find everyone on here will be very helpful, as I've had good cause to find out myself.

Gilljc raises some interesting & valuable points (e.g. I worked with a Dremel that only took pinned blades for a long time, and was able to do some fairly intricate inside cuts).

Though I'm not familiar with the Steve Good rabbits pattern you mention, are you sure there isn't another way of attacking that curved paws problem with your existing pinned blades? For example you can cut part of the curved paws, then continue the saw cut out into the waste wood as the curve tightens up. Leave yourself enough room in the waste to be able to turn back round, then cut back into the curve from a slightly different angle, repeating several timesif necessary, as dictated by the curve on the pattern versus the tightest radius your blade will cut. And you'll probably have to finish off by going all round the paws again to cut off the little nibs that you've left behind.

Yes, that's time-consuming compared with cutting out with pinless blades, and will waste a bit more wood than when cutting with pinless blades too, but until you can fix up pinless adapters or change your machine, just as gilljc says, you'll be surprised what can be done with pinned blades after a bit of practice.

HTH, good luck.

AES


----------



## SteveW (15 Nov 2015)

AES thanks for detailed info this method i use for work that has areas that are waste but ( 3 rabbits see link if it works ) there is none bit like a jig saw, i can do some tight ish turns but blade width puts a lot of strain on blade and the work jumps in my hand 
http://www.stevedgood.com/threerabbits.pdf


----------



## AES (15 Nov 2015)

Steve, ah yes I see what you mean (the link did work, thanks).

Sorry if I was teaching for to suck eggs. Yeah, I don't see a method of cutting those small radii with a broad pinned blade. Only thing I can see is to bite the bullet and go for an adaptor (if you can find one to fit your machine), or otherwise, just try to find the narrowest pinned blade you can.

Failing that I can only suggest that you cut as much of that design as you can with the narrowest pinned blade you can find, then finish off the tight curves with a hand fret saw (yeah)! I don't know about UK, but here (Switzerland) most of the DIY emporia sell cheapo hand fret saw sets (with fine blades) aimed mainly at kiddies. But at least when you do finally get set up with pinless blades on your machine you'll appreciate the difference between the ease of hand and machine cutting :lol: Half inch thick stock WILL be hard work by hand though. 

AES


----------



## SteveW (15 Nov 2015)

Ha Ha looked at my fret saw hanging on the wall in garage ( a.k.a my workshop ) and thought behave, yep its half inch oak 
seriously thinking about diff machine going to do some online research first, thanks for input though
Will ask on here before i part with cash need to get it right this time


----------



## AES (16 Nov 2015)

OK Steve, but before lashing out on a new machine I suggest you follow Gilljc's advice and try to find a pinless blade adaptor to fit your present machine. For example Axminster Tools do one and if you give them a call first they could likely put you straight as to whether or not theirs will fit your machine - I've always found them very helpful.

AES


----------



## SteveW (18 Nov 2015)

Phoned Axminster tools today to ask about pinless blade adapter they don't do one for titan, but gave me code to look on website for one that may fit unfortunately i don't see how it can, so looks like a new machine is on the cards 

any one got ant thoughts on this, watched the vid for it,it looks like it will do what i need http://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/27094.php


----------



## martinka (18 Nov 2015)

At that sort of money, I'd be tempted to look for a used Hegner


----------



## Claymore (18 Nov 2015)

Proxxon gear are usually very well made and like you say will do the job (I have a Proxxon IBS/E Professional Drill/Grinder which makes Dremels look like toys) but have to agree with Martin for £300+ you can pick up a Hegner on Ebay or on some forums..... I have the Axminster Hegner clone AWFS18 and love it and recently saw one go for £260 in Ebay and it had been used twice so a great saving on new.
Brian
Ps one thing about the Hegners (and the Axi clone) is you can always get spares when/if needed as they don't change their styles very often


----------



## AES (19 Nov 2015)

Steve, sorry to hear the Axi clamps won't fir your Titan. Perhaps it's worth looking at a couple of the US Scroll Saw sites, as your they MAY have clamps to suit you.

Otherwise, it looks like a new machine. I have no experience of the Proxxon machine but FWIW I agree with the others, Proxxon has a very good rep (& v high quality apparently) but a decent S/H Hegner (or Excalibur?) is probably the better buy for you.

Good luck.

AES


----------



## gilljc (19 Nov 2015)

Pity about the clamps, have you checked out the olson ones available from woodworkcraftsupplies? Failing that I bought my first hegner off ebay and still regret selling it on, wish I could have afforded to keep it when I went for bigger. If you do decide to have a look on ebay, maybe you might think about asking some of the guys here for advice when you see one you fancy, there seems to be a couple of rather odd looking ones on at the moment


----------



## martinka (19 Nov 2015)

There's a nice looking variable speed 2S on everybody's favourite auction site. If we weren't hoping to move house in the next 6 months, I'd be tempted to bid on it and sell my single speed saw to pay for it


----------



## SteveW (21 Nov 2015)

Thanks for replies, had a look at different sites for clamps to fit my titan, not always easy to see how they fit here's a pic of my top arm with pinned blade fitted...

Don't really do second hand stuff... Heger and Axminster are out of my price range so Proxxon DS 460 is still favorite


----------

