# New to scrolling



## Keato (31 May 2013)

I would first like to say hi to everyone (i'm Jamie) and thanks in advance for any help/advice given  

Yesterday I received a 5 month early birthday present (birthday is in October) and it was a scroll saw.

Last year I got a Bosch Jigsaw for one of my main Birthday presents, I then bought a Bosch detail sander & workbench. I ended up making clocks for nearly all of the family  

I can post pics if anyone wants to see them (ranging from Batman & Spiderman to some warhammer theme & a play on words clock). 
I made them with the jigsaw and with some of the cuts I would have been better with a scroll saw, which is why I have my early birthday present this year so I can get to making xmas presents/birthday presents early, get them wrapped and less stressful in the colder weather. 


Anyway I have a question about scrolling, mainly about the blades though (I think)
My mum and I looked around and ended up deciding on buying from Axminster. I got a "Proxxon DSH 2 Speed Scroll Saw" which is on their website. We ordered some extra blades too. 

I've got no problem with the pin blades, I get how that works. My problem is with the pinless blades. The pin blades say they are 130mm and the pinless 127mm.
I switched out the blades today to give the pinless blade a try (im only practicing at the moment on dud wood) but noticed that its difficult to clamp both ends to the scroll saw.

I end up having only a few mm clamped on both ends, then when I change the tension on the saw I either get it wrong and the blade pulls out from the bottom or I get it right but when switching off the scroll saw the blade makes a sort of twang noise as if i'd pinged it myself.

Is this normal? Are pinless blades only supposed to have a few mm clamped on both ends?

I can clearly see that the pin blades have a lot more clamped. I'm still learning and this site as well as others and youtube are really helping me out but I cant find a solution to this. 

Sorry for the really long story, thought i'd introduce then describe the problem.

I'm looking forward to any help given & thanks again  

Jamie


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## Bryan Bennett (31 May 2013)

Hi Jamie.First of all welcome aboard a GREAT SITE,now then you do not say which scroll saw you have?.That should help one of us to point you in the right direction. Universal blades are used by the majority of us,and are held at the clamps by more that a few mm.Post us the make of the saw,to see if one of us can help.Missed that you had the axminster,you have a great Mum and Dad to buy these type of presents,Lucky you.

Bryan


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## Dalboy (31 May 2013)

Keato":1pzuhevg said:


> Anyway I have a question about scrolling, mainly about the blades though (I think)
> My mum and I looked around and ended up deciding on buying from Axminster. I got a "Proxxon DSH 2 Speed Scroll Saw" which is on their website. We ordered some extra blades too.


Bryan he has a Proxxon as he says in his post does this help


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## Keato (31 May 2013)

Hey Bryan, I did post which make of saw I have. "Proxxon DSH 2 Speed Scroll Saw". Bought it from Axminster.

The blades I also bought with it are from the Axminster website, my mum just selected 3 packs. I'll post their product names here since I don't know if I can post links yet.


The extra blades she got me were as follows
"Proxxon Scroll Saw Blades with Pin Ends" - (Size, 2.61mm x 0.51mm x 10tpi)

"Proxxon Super-Cut Scroll Saw Blades with Plain Ends" - (Size, 1.5mm x 0.48mm x 14tpi)

"Proxxon Super-Cut Scroll Saw Blades with Plain Ends" - (Size, 0.75mm, 0.36mm x 41tpi)

She bought me the really thin ones because she figured she might as well get them ordered so that when i'm ready for intricate work I can go right ahead without having to wait for blades to be delivered.


Unfortunately I snapped one of the (41tpi) blades because I wanted to give it a try. But I know there is a chance i'll snap a few seeing as i've never used a scroll saw before.

I think you missed me posting the name of my scroll saw in my first post due to it being lost in the long story.


Hopefully someone has this scroll saw or has had it and can help with my issue.

Jamie


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## Dalboy (31 May 2013)

I have been looking at the scrollsaw you have. When you change blades do you undo the blade tensioning knob before fitting a new blade or just try and fit a blade without undoing it.
As for snapping blades I still do that now.


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## Keato (31 May 2013)

Err, release the tension at the back then use an allen key that came with it to loosen the clamp on the blade (both pin & pinless) then change the blade.

I do know that i'll snap a few even if I get skilled at it though. 


The only problem I have is that the pinless blades seem to not fit, as in too short.

If I really undo the tension knob at the back then I can bring the arms (or whatever they are called, not learned terminology yet) closer together enough to fit about 1 to 2 mm of the top of the pinless blade in the top clamp and about the same length on the bottom one. 

I've read elsewhere that you only need a few mm clamped to get it to hold in place. Its just when I then tighten the tension then the bottom of the blade pops out.


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## Bryan Bennett (31 May 2013)

Hi Jamie Welcome to a GREAT FORUM,I see that you have a Axminster scroll saw.There are members who have the same saw that you have.I will leave them to advise you on how to solve your problem.I used a universal set of blade clamps to convert a pinned blade to a pinless blade.These were bought from Axminster very cheaply.The main saw that I use is a Hegner.
I am sure that someone will soon be on to solve your problem.The blades are a standard size,if the blade appears to be too short,you need to slacken off the tension,it should then fit .It will have to be tensioned up again to make the blade tight to use.

Bryan


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## stevebuk (31 May 2013)

Just to clarify Bryan, jamie has a PROXON scroll saw bought from Axminster.. :shock:  

welcome jamie, if you wish to cut intricate pieces out you will need the pinless variety of blades available, dont know your saw but hope you get it sorted out..


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## Bryan Bennett (1 Jun 2013)

Thank you Steve ,has you can see I have had a couple of senior moments today.Same post twice not thoroughly read post.Hope you get your saw's fixed soon.


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## Keato (1 Jun 2013)

I can see your all a friendly bunch 

I'm looking forward to learning more about scrolling. 
As it happens I'm actually heading into Glasgow City Centre to find a place I found online called Reid Timber. I wanted to find a local business I can buy wood rather than ordering from large companies online.

Obviously I won't be going near new wood till I've practiced on cheap pine from B&Q. I just wanted to visit the place to see what they have. From what I've read it's a good place for people in Glasgow. 
If anyone else knows of other places I can go in the Glasgow area let me know. 

Oh and it was only my mum that bought me the scroll saw Bryan. 
I'm 23 btw, old enough to be using a Powertool lol I'd just like to get into a craft at this age.
I've already got a peterchild pyrography machine among other tools/machines.

Looking forward to seeing this wood shop :-D


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## Bryan Bennett (1 Jun 2013)

Jamie if you send a PM to ChippyGeoff with your e-mail address he will send you video link to view video which will help you with some aspects of scroll sawing.

Bryan


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## Gary Morris (2 Jun 2013)

"(in wood) at 45° 25 mm 
Cutting blade length: 127 mm (with cross pin) 
125-130 mm (without cross pin)" 
I copied this from the download on the Axminster site. 

I measured some blades from FD (Mike) there 129mm in length, as were some from Draper. These would fit as the max is 130mm. 
What length are your blades? Although seeing as you have some blades from the manufacturer I'd expect these to fit. It may help if you clean the blade and blade holder to remove any grease or oil? I have a Diamond SS, when I change a blade I need to eexsertsome downward ppressureto clamp the blade, not sure if yours does. 

Have you tried pphoningAxminster for any advice? 

hope you get it sorted, and do post some pics please


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## Keato (2 Jun 2013)

Yeah I'n going to be phoning Axminster tomorrow to find out if my Scroll Saw actually does take plain end (pinless) blades.

It says on the website that it does. It doesn't say anything about needing an adapter. So if they turn round and tell me that it does in fact need an adapter then i'll be getting a refund for false advertising because if something needs an adapter then it has to clearly state in brackets or with an asterisk that to use pinless blades an adapter is needed.


Hopefully it doesnt need an adapter and its just my knowledge of and method of clamping is the problem.

The plain end (pinless) blades I have are 127mm in length. If I clamp a couple of mm on both the bottom and top then increase the tension, sometimes the blade just pops out from the bottom. It has been taking me about 20 mins to get the tension right and not too loose.

It shouldn't be taking 20 mins to clamp a blade.

Unfortunately I dont have £500-800 for a hegner/excalibur but I would have thought the Proxxon DSH/2 would be fine for a beginner. Obviously not if i'm quicker using a Jigsaw to do what I wanted to do with a Scroll Saw.



The other problem i've been having with the blades (pin too) is the blade is choosing its own path. I'm even going extremely slow and careful to keep in control of where the blade goes. I have a lot of patience but its going to wear thin if I find out the Proxxon is the problem. It was a decent price too, not cheap and not expensive.


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## martinka (3 Jun 2013)

Even though I've had my scroll saw 5 months I still consider myself very much a 'newbie' so take anything I say with a pinch of salt. If your blades are going where they want, then chances are you don't have enough tension on them. Also, don't forget that the blades will always try to cut to one side, some blades more than others. So if you are trying to cut a straight line, you might need to be facing away from the blade by as much as about 15 degrees. That's an estimate on my part but should give you an idea. 

I can't see anyone selling a saw that won't take the plain blades, so you either need to put a bit of pressure on the top arm when slotting the blade in, or you have too much tension on the arms to start with.

I assume you spent some time investigating saws before you bought, but I have to say that having seen video of that saw in operation, it wouldn't have been my first choice. Of course, my choice of saw will be different to other people's choice and it depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

Anyways, I hope you get it working to your satisfaction and are soon showing us some of your work.

Martin.


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## ChrisR (3 Jun 2013)

Hi Jamie.

I have been scroll sawing for many years, and still break the occasional blade, or make an over or under cut, all part of the challenge.

Don’t know anything about the type of saw you have, so unable to give any advice, but I am sure if you have any problem that “Axminster” will be able to give you sound advice/help, as they are a good sound company, that I am sure would not go in for any deliberate misrepresentation of a product.

Disclaimer, I have no connection with “Axminster Tools”, other than being a very satisfied customer, having purchased many items/tools from them over the years.

Take care, and I hope you will enjoy your scroll sawing.

Chris R.


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## Bryan Bennett (3 Jun 2013)

Hi Jamie.Just got back from Axminster,I saw the Proxon above yours.The one that you have was not on display,the one I saw was £350 and the top cloamp would take both type of blades,and your tension knob is very similar to the Hegner.If the blades wanders that would to me suggest that the blade needs more tension.Have you sent ChippyGeoff your e-mail address?,he will then send you a video link to you.

Bryan


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## Keato (3 Jun 2013)

Hey all, quick update on this. 

I'm just off the phone with Axminster regarding the problem with the Scroll Saw. I have now got a new problem which I explained over the phone and I was told i'd be called back tomorrow (as they shut in about 30 mins) from either the guy I spoke to (Simon) or an engineer that would know more about the problem. 

My new problem is that the tension knob at the back is loosening every 30 seconds to a min. When I clamp in a pinless blade I'm only able to clamp in about a couple of mm on both the top and bottom arm. I then tighten the tension but not too tight, just enough. The blade acts fine for about 30 seconds then the tensioning knob loosens. I'm usually able to reach back and tighten it quickly as I can hear the machine starting to rattle.

Simon told me that this should not be happening and that they haven't heard of any problems like this before. I asked if its a user fault, as in me being a novice but was told its not. The tension knob should only be changed when changing blades, not mid cutting.

So, if a swap is organised (courier to my house, swap my machine with a brand new one) i'll let people know here. If the problem still persists in the brand new unit then a refund will be happening.

If that happens then i'll be aiming to get the Excalibur EX-16 Scroll Saw as i've only read and seen on youtube ALL good things about it.

I've already spoke to my mum about this and I can only assume that she is slightly peeved that my early birthday present isnt functioning as it should be. If it turns out I need a full refund for the machine then i'll be asking her to combine my birthday & xmas present this year to get the Excalibur EX-16 Scroll Saw.


I'm certainly not going to be adjusting the tension every 30 seconds to a min, thats for sure. 

I've had a few other problems with it today and its only been 4 days out of the box. Disappointed, really.

Just so I know, is there anyone here that has used or currently uses/owns the Excalibur EX-16 Scroll Saw or any of the Excalibur EX range?
If yes, any thoughts on it.


Edit: oh plus, the blades are clamped in there super tight. So tight in fact that the allen key is chewing up the clamp itself. So that lets you all know the blade is super tightly held in place.


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## Keato (17 Jun 2013)

Another update for everyone   

Im super happy!

Axminster had sent me a *second* Proxxon DSH/2 and when that arrived the tensioning knob was bent forward. I took pictures and sent them to the same after sales agent that was helping me through the process on the phone before (when I phoned up about the loose tensioning knob). He said he'd send the pictures to Proxxon themselves and also go down to the workshop to compare the pics with one of their open Proxxon scroll saws. Later I was told on the phone by Simon that Proxxon had told him to recall it as its not supposed to be like that.

He asked if I wanted a third Proxxon DSH/2 and I had a discussion about it with my mum. She said its up to me what happens and that she was fine with returning the Proxxon and purchasing an Excalibur instead if thats what I wanted. 


I now have an Excalibur EX-16 and those of you with it know how easy it is to use. I've made 5 things already (mostly Steve Good patterns) and in a rather short amount of time. Not that im rushing anything. Im just so excited that i've got it, and understand the 'get what you pay for'.

The agent that was helping me over the phone also said he'd throw in a few extra blades as i'd snapped some from the Proxxon. (so I guess that was a gesture of goodwill & as a sorry for the Proxxon mess up) I was told that the Excalibur comes with a 'starter pack' of Pegas blades. To my surprise and amazement, I opened up my delivery to find a zip-lined packet with two packets of their Pegas 30 blades inside as well as the 'starter pack'. So I now have 90 blades now (the packets have 1 extra of each blade inside) 

The customer service & aftersales was just second to none, totally amazing. I just thought i'd share my dealings with them with all of you on the forum.

Also, these Pegas premium blades seem to get a really good review online. 

Im so chuffed


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## stevebuk (17 Jun 2013)

Alls well that ends well, i'm really pleased for you. I hope you will keep us informed of your progress with the excaliber saw too, i really wanted one of those but after Geoff had so much trouble i didn't bother with one..


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## Naxie (18 Jun 2013)

I'm glad you have everything sorted Keato, on the rare occasion I've had a problem with an Axminster product, they have always been extremely helpful, I guess that's why I keep coming back! Infact I have an issue at the moment with one of their Tormek clone jigs which I need to ring them about today, I'm sure it will be painless though. 

I have an ex-21 and find it excellent. I know you will enjoy yours. My Dad was struggling away for 6 months with a cheaper saw and couldn't believe how much easier it was on my saw. He said it was like he had gained 2 years practice overnight!

Kind regards,
Ed


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## ChrisR (18 Jun 2013)

Glad to see you are all sorted.
Backs up my comments re Axminster, in my previous post on this topic.  

Take care and happy scrolling.

Chris R.


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## Bryan Bennett (18 Jun 2013)

Hi Jamie I am very pleased that you have sorted the problem out with the scrollsaw,I have seen your new one in Axminster and it looks very impressive.It will I am sure make life a lot easier.Look forward to see some projects that you have made.

Happy Scrolling Bryan :roll:


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