Newbie, it's not as easy as it looks!

[zodiac]

Hi,

I recently picked up a Ferm 400 scrollsaw which I know is a cheapie but I thought would be ok to have a go with initially.

Upon firing it up, I soon realised that it's not something you can get the hang of in 5 minutes!! In particular though, there seems to be two main issues:

1) The machine does vibrate more than I'd like, which I have read it does since I bought it. I haven't bolted it down it is just sitting on a bench at the moment. Is there a way to reduce the machine's natural vibration? As well as moving the wood I have to exert downward pressure which is probably making it harder than it needs to be.

2) The blade is at a perfect 90 degrees from horizontal ... until it touches any wood ... the blade kind of twists and I end up turning the piece of work to an angle to compensate. The blade seems perfect and I have reseated the pinned ends in case there was debris in there. Help!

I'm sure there will be other problems, but there are a couple for now!

Hi all by the way

z.

 

[Mike M]

The 3 basics are; good tension. it looks you do not have enough. The blade should not move side ways more than 1/8" and that is almost too much. Second, you need good speed, with good speed you have much better control over the blade. Third, push very slow into the blade or the blade will grab the wood and you will loose control over the blade. Let the blade do the cutting they say.

I forgot to tell that most blade will cut to the right, to stay on the line you have to move the wood some degree to the right to stay on the line.
FD Mike

 

[Waka]

I'm a newbie as well and have experienced some of what you are saying. I have my saw bolted down, I found this makes a real difference. Blade tension is also important, my book says tighten until it twangs like a piano wire.
If the wood is lifting a lot as you saw, make sure you have the blade in the right way. My first time is wasn't and it kept lifting.
One of my books says that you mustn't put too much pressure in holding the wood down as this tends to move the blade sideways.

You are right though, its not as easy as it looks, I've only been doing it for just over a month, and try and get an hour a day practice, very slowly I'm getting there, but like anything it will be along time before I can come close to matching anything on here.

There is one consolation though, I haven't broken any blades yet, so I must be doing something right.

There are a lot of really experienced scrollers on here who I'm surer will be along offering advice.

 

[zodiac]

Someone told me blade tension so I tightened it up all the way, still the blade twists

I'm doing something wrong surely!

 

[Chippygeoff]

You are right, its not as easy as it looks, it takes weeks sometimes just to get the basics sorted out. As Mike said, you need good blade tension. Cut thin material to start with. Draw lines on a piece of plywood or something else and try to follow the line, you will get there eventually. Having a good machine helps as well as getting good blades. Mikes workshop is the place for blades and advice. Have a look at my facebook page, wooden crafts from Wales and see the sort of things you can make using a scroll saw. I wish you all the best.

 

[zodiac]

Mine seems to go left not right! There is more than 1/8" of movement in the blade too, even with the tension screwed up all the way, this may be most of the problem. As it is a cheap machine, I doubt it has any kind of adjustment but I'll pull it apart and see what I can do about it.

How much should I have spent to get a machine worth owning?

 

[Mike M]

zodiac, did you see what I edited in my post?
Most blades have burr on the right side what makes them cut to the right.
FD Mike

 

[Shootinfishin]

Even my old cheap and cheerful Clarke machine isn't that bad!

 

[Gill]

As well as moving the wood I have to exert downward pressure which is probably making it harder than it needs to be.

At the risk of sounding as if I'm wisecracking, have you checked that the blade is the right way up? It wouldn't be the first time a newbie has inserted a blade with the teeth up instead of down.

The blade is at a perfect 90 degrees from horizontal ... until it touches any wood ... the blade kind of twists and I end up turning the piece of work to an angle to compensate.

That sounds very odd. If it's a new machine, I would contact the retailer (Screwfix, I presume).

How much should I have spent to get a machine worth owning?

You'd probably have to spend a darned sight more than the cost of a Ferm! If you can get to Tredegar Park or a branch of Axminster across the Severn you should be able to see demonstrations of some decent saws. Other than that, good secondhand saws such as Diamonds, Deltas and Hegners often go for reasonable prices on auction websites.

 

[zodiac]

You are right, its not as easy as it looks, it takes weeks sometimes just to get the basics sorted out. As Mike said, you need good blade tension. Cut thin material to start with. Draw lines on a piece of plywood or something else and try to follow the line, you will get there eventually. Having a good machine helps as well as getting good blades. Mikes workshop is the place for blades and advice. Have a look at my facebook page, wooden crafts from Wales and see the sort of things you can make using a scroll saw. I wish you all the best.

Added your fb page, nice work on there

 

[zodiac]

Gill, I bought the saw second hand. It did actually have the teeth pointing up when I bought it too, quickly sorted that out!

 

[zodiac]

Back at the scrollsaw now it's not freezing in the shed anymore, still the blade skews

From mikes workshop:

"The feed rate is VERY important. DO NOT push the wood through too fast. Work slowly with a gentle pressure. If your blade is bowing under the pressure, you're moving too fast! "

Maybe this is half the problem? I'll have to try this and see if it makes much difference.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi Zodiac welcome to a great website,you are lucky to have found this site .I am 75 and I was fortunate to have found in January,I am still learning,I have a cheap saw and a Hegner,I am going to get the blade clamps from Axminster when they get them in stock to convert it to pinless blades.Maybe that would stop the blades from twisting.
One thing that I am sure of is that between the lads and lassies that are on site you problem will be solved.

Bryan

 

[stevebuk]

when i am sitting at my scrollsaw i sit slightly to the right of it as i find this is the best place for me to get straight lines, once it starts going straight i keep the fingers of my left hand pressed against the table and feed with my right hand and it never moves from straight until its finished..

 

[zodiac]

Cheers Steve, I'll try that too. The saw might just be a heap of crap, but I'd like to find out it's not rather than give up on it!

Out of interest, what make blades does everyone use? So far I've tried Silverline which behave the same as the couple of blades that I got with the saw when I bought it second hand. They were the cheapest, maybe they are just junk?

 

[Chippygeoff]

Blades from silverline are c**p. The best blades are Flyin Dutchman from Mikes workshop, especially the ultra reverse. If you were to use one of these blades you would not believe the difference to a silverline blade. It will transform your scroll sawing experience.

 

[martinka]

Blades from silverline are c**p. The best blades are Flyin Dutchman from Mikes workshop, especially the ultra reverse. If you were to use one of these blades you would not believe the difference to a silverline blade. It will transform your scroll sawing experience.

Aren't FD blades actually Niqua blades? Seems strange to me to send to America for blades made in Germany. Not that I know how easy/difficult it is to buy them here, or how the price compares. It'd be interesting to find out.

Martin.

 

[powertools]

I know nothing about F D blades but I needed some blades as I only had a few that came with the saw and I ordered the yellow ones from Hobbies and they are Niqua blades and they have transformed my work.

http://www.alwayshobbies.com/brands/niqua

 

[bugbear]

A lot of the well informed people here are talking about the "right" tension, proper feed rates and all.

This strikes me as the sort of information best conveyed via video rather than words; can any of the experienced people point to a (probably youtube) video of basic good practise?

BugBear

 

[loftyhermes]

Blades from silverline are c**p. The best blades are Flyin Dutchman from Mikes workshop, especially the ultra reverse. If you were to use one of these blades you would not believe the difference to a silverline blade. It will transform your scroll sawing experience.

Aren't FD blades actually Niqua blades? Seems strange to me to send to America for blades made in Germany. Not that I know how easy/difficult it is to buy them here, or how the price compares. It'd be interesting to find out.

Martin.

Martin, I've found that in the USA they have a larger choice of blades and sometimes it can be cheaper postage from America than in the UK. Hobbies is only £1.95 a gross postage for Niqua blades but they don't have a big selection of blade types, then there's Original Marquetry who want £8.95 a gross postage for Niqua blades, Woodworks craft supplies want £6.95 a gross postage for Olson blades, Axminster want £4.94 postage for Pegas blades. Flyingdutchman blades can be ordered easily and posted from the USA for $3 (£1.95 approx.) a gross, though at that price it can take up to 2 weeks to arrive. So you pays your money and takes your choice.
happy scrolling
Steve