Sourcing Blades for Scroll Saws and Jewellers, Piercing, Coping, & Junior Hack Saws

[AES]

AFAIK, all scroll saws use 5 inch long blades. The only exception is Dremel which uses 3 inch blades (I think). Some scroll saws can also take blades a bit longer than 5 inches, such as coping saw blades and junior hack saw blades.

There are several good blade manufacturers including Niqua (German I think) and Pegas (Swiss).

Niqua blades can be bought from Hobbies UK and, I think, from Hegner UK.

Models & Hobbies UK | About Us | Suppliers Since 1895 | Hobbies

Hegner | Precision workshop scrollsaws and machinery


Pegas can be bought from Axminster Tools UK:

Axminster Tools - Power Tools, Hand Tools, Woodworking, Metalworking & more!

Here's a chart showing the basics of which type/size of blade to use, according to the job you're doing:

View attachment No_Fail_Blade_Chart_206122387.pdf

And here's 3 or 4 blade charts from Pegas, including metal cutting scroll saw blades, scroll saw blades for wood, and coping saw and junior hack saw blades:

View attachment Pegas Metal Scroll Blades.pdf

View attachment Pegas Multi Scroll Blades.pdf

View attachment Pegas Scroll Blades Wood Rev etc Blades.pdf

Just double click on the chosen chart and it will appear on your screen. If you want to, you can print it yourself from there.

Above Pegas charts include both pinned and pinless blades.

HTH

Edit for P.S. 1. I forgot. There is also the Flying Dutchman brand blades. I don't know where they're made but they seem to be only available by direct (self) importing from the USA. I've tried them but personally find them no better or worse than Pegas blades. Since importing from the USA is a bit of a hassle (not too bad though) I stick to Pegas myself. "Your mileage may vary"!

P.S. 2: Normally sellers sell blades in either packs of 12, half gross (72), and gross (144).The gross packs obviously come a bit cheaper pro rata. Some sellers allow you to mix blade sizes/types to make up the half gross or gross price breaks.

Again, HTH, sorry I forgot in the above post.

 

[Chisteve]

Thanks for the above very informative

I may have the same problem as the orginal poster did you get sorted out ok what lenght were the blades ?

 

[loftyhermes]

As AES says, all i can add is that the Flying Dutchman Blades are Niqua blades rebranded for the American Market by the importer Mike Moorlach. Also Original Marquatry also sell Niqua blades. Piercing Saw Blades, Scroll Saw Blades, Fret Saw Blades, For all Wood And Metal - Fretsaw Blades
The only other brand I would consider using would be Olson, Olson the first name in scrollsaw blades

 

[aramco]

I normally use flying Dutchman blades from Mikes workshop in the states,about £35 including postage for 144 blades and they do allow you to order a selection of blades for the 144 blade price. Recently I have been doing a lot of scrolling on 30 mm pine boards and could not wait the postage time from the states, so bought niqua blades from Hegner £21 + including postage for 144 blades, and am using twice as many as I would flying Dutchman,, it would have been more cost effective to have waited the postage time, the Niqua is not a re brand name for the flying Dutchman, they are a different blade altogether, also FD have a bigger selection of blades, including reverse tooth modified geometry and ultra reverse blades which leave less fuzzies on the back to sand off, and a bigger selection of spiral blades even an ultra reverse one, also the niqua have a coarser tooth pitch and are inclined to snatch at the wood, so far I have been able to dodge the vat import duty on the blades from the states but come the 1 st of Jan that could alter depending who wins their election, but an extra %20 wont break the bank, I have tried all the other brands of blades with varying results but keep coming back to the FD - no I am not employed by FD - and will order some more next week sorry if this is long winded but hope this helps, most of my scrolling work is done on wood from 15 mm to 32 mm again mostly reclaimed pine, and occasionally I stack cut 3 mm plywood, it seems every time someone mentions blade brands it open a can of worms, the only thing i can suggest is you try them all and take your pick of the one that suits you best, so have fun and make lots and lots of sawdust

take care

John

 

[loftyhermes]

I'm sorry John but according to Mike Moorlach (the Flying Dutchman) he was the importer of the Niqua blades into the North American Continent and was allowed the name change as part of the deal. If and when I can find the post in which he said it I'll post it.
Niqua have a huge range of blades, search for a copy of their catalogue

 

[whatknot]

Dremel make or badge a few different scroll saws

The only one that takes 3" blades (if you can call it a scroll saw) is the Dremel Moto-saw

It only takes pinned 3" blades which are very expensive compared to standard scroll saw blades

On cost of blades, its worth knowing that pinned blades are often packed in 6's whereas pinless are in 12s, often for the same price (ie twice as expensive for the same quantity)

There are other makers of blades, often sold by the DIY stores, on ebay or the likes of Silverline, these should be avoided if at all possible, they are rather agricultural compared to better brands such as Pegas

As has been said, Flying Dutchman are rebranded Niqua

 

[chrispuzzle]

I'm sorry John but according to Mike Moorlach (the Flying Dutchman) he was the importer of the Niqua blades into the North American Continent and was allowed the name change as part of the deal. If and when I can find the post in which he said it I'll post it.
Niqua have a huge range of blades, search for a copy of their catalogue

FD blades are manufactured by Niqua, yes, but they are very different from the Niqua "Yellow Label" blades sold by Hobbies. As you say, Niqua do a huge range of blades, of which Hobbies in the UK only sell one 'marque'.

 

[aramco]

hi I have recently been using Niqua blades, # 3 and #5 and in truth, they re not a patch on flying Dutchman, I started on this project with niqua but had to revert to fd #3 and #5 flst and spiral blades, to finish it.its 1 inch 25 mm thick pine board

 

[aramco]

just ordered 420 blades Flying Dutchman from Mikes workshop in the states 144 of each #3/ #5 ultra reverse straight and 72 each of new spirals blades teeth all round the blade#3/ #5, total cost including postage was £80, I may yet have to pay import duty , the price per blade is exactly the same as buying niqua blades from hegner UK, and in my opinion Flying Dutchman are a far superior blade.

 

[Rene Mopper]

My experiences with scrolling is not that big but i learned one thing: No sawbrand i tried did the cut straight forward but always in a angle. Even Hegner's bladesets do this.
Pegas does the cut straight forward, its a real difference and i will never go for whatever other brand.
I did a google translation of what i found on the site of my Pegas seller:

What distinguishes this series of scroll saw blades from others is that the Pégas blades are milled. This means that saw blades are the same on both sides compared to punched saw blades (which are pushed one way). They are sharper, more accurate and therefore give a very nice end result.

 

[loftyhermes]

just ordered 420 blades Flying Dutchman from Mikes workshop in the states 144 of each #3/ #5 ultra reverse straight and 72 each of new spirals blades teeth all round the blade#3/ #5, total cost including postage was £80, I may yet have to pay import duty , the price per blade is exactly the same as buying niqua blades from hegner UK, and in my opinion Flying Dutchman are a far superior blade.

Flying Dutchman are Niqua blades, rebranded by Mike Moorlach as part of the deal when he acquired the distribution rights of Niqua blades for the American Market.

 

[accipiter]

Came across this thread via the yesterday posts email. With the mention of "sourcing" and "jewellers" blades I wondered if Cookson Gold was given - didn't see them listed so thought I'd post a link to the blades they do incase it would be of help?
https://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?channel=uk&query=Sawblades

 

[xy mosian]

This is so very useful. I think it deserves to be a 'Sticky'

xy mosian/geoff

 

[Toomuchwood]

AFAIK, all scroll saws use 5 inch long blades. The only exception is Dremel which uses 3 inch blades (I think). Some scroll saws can also take blades a bit longer than 5 inches, such as coping saw blades and junior hack saw blades.

There are several good blade manufacturers including Niqua (German I think) and Pegas (Swiss).

Niqua blades can be bought from Hobbies UK and, I think, from Hegner UK.

Models & Hobbies UK | About Us | Suppliers Since 1895 | Hobbies

Hegner | Precision workshop scrollsaws and machinery


Pegas can be bought from Axminster Tools UK:

Axminster Tools - Power Tools, Hand Tools, Woodworking, Metalworking & more!

Here's a chart showing the basics of which type/size of blade to use, according to the job you're doing:

View attachment 84277

And here's 3 or 4 blade charts from Pegas, including metal cutting scroll saw blades, scroll saw blades for wood, and coping saw and junior hack saw blades:

View attachment 84278

View attachment 84279

View attachment 84280

Just double click on the chosen chart and it will appear on your screen. If you want to, you can print it yourself from there.

Above Pegas charts include both pinned and pinless blades.

HTH

Edit for P.S. 1. I forgot. There is also the Flying Dutchman brand blades. I don't know where they're made but they seem to be only available by direct (self) importing from the USA. I've tried them but personally find them no better or worse than Pegas blades. Since importing from the USA is a bit of a hassle (not too bad though) I stick to Pegas myself. "Your mileage may vary"!

P.S. 2: Normally sellers sell blades in either packs of 12, half gross (72), and gross (144).The gross packs obviously come a bit cheaper pro rata. Some sellers allow you to mix blade sizes/types to make up the half gross or gross price breaks.

Again, HTH, sorry I forgot in the above post.

Hello I am new to this forum and it seems, like a few members, struggling to find quality scroll blades for my "old" Mutico Scroll saw. I am also trying to find the blades for an identical machine badged NuTool which we have had donated to my local Men in Sheds. Both take the longer 61/2inch pinned blades and both are otherwise in fine working order. For the time being I have found some on Amazon however am conscious the quality may not be good. The Flying Dutchman (FD) blades mentioned on this thread are available however the delivery time is long from US. Different stockists in the UK list Pegas 61/2" blades but they are not avalable so presumably stockists have the same trouble getting the blades. Just an idea but if there is the interest in the wide range of FD blades available in the US that we try to arrange a supplier here? Or has anyone found a source in the UK of good longer blades? Thanks

 

[Toomuchwood]

Hello I am new to this forum and it seems, like a few members, struggling to find quality scroll blades for my "old" Mutico Scroll saw. I am also trying to find the blades for an identical machine badged NuTool which we have had donated to my local Men in Sheds. Both take the longer 61/2inch pinned blades and both are otherwise in fine working order. For the time being I have found some on Amazon however am conscious the quality may not be good. The Flying Dutchman (FD) blades mentioned on this thread are available however the delivery time is long from US. Different stockists in the UK list Pegas 61/2" blades but they are not avalable so presumably stockists have the same trouble getting the blades. Just an idea but if there is the interest in the wide range of FD blades available in the US that we try to arrange a supplier here? Or has anyone found a source in the UK of good longer blades? Thanks

Forgot to say - from above link ( View attachment 84279 ) I got to this pdf which lists Pegas blades at 61/2 inch but for a hand saw. Forgive my ignorance but I am guessing handsaw blades may not be suitable for an electric machine? This is the text from the Pegas PDF - "Pinned Coping Regular 6.5” For use in hand frames that require pinned end blades. Will cut a broad range of materials including ferrous and nonferrous metal." Any views? Thanks again

 

[whatknot]

Hello I am new to this forum and it seems, like a few members, struggling to find quality scroll blades for my "old" Mutico Scroll saw. I am also trying to find the blades for an identical machine badged NuTool which we have had donated to my local Men in Sheds. Both take the longer 61/2inch pinned blades and both are otherwise in fine working order. For the time being I have found some on Amazon however am conscious the quality may not be good. The Flying Dutchman (FD) blades mentioned on this thread are available however the delivery time is long from US. Different stockists in the UK list Pegas 61/2" blades but they are not avalable so presumably stockists have the same trouble getting the blades. Just an idea but if there is the interest in the wide range of FD blades available in the US that we try to arrange a supplier here? Or has anyone found a source in the UK of good longer blades? Thanks

Do you have a photo and or model numbers of your two saws? I do not know of a saw that takes 6 1/2" blades as standard, generally all fret/scroll saws take the 5" blades, bar the motosaw that takes 3" but isn't really a scroll saw proper, if yours only takes pinned blades, try the Pegas blades obtainable from Axminster, Flying Dutchman are Niqua blades rebadged, I have not found any better than Pegas which are easily obtainable in the UK, if generic blades found on Amazon ebay etc, they are unlikely to be of very good quality, are you saying your saws only take 6 1/2" blades? or that they can take them, photos would help

 

[Fergie 307]

I think they might be for a handheld coping type saw. I have a jewellers one that has an adjustable frame so it can use the short machine type blades or the longer ones, which I am guessing are about 6 1/2 inch. Guessing because I'm rearranging stuff and can't find the box with the saw and blades in it to measure!

 

[Toomuchwood]

Do you have a photo and or model numbers of your two saws? I do not know of a saw that takes 6 1/2" blades as standard, generally all fret/scroll saws take the 5" blades, bar the motosaw that takes 3" but isn't really a scroll saw proper, if yours only takes pinned blades, try the Pegas blades obtainable from Axminster, Flying Dutchman are Niqua blades rebadged, I have not found any better than Pegas which are easily obtainable in the UK, if generic blades found on Amazon ebay etc, they are unlikely to be of very good quality, are you saying your saws only take 6 1/2" blades? or that they can take them, photos would help

Hi Thanks for the replies. I have taken some photos - apologies as the overall photo isn't very clear but "badge" is clear. The blades I have are pictured, these are pinned and 61/2" long. The machine is 33 years old and although the blades are well worn it seems to work very well!

 

[whatknot]

Hi Thanks for the replies. I have taken some photos - apologies as the overall photo isn't very clear but "badge" is clear. The blades I have are pictured, these are pinned and 61/2" long. The machine is 33 years old and although the blades are well worn it seems to work very well!

Although your machine takes 6 1/2" coping saw blades I suspect it was intended for use with standard pinned scroll saw blades

 

[Toomuchwood]

Although your machine takes 6 1/2" coping saw blades I suspect it was intended for use with standard pinned scroll saw blades

Hi This is an interesting thought. I wonder though with two separate machines, essentially identical bar one being badged "Multico" the other "NuTool", and coming from different sources; both having been fitted with 61/2inch blades. The photo I have taken is poor but I will get a picture next week of both the NuTool and a cheap 5" blade machine side by side and from that the relative dimensions difference is clear. I will have a go at fitting a 5" blade in the machine and see if it works though