Ex 21

[percy]

Hi Friends

My EX 21 has a sideway swing while cutting and hence I find it difficult to cut clean on the line.

Anyone with this situation please help.

Thanks

Percy

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, percy said:

Hi Friends

My EX 21 has a sideway swing while cutting and hence I find it difficult to cut clean on the line.

Anyone with this situation please help.

Thanks

Percy

Need a whole lot more info than that. Details and pictures help.

[dgman]

First off, welcome to the forum Percy! Glad you found us. Now, for your question. What you describe is blade drift. The major cause is the blade. Most blades have a burr on the right side of the teeth from the manufacturing process. This burr causes the blade to cut at an angle. Most of us have adapted to anticipate this drift and angle the board to cut a straight line. I’ve been scrolling for 25 years and this comes naturally. 
There are a few blades that are designed differently. One is the Pegas Modified Geometry blade. They do cut straight, but they are an aggressive cutting blade.  Another is Olson Precision Ground Tooth blades. They are expensive And don’t come in small sizes. 
my advice is learn to compensate for the drift. That takes practice!

[Bill WIlson]

Like Dan said, blade drift is one of those things that most scrollers just learn to adjust to and after a short time, you don't even realize you are doing it.  One common method of compensating is to stand/sit slightly off to the side of the saw.  If the blade tracks to the right side of the line, then move your standing/sitting position a bit to the right of the saw, rather than squarely in front.  This may seem counter-intuitive, but it positions you such that you are sort of tricking your eye into believing you are pushing the wood straight into the blade.  Doing this will help you follow the line a little better.  What you want to avoid is applying side pressure to the blade in order to keep it tracking on the line.  This will result in slightly beveled cuts which could cause problems if you are doing projects like puzzles, intarsia, compound cutting, etc.

[courtym74]

I've heard before that blade drift is caused by the blades being stamped out so all the teeth lean just a slight bit to one side.  No idea if this is true but it makes sense. Used to drive me crazy when I started. Thought I was doing something wrong that I couldn't hold the piece straight on and cut a straight line. 

[Foxfold]

Hi Percy, Welcome to the Village, in answer to your question,,,,  Yes, that's what blades do.  You'll learn to compensate over time.  Most of us don't even notice anymore. xx

Just noticed that Percy hasn't been to the Village since the day he asked the question.  

Edited July 25, 2020 by Foxfold